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Prostate Cancer Modeling: Exploring a Path from Theory and Practice

Description

The representation of a patient’s characteristics as the parameters of a model is a key component in many studies of personalized medicine, where the underlying mathematical models are used to describe, explain, and forecast the course of treatment. In this context, clinical observations form the bridge between the mathematical frameworks…

The representation of a patient’s characteristics as the parameters of a model is a key component in many studies of personalized medicine, where the underlying mathematical models are used to describe, explain, and forecast the course of treatment. In this context, clinical observations form the bridge between the mathematical frameworks and applications. However, the formulation and theoretical studies of the models and the clinical studies are often not completely compatible, which is one of the main obstacles in the application of mathematical models in practice. The goal of my study is to extend a mathematical framework to model prostate cancer based mainly on the concept of cell-quota within an evolutionary framework and to study the relevant aspects for the model to gain useful insights in practice. Specifically, the first aim is to construct a mathematical model that can explain and predict the observed clinical data under various treatment combinations. The second aim is to find a fundamental model structure that can capture the dynamics of cancer progression within a realistic set of data. Finally, relevant clinical aspects such as how the patient's parameters change over the course of treatment and how to incorporate treatment optimization within a framework of uncertainty quantification, will be examined to construct a useful framework in practice.

ContributorsPhan, Tin (Author) / Kuang, Yang (Thesis advisor) / Kostelich, Eric J (Committee member) / Crook, Sharon (Committee member) / Maley, Carlo (Committee member) / Bryce, Alan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2021

Cognitive Aging and Flexibility in Canids

Description

This dissertation describes a series of four studies on cognitive aging, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and their wild relatives. In Chapters 2 and 3, I designed assessments for age-related cognitive deficits in pet dogs which can be deployed rapidly using inexpensive and accessible materials.…

This dissertation describes a series of four studies on cognitive aging, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and their wild relatives. In Chapters 2 and 3, I designed assessments for age-related cognitive deficits in pet dogs which can be deployed rapidly using inexpensive and accessible materials. These novel tests can be easily implemented by owners, veterinarians, and clinicians and therefore, may improve care for elderly dogs by aiding in the diagnosis of dementia. In addition, these widely deployable tests may facilitate the use of dementia in pet dogs as a naturally occurring model of Alzheimer’s Disease in humans.In Chapters 4 and 5, I modified one of these tests to demonstrate for the first time that coyotes (Canis latrans) and wolves (Canis lupus lupus) develop age-related deficits in cognitive flexibility. This was an important first step towards differentiating between the genetic and environmental components of dementia in dogs and in turn, humans. Unexpectedly, I also detected cognitive deficits in young, adult dogs and wolves but not coyotes. These finding add to a recent shift in understanding cognitive development in dogs which may improve cognitive aging tests as well as training, care, and use of working and pet dogs. These findings also suggest that the ecology of coyotes may select for flexibility earlier in development. In Chapter 5, I piloted the use of the same cognitive flexibility test for red and gray foxes so that future studies may test for lifespan changes in the cognition of small-bodied captive canids. More broadly, this paradigm may accommodate physical and behavioral differences between diverse pet and captive animals. In Chapters 4 and 5, I examined which ecological traits drive the evolution of behavioral flexibility and in turn, species resilience. I found that wolves displayed less flexibility than dogs and coyotes suggesting that species which do not rely heavily on unstable resources may be ill-equipped to cope with human habitat modification. Ultimately, this comparative work may help conservation practitioners to identify and protect species that cannot cope with rapid and unnatural environmental change.

ContributorsVan Bourg, Joshua (Author) / Wynne, Clive D (Thesis advisor) / Aktipis, C. Athena (Committee member) / Gilby, Ian C (Committee member) / Young, Julie K (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2022

Using Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Analyses to Develop Large Diameter Water Pipeline Maintenance Strategies

Description

The consequences of failures from large-diameter water pipelines can be severe. Results can include significant property damage, damage to adjacent infrastructure such as roads and bridges resulting in transportation delays or shutdowns, adjacent structural damage to buildings resulting in loss of business, service disruption to a significant number of…

