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- Title
- Voxel Transformer with Density-Aware Deformable Attention for 3D Object Detection
- Creator
- Kim, Taeho
- Date
- 2023
- Description
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The Voxel Transformer (VoTr) is a prominent model in the field of 3D object detection, employing a transformer-based architecture to...
Show moreThe Voxel Transformer (VoTr) is a prominent model in the field of 3D object detection, employing a transformer-based architecture to comprehend long-range voxel relationships through self-attention. However, despite its expanded receptive field, VoTr’s flexibility is constrained by its predefined receptive field. In this paper, we present a Voxel Transformer with Density-Aware Deformable Attention (VoTr-DADA), a novel approach to 3D object detection. VoTr-DADA leverages density-guided deformable attention for a more adaptable receptive field. It efficiently identifies key areas in the input using density features, combining the strengths of both VoTr and Deformable Attention. We introduce the Density-Aware Deformable Attention (DADA) module, which is specifically designed to focus on these crucial areas while adaptively extracting more informative features. Experimental results on the KITTI dataset and the Waymo Open dataset show that our proposed method outperforms the baseline VoTr model in 3D object detection while maintaining a fast inference speed.
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- Title
- Ultrasound Image Guided Robot Arm for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Drugs and MicroRNA for Cancer Therapy
- Creator
- Nagarajan Parimala, Abishek
- Date
- 2024
- Description
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Molecular imaging has revolutionized medical diagnostics by providing detailed insights into biological processes at the molecular level...
Show moreMolecular imaging has revolutionized medical diagnostics by providing detailed insights into biological processes at the molecular level within the living subject. Ultrasound Molecular Imaging (USMI) has emerged as a promising diagnostic imaging modality by utilizing targeted contrast agents to unveil crucial molecular information, including vascular biomarkers associated with cancer and other diseases. Despite its potential, the transition of Ultrasound Contrast Agents (UCA) from preclinical evaluation to FDA-approved clinical use faces challenges due to the short in vivo half-life of Micro-Bubbles (MBs), necessitating repeated administrations for comprehensive assessments. Moreover, conventional ultrasound imaging methods suffer from limited scanning areas and single-target focus, leading to low throughput in preclinical evaluations.This thesis addresses these challenges by proposing a robot-assisted whole-body scanning pipeline for preclinical evaluations in Ultrasound Molecular Imaging. By integrating a robotic arm into the imaging setup, this approach enhances scanning flexibility and precision, enabling scans across the entire body of a mouse. This extension of the imaging time window allows for comprehensive assessments without the need for repeated contrast agent administrations. Additionally, the ability to simultaneously scan multiple targets within the same session significantly increases the throughput of preclinical assessments, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging in clinical translation.
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- Title
- Sex and Architecture
- Creator
- Nekkanti, Hashika C.
- Date
- 2023
- Description
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This thesis delves into the fascinating and intricate connection between sexual behaviour and architecture, offering a comprehensive...
