2017 WSU Annual CGRS Abstracts
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Item Improving transit in Wichita: Marrying the old and the new(Wichita State University, 2017-03-07) Umeri, MercyThe transportation system in Wichita has served a diverse customer base over the years with its traditional system of large buses on fixed routes and smaller buses for specialized transportation (such as for the physically challenged, or elderly). Shrinking state revenues, increases in population and a more diverse set of needs have necessitated a push to find creative solutions to transit service delivery. Advances in technology have brought about variety and technology-enabled services that have increased choice in urban transit. Ride-sharing firms like Uber and Lyft employ a business model that combines personal services with technology. This business model fits the competitive opportunities of today's marketplace and dovetails seamlessly with the larger dynamics shaping tomorrow's marketplace. In my research, I examine the informal transportation system with its rich mix of services, the use of technology-based transportation in the United States and the transportation sector in Wichita, Kansas. A combination of the case study method, participant observation and empirical data will be used. Results from my studies will inform decision makers as they seek solutions to improve transit in the Wichita area.Item Nutrition guidelines in Kansas elementary schools(Wichita State University, 2017-03-07) Sawyers, Erin; Spradlin, Megan; Heins, Jordan; Wallace, MichelleChildhood obesity is a nation-wide epidemic. Although the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) guidelines are designed to regulate students' caloric intake and nutritional needs, ambiguous snack guidelines may be counteracting NSLP efforts. Our study assessed components of school lunches and snack guidelines in public elementary schools across Kansas. A question set was developed to evaluate these items. Answers were obtained from public information on school websites. Schools were qualitatively evaluated and compared based on size and socioeconomic status as defined in the study. Our data found that Kansas public elementary schools are following the NSLP guidelines; however, snack guidelines vary greatly. Our data do not identify any patterns in number of lunch meal options or snack guideline similarities amongst schools. A set of national or state snack guidelines may help to establish basic nutrition knowledge and encourage healthy eating in schools to combat the complex epidemic of childhood obesity.Item Differential regulatory gene expression at the proteomic level in subtypes of human ovarian cancer cell-lines(Wichita State University, 2017-03-07) Mukherjee, Lipilekha; Hendry, Isabel R.; Hendry, William J. IIIOvarian carcinoma is the most lethal neoplasm and the fifth leading cause of mortality in women. Among the different subtypes, widely heterogeneous high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) poses a great challenge to modern chemotherapy, due to its high recurrence rate and resistance to standard treatments. Recent studies suggest that survival time-line and disease recurrence are linked to the variable expression of biomarkers in cancer cells. Therefore, using Western blot analyses, we assessed the expression of a host of regulatory gene protein products at the whole-cell level in extracts from both three HGSOC and five non-HGSOC cell lines. Some of our most distinctive findings from those analyses were that: 1) Nrf2, a key factor in the anti-oxidant response element system, is expressed as a series of protein bands of variable molecular weight in all but the Kuramochi (HGSOC) cell line; 2) Estrogen receptor alpha is expressed in all but the OVSAHO (HGSOC) cell line; and 3) the AUF-1, p120-catenin, and NFKB-p50 proteins are expressed in both HGSOC and non-HGSOC cell types. We will next follow up those findings conducted at the whole cell level with assessments at the individual cell and subcellular level using immunohistochemical analyses.Item Determining an effective treatment plan for breast cancer: A multi-criteria decision model and algorithm(Wichita State University, 2017-03-07) Hasan, Mostafa; Buyuktahtakin, Esra; Elamin, ElshamiBreast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. women. For 2017, the American Cancer Society estimates that 255,180 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 40,610 will die. Selection of an effective, patient-specific treatment plan has challenged physicians because the decision process involves many critical factors such as disease stage, disease risk factors, biomarker-related risks, and patient-related risks. In this study, a comprehensive set of criteria for selecting treatments was determined by literature review and oncologist interviews, and two analytical hierarchy process (AHP) models were used to weight criteria for both primary and secondary treatment therapies. Using the weighted criteria, we propose a treatment-ranking algorithm that evaluates every scenario and provides optimal patient-tailored treatment alternatives. We validate the multi-criteria ranking algorithm by comparing its treatment rankings with rankings from five oncologists, and show that, in most cases, the algorithm's output matches or is significantly correlated with the expert ranking. Thus the algorithm, on an easy-to-use Microsoft Excel platform, could be an accessible decision-support tool to aid oncologists and educate patients in choosing breast cancer treatment. Our multi-criteria ranking approach can also be adapted to solve complex decision-making problems in other service industries.Item Cubesat platform for research, education and business in Kansas(Wichita State University, 2017-03-07) Tummala, Akshay Reddy; Sreesawet, Suwat; Dutta, AtriA CubeSat is a miniaturized satellite weighing 1-10 kg, has a short lifecycle, uses commercial-off- the-shelf components, and is carried as a secondary payload. CubeSats provide low-cost access to space for scientific studies, technology demonstrations, and communication purposes. CubeSats also provide tremendous educational value because students can learn about spacecraft subsystems and integration of those components while still in school. Our research particularly focuses on propulsion and control technologies for CubeSats. We propose a hybrid propulsion system that can be used for high and low thrust maneuvers by CubeSats. In addition, an experimental setup has been designed for determining the specific impulse of a CubeSat propulsion system. Furthermore, an adaptive control algorithm, already demonstrated to work for larger satellites, is being studied for CubeSats. We provide an overview of these efforts and demonstrate their impact on Kansas. Specifically, CubeSats present new business opportunities that can leverage the existing aeronautical infrastructure in Kansas. MicroSats (10-100 kg) have used technologies for precision agriculture by obtaining near-real-time information about photosynthesis levels, evapo- transpiration, surface soil properties, nitrogen content, crop yield, extent of weed and vegetation cover; it is likely that some of these technologies will be integrated into CubeSats in the future.