The consequences of failures from large-diameter water pipelines can be severe. Results can include significant property damage, damage to adjacent infrastructure such as roads and bridges resulting in transportation delays or shutdowns, adjacent structural damage to buildings resulting in loss of business, service disruption to a significant number of customers, loss of water, costly emergency repairs, and even loss of life. The American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) 2020 “State of the Water Industry” report states the top issue facing the water industry since 2016 is aging infrastructure, with the second being financing for improvements. The industry must find innovative ways to extend asset life and reduce maintenance expenditures. While are many different assets comprise the drinking water industry, pipelines are a major component and often neglected because they are typically buried. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is a process used to determine the most effective maintenance strategy for an asset, with the ultimate goal being to establish the required function of the asset with the required reliability at the lowest operations and maintenance costs. The RCM philosophy considers Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, Condition Based Monitoring, Reactive Maintenance, and Proactive Maintenance techniques in an integrated manner to increase the probability an asset will perform its designed function throughout its design life with minimal maintenance. In addition to determining maintenance tasks, the timely performance of those tasks is crucial. If performed too late an asset may fail; if performed too early, resources that may be used better elsewhere are expended. Utility agencies can save time and money by using RCM analysis for their drinking water infrastructure. This dissertation reviews industries using RCM, discusses the benefits of an RCM analysis, and goes through a case study of an RCM at a large aqueduct in the United States. The dissertation further discusses the consequence of failure of large diameter water pipelines and proposes a regression model to help agencies determine the optimum time to perform maintenance tasks on large diameter prestressed concrete pipelines using RCM analysis.

ContributorsGeisbush, James R (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel T (Thesis advisor) / Grau, David (Committee member) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2024

Guía para planificar acciones contra el calor para los vecindarios de la zona metropolitana de Phoenix: crear soluciones al calor urbano en el Valle del Sol

Description

En la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, el calor urbano está afectando la salud, la seguridad y la economía y se espera que estos impactos empeoren con el tiempo. Se prevé que el número de días por encima de 110˚F aumentará más del doble para el 2060. En mayo de 2017,…

En la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, el calor urbano está afectando la salud, la seguridad y la economía y se espera que estos impactos empeoren con el tiempo. Se prevé que el número de días por encima de 110˚F aumentará más del doble para el 2060. En mayo de 2017, The Nature Conservancy, el Departamento de Salud Pública del condado de Maricopa, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, la Red de Investigación en Sostenibilidad sobre la Resiliencia Urbana a Eventos Extremos, el Centro de Investigación del Clima Urbano de Arizona State University y el Center for Whole Communities lanzaron un proceso participativo de planificación de acciones contra el calor para identificar tanto estrategias de mitigación como de adaptación a fin de reducir directamente el calor y mejorar la capacidad de los residentes para lidiar con el calor. Las organizaciones comunitarias con relaciones existentes en tres vecindarios seleccionados para la planificación de acciones contra el calor se unieron más tarde al equipo del proyecto: Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, RAILMesa y Puente Movement. Más allá de construir un plan de acción comunitario contra el calor y completar proyectos de demostración, este proceso participativo fue diseñado para desarrollar conciencia, iniciativa y cohesión social en las comunidades subrepresentadas. Asimismo el proceso de planificación de acciones contra el calor fue diseñado para servir como modelo para esfuerzos futuros de resiliencia al calor y crear una visión local, contextual y culturalmente apropiada de un futuro más seguro y saludable. El método iterativo de planificación y participación utilizado por el equipo del proyecto fortaleció las relaciones dentro y entre los vecindarios, las organizaciones comunitarias, los responsables de la toma de decisiones y el equipo núcleo, y combinó la sabiduría de la narración de historias y la evidencia científica para comprender mejor los desafíos actuales y futuros que enfrentan los residentes durante eventos de calor extremo. Como resultado de tres talleres en cada comunidad, los residentes presentaron ideas que quieren ver implementadas para aumentar su comodidad y seguridad térmica durante los días de calor extremo.

Como se muestra a continuación, las ideas de los residentes se interceptaron en torno a conceptos similares, pero las soluciones específicas variaron entre los vecindarios. Por ejemplo, a todos los vecindarios les gustaría agregar sombra a sus corredores peatonales, pero variaron las preferencias para la ubicación de las mejoras para dar sombra. Algunos vecindarios priorizaron las rutas de transporte público, otros priorizaron las rutas utilizadas por los niños en su camino a la escuela y otros quieren paradas de descanso con sombra en lugares clave. Surgieron cuatro temas estratégicos generales en los tres vecindarios: promover y educar; mejorar la comodidad/capacidad de afrontamiento; mejorar la seguridad; fortalecer la capacidad. Estos temas señalan que existen serios desafíos de seguridad contra el calor en la vida diaria de los residentes y que la comunidad, los negocios y los sectores responsables de la toma de decisión deben abordar esos desafíos.

Los elementos del plan de acción contra el calor están diseñados para incorporarse a otros esfuerzos para aliviar el calor, crear ciudades resilientes al clima y brindar salud y seguridad pública. Los socios de implementación del plan de acción contra el calor provienen de la región de la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, y se brindan recomendaciones para apoyar la transformación a una ciudad más fresca.