Show moreThis thesis delves into the fascinating and intricate connection between sexual behaviour and architecture, offering a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted factors that shape human sexuality within the context of built environments. The research is divided into six chapters, each providing a distinct perspective on the complex relationship between sexuality and the spaces we inhabit. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction, setting the stage for the study and highlighting the importance of understanding how architectural design and spatial arrangements can influence and be influenced by human sexual behaviours. Chapter 2, "Milieu and Sexed Bodies," delves into the impact of environmental stimuli on sexual arousal. By examining how architectural elements, aesthetics, and spatial configurations can elicit eroticism and arousal, this chapter sheds light on the subtle ways in which built environments interact with our intimate desires. Furthermore, it delves into the psychological aspects of fetishism and voyeurism, exploring how these sexual behaviours find expression within architectural settings. Chapter 3, titled "Sexual Behaviour," delves into the profound influence of history on human sexuality. It examines how cultural norms, religious beliefs, and social backgrounds have shaped and continue to shape sexual attitudes and behaviours across different societies and time periods. The chapter also explores the concept of polymorphous behaviour, emphasizing how architecture can create spaces that cater to diverse expressions of human sexuality. Additionally, it investigates the impact of queer spaces, highlighting the significance of inclusive design in fostering a sense of belonging and acceptance for individuals with diverse sexual identities. Chapter 4 turns its attention to "Mediated Sexuality," offering a historical analysis of how various forms of media have played a pivotal role in shaping sexual attitudes and behaviours. From ancient art to contemporary pornography, this chapter explores how media representations have influenced perceptions of sexuality, and it examines the emergence of pornomodernism, a cultural phenomenon impacting both media and architectural expressions of eroticism. Moreover, it investigates how architecture has incorporated and responded to the eroticized spaces depicted in media. Chapter 5 focuses on the "Coital Environment," a fascinating aspect of architecture that intertwines with sexual behaviour. This chapter delves into the realm of sex tourism, examining how certain destinations and spaces have become associated with sexual encounters. It analyses the design and function of dedicated places for sex within architectural contexts, providing insights into the factors that influence the creation and acceptance of such spaces in different societies. Finally, Chapter 6 presents a comprehensive "Conclusion," synthesizing the key findings from the preceding chapters. It emphasizes the critical role that architecture plays in shaping human sexual behaviours and highlights the social and cultural implications of design decisions in built environments. The chapter concludes with reflections on the significance of creating inclusive and supportive spaces that celebrate and embrace diverse sexual identities and experiences, paving the way for more empathetic and human-centric architectural design in the future. In conclusion, this thesis offers a profound exploration of sexual behaviour and architecture, shedding light on the intricate interplay of environmental stimuli, historical influences, and mediated sexuality in shaping our intimate experiences within the spaces we inhabit. It serves as a valuable resource for architects, urban planners, social scientists, and anyone interested in creating environments that foster a positive and inclusive approach to human sexuality.
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- Title
- IMPACT OF DATA SHAPE, FIDELITY, AND INTER-OBSERVER REPRODUCIBILITY ON CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGE PIPELINES
- Creator
- Obioma, Blessing Ngozi
- Date
- 2020
- Description
-
Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds a great promise in the healthcare. It provides a variety of advantages with its application in clinical...
Show moreArtificial Intelligence (AI) holds a great promise in the healthcare. It provides a variety of advantages with its application in clinical diagnosis, disease prediction, and treatment, with such interests intensifying in the medical image field. AI can automate various cumbersome data processing techniques in medical imaging such as segmentation of left ventricular chambers and image-based classification of diseases. However, full clinical implementation and adaptation of emerging AI-based tools face challenges due to the inherently opaque nature of such AI algorithms based on Deep Neural Networks (DNN), for which computer-trained bias is not only difficult to detect by physician users but is also difficult to safely design in software development. In this work, we examine AI application in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) using an automated image classification task, and thereby propose an AI quality control framework design that differentially evaluates the black-box DNN via carefully prepared input data with shape and fidelity variations to probe system responses to these variations. Two variants of the Visual Geometric Graphics with 19 neural layers (VGG19) was used for classification, with a total of 60,000 CMR images. Findings from this work provides insights on the importance of quality training data preparation and demonstrates the importance of data shape variability. It also provides gateway for computation performance optimization in training and validation time.
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- Title
- LOW-COVERAGE GENOMES AS AN EFFECTIVE AND ECONOMICAL APPROACH FOR LEPIDOPTERAN MICROSATELLITE ISOLATION
- Creator
- Liang, Huijia
- Date
- 2020
- Description
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This study aimed to verify that whether a low-coverage genome can work as an effective approach to isolate Lepidopteran microsatellites. As...
Show moreThis study aimed to verify that whether a low-coverage genome can work as an effective approach to isolate Lepidopteran microsatellites. As microsatellites are useful tool to study population genetics, and there are many Lepidopteran agriculture pests which can cause huge economic damages every year, additionally, Lepidoptera have abundant similar flanking sequences making it difficult to develop reliable microsatellites. However, there are not enough published genomes of Lepidoptera species. If low-coverage Lepidopteran genomes can be used to isolate reliable microsatellites, the low-coverage genomes would be an effective and economical approach for microsatellites isolation, because low-coverage genome sequencing is much cheaper and less time-consuming than the published genome sequencing.
