Master of Science in Engineering, University of Akron, 2023, Mechanical Engineering

Human factors concerns with automation have emerged as contributing factors in many aviation accidents in the past few decades. Adaptive automation, where a system dynamically assigns tasks to automation or the pilot based on workload, has been proposed as a potential solution to many of these concerns. This study examines how one proposed method of adaptive automation, using physiological data to measure workload, could be implemented using machine learning. Electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and facial electromyography (fEMG) data was collected at both low and high workload while subjects completed common tasks performed by pilots. This data was used to train binary classification neural networks, with many models achieving high accuracy. The models were then applied to different data with varying workload, achieving poor results. The results of this study identify design requirements for adaptive automation systems using this method, and further study required for practical application.

Committee: Chen Ling (Advisor); Shengyong Wang (Committee Member) Subjects: Aerospace Engineering; Engineering

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland State University, 2018, Washkewicz College of Engineering

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a visual-tactile perceptual illusion commonly used to study body ownership. In this paradigm, a rubber hand is positioned in front of a participant, and the person's real hand is hidden from sight behind a barrier. When the real hand and the rubber hand are stroked synchronously, individuals perceive the rubber hand as if it were their own; it becomes “embodied.” This illusory experience of body ownership is associated with multimodal integration of touch and vision. From these visual-tactile-cognitive mechanisms, we establish that our hands belong to us when what we see matches what we feel. Recently, studies have established a correlation between the induction of the RHI and temperature changes at the skin surface. Interestingly, when the brain perceives its real limb to be “disembodied” during the cognitive illusion, the temperature of that real limb drops. The central hypothesis for the proposed study is that cognitive limb embodiment directly affects blood flow patterns; blood flow in a specific limb can be disrupted by altering the sense of the limb's embodiment. Our rationale is that understanding the mechanisms underlying thermal-vascular regulation in healthy and diseased populations is clinically significant because blood flow can be used as a physiological marker of cognitive limb embodiment and may also be particularly important in identifying and understanding disease states. Physiological correlates of embodiment, such as temperature and blood flow changes, may have significant potential for quantitatively assessing various diseases. The first aim was to develop a modified ultrasound method to measure blood flow under the conditions of the RHI. In addition, the Doppler waveform indices were examined as physiological markers for cognitive embodiment. The second aim was to investigate the link between temperature changes and blood flow during cognitive limb embodiment. Taken together, this work seeks to provide a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Marasco PhD (Committee Chair); Antonie van den Bogert PhD (Committee Member); Jeffrey Dean PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1990, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

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

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Health Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Health Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Agriculture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Psychology

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of life issues. Despite the fact that GAD has high prevalence rates and often presents with additional comorbid complaints and disorders, less research has been conducted on the underlying cognitive and regulatory processes of GAD compared to other mental disorders, and its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. One prominent theory of GAD is the cognitive avoidance model of GAD proposed by Borkovec and colleagues (2004), which proposes that worry is a cognitive form of avoidance of images related to the worry topics. Worry is maintained because it allows for suppression and avoidance of the experience of a full-blown fear response. An implication of this theory is that individuals with GAD should necessarily report experiencing fewer physiological hyperarousal (PH) symptoms as they successfully avoid their feared response, and a significant body of research has supported this. Nevertheless, some debate exists in the field about the level of association between worry and PH and there are also studies that have not found this relationship to be significant. Based on this latter body of research, Newman and Llera (2011) propose the contrast avoidance model of GAD and suggest that worry is not in the service of completely avoiding PH but that worry is utilized in the service of avoiding the experience of the contrast between positive or euthymic “worry-free” states of emotion and a negative state of emotion. Previous research conducted in our lab suggests that the strength of the relationship between worry and PH is moderated by effortful control (EC), which represents the capacity to override one's automatic tendencies and substitute an adaptive alternative response. The current study investigated the idea that the discrepancies that exist in the literature on the association between worry and PH can be attributed to EC. An additional primary purpose of the current (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Vasey (Advisor); Mary Fristad (Committee Member); Julian Thayer (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, EECS - Computer and Information Sciences