Para ampliar la escala de este enfoque, los miembros del equipo del proyecto recomiendan a) compromiso continuo e inversiones en estos vecindarios para implementar el cambio señalado como vital por los residentes, b) repetir el proceso de planificación de acción contra el calor con líderes comunitarios en otros vecindarios, y c) trabajar con las ciudades, los planificadores urbanos y otras partes interesadas para institucionalizar este proceso, apoyando las políticas y el uso de las métricas propuestas para crear comunidades más frescas.

ContributorsMesserschmidt, Maggie (Contributor) / Guardaro, Melissa (Contributor) / White, Jessica R. (Contributor) / Berisha, Vjollca (Contributor) / Hondula, David M. (Contributor) / Feagan, Mathieu (Contributor) / Grimm, Nancy (Contributor) / Beule, Stacie (Contributor) / Perea, Masavi (Contributor) / Ramirez, Maricruz (Contributor) / Olivas, Eva (Contributor) / Bueno, Jessica (Contributor) / Crummey, David (Contributor) / Winkle, Ryan (Contributor) / Rothballer, Kristin (Contributor) / Mocine-McQueen, Julian (Contributor) / Maurer, Maria (Artist) / Coseo, Paul (Artist) / Crank, Peter J (Designer) / Broadbent, Ashley (Designer) / McCauley, Lisa (Designer) / Nature's Cooling Systems Project (Contributor) / Nature Conservancy (U.S.) (Contributor) / Phoenix Revitalization Corporation (Contributor) / Puente Movement (Contributor) / Maricopa County (Ariz.). Department of Public Health (Contributor) / Central Arizona Conservation Alliance (Contributor) / Arizona State University. Urban Climate Research Center (Contributor) / Arizona State University. Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (Contributor) / Center for Whole Communities (Contributor) / RAILmesa (Contributor) / Vitalyst Health Foundation (Funder)

Created2022

Heat Mitigation Solutions Guide for Mobile Homes

Description

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people die in the U.S. from heat than from all other natural disasters combined. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 1,300 deaths per year in the United States are due to extreme heat. Arizona, California and…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people die in the U.S. from heat than from all other natural disasters combined. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 1,300 deaths per year in the United States are due to extreme heat. Arizona, California and Texas are the three states with the highest burden, accounting for 43% of all heat-related deaths according to the CDC.

Although only 5% of housing in Maricopa County, Arizona, is mobile homes, approximately 30% of indoor heat-related deaths occur in these homes. Thus, the residents of mobile homes in Maricopa County are disproportionately affected by heat. Mobile home residents are extremely exposed to heat due to the high density of mobile home parks, poor construction of dwellings, lack of vegetation, socio-demographic features and not being eligible to get utility and financial assistance.

We researched numerous solutions across different domains that could help build the heat resilience of mobile home residents. As a result we found 50 different solutions for diverse stakeholders, budgets and available resources. The goal of this toolbox is to present these solutions and to explain how to apply them in order to get the most optimal result and build About this Solutions Guide People who live in mobile homes are 6 to 8 times more likely to die of heat-associated deaths. heat resilience for mobile home residents. These solutions were designed as a coordinated set of actions for everyone — individual households, mobile home residents, mobile home park owners, cities and counties, private businesses and nonprofits serving mobile home parks, and other stakeholders — to be able to contribute to heat mitigation for mobile home residents.

When we invest in a collective, coordinated suite of solutions that are designed specifically to address the heat vulnerability of mobile homes residents, we can realize a resilience dividend in maintaining affordable, feasible, liveable housing for the 20 million Americans who choose mobile homes and manufactured housing as their place to live and thrive.

ContributorsVarfalameyeva, Katsiaryna (Author) / Solís, Patricia (Author) / Phillips, Lora A. (Author) / Charley, Elisha (Author) / Hondula, David M. (Author) / Kear, Mark (Author)

Created2021

What makes a HeatReady School?