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- Title
- Associations between subjective cognitive decline, neurodegeneration, and vascular neuroimaging markers: Findings from a multiethnic cohort
- Creator
- Gonzalez, Christopher
- Date
- 2023
- Description
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Mounting evidence suggests that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may provide a unique target to identify the earliest changes in cognitive...
Show moreMounting evidence suggests that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may provide a unique target to identify the earliest changes in cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In addition, vascular-related risk factors are also linked to increase the risk of clinical expression of AD, and independently increase the risk for vascular dementia (VaD). However, most investigations have not explored SCD across a multiethnic population. The study investigated 1) the associations between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and targeted neuroimaging AD markers (hippocampal volume, cortical thickness of AD regions) with SCD amongst a multiethnic cohort, and 2) whether race moderated the relationship between them. A total of 871 older adults ages from 62-96 years old with a mean age of 74.48 (SD = 6.11), mean education of 12.79 years (SD = 4.53), and with 62% identifying as female were recruited from preexisting data from the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Linear regression model revealed a significant association between WMH and both AD targeted neuroimaging markers across the total sample. Secondary analyses revealed that race did not moderate the relationship between WMH and AD cortical thickness with SCD but did in fact moderate the relationship between hippocampal volume and SCD. Results suggest that cultural biological differences exist in the Hispanic/Latine individuals compared to non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black individuals.
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- Title
- Evaluation of the Native Microbiota and Comparative Analysis of a Known Cronobacter Sakazakii and a Newly Isolated Bacillus Cereus Strain in Powdered Infant Formula
- Creator
- Patil, Sonali Prashant
- Date
- 2024
- Description
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There have been numerous reports of Powdered Infant Formula (PIF) recalls and outbreaks due to the absence of a kill step in the post...
Show moreThere have been numerous reports of Powdered Infant Formula (PIF) recalls and outbreaks due to the absence of a kill step in the post-pasteurization processing, improper handling pre and post processing and/or reconstitution, and lack of effective sanitization and cleaning of the food contact surfaces in the manufacturing facilities. The objectives of this present study were to 1) survey and identify background microflora in commercial PIF products through microbiological analysis, 16S rRNA, and whole genome sequencing (WGS); 2) compare the survival rate of a known Cronobacter sakazakii and a newly isolated Bacillus cereus DFPST-SP1 in PIF under a humidity level of 33 ± 3% over a period of 28 d; 3) examine the relative resistance of these two strains to thermal treatments at temperatures 40, 70, and 100 °C followed by storage at room temperature (RT) for 30 min; and 4) evaluate the bactericidal effect of 70% ethanol on the two artificially deposited bacterial strains on stainless steel (SS) and plastic coupons. Three biological trials were conducted for each study. To determine whether the increase, decrease, or difference in the bacterial populations and other parameters like water activity (aw) was statistically significant, a T-test was performed (p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant). Results of 16S rRNA sequencing revealed the presence of certain bacterial species in PIF, such as Lactococcus lactis, B. cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, etc. distributed across a relative abundance of >25%, <25%, and ≤3%. After the enrichment and isolation as per Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), C. sakazakii or S. enterica were not detected, while colonies exhibiting a blue-green appearance resembling Listeria spp. and certain Bacillus spp. were subjected to WGS for species-level identification. The assembly_1 from formulation 1 was confirmed as B. cereus sequence type 2255 and was renamed as B. cereus DFPST-SP1 in the contribution of this thesis work. The storage study conducted on PIF inoculated with C. sakazakii and B. cereus DFPST-SP1 at 33% RH showed that there was 0.25-0.27 log CFU/g reduction towards the end of 28 d, but no significant difference was observed between the two strains. The thermal challenge study revealed that the newly isolated B. cereus strain and C. sakazakii used in this study were highly thermotolerant. Based on the sanitizer challenge study, 70% ethanol was significantly more effective in reducing populations of C. sakazakii as compared to B. cereus. Moreover, higher log reductions of C. sakazakii 587 populations on stainless steel coupons compared to plastic coupons were observed, indicating that bacteria adhere more tightly to plastic surfaces than stainless steel (SS). Overall, the findings of this study shed new light on bolstering the safety standards of PIF and highlight the need for improved cleaning and sanitization procedures within manufacturing facilities in order to ensure the safety of reconstituted PIF, thereby enhancing public health, particularly infants and neonates.
