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Evaluation of an Immobilized Transaminase for Preparation of an Intermediate to Glasdegib
No full textThe student worked with Pfizer Inc. to study the feasibility of an immobilized enzyme in the preparation of an intermediate to Glasdegib, a Phase I clinical SMO inhibitor that has shown promise in the inhibition of tumor growth for human colorectal and pancreatic cancers. The project resulted in an optimization of one immobilized resin based on the activity of the enzyme, enzyme stability in organic solvents, and reuse of the biocatalyst as well as apreliminary scale-up study utilizing AspenPlus
Maturation of Skeletal Muscle by Mechanical Stimulation
No full textMuscle myopathies cause high fatality rates and lack effective clinical drug treatments. Currently, there are no in vitro skeletal muscle tissue models that precisely mimic native human muscle morphology and function due to a lack of maturation. Animal models also fail to provide clinically-relevant data due to a lack of genetic homology to humans. Therefore, drug efficacy cannot be accurately tested pre-clinically before human clinical trials. To improve in vitro skeletal muscle tissue maturation, a device was designed to mechanically stimulate skeletal muscle tissue. The device effectively provided a morphological difference in C2C12 myoblast as well as primary human myoblast derived tissue constructs, with less necrosis and greater myofiber alignment compared to the static constructs
Lab-Scale Railway Simulator Improvements
No full textRailway vehicles are a cornerstone of the infrastructure of many societies; however, the research, development, and implementation of railway systems are extremely costly and space-intensive. In partnership with Kyoto University of Advanced Science (KUAS), this project aimed to diminish the cost and spatial requirements of railway vehicle testing by improving the capabilities of an existing railway simulator at KUAS. By creating a signal response between the pressure regulator and the microcontroller, implementing and testing dynamic load functions, adding regenerative braking, and designing and implementing a throttle and emergency brake, the project resulted in an improved lab-scale railway simulator. This system is now much closer to being application-ready for electric train dynamics
Broadfield Precision Distortion and Displacement Analysis (BPDDA): An Automated Distortion Correction and Stitching Method for Traction Force Microscopy
No full textDuring tissue development and wound healing processes, cells generate and transmit mechanical forces to the surrounding matrix. Traction force microscopy (TFM) is widely used to measure these forces on soft gels, but conventional TFM is usually limited to a single field of view. This small area makes it difficult to study how local forces are organized across large cell monolayers. This thesis develops a large field TFM method and uses it to analyze collective mechanics in wound healing. Compared to previous studies limited to a single imaging field, this approach enables traction force measurements over image sizes exceeding 2 mm. Wound closure relies on coordinated force generation across large cell assemblies rather than isolated single cell mechanics. By enabling direct measurement of traction forces over tissue scale areas, the large field TFM approach provides new insight into how local cellular forces are organized and integrated to drive collective closure dynamics. A distortion correction and stitching workflow, termed Broadfield Precision Distortion and Displacement Analysis (BPDDA), was first established. A micropillar calibration board was used to measure the distortion field of the microscope, and a fourth order polynomial fit was used to correct it. After distortion correction, position errors were reduced to below one pixel. This level of geometric control is necessary when bead displacements are only a few tenths of a micrometer. To improve displacement detection, a hybrid method called MPIV+Track was then designed. It combines windowed particle image velocimetry with single-particle tracking. Tests on simulated displacement fields that mimic cell experiments showed that MPIV+Track detects small displacements better than MPIV or Track alone. It produced more detailed vectors than MPIV 4 and fewer false vectors than Track, especially in noisy images or images with dense bead distribution. BPDDA was applied to MEC1 cell monolayers that were closing circular wounds on soft gels. At early times after stencil removal, a thin ring of inward traction at the wound edge was detected in the traction maps. At later times, this ring was replaced by a wider traction band around the wound, which was found to support collective migration. TGF-β treatment increased traction magnitude and directional order near the edge, whereas ROCK inhibition reduced traction and altered the balance between edge forces and forces in the interior of the monolayer. Unlike small wounds dominated by a purse string mechanism, closure of the large wounds studied here involves traction forces generated by cells far from the wound edge. Finally, the method was used to compare control HeLa cells with HeLa cells in which IQGAP1 level was reduced. These changes indicate that IQGAP1 mediates mechanosensation and force transmission at the cell–matrix interface. Earlier work has suggested roles for IQGAP1 in cytoskeletal organization and migration (1), whereas this study directly measures how IQGAP1 depletion alters traction force magnitude and stiffness dependent force responses. Overall, these results demonstrate that combining BPDDA with MPIV+Track enables TFM measurements with sub-pixel geometric accuracy over millimeter-scale areas. This method provides a practical basis for future studies of cell monolayer mechanics. Quantitative measurements of monolayer mechanics enable direct study of how local cellular forces are coordinated across cell collectives to drive tissue level behaviors such as wound healing and tissue morphogenesis
