Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health

In the moving rubber foot illusion (mRFI), a person is made to feel as though a rubber foot is their own foot via synchronized visuo-kinetic stimulation involving the real foot and a rubber foot. This study sought to determine whether the mRFI differed in individuals with high and low levels of specific long-term motor training of the lower extremity. An mRFI task was used to compare two groups of young adult females, one that included 24 exceptionally experienced and formally-trained dancers, and a second group that included 25 non-dancers. I hypothesized that the dancers would experience the mRFI less vividly than the non-dancers. That is, the dancers' long-term training should have resulted in enhanced proprioceptive sensitivity in the foot and ankle, making them less susceptible to the illusion. The results revealed that both groups experienced the mRFI, as indicated by significant amounts of proprioceptive drift in some visuo-kinetic stimulation conditions, as well as differences in perceived rubber foot ownership between some visuo-kinetic stimulation conditions. However, while participants as a whole experienced the mRFI, the groups did not differ on either variable. The results suggest that the mRFI is likely not influenced by long term motor training.

Committee: William Berg (Advisor); L. James Smart (Committee Chair); Dean Smith (Committee Chair); Max Teaford (Committee Chair) Subjects: Kinesiology

Master of Science, University of Toledo, 2017, Bioengineering

Drop foot is a neuromuscular disorder due partially to the weakness of muscles that lift the forefoot. There are two common complications caused by drop foot. First, the patient cannot control the falling of their foot after heel strike. As a result, the foot slaps the ground on every step. The second complication is the inability of the patients to lift their toe during swing. This causes the patients to drag their toe on the ground throughout the swing. Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) is the most common non-surgical solution for the Drop foot. In the current AFOs, the ankle joint is almost locked and plantar flexion is restricted due to the high stiffness of the device. In hinged AFOs, while the device is not locked, the stainless steel springs in the hinge could limit the range of motion, lower muscle activity and cause muscle atrophy. This study proposes a novel hinged AFO in which NiTi springs are used to create a close to normal ankle joint behavior. To evaluate the application of NiTi spring in the proposed AFO, several motion experiments have been performed. To assess the effectiveness of the AFO the ankle stiffness has been extracted and compared in different cases along with the range of motion for a healthy subject. Results of our motion experiments indicate ankle stiffness has a nonlinear profile for a healthy subject. A superplastic NiTi spring also has nonlinear behavior in elongation and compression. Considering nonlinear behavior of the NiTi spring, it has been hypothesized that the resulting hinge could bring the stiffness of the ankle closer to that of the healthy ankle joint that could lead to a more natural walking in drop foot patients. In the fabrication procedure, Ni-rich NiTi wires were used to produce two different spring configurations (wire diameters 0.68 and 1.07 mm).To assess the AFO in simulation, the corresponding loading scenarios of normal walking were applied to the AFO using finite elements.

Committee: Mohammad Elahinia, (Committee Chair); Eda Yildirim-Ayan (Committee Co-Chair); Arunan Nadarajah (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, University of Toledo, 2012, Biomedical Engineering

Drop foot is a neuromuscular disorder causing a loss of use of the muscles that lift the foot. Drop foot can primarily be caused by stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or neurological trauma. The two major complications of drop foot are slapping of the foot after heel strike (foot slap) and dragging of the toe during swing (toe drag). The current treatment options like Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) and Functional Electrical Stimulation, while offering some biomechanical benefits, do not adapt to different walking conditions and fail to eliminate significant gait complications. This study proposes a novel Active Ankle Foot Orthosis design which combines an AFO and combinations of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The key feature of SMA is its ability to undergo seemingly large plastic strains and subsequently recover these strains when a load is removed or the material is heated. Because of this distinct thermomechanical behavior, SMA can potentially resolve some of the gait complications associated with use of an AFO. To provide a basis for the design of an AAFO, gait analysis is performed on healthy subjects along with drop foot patients to establish the deficiency in ankle stiffness characteristics. The initial verification of the thermomechanical behavior of SMA in the form of stiffness variation is carried out by testing SMA wire combinations. Based on these experiments a COMSOL model is verified which is used for simulating the combinations of SMA wires. Through simulations and experiments it has been shown that changing the combination of SMA wires result in variable stiffness pattern. The performance of different types and combinations of SMA wires are tested successfully on an AFO. The preliminary results demonstrate that SMA wires provide controlled plantarflexion during stance phase, and active dorsiflexion in the swing phase by using stiffness variations of shape memory alloy wires. In particular, the AAFO helps to avoid major complications of drop foo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mohammad Elahinia (Committee Chair); Charles Armstrong (Committee Member); Sonny Ariss (Committee Member); Mohamed Samir Hefzy (Committee Member); Arunan Nadarajah (Committee Member); Thomas Padanilam (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering; Kinesiology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Electrical and Computer Engineering