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- Title
- Cardiolipin Modulates the Insertion of Adsorbed Helical Amyloid Beta Peptide Into Model Mitochondrial Membranes
- Creator
- Kaczmarek, Julia A.
- Date
- 2023
- Description
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The loss of mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) may play a role in both the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and its treatment...
Show moreThe loss of mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) may play a role in both the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and its treatment. An effector molecule of the disease, amyloid-beta (Aβ), has been observed to interact with lipid membranes, but its relevance to mitochondrial membranes containing CL remained elusive. The present study investigated if the presence of CL modulated the insertion of adsorbed helical amyloid beta (Aβ14-40) into model mitochondrial membranes, and if this effect was more pronounced for its N-terminus or C-terminus. I conducted a coarse-grained computer simulation using well-tempered metadynamics to traverse the free energy landscape that maps the translocation of Aβ14-40. Insertion into CL-containing bilayers created larger local membrane deformations and modulated the location of the transition path but had an inconclusive impact on the free energy cost of translocation. Since the generation of toxic calcium-permeable pores depends on the insertion of Aβ into the bilayer, the loss of CL seen in AD may prime the inner mitochondrial membrane for pore formation, but more research is needed to pursue this hypothesis.
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- Title
- Evaluation of the efficacy of power ultrasound technology coupled with organic acids to reduce listeria monocytogenes on peaches and apples
- Creator
- Joshi, Mayura Anand
- Date
- 2024
- Description
-
Fresh fruits and vegetables are prone to microbial contamination throughout different phases of human handling, processing, transportation,...
Show moreFresh fruits and vegetables are prone to microbial contamination throughout different phases of human handling, processing, transportation, and distribution. Emerging technologies, such as power ultrasound, have received attention due to their capacity to reduce or eliminate foodborne bacterial pathogens on these commodities. Power ultrasound, when combined with certain antimicrobials, has demonstrated its effectiveness as a valuable tool for washing fresh produce. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of power ultrasound combined with organic acids on the reduction of Listeria monocytogenes on fruits. In this study, peaches and apples were subjected to surface inoculation with a four-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes and dried for 1 h. Stomacher bags, containing 225 mL of citric, lactic, or malic acids at concentrations of 1%, 2%, or 5%, were employed for treating inoculated peaches and apples. The acid treatment was used alone, or in combination with power ultrasound for 2, 5, or 10 min. Water was used for controls. Before treatment, the initial population of L. monocytogenes on apples was lower compared to the initial population on peaches, with apples showing a 1.94 log CFU/fruit reduction. Water controls demonstrated no significant log reduction in both apples and peaches. The greatest L. monocytogenes reduction on apples occurred when treated with 1% citric acid for 2 min with power ultrasound where L. monocytogenes was significantly reduced from 6.98±0.88 log CFU/fruit to 5.56±0.91 log CFU/fruit. The greatest L. monocytogenes reduction on peaches occurred when treated with 5% citric acid for 5 min with power ultrasound where L. monocytogenes was significantly reduced from 7.44±0.45 log CFU/fruit to 6.68±0.40 log CFU/fruit. Overall, the combined effect of acid and power ultrasound was more pronounced in apples than in peaches. The survival of L. monocytogenes on apples and peaches appeared to be highly dependent on the specific treatment and hurdle technology applied. The combination of ultrasound hurdle technology with acid washing has proven effective in reducing L. monocytogenes on both peaches and apples, with a more significant impact observed on apples. While acid washing is a more economical option compared to ultrasound technology, the efficiency of microorganism reduction is considerably enhanced when power ultrasound is combined with organic acids. Looking ahead, the development of cost-effective power ultrasound methods could facilitate widespread adoption of ultrasound hurdle technology in the produce industry.
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