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Objective Assessment of Rupture Parameters in Intact and Acute Post-Cystorrhaphy Cadaveric Bladders
Get PDFBackground: Certain procedures, particularly those used to treat symptoms of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC), involve filling the bladder to or over its capacity for visualization and/or relief of symptoms. Rarely, if excessive pressure or volume is used, bladders may rupture causing significant harm to the patient. The purpose of this study was to identify baseline data for pressure and volume when hydrodistention is attempted in explanted cadaveric bladders, as well as determine bladder rupture pressure changes in the acute post-cystorrhaphy state. Methods: Eight explanted cadaveric bladders were filled using a systematic digital pump system. Intravesical pressure and volume were monitored during the filling phase until rupture. A two-layer cystorrhaphy was performed followed by bladder refilling to point of rupture. The pressure-volume correlations were developed for the explanted bladders, pre and post rupture. Results: The mean intact bladder rupture volume was 1186.3 mL ± 356.1 (range 450.0–1550.0) and mean pressure of 103.4 cm H2O ± 45.9 (range 59.0–190.0). The mean bladder rupture volume following repair was 1051.9 mL ± 251.3 (range 500.0–1300.0) while the mean pressure dropped to 53.1 cm H2O ± 44.0 (range 18.0–149.0). Compliance was noted to decrease significantly with a 54% drop in maximal pressure immediately prior to repeat rupture. Location of the initial rupture site did not have an impact on volume or pressures achieved. The weakest point post-cystorrhaphy consistently involved the original cystotomy site. Conclusions: This study provides ex-vivo bladder parameters that may guide providers in distention and post-rupture cases. Repeat rupture pressure (maximal bladder pressure achieved) and bladder compliance were noted to be significantly lower immediately post-cystorrhaphy
Enhancing Cross-Modal Contextual Congruence for Crowdfunding Success Using Knowledge-Infused Learning
Get PDFThe digital landscape continually evolves with multimodality, enriching the online experience for users. Creators and marketers aim to weave subtle contextual cues from various modalities into congruent content to engage users with a harmonious message. This interplay of multimodal cues is often a crucial factor in attracting users\u27 attention. However, this richness of multimodality presents a challenge to computational modeling, as the semantic contextual cues spanning across modalities need to be unified to capture the true holistic meaning of the multimodal content. This contextual meaning is critical in attracting user engagement as it conveys the intended message of the brand or the organization. In this work, we incorporate external commonsense knowledge from knowledge graphs to enhance the representation of multimodal data using compact Visual Language Models (VLMs) and predict the success of multi-modal crowdfunding campaigns. Our results show that external knowledge commonsense bridges the semantic gap between text and image modalities, and the enhanced knowledge-infused representations improve the predictive performance of models for campaign success upon the baselines without knowledge. Our findings highlight the significance of contextual congruence in online multimodal content for engaging and successful crowdfunding campaigns
Runkle Woods Symposium 2024 Program
Get PDFProgram fo the 7th Annual Wright State University Runkle Woods Symposiu
Management of the invasive honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
Get PDFThis presentation addresses the ecological threat posed by invasive honeysuckle in the Runkle Woods on Wright State\u27s campus. Originally from Europe and Asia, honeysuckle aggressively outcompetes native flora due to its rapid growth, shade tolerance, and allelopathic properties. The students observed widespread honeysuckle in both new and old growth forest areas, with greater density in younger regions. Ineffective control methods—such as cutting without herbicide—often worsen infestations. Drawing on a regional study, the students propose a targeted management plan involving cutting and herbicide application, stem injection for larger plants, and reintroducing native species like spicebush. Their strategy aims to reduce honeysuckle spread, restore native biodiversity, and improve long-term forest health
Seismic Refraction Mapping of the Pre-Glacial Teays River Valley in West Central Ohio Using a Seismic Reflection Dataset
Get PDFThe Teays River Valley is an ancient river valley system that existed before the Pleistocene Ice Age and spanned present-day Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia. During the Pleistocene Ice Age, the Teays River Valley was buried by advancing continental glaciers and meltwater throughout most of its length. Due to the Teays’ average width of roughly 2 miles and burial depth of approximately 200 meters (656 feet), the Ohio Geological Survey has been pursuing geophysical methods to map the location and depth of the Teays River Valley in Ohio. The present study is a refraction analysis using the first breaks from a seismic reflection dataset from west-central Ohio across the potential location of the buried Teays Valley. The seismic refraction results display a bedrock topography similar to the original seismic reflection profile, having an estimated bedrock depth along the profile roughly ranging from 24 m (79 ft) to 213 m (699 ft) in the buried valley. The refraction survey indicated average bedrock velocities of 3956 m/s (~13000 ft/s) and depths ranging from about 80 to 700 feet (24 to 213 meters), which is consistent with the reflection results and with a valley fill of unconsolidated sand and clay and limestone bedrock
Production of Cerium Oxide and Zinc Sulfide Composites
Get PDFZinc sulfide has an infrared cutoff in the LWIR, but its low hardness makes it susceptible to rain erosion and abrasion. A composite of cerium oxide and zinc sulfide that retains an infrared cutoff in the LWIR, and with hardness higher than pure zinc sulfide is a potential solution to the rain erosion and abrasion issue. Several different processes were undertaken in this project to produce such a composite. The different reactions between ZnS and CeO2 were researched, along with the effects of different processing parameters. Composite samples were made that had a better hardness than zinc sulfide but did not reach a significant level of LWIR transparency, except for one composition, Ce2O4 5La2O3 ZnS 10-90. This composite showed a significant issue with oxidation at high temperatures
Using Unsupervised Machine Learning to Reduce the Energy Requirements of Active Flow Control