The study of human balance and gait is a complex area that involves a large number of biological systems, including the musculoskeletal, somatosensory, vestibular, visual, and central nervous systems. In contrast, computational models used for simulating motion of the human body tend to be relatively simple, especially with respect to the feet. Clinical research, however, has begun to more closely examine the mechanical and sensory contributions of the feet in balance and gait, leading to a disparity between the state of clinical research and models used for simulation. A model with a more complex foot would aid in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of motor control disorders, improvement of prostheses, and development of functional electrical stimulation for recovery of lost motor function. This dissertation presents a computational model of a human with a more complex foot, which uses four rigid and connected segments to represent the heel, forefoot, and toes. Derivation of physical parameters, equations of motion, actuation based on human musculature, and control based on proprioception, i.e. body segment positions and velocities, will be discussed. Computation of ground reaction forces under the heel, forefoot, and toes will also be addressed. Simulations focusing on the role of the toes and toe muscles in static balance, forward leaning, and tip-toe stading will be presented. Contributions by the vestibular system will also be considered.

Committee: Hooshang Hemami (Advisor); Ashok Krishnamurthy (Committee Member); Andrea Serrani (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Engineering, Cleveland State University, 2007, Fenn College of Engineering

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. has been showing a large increase. It has more than doubled during the period of 1980 to 2002. Approximately 18 million Americans have diabetes today with more than 5.2 million undiagnosed cases. While diabetes is categorized as an endocrine system disorder, some of its known complications are associated to the science of biomechanics. Foot ulcers are caused by vascular deterioration due to diabetes, but also directly related to the natural mechanical forces and loads applied to the feet. Therefore, studying these forces, their locations, distribution and their stresses may be a key to preventing the occurrence of these ulcers. This study utilizes the science of mechanics to investigate the stresses caused by the pressure distribution due to natural mechanical loading on the foot. These mechanical loads, when combined with vascular complications and physiological changes to the structure and tissue of the foot, may tend to increase the likelihood of foot ulceration.

Committee: Brian Davis (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Biomedical

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2006, Polymer Science

We have studied the contact interface between elastomeric poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) lenses with various solid surfaces during adhesion and friction using IR-visible sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG). SFG in total internal reflection (TIR) geometry can be used to determine molecular structure at the polymer/solid and polymer/polymer contact interfaces. It is a nonlinear optical technique, which detects the orientation and density of molecules at interfaces. In this study, we have designed a novel approach to couple SFG with adhesion and friction experiments. The solid surfaces were chosen to be octadecytrichlorosilane monolayer (OTS), poly(vinyl n-octadecyl carbamate-co-vinyl acetate) (PVNODC), polystyrene (PS), poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PnBMA), and poly(n-propyl methacrylate) (PnPMA). In the first part of the research, we have concentrated on the importance of characterizing the static contact interface in relation to adhesion. Our results for the OTS in contact with oxygen plasma treated PDMS show surprising surface restructuring, which results in adhesion hysteresis. The short PDMS chains generated during plasma treatment are locally confined and are as strongly ordered as OTS. SFG spectra from other surfaces (sapphire substrates and fluorinated monolayers (FC)) indicates that short PDMS chains require not only confinement but also an ordered template provided by the methyl groups of OTS. In the second part, we have studied the sliding contact interfaces of various polymers with PDMS. The friction forces between PDMS lenses and glassy PS are about four times higher than PDMS sliding on crystalline well-packed PVNODC surfaces. This cannot be explained by the difference in adhesion energy or hysteresis. The in-situ SFG measurements indicate local interdigitation during contact, which is evident from the change in orientation of PS phenyl groups upon mechanical contact and during sliding compared to that at the PS surface. Such a local penetratio (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ali Dhinojwala (Advisor) Subjects: Chemistry, Polymer

