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Modeling Of The Inverse Heat -Conduction Problem With Application To Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition And Bioheat Transfer, Peng Zhen

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts. Part one deals with three-dimensional laser induced chemical vapor deposition (3D-LCVD), whereas part two deals with a Pennes model of a 3D skin structure. LCVD is an important technique in manufacturing complex micro-structures with high aspect ratio. In part one, a numerical model was developed for simulating kinetically-limited growth of an axisymmetric cylindrical rod by pre-specifying the surface temperature distribution required for growing the rod and then by obtaining optimized laser power that gives rise to the pre-specified temperature distribution. The temperature distribution at the surface of the rod was assumed to be at …

Fabrication Of Cell Culture Scaffolds Using Micro/Nanotechnologies To Study The Attachment And Alignment Of Smooth Muscle Cells, Mengyan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation elaborates the design and fabrication of in vitro cell culture scaffolds using microfabrication and electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL) technologies, and develops the so-called layer-by-layer lift-off (LbL-LO) technique to control surface topography, surface properties, and underlying architectures of the scaffolds. Smooth muscle cells were cultured on the fabricated scaffolds with gelatin, fibronectin, and polyelectrolytes (PSS, PDDA, PAH, and PEI) as surface materials, multilayer polyelectrolytes as architectures, deposited in strip- and square-patterns. It was found that the exposed surface materials, which have different charge, hydrophobicity, and chemical structure (e.g., amino acid sequence), affect the adhesion of smooth muscle cells. Cells …

Effects Of Diabetes And Aging On Posture And Acceleration Thresholds During Lateral Translations, Samantha Jean Richerson

Doctoral Dissertations

Research objectives. One source of falls in the elderly may be an inability to sufficiently adjust to transient postural perturbations or slips. Identifying useful predictors of fall potential, as well as factors that affect the ability of an individual to detect a movement of the standing support surface may provide insight into postural stability and methods to increase stability in elders. To do this, acceleration thresholds to short, precise, lateral platform translations and the resultant psychophysical responses of adults with early Type 2 diabetes to age-matched controls and young adults were measured.

Methods. Using an innovative SLIP-FALLS platform, …