With the emergence of systems biology, modeling of physiological models started to adopt more integrative approaches instead of reductionist methods. In order to understand the complex system, which is human body, multiscale physiological models must be integrated and analyzed as a whole. However modeling and simulation of multiscale physiological processes deal with the challenges such as high coupling within and among scales. In order to deal with such challenges in a systematic way, there is a significant need for information technology solutions together with related analytical and computational tools that will facilitate integration of models and simulations of complex biological systems. The idea of functional modularity and structural modularity presented in this thesis helps to cope with the highly complex and coupled nature of the physiological processes in the software level. Functional modularity is proposed through the use of information flow, which aims to separate the information and the flow of information in physiological processes. Ontology based design approaches are suggested for representing the anatomical and structural information of physiological processes, in order to achieve structural modularity. In this thesis, we also present a software framework which is built on the principles of structural and functional modularity. Physiological Model Simulation, Integration and Modeling Framework (Phy-SIM) is an information technology framework to facilitate development, integration and simulation of large-scale highly-integrated models of human physiology. Ultimate aim of Phy-SIM is to enhance the physiological model development processes; but more importantly to accelerate the development, analysis and testing of integration approaches for multiscale and multilevel physiological models.

Committee: M. Cenk Cavusoglu PhD (Committee Chair); Z. Meral Ozsoyoglu PhD (Committee Member); Andy Podgurski PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Loparo PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science; Information Science

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Complex disease sometimes has system-wide level impact by affecting a constellation of physiologically interrelated phenotypes rather than a single phenotype, resulting in a set of co-morbidities. The physiological connection between the phenotypes, and the consequent co-occurrence of morbidities, varies from individual to individual in a way that can affect diseases prognosis. As an example, when obesity and its associated morbidities, dyslipidemia, hypertension and insulin resistance, do co-occur, this co-occurrence increases risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease in a way not explained by the presence of each individual morbidity alone. In this work, the physiological connections for each individual are characterized by the correlation values that the phenotypes present in their repeated measurements throughout the individual's life. The variation in the within-individual phenotypic relationships, from individual to individual, can then be studied as a new quantitative trait. First, this study shows that traditional genetic approaches which target variation in the phenotypic values do not capture the variation in within individual phenotypic correlations. Secondly, two approaches designed to specifically model the new quantitative trait are statistically compared. Finally, the biological relevance of the phenotypic correlations underlying obesity and its associated morbidities is investigated using the Framingham heart study data (human data) and the C57BL/6J and A/J chromosome substitution strain panel (mouse data). It is found that these phenotypic correlations are associated to diabetes and cardiovascular disease in a way not explained by the phenotypic values alone. It is also shown that there is genetic variation underlying these phenotypic correlations and that it is distinct and independent from that underlying the phenotypic values. This work concludes that approaches that exclusively model phenotypic values when studying the genetics of co-morbidi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: J. Sunil Rao PhD (Committee Chair); Joseph Nadeau PhD (Advisor); Xiaofeng Zhu PhD (Committee Member); Catherine Stein PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Research; Biostatistics; Genetics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Nursing

Background: Routine nurse caregiving in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), while essential, can be stressful for preterm infants during a critical and sensitive period of brain development. The mechanisms linking caregiving stressors to neurodevelopment are not fully understood. Given the potential adverse effects of stress exposure on preterm infant neurodevelopment, investigation is needed to better understand the effect of caregiving stressors on the stress response and behavior state in preterm infants. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the behavioral and physiological responses of preterm infants to routine nurse caregiving in the NICU. Examined how caregiving stressors affect the infant stress responses, measured by salivary cortisol and skin conductance responses (SCR), and their behavior state. Additionally, this study examined how initial behavior state and previous caregiving stressors might affect stress responses and behavior state during and after caregiving. Methods: Data were collected for a non-experimental, descriptive, observational study among preterm infants born between 27 to 31 weeks gestation. One nurse caregiving session was observed, recording caregiving stress exposures using the Neonatal Infant Stressor Scale (NISS) and electron health record, stress responses, measures by salivary cortisol and SCR, and behavior states using the Anderson Behavior State Scale (ABSS). Caregiving duration was measured in minutes using a stopwatch. Correlations and linear and multinomial regressions with robust standard errors were used to analyze the data. Results: Of the 33 preterm infants enrolled, two were withdrawn for change in medical condition and diagnosis. Significant findings included that greater NISS scores and longer care durations were associated with smaller changes in cortisol, lower cortisol levels, and reduced SCR frequency and amplitude after caregiving. Greater historical caregiving stressors were associated with an agit (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rita Pickler (Advisor); Abigail Shoben (Committee Member); Marliese Nist (Committee Member); Christine Fortney (Committee Member) Subjects: Nursing