Description

BACKGROUND: The City of Phoenix initiated the HeatReady program in 2018 to prepare for extreme heat, as there was no official tool, framework, or mechanism at the city level to manage extreme heat. The current landscape of heat safety culture in schools, which are critical community hubs, has received less…

BACKGROUND: The City of Phoenix initiated the HeatReady program in 2018 to prepare for extreme heat, as there was no official tool, framework, or mechanism at the city level to manage extreme heat. The current landscape of heat safety culture in schools, which are critical community hubs, has received less illumination. HeatReady Schools—a critical component of a HeatReady City—are those that are increasingly able to identify, prepare for, mitigate, track, and respond to the negative impacts of schoolgrounds heat. However, minimal attention has been given to formalize heat preparedness in schools to mitigate high temperatures and health concerns in schoolchildren, a heat-vulnerable population. This study set out to understand heat perceptions, (re)actions, and recommendations of key stakeholders and to identify critical themes around heat readiness. METHODS: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods case study approach was used. These methods focused on acquiring new insight on heat perceptions at elementary schools through semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis and the Delphi panel. Participants included public health professionals and school community members at two elementary schools—one public charter, one public—in South Phoenix, Arizona, a region that has been burdened historically with inequitable distribution of heat resources due to environmental racism and injustices. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that 1) current heat safety resources are available but not fully utilized within the school sites, 2) expert opinions support that extreme heat readiness plans must account for site-specific needs, particularly education as a first step, and 3) students are negatively impacted by the effects of extreme heat, whether direct or indirect, both inside and outside the classroom. CONCLUSIONS: From key informant interviews and a Delphi panel, a list of 30 final recommendations were developed as important actions to be taken to become “HeatReady.” Future work will apply these recommendations in a HeatReady School Growth Tool that schools can tailor be to their individual needs to improve heat safety and protection measures at schools.

ContributorsShortridge, Adora (Author) / Walker, William VI (Author) / White, Dave (Committee member) / Guardaro, Melissa (Committee member) / Hondula, David M. (Committee member) / Vanos, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)

Created2022-04-18

The Investigation of Sustainable Construction Perceptions in the Kuwaiti Construction Industry

Description

The world faces significant environmental and social challenges due to high economic development, population growth, industrialization, rapid urbanization, and unsustainable consumption. Global communities are taking the necessary measures to confront these international challenges and applying sustainable development principles across all sectors. Construction is a critical driving instrument of economic activity,…

The world faces significant environmental and social challenges due to high economic development, population growth, industrialization, rapid urbanization, and unsustainable consumption. Global communities are taking the necessary measures to confront these international challenges and applying sustainable development principles across all sectors. Construction is a critical driving instrument of economic activity, and to achieve sustainable development, it is vital to transform conventional construction into a more sustainable model. The research investigated sustainable construction perceptions in Kuwait, a rapidly growing country with a high volume of construction activities. Kuwait has ambitious plans to transition into a more sustainable economic development model, and the construction industry needs to align with these plans. This research aims to identify the characteristics of sustainable construction applications in the Kuwaiti construction market, such as awareness, current perceptions, drivers and barriers, and the construction regulations' impact. The research utilized a qualitative approach to answer research questions and deliver research objectives by conducting eleven Semi-structured interviews with experienced professionals in the Kuwaiti construction market to collect rich data that reflects insights and understandings of the Kuwaiti construction industry. The Thematic analysis of the data resulted in six themes and one sub-theme that presented reflections, insights, and perspectives on sustainable construction perceptions in the Kuwaiti construction market. The research findings reflected poor sustainable construction awareness and poor environmental and social application in the construction industry, the determinant role of construction regulations in promoting sustainable construction. and barriers and drivers to sustainable construction applications. The research concluded with answers to research questions, delivery of research objectives, and an explanation of sustainable construction perceptions in the Kuwaiti construction market.

Contributorsalsalem, mohammad salem (Author) / Duran, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Grau, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2023

Life History Theory and Evolutionary Strategies to Treat Cancer

Description

Life history theory offers a powerful framework to understand evolutionary selection pressures and explain how adaptive strategies use the life history trade-off and differences in cancer defenses across the tree of life. There is often some cost to the phenotype of therapeutic resistance and so sensitive cells can usually outcompete…

Life history theory offers a powerful framework to understand evolutionary selection pressures and explain how adaptive strategies use the life history trade-off and differences in cancer defenses across the tree of life. There is often some cost to the phenotype of therapeutic resistance and so sensitive cells can usually outcompete resistant cells in the absence of therapy. Adaptive therapy, as an evolutionary and ecologically inspired paradigm in cancer treatment, uses the competitive interactions between drug-sensitive, and drug-resistant subclones to help suppress the drug-resistant subclones. However, there remain several open challenges in designing adaptive therapies, particularly in extending this approach to multiple drugs. Furthermore, the immune system also plays a role in preventing and controlling cancers. Life history theory may help to explain the variation in immune cell levels across the tree of life that likely contributes to variance in cancer prevalence across vertebrates. However, this has not been previously explored. This work 1) describes resistance management for cancer, lessons cancer researchers learned from farmers since adaptive evolutionary strategies were inspired by the management of resistance in agricultural pests, 2) demonstrates how adaptive therapy protocols work with gemcitabine and capecitabine in a hormone-refractory breast cancer mouse model, 3) tests for a relationship between life history strategy and the immune system, and tests for an effect of immune cells levels on cancer prevalence across vertebrates, and 4) provides a novel approach to improve the teaching of life history theory. This work applies lessons that cancer researchers learned from pest managers, who face similar issues of pesticide resistance, to control cancers. It represents the first time that multiple drugs have been used in adaptive therapy for cancer, and the first time that adaptive therapy has been used on hormone-refractory breast cancer. I found that this evolutionary approach to cancer treatment prolongs survival in mice and also selects for the slow life history strategy. I also discovered that species with slower life histories have higher concentrations of white blood cells and a higher percentage of heterophils, monocytes and segmented neutrophils. Moreover, larger platelet size is associated with higher cancer prevalence in mammals.