Tokyo, MQP: Printing a Thin Metal Plate
No full textThe solar industry suffers from a large amount of material waste since most of the methods for producing silicon of this thickness involve cutting out excess material. The goal was to develop a technique that directly prints silicon at 100 micrometers without compromising the purity of the material. The experimentation is now being conducted with U-Alloy72, as it is an alloy with some comparable qualities to silicon, but is far more feasible for the current lab conditions and the current stage of the experiments. While a full plate, 50 mm x 150 mm, has not been created completely below 100 micrometers, almost a third of the final plate was within this size range. The project is now in a stage of finding the most suitable parameters and optimizing the current processes
Earthovia 2.0: Curriculum Building and Auditing Software
No full textThe project aims to embed interdisciplinary learning objectives in higher education curriculum using Earthovia 2.0 software developed by the research team. Earthovia 2.0 is a full stack web application deployed on the internet that uses an LLM engine to integrate interdisciplinary learning objectives. It achieves this by using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to provide the LLM engine with factual interdisciplinary education data as context and by following the backwards design curriculum development paradigm. A survey was administered to evaluate the impact of manual integration and Earthovia integration tasks. Finally, a focus group semi-structured interview was conducted to develop a comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences in the integration approaches
6-DoF Surgical Robot Arm Capable of Accessing Behind Organs
No full textThis paper presents the redesign and validation of a modular 6-DOF robotic surgical instrument for Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery (RMIS) through sub-2 cm incisions. To address torsional compliance, backlash, and unreliable distal actuation from fully flexible shafts, a rigid–flexible–rigid transmission is introduced, localizing compliance to the elbow while increasing overall torsional stiffness. Modeling and FEA show reduced angular twist and improved torque transmission. A redesigned cable-driven system, modular docking interface, and internal cable management enhance decoupling, durability, and assembly. Testing confirms independent 6-DOF control, 360° shoulder and wrist rotation, and improved grip reliability without spring-like distal motion
Volatility in Stock Exchanges
No full textFinancial markets are vulnerable to sudden shocks. When the American market crashes foreign markets follow. Recognizing the signals of instability is not the only way to protect assets from financial ruin. When constructing an investment strategy it is necessary to take steps to construct a portfolio that is insulated from sudden market movement. In order to ensure the protection of assets when the market contracts, diverse investments must be made in advance. To identify indices that move independently of the S&P500 index we will construct volatility graphs using the GARCH(p,q) method to track which regions are least affected by sudden contractions in the American markets. Then using time varying correlation analysis and negative correlation analysis we can further interpret the resul
Cubes in Space at New England Sci-Tech
No full textEngaging students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics requires a multifaceted approach that not only sparks their curiosity but also equips them with the tools and mental frameworks to sustain their interest and growth. The process extends beyond traditional classroom learning, emphasizing critical thinking, problem-solving, and connecting theoretical knowledge to practical challenges. By fostering and nurturing these capabilities, students are more likely to envision themselves pursuing STEM careers, addressing the global demand for skilled professionals in these fields, by engaging them in the engineering design, research, and experimental development process through the creation of a structured learning curriculum based on the real engineering team's operational work
Climate Lessons: Volume 2
No full textClimate Lessons: Volume 2, is the five-year follow-up to the first text, Climate Lessons: Environmental, Social, Local. Both texts are written by first-semester undergraduate students in the Great Problems Seminar course on Climate Change, and grew out of a desire to record the accelerating pace at which we are seeing climate impacts, and to help students who are growing up in a rapidly warming world use their knowledge and voices now. This edition is different in that, first, students explored updates and shifts in issues, and, second, we provide more information and transparency for other faculty and students about how this book came together (e.g., assignment details). This book is in the Creative Commons under the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0.). If you give appropriate credit, you may share and adapt this work for noncommercial purposes. https://pressbooks.pub/climatelessonsvol2