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Biomedical Engineering

Objective: The purpose of this thesis was to determine the degree of difference between anthropometric and heel pad tissue characteristics of the lower extremities of PMHS compared to living populations as well as to establish a wholistic procedure for extensive measurements of the foot using methodology previously used in lower limb anthropometry, x-ray imaging, and ultrasound imaging studies. Methods: Thirty-seven PMHS were included in the anthropometry analysis, 21 PMHS were included in the x-ray analysis, and 32 PMHS were included in the ultrasound analysis. For the anthropometry, measurements were taken in seated and standing positions and included bimalleolar breadth, heel breadth, navicular height (medial prominence), navicular height (inferior medial border), talar head height, plantar curvature height, lateral malleolar height, medial malleolar height, acropodion foot length, hallux foot length, horizontal foot breadth, ball of foot length, and dorsum height. Comparisons were then made between left and right feet, seated and standing positions, males and females, and PMHS and living populations. For the x-ray analysis, two of the anthropometry measurements, navicular height (inferior medial border) and talar head height, had values for anthropometry compared against measurements determined through x-ray imaging. For the ultrasound analysis, ultrasound images were taken of the plantar foot at the calcaneus at loadings of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 Newtons. Thicknesses, stiffnesses, and compressibility indexes were determined using the images, and these values were then compared against values seen in living populations. Results: Left and right feet were found to have no significant differences in anthropometry. Seated and standing positions were found to be significantly different in 12 of the 13 measurements. Male values were found to be significantly different from female values in both seated and standing positions for all measurements except for plantar (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Randee Hunter (Committee Member); John Bolte IV (Advisor) Subjects: Biology; Biomechanics; Biomedical Engineering; Engineering

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Music Composition

The Inconsistent Continuities is a single movement chamber piece with fixed media. The Inconsistent Continuities was composed for Hypercube Ensemble, whose performing forces include saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, and piano. An additional fixed media component is being controlled over time by one of the performers. The piece's theme is inspired by my personalized perception of living and coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). The Inconsistent Continuities aims to sonically portray my personalized experiences living and coping with ADHD. Each ensemble member, plus the fixed media, personifies one or multiples of the three main ADHD traits: fixation; distraction; and inattentiveness. The single-movement piece comprises three sections. The first section establishes the four ensemble members as a theoretical “brain” attempting to formulate a musical melodic gesture or “idea.” This idea loops, signifying the characteristics of fixation. An external distraction from the fixed media then attempts to distract the ensemble from their original melodic thought. The musical content introduced by the fixed media is distant and obtrusive compared to the fixated thought from earlier. The remaining role (inattentiveness) is introduced during this section and attempts to bypass the first thought and the distraction. This section represents the mind being overly stimulated and the traits of ADHD that are more prevalent and controlling. The second section begins as a collective dialogue between all three characteristics that eventually reaches critical mass, followed by an abrupt breath inhale by the ensemble. This represents the mind being overwhelmed during social situations and everyday life while desperately seeking a moment of clarity. The final section unites each member, but the melodic idea of the piece changes, representing the mind solving the task or completing its thought through the tangential ADHD thought process.

Committee: Elainie Lillios Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Mikel Kuehn Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2022, Mechanical Engineering