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1968, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Biomedical Engineering

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor, and even with standard treatment, median patient survival is only about 15 months. This poor prognosis is likely due to the extreme heterogeneity of GBM tumors and a unique tumor microenvironment (TME) that drives tumor cell invasion, adaptive drug resistance, and recurrence after treatment. Additionally, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents most therapeutics from reaching the tumor. The failure of many promising drug candidates may indicate that current preclinical models do not accurately replicate tumor biology and human BBB function. Recent advances in bioengineering technologies have enabled the development of complex human cell based in vitro models that can be used to study disease mechanisms and test therapeutics. The goal of this dissertation was to utilize these tissue engineering and biofabrication tools to develop in vitro models that can be used to advance our knowledge of certain aspects of the GBM tumor microenvironment. First, a novel hydrogel was developed that supports physiological astrocyte phenotype. We used this hydrogel to study astrocyte activation in response to GBM cell secreted factors to better understand how astrocytes contribute to neuroinflammation in GBM. Second, we developed a 3D microfluidic blood brain barrier model using a brain mimetic ECM hydrogel, and third, we applied this 3D BBB model and demonstrated that it can be used to investigate how different populations of GBM tumor cells influence BBB permeability. These new bioengineered model systems will allow us to further investigate disease mechanisms and allow for the testing of novel drugs to treat GBM in the future.

Committee: Aleksander Skardal (Advisor); Monica Venere (Committee Member); Jonathan Song (Committee Member); Jennifer Leight (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Anthropology

Across three articles, this dissertation analyzes patterns of dental defect formation and childhood physiological stress within the population of Neolithic Catalhoyuk (ca. 7100-5950 BCE), in order to contribute to a better understanding of biological, temporal, and social variation within this important early “megasite” community. Article one addresses biological questions with important methodological implications regarding the impact of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) defects on inter- and intra-population variability in relationships between incremental enamel microstructures. Relationships between perikymata (PK) periodicity and distribution were tested from high-definition epoxy replicas and histological thin-sections of unworn mandibular canines (n = 15) with high LEH prevalence from Catalhoyuk. Findings re-affirm the existence of significant inter-population variability and suggest that high LEH prevalence likely increases PK distribution variability and weakens relationships with periodicity. PK distribution-based methods may nevertheless help narrow likely periodicity ranges and improve microstructure-based chronological age estimation accuracy even in highly LEH-impacted samples. To better understand relationships between population aggregation and physiological stress in early human settlements, Article two tests whether LEH prevalence or timing change significantly over time alongside population levels at Neolithic Catalhoyuk. LEH defect frequency scores (n = 109), defect-per-individual (DPI, n = 44), and defect initiation age (DIA, n = 44) were collected from epoxy canine replicas. LEH measures did not differ significantly by sex or age-at-death, nor did they significantly change over time in parallel with population size. Developmental stress episodes were very common (DPI: all defects M = 11, pronounced defects M = 6; DIA: all defect M = 3.9 years, pronounced defects M = 4.0 years), with 100% of observable individuals experiencing at least one de (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Clark Spencer Larsen (Advisor); Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg (Advisor); Mark Hubbe (Committee Member) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Archaeology; Histology; Human Remains; Near Eastern Studies; Physical Anthropology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1961, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Mary A. Watt (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1961, Food and Nutrition

Committee: Mary A. Watt (Advisor); William B. Jackson (Advisor) Subjects: Health Sciences

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Psychology

Committee: Betty J. Corwin (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Psychology

Committee: Betty J. Corwin (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology