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Improvement Of Ex Vivo Testing Methods For Spine Biomechanical Characterization, Aubrie Lisa Taylor
Improvement Of Ex Vivo Testing Methods For Spine Biomechanical Characterization, Aubrie Lisa Taylor
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation contributed three main areas to flexibility testing and biomechanical characterization of human spinal segments. The first was a literature review of existing testing methodology, the second examined common spine fixation procedures, and the third developed an improved fixation method. Spine biomechanical characterization is the primary technique for assessing the healthy, diseased, and surgically treated response of spinal tissues. However, despite decades of use, no standard testing protocol or reporting methodology for flexibility testing conditions has been established. As part of the present work, a comprehensive, systematic literature review was performed, and the methods sections of 242 relevant journal …
Midfoot Motion And Stiffness: Does Structure Predict Function?, Kirk Evans Bassett
Midfoot Motion And Stiffness: Does Structure Predict Function?, Kirk Evans Bassett
Theses and Dissertations
In clinical settings, dynamic foot function is commonly inferred from static and passive foot measurements; however, there is little evidence that static foot structure can predict dynamic foot function during walking gait. Previous research seeking to find correlations between the two have focused primarily on sagittal plane midfoot angles even though the midfoot has triplanar motion, which misses potentially important information. Additionally, the focus on kinematics alone may miss the contributions that forces play in midfoot mechanics. To address the angle limitations, a novel Signed Helical Angle (SHA) was developed to capture the triplanar motion of the midfoot from a …
Parametric Models Of Maize Stalk Morphology, Michael Alan Ottesen
Parametric Models Of Maize Stalk Morphology, Michael Alan Ottesen
Theses and Dissertations
As the most produced grain crop world-wide, 5% of corn is lost due to stalk lodging (above-ground structural failure of the stalk near the roots). Current modeling methods lack the ability to manipulate the stalk architecture. In contrast, parameterized models enable advanced analyses such as sensitivity and optimization studies. This thesis advances previous work on a parameterized cross-sectional model of maize stalk morphology and investigates the validity of a parameterized three-dimensional model. The parameterized cross-sectional model is based upon previous work that approximated the cross-section of maize stalks using an ellipse plus principal components. Validation of the cross-sectional model was …
Effect Of Viscoelasticity On Cellular Morphology And Activity, Thomas J. Petet Jr
Effect Of Viscoelasticity On Cellular Morphology And Activity, Thomas J. Petet Jr
Theses and Dissertations
It has been well established that there is a link between substrate stiffness and cellular activities such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Less characterized is the link between the time-dependent viscosity of a substrate with those cellular activities. To explore this, PDMS substrates were created with predictably tunable stiffness and viscosity parameters. A simulated model was also developed in parallel to explore the potential effects of viscosity in a computationally predictive way. It was found that the inclusion of viscosity caused a major paradigm shift to a non-zero substrate equilibrium that was sensitive to increases in the substrate stiffness. Finally, …