Background: Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are external devices that are prescribed for people who were diagnosed with muscle weakness in the lower extremities. These devices are typically prescribed to accommodate the patients for their weak limb(s) by reducing toe-drag and improving ankle dorsiflexion. Previous work has looked at the effects of an AFO on ankle muscle activity during gait. However, there is a lack of information on how AFOs might influence knee muscle activity during gait under different walking conditions. This study examined the effects of a common posterior leaf spring plastic AFO (PAFO) and anterior shell carbon fiber AFO (CAFO) on knee muscle activity in a healthy population during three different treadmill conditions. It was hypothesized that the design of the CAFO, would create less demand on the knee extensors than either the PAFO or no AFO for all walking conditions. Methods: 15 healthy young adults were recruited for this repeated measures study. Noraxon EMG sensors were used to measure the muscle activity of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), and semitendinosus (ST) while walking on a treadmill at a comfortable pace. Individuals walked with no AFO, a PAFO and a CAFO during three treadmill conditions (flat, incline, decline). Then, all EMG data were exported to and analyzed using MATLAB, where they were filtered, demeaned, rectified, normalized, and then averaged. Results: Separate one-way ANOVAs were used to identify significant (p<0.05) differences in muscle activity between the AFO conditions during the flat, incline and decline treadmill walking conditions. During flat walking RF, VM and VL muscle activity was significantly lower when using the CAFO compared to both the PAFO and no AFO conditions. During incline walking RF and VM muscle activity was significantly lower when using the CAFO compared to the PAFO and VM and VL muscle activity was significantly (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kimberly Bigelow (Committee Chair); Harold Merriman (Committee Member); Kurt Jackson (Committee Member); Allison Kinney (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Mechanical Engineering; Philosophy; Physical Education; Physical Therapy

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 0, Mechanical Engineering

In populations where ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are prescribed, the risk of falling is seen to be high, due to underlying conditions such as muscle weakness, and minimized limb control. These groups include stroke patients, those with Parkinson's disease, and Multiple Sclerosis patients. The AFOs are designed to help prevent foot drop, promote heel strike and create a more normalized gait. While the AFOs have been seen to be beneficial, little information is out on how the AFO may impact a user if they were to fall while wearing the AFO. Additionally, there are many different styles of AFOs ranging in rigidity and material makeup. A previous study in our lab examined how a polypropylene AFO impacted recovery stepping through a lean and release perturbation system. The aim of this study is to expand on that research and see if there is a difference in recovery strategy when using two common types of AFOs, an OPTEC USA Prefabricated Polypropylene AFO (pAFO) and an Allard Toe-Off® carbon composite AFO (cAFO). 15 healthy, young adults completed 35 reactive stepping trials in a lean and release system. This included 5 initial practice steps and then 10 steps with the pAFO, 10 with the cAFO, and 10 with no AFO, which were randomized in groups of 2. The forward lean angle was set to around 11º and about 15% of body weight. 31 retroreflective markers were placed on participants back, hips, thighs, shanks and feet. The trials were recorded with VICON Nexus and processed in Visual 3D to extract kinematic and temporal variables. These variables were run through SPSS for one-way ANOVA analysis with Tukey post-hoc in order to determine any differences between the 3 conditions (cAFO, pAFO and no AFO) on the stepping limb. It was seen that reaction time was significantly slower (p = 0.000) when no AFO is present as compared to when either the pAFO or the cAFO are present. While step length was not seen to change significantly between conditions, step duration when wearing the p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kimberly Bigelow (Advisor); Allison Kinney (Committee Member); Kurt Jackson (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Mechanical Engineering

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2020, Mechanical Engineering

Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly prescribed to individuals with conditions such as stroke and multiple sclerosis (MS) to assist with foot drop and other gait deficits. While AFOs have obvious benefits, there is still a high fall rate among wearers. This is likely due to the rigidity and support provided by AFOs, restricting ankle movements, which could be helpful for recovery upon a slip or trip. While there are numerous studies that utilize a lean-and-release mechanism to examine reactive stepping in order to better understand fall mechanisms and fall recovery strategies, no study has used this mechanism to understand the impact of an AFO. The goal of this study was to examine, first in healthy young adults, differences in step recovery with and without an AFO using a lean-and-release paradigm. Twenty healthy, young adults completed a total of 30 reactive stepping trials (10 no AFO and 10 wearing the AFO on each leg) in a lean-and-release system. The forward lean angle was set to a 15º. To determine release, two retro-reflective markers were attached to the harness, which would separate upon release. Each participant had retro-reflective markers placed on anatomical locations of the back, hips, thighs, shank, and feet. Study participants were instructed to do whatever was necessary to regain their balance. All trials were recorded with a VICON motion capture system linked to two Bertec in-ground force plates, one for each foot. Temporal and kinematic variables were calculated, as well as stepping foot preference. Differences between conditions were determined by running a one-way ANOVA with a Tukey post-hoc in SPSS to compare. Participants, on average, stepped 1.4 times more frequently with the leg not wearing the AFO. Step length was significantly shorter (p<0.001) in the stepping leg AFO condition (0.56 ± 0.12 m), as compared to the no AFO condition (0.63 ± 0.09 m). However, step duration remained the same across all conditions, indicating changes in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kimberly Bigelow Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kurt Jackson Ph.D., P.T. (Committee Member); Allison Kinney Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Myszka Ph.D.,P.E. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Mechanical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, Cleveland State University, 2020, Washkewicz College of Engineering

