Digital Commons Network^™

Probing Mechanical Forces In Flagella By Manipulation Of Media Viscosity And Axonemal Structure, Kate Wilson

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Cilia and flagella are subcellular organelles used to generate fluid flow or propel the cell. These long cylindrical structures are composed of cytoskeletal elements activated by the unidirectional motor protein dynein. Cilia and flagella are crucial to a number of physiological functions, yet the specific mechanisms of dynein activation and coordination remain unclear. This work investigates the response of the flagellum of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to increased mechanical loading achieved by variation of media viscosity, and to structural changes achieved by genetic manipulation. Effects of these perturbations are quantified using high spatiotemporal resolution recordings; the results demonstrate mutation-specific changes to the …

Kinematic Modeling Of The Determinants Of Diastolic Function, Leonid Shmuylovich

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multiple modalities are routinely used in clinical cardiology to determine cardiovascular function, and many of the indexes derived from these modalities are causally interconnected. A correlative approach to cardiovascular function however, where indexes are correlated to disease presence and progression, fails to fully capitalize on the information content of the indexes.

Causal quantitative modeling of cardiovascular physiology on the other hand offers a predictive rather than accommodative approach to cardiovascular function determination. In this work we apply a kinematic modeling approach to understanding diastolic function. We discuss novel insights related to the physiological determinants of diastolic function, and define novel …