Get PDFIt is generally accepted that there exist two types of laminar separation bubbles (LSBs): short and long. The process by which a short LSB transitions to a long LSB is known as bursting. In this research, large eddy simulations (LES) are used to study the evolution of an LSB that develops along the suction surface of the L3FHW-LS at low Reynolds numbers. The L3FHW-LS is a new high-lift, high-work low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade designed at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The LSB is shown to burst over a critical range of Reynolds numbers. Bursting is discussed at length and its effect on transition, vortex shedding, and profile loss development are analyzed in depth. The results of these analyses make one point very clear: the effects of bursting are non-trivial. That is, long LSBs are not just longer versions of short LSBs. They are phenomena unto themselves, distinct from short LSBs in terms of their vortex dynamics, profile loss footprint, time-averaged topology, etc. This work culminates in a demonstration of how, with the aid of unsupervised machine learning, these differences can be leveraged to reduce the energy requirements of steady vortex generator jets (VGJs). Relative to pulsed VGJs, steady VGJs require significantly more energy to be effective but are more realistic to implement in actual application. By tailoring VGJ actuation to LSB type (i.e., actuating differently in response to a long LSB than to a short LSB), it is shown that significant energy savings can be realized
Role of Interleukin 2 Receptor Alpha in the Cellular Response to DNA Damage
Get PDFThe interleukin 2 receptor alpha (IL-2Rα), which is integral to the functioning of the cytokine interleukin 2, has recently been found to be present in different cell types besides just lymphocytes. Previous studies done by our laboratory showed that several other non-lymphoid cells including smooth muscle cells express IL-2Rα. Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) deficient in IL-2Rα exhibited increased proliferation, decreased size, and hypodiploid DNA content when compared to wild type (WT) cells. Previous studies also suggested that VSMC proliferate in response to IL-2 and that IL-2 increases following interventions to stimulate intimal hyperplasia in vivo. These findings, in total, suggest that IL-2/IL2R may contribute to the development of intimal hyperplasia. Understanding how IL-2Rα regulates VSMC proliferation may therefore lead to new therapeutic targets for the treatment of intimal hyperplasia and, in turn, atherosclerosis. Our initial findings regarding the differences between WT and IL-2Rα KO VSMC, described above, suggested that pathways related to senescence and/or responses to DNA damage may be impaired. To address this question, I compared the viability of human and WT VSMCs versus IL-2Rα knockout (KO) VSMCs post-treatment with DNA-damaging agents such as etoposide. Survival of IL-2Rα KO cells was decreased in response to DNA damage when compared to WT or human VSMC. Further experiments involved inducing DNA damage in cells through two different methods to assess the expression levels of key DDR markers—γH2AX, p53, and pChk1—using indirect immunofluorescence. IL-2Rα deficient cells exhibited diminished expression of these markers and did not undergo senescence. IL-2Rα KO cells, as compared to WT, also exhibited hyperpolarized mitochondrial membranes and reduced mitochondrial health following DNA damage. In summary, this study not only adds to the previous understanding of the IL-2Rα, but also correlates the receptor with crucial cellular pathways such as DDR. The finding that the DDR pathway is impaired in IL-2Rα-deficient cells suggests the need for further study of this receptor, since IL-2Rα is also found in numerous other cell types
Measured Phase History Data for Target Recognition Studies
Get PDFPerforming automatic target recognition (ATR) on full-size aircraft targets using inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) data is challenging and expensive. The use of scale models and radar systems of such large targets saves time and reduces facility requirements. This study examines the feasibility of performing ATR on 1:144 scale model airplanes at Ka-band. The scale model and Ka-band radar simulate the collection of full-scale targets at VHF-band. The phase history measurement collections were completed in the Sensors and Signals Exploitation Laboratory (SSEL) at Wright State University. To ensure sufficient data for training and testing, the phase history data was augmented through mathematical translation and rotation of the scene. These augmented images were processed using the polar format algorithm and subsequently classified using support vector machines and convolutional neural networks. The resulting ATR models achieved a classification accuracy of over 82 percent for all aircraft types, except for the very similar B747-8 and B747-8F, which exhibited misclassification rates consistent with expectations for such similar targets
Fabricating and Analyzing Liquid and Polymer Electrolytes for Sodium Ion Batteries
Get PDFThe abundance and the cost-effectiveness of sodium resources have made sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) viable alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Developing low-cost and high-performance electrolytes is one of the key areas for the advancement of SIB technology. The highly conductive liquid or solid electrolytes have the potential for practical sodium-ion battery applications. Long-term stability, alternative polymers, and full-cell integrations are other avenues that need further research to improve scalability and performance for SIBs. This research covers preparing and evaluating liquid and polymer electrolytes, with a focus on ionic conductivities. Liquid electrolytes were prepared by the dissolution of different sodium salts including NaCl, Na2S, Na2SO3, and NaF in methanol, water, DMF (dimethyl formamide), n-propanol, and DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) solvents, in a concentration range from 0.01 M to 0.1 M. It is aimed to investigate the impacts of the solubility, polarity, and concentration on the ionic conductivities. Polymer electrolytes were prepared using the solvent casting technique. The films contained NaCl as the salt and PEO (polyethylene oxide) as the polymer host. The impacts of the two solvents, methanol and DMF, with and without plasticizer EC (ethylene carbonate) on the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolytes were analyzed. The study validates that optimizing solvent and additive selection are paramount in developing high-performance electrolytes for SIBs