The method of trajectory optimization with direct collocation has the potential to extract generalized and realistic motion controllers from long duration movement data without requiring extensive measurement equipment. Knowing motion controllers not only can improve clinic assessments on locomotor disabilities, but also can inspire the control of powered exoskeletons and prostheses for better performance. Three aims were included in this dissertation. Aim 1 was to apply and validate the trajectory optimization for identification of the postural controllers in standing balance. The trajectory optimization approach was first validated on the simulated standing balance data and demonstrated that it can extract the correct postural control parameters. Then, six types of postural feedback controllers, from simple linear to complex nonlinear, were identified on six young adults' motion data that was collected in a standing balance experiment. Results indicated that nonlinear controllers with multiple time delay paths can best explain their balance motions. A stochastic trajectory optimization approach was proposed that can help finding practically stable controllers in the identification process. Aim 2 focused on the foot placement control in walking. Foot placement controllers were successfully identified through the trajectory optimization method on nine young adults' perturbed walking motions. It was shown that a linear controller with pelvis position and velocity feedback, suggested by the linear inverted pendulum model, was not sufficient to explain their foot placement among multiple walking speeds. Nonlinear controllers or more feedback signals, such as pelvis acceleration, are needed. Foot placement control was applied on a powered leg exoskeleton to control its legs' swing motion. Two healthy participants were able to achieve stable walking with the controlled exoskeleton. Results suggested that the foot placement controller helped decelerate the swing mo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Antonie van den Bogert Dr. (Advisor); Anne Su Dr. (Committee Member); Hanz Richter Dr. (Committee Member); Dan Simon Dr. (Committee Member); Eric Schearer Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Mechanical Engineering

Master of Science, Miami University, 2020, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

The goal of this thesis project was to develop a prototype active ankle-foot orthotic design tool using novel generative algorithms in Processing 3. The project focused on the following research question: Can a custom active ankle-foot orthotic be created that is lightweight and supports the strength requirement using new techniques, such as generative design and custom 3D printing algorithms, and still meet the specified criteria, such as durability and comfort, for patients with Spastic Cerebral Palsy? The vertical support, composed of support legs and the calf support, was analyzed using finite element analysis and redesigned using a generative algorithm. The vertical support was then manufactured with custom G-code for 3D printing. A design for the direct drive actuator system was analyzed to determine the required motor torque. The actuator system will measure the resistance from the patient's foot and either increase the applied torque when the resistance is below the setpoint or reduce the applied torque when the resistance exceeds the setpoint. A prototype of the active ankle-foot orthotic design tool was created, along with a sample print of the vertical support, as a proof of concept, but future work is required to finalize the tool.

Committee: Michael Bailey-Van Kuren (Advisor); James Chagdes (Committee Member); Jinjuan She (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Biomedical Research; Mechanical Engineering

Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.), University of Dayton, 2020, International Marian Research Institute

Saint Manuel Gonzalez Garcia was a bishop of Spain in the first part of the twentieth century. While his writings on the Eucharist are manifold, relatively little has been researched in terms of his Marian thought. Viewing the original Spanish texts of his published works through a Mariological lens reveals profound insights into Mary as the Immaculate Mother. Narrowing the scope of the various aspects of Mary's Divine Motherhood found in Saint Manuel's writing, this thesis focuses on those of Mary as efficacious helper, intercessor, and teacher. There is a goldmine of Mariological insight waiting to be uncovered in the writing of this recently canonized saint.

Committee: Thomas Thompson PhD (Advisor); Deyanira Flores STD (Committee Member) Subjects: Religion; Religious History; Theology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Civil Engineering

Throughout the last several years, the number of detrimental accidents is still considered high and not going below a certain verge. One of the main problems that may put people's safety in danger is the lack of real-time detection, assessment, and recognition of predictable safety risks. Current real-time risk identification solutions are limited to proximity sensing, which lacks in providing meaningful values of the overall safety conditions in real-time. The overall objective of this research is to envision, design, develop, assemble, and examine an automated intelligent real-time risk assessment (AIR) system. A holistic safety assessment approach is followed to include identification, prioritization, detection, evaluation, and control at risk exposure time. Multi-sensor technologies based on Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) are integrated with a risk assessment intelligent system. The intelligent system is based on fuzzy fault tree analysis (FFTA), a deductive approach that comprehensively systemizes possible concurrent basic and conditional risk events, not risk symptoms, from major subgroups of triggering, enabling, and environment-related risks. System prototype is developed and examined for functionality and deployment requirements to prove the concept for on-foot building construction worker at site. The experimental examination results showed that the AIR system was able to detect, assess, and sound deliver combined evaluation of concurrent diverse risks presented in a worker's range at real-time of exposure. The AIR system performance has met the criteria of validity, significance, simplicity, representation, accuracy, and precision and timeliness. The reliability of the AIR system to deliver quantitative values of risk proximity was limited due to the RF signal attenuation caused by different materials at site. Nevertheless, AIR system was reliable in real-time assessment and declaration of risk types, values, and proximity in a subjective lingu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: TARUNJIT BUTALIA (Advisor); RONGJUN QIN (Committee Co-Chair); CHARLES TOTH (Committee Member); RACHEL KAJFEZ (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Cognitive Psychology; Communication; Health Education; Information Science; Linguistics; Mathematics; Occupational Safety

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2019, Mechanical Engineering

Toe walking is often considered an undesirable gait deviation seen in pathological populations. The heterogeneous nature within and between these populations make it difficult to understand the biomechanics of pathological toe walking. Thus, previous studies have often analyzed healthy individuals performing non-habitual toe walking in hopes to understand this gait abnormality. Studies have found biomechanical deviations in kinematics, muscle activity levels, and kinetics between heel-toe and toe walking. However, these findings have focused primarily on sagittal plane discrete metrics of more proximal joints. Because toe walking involves increased activity of the distal foot, and these joints are often thought to have multi-planar tendencies, we believe further investigation is needed. The purpose of this study was to examine biomechanical differences in rearfoot strike walking (RFSW) and non-rearfoot strike walking (NRFSW). We hypothesized that previously seen increased ankle plantarflexion would be accompanied by increased ankle inversion and adduction, commonly referred to as supination, during NRFSW, and the MT joint would supinate with the ankle because of their parallel axes. Twenty-four healthy females walked overground with both walking patterns. Motion capture, electromyography (EMG), and force plate data were collected. A validated multi-segment foot model was used along with mean difference waveform analyses to study differences in the walking conditions during stance. Most differences occurred in early stance. NRFSW exhibited increased ankle supination at IC compared to RFSW, indicating ankle supination is needed for forefoot contact. Increased supination creates increased pronation excursion and pronation is a mechanism for shock absorption. This advantageous phenomenon was apparent in NRFSW as the loading rate was reduced despite a larger peak vertical ground reaction force and would not have been found if waveform analyses were not performed. The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Allison Kinney Dr. (Advisor); Joaquin Barrios Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Reissman Timothy Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2019, Translational Health

Foot injuries frequently occur in dancers, and researchers have investigated different protective measures that prevent injuries for this population. Research has primarily focused on ballet dancers, but foot injuries also are common in modern and contemporary dance where footwear is not worn. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the padded dance-support socks can serve as a protective measure for modern dancers by attenuating force on their feet during a dance sequence and when landing from a saute jump. In this randomized, cross-over designed study, seventeen injury-free dancers (2 M, 15 F; age=21.7±7.3 yrs; height=165.4±6.2 cm, mass=69.5±15.5 kg) volunteered to perform a 40-second modern dance sequence and a saute jump landing under two conditions: while wearing DS and BF. A 0.5 cm2 Flexiforce A201 445N sensor (Tekscan, Boston, MA) was affixed under the first metatarsophalangeal joint (great toe); a second was affixed under the heel. The sensors wirelessly recorded foot forces during dancing. A Bertec 600x1200mm force plate (Bertec Inc., Columbus, OH) measured vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and time to peak VGRF of the jump landings. A Noraxon MR3.12 biomechanics system (Noraxon, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ) synchronized and recorded the data. Peak toe force, peak heel force, mean toe force, and mean heel force were measured during the dance sequence, while VGRF, time to peak VGRF, peak toe force, and peak heel force were measured during the jump onto the force plate. A dependent samples t-test was used to assess pairwise differences in these measures between the DS and BF conditions. Statistical significance was set to p < 0.05. The peak forces on the heel when dancing and landing from the saute jump with DS were significantly lower compared with the BF condition (Dance Sequence: p=0.005; Saute Jump: p=0.042). All other variables were not significant between conditions. When considering the high demands of a dance training, results of this study showi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeff Russell (Advisor) Subjects: Biomechanics; Dance