ContributorsSeyedi, Seyedehsareh (Author) / Maley, Carlo (Thesis advisor) / Blattman, Joseph (Committee member) / Anderson, Karen (Committee member) / Wilson, Melissa (Committee member) / Huijben, Silvie (Committee member) / Gatenby, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2023

Evaluating Environmental Impacts of Open-cut vs. Trenchless in Egypt

Description

During the rapid growth of infrastructure projects globally, countries pay high environmental and social costs as a result of the impacts caused from utilizing the traditional open-cut utility installation method that still widely being used in Egypt. For that, it was essential to have alternatives to reduce these environmental impacts…

During the rapid growth of infrastructure projects globally, countries pay high environmental and social costs as a result of the impacts caused from utilizing the traditional open-cut utility installation method that still widely being used in Egypt. For that, it was essential to have alternatives to reduce these environmental impacts and social costs; however, there are some obstacles that prevent the implementation and the realization of these alternatives.This research is conducted mainly to evaluate the environmental impacts of open-cut excavation vs. trenchless technology in Egypt, through two main methodologies. Firstly, a field survey that aims to measure knowledge of people working in the Egyptian construction industry of trenchless technology, and the harms caused from keeping utilizing open-cut for installing all kinds of underground utilities. In addition to investigating the reasons behind not relying on trenchless technology as a safe alternative for open-cut in Egypt. Furthermore, in order to compare the greenhouse gases emissions resulted from both open-cut vs trenchless technology, a real case study is applied quantifying the amounts of the resulted greenhouse gases from each method. The results show that greenhouse gases emissions generated from open-cut were extremely higher than that of horizontal directional drilling as a trenchless installation method.

ContributorsKhedr, Ahmed Mossad Saeed Hafez (Author) / Ariaratnam, Samuel (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2023

Investigating the Relationship between Energy Consumption, CO2 Emissions, and the Factors Affecting Them in the United States Building Sector: A Macro and Micro View

Description

The United States building sector was the most significant carbon emission contributor (over 40%). The United States government is trying to decrease carbon emissions by enacting policies, but emissions increased by approximately 7 percent in the U.S. between 1990 and 2013. To reduce emissions, investigating the factors affecting carbon emissions…

The United States building sector was the most significant carbon emission contributor (over 40%). The United States government is trying to decrease carbon emissions by enacting policies, but emissions increased by approximately 7 percent in the U.S. between 1990 and 2013. To reduce emissions, investigating the factors affecting carbon emissions should be a priority. Therefore, in this dissertation, this research examine the relationship between carbon emissions and the factors affecting them from macro and micro perspectives. From a macroscopic perspective, the relationship between carbon dioxide, energy resource consumption, energy prices, GDP (gross domestic product), waste generation, and recycling waste generation in the building and waste sectors has been verified. From a microscopic perspective, the impact of non-permanent electric appliances and stationary and non-stationary occupancy has been investigated. To verify the relationships, various kinds of statistical and data mining techniques were applied, such as the Granger causality test, linear and logarithmic correlation, and regression method. The results show that natural gas and electricity prices are higher than others, as coal impacts their consumption, and electricity and coal consumption were found to cause significant carbon emissions. Also, waste generation and recycling significantly increase and decrease emissions from the waste sector, respectively. Moreover, non-permanent appliances such as desktop computers and monitors consume a lot of electricity, and significant energy saving potential has been shown. Lastly, a linear relationship exists between buildings’ electricity use and total occupancy, but no significant relationship exists between occupancy and thermal loads, such as cooling and heating loads. These findings will potentially provide policymakers with a better understanding of and insights into carbon emission manipulation in the building sector.

ContributorsLee, Seungtaek (Author) / Chong, Oswald (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Kenneth (Committee member) / Tang, Pingbo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2018

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