Mathematical Sciences

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Mathematical research at MSU is focused primarily on related topics in pure and applied mathematics. Research programs complement each other and are often applied to problems in science and engineering. Research in statistics encompasses a broad range of theoretical and applied topics. Because the statisticians are actively engaged in interdisciplinary work, much of the statistical research is directed toward practical problems. Mathematics education faculty are active in both qualitative and quantitative experimental research areas. These include teacher preparation, coaching and mentoring for in-service teachers, online learning and curriculum development.

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2014 - 20192

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    Characterization of synovial fluid metabolomic phenotypes of cartilage morphological changes associated with osteoarthritis
    (2019-08) Carlson, Alyssa K.; Rawle, Rachel A.; Wallace, Cameron W.; Brooks, Ellen G.; Adams, Erik; Greenwood, Mark C.; Olmer, Merissa; Lotz, Martin K.; Bothner, Brian; June, Ronald K.
    "Objective Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease with etiological heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to classify OA subgroups by generating metabolomic phenotypes from human synovial fluid. Design: Post mortem synovial fluids (n = 75) were analyzed by high performance-liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to measure changes in the global metabolome. Comparisons of healthy (grade 0), early OA (grades I-II), and late OA (grades III-IV) donor populations were considered to reveal phenotypes throughout disease progression. Results: Global metabolomic profiles in synovial fluid were distinct between healthy, early OA, and late OA donors. Pathways differentially activated among these groups included structural deterioration, glycerophospholipid metabolism, inflammation, central energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and vitamin metabolism. Within disease states (early and late OA), subgroups of donors revealed distinct phenotypes. Synovial fluid metabolomic phenotypes exhibited increased inflammation (early and late OA), oxidative stress (late OA), or structural deterioration (early and late OA) in the synovial fluid. Conclusion: These results revealed distinct metabolic phenotypes in human synovial fluid, provide insight into pathogenesis, represent novel biomarkers, and can move toward developing personalized interventions for subgroups of OA patients.
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    Surface micropattern resists bacterial contamination transferred by healthcare practitioners
    (2014-12) Mann, Ethan E.; Mettetal, M. Ryan; May, Rhea M.; Drinker, M. C.; Stevenson, B. C.; Baiamonte, V. L.; Marso, J. M.; Dannemiller, E. A.; Parker, Albert E.; Reddy, Shravanthi T.; Sande, M. K.
    Environmental contamination contributes to an estimated 20-40% of all hospitalacquiredinfections (HAI). Infection control practices continue to improve, butmultipronged approaches are necessary to fully combat the diversity of nosocomialpathogens and emerging multidrug resistant organisms. The Sharkletâ„¢ micropattern,inspired from the microtopography of shark skin, was recently shown to significantlyreduce surface contamination but has not been evaluated in a clinical setting. Thefocus of this study was the transfer of bacteria onto micropatterned surfaces comparedto unpatterned surfaces in a clinical simulation environment involving healthcarepractitioners. Physician volunteers were recruited to participate in an emergencymedicine scenario involving a contact-precaution patient with an acute pulmonaryembolism. Prior to scenario initiation, Staphylococcus aureus was inoculated onto theleg of a simulation mannequin and fresh micropatterned and unpatterned surfacefilms were placed on a code cart, cardiac defibrillator shock button, and epinephrinemedication vial. Six physicians interacted with micropatterned surfaces and fivephysicians interacted with unpatterned surfaces in separate scenarios. Bacterial loadloss from the first contact location (control film over the femoral pulse) to subsequentunpatterned or micropatterned surface test locations was quantified as a log reduction(LR) for each surface type.The code cart, cardiac defibrillator button, and medication vial locations withmicropatterned surfaces resulted in LRs that were larger than the unpatternedLRs by 0.64 (p=0.146), 1.14 (p=0.023), and 0.58 (p=0.083) respectively for eachlocation. The geometric mean CFU/RODAC at the first control surface touched at thefemoral pulse pads ranged from 175-250 CFU/RODAC (95% confidence interval).Thus, the micropatterned LRs were consistently greater than the unpatterned LRs,substantiating the micropattern-dependent reduction of microorganism transfer.Principal component analysis showed that the LRs for the code cart and the cardiacdefibrillator button highly covaried. Thus, a single mean LR was calculated fromthese two locations for each surface type; 5.4 times more bacteria attached to theunpatterned surfaces compared to the micropatterned surfaces (p = 0.058). Thesimulated clinical scenario involving healthcare practitioners demonstrated that themicropatterned surface reduced the transfer of bacterial contamination based onthe larger LRs for the micropatterned surface compared to control surfaces. Furtherinvestigation in hospital rooms where patients are receiving care will ultimately revealthe capability of micropatterned surfaces to minimize the incidence of HAIs.
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