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Macromolecular Science and Engineering

The objective of this dissertation was to develop polymeric biomaterials for a wide range of biological and biomedical aliments. Chapter 1 introduces the need to develop new therapeutic approaches to combat multidrug resistant microorganisms. Currently, the literature focuses primarily on ESKAPE pathogens, which are all bacterial infections. However, other multidrug resistant microbes, such as Candida albicans, pose an equally daunting threat to public health. In Chapter 2 we combat multidrug resistant C. albicans with photodynamic therapy (PDT) using silicon phthalocyanine Pc 4. PDT utilizes a photosensitizer, light, and cellular O2 to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which then induce oxidative stress resulting in apoptosis. The hydrophobic nature of Pc 4, however, poses significant formulation and delivery challenges in the use of this therapy. To mitigate these concerns, a drug delivery vehicle was synthesized to better formulate Pc 4 into a viable PDT agent for treating fungal infections. Utilizing poly(amidoamine) dendrimers as the framework for the vehicle, the amine chain ends were partially PEGylated to promote water solubility and deter non-specific adsorption. In vitro studies with C. albicans demonstrate the potency of Pc 4 was not hindered by the dendrimer vehicle. Encapsulated Pc 4 was able to effectively generate ROS and obliterate fungal pathogens upon photoactivation. Thus, we have developed a nanoparticulate delivery vehicle for Pc 4 that readily kills drug-resistant C. albicans and eliminates solvent toxicity, thereby improving formulation characteristics for the hydrophobic photosensitizer. Though we able to effectively eradicate multidrug resistant C. albicans planktonic cells, the formation of biofilms is what makes Candidal infections truly lethal. Biofilms are colonies of cells encased in a polysaccharide matrix, which acts as a reservoir of pathogens causing persistent infections. To properly obliterate these infections, the plankto (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan Pokorski (Advisor) Subjects: Polymers

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Athletic Training (Health Sciences and Professions)

Background: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) occurs following repetitive lateral ankle sprains. Studies suggest that brain regulation may be altered resulting in impaired motor control, translating to poor postural control and motor planning. Limited studies are available to identify etiology and suggest neurocognitive changes. Purpose: To determine if functional deficits are present in individuals with self-reported symptoms associated with CAI when compared to a control group. Methods: Participants completed the Identification of Functional Ankle Instability measure (IdFAI), the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) including the FAAM-Activities of Daily Living, and FAAM- Sport. In addition, a medical questionnaire identified individuals with CAI. Dynamic postural control was assessed using the Y-Balance Test. Participants then completed a protocol on the Bertec Vision Trainer (Bertec Inc, Columbus. OH), to identify neurocognitive deficits. Main outcome measures: Y-Balance, reaction time (wide and narrow), visual memory (wide and narrow), and random targets. Results: Comparing between groups, no functional or neurocognitive deficits were noted even though participants self-identified with CAI. Conclusion: Regardless of self-reported symptoms, participants in the CAI group were functioning with no neurocognitive or postural control deficits. The high activity level of this cohort or heterogeneity of CAI may contribute to the inability of the Y-Balance or neurocognitive function to discriminate between controls and participants with CAI.

Committee: Dustin Grooms PhD, AT, CSCS (Advisor); Janet Simon PhD, AT (Committee Member); Andrew Krause PhD, AT (Committee Member) Subjects: Anatomy and Physiology; Health Sciences; Medicine; Neurosciences; Sports Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education