Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma. / Bibliography: leaves 62-71.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 151-167

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-206).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New Mexico, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-90).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2006. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Frances Lefcort. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-70).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-169).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 01114.pdf: 3545903 bytes, checksum: 16ffa3cd108f92ce30100ddc3a442ad9 (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IEA/T / Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo - FM/USP

abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts the communication between supraspinal circuits and spinal circuits distal to the injury. This disruption causes changes in the motor abilities of the affected individual, but it can also be used as an opportunity to study motor control in the absence or limited presence of control from the brain. In the case of incomplete paraplegia, locomotion is impaired and often results in increased incidence of foot drag and decreased postural stability after injury. The overall goal of this work is to understand how changes in kinematics of movement and neural control of muscles effect locomotor coordination following SCI. Toward this end, we examined musculoskeletal parameters and kinematics of gait in rats with and without incomplete SCI (iSCI) and used an empirically developed computational model to test related hypotheses. The first study tested the hypothesis that iSCI causes a decrease in locomotor and joint angle movement complexity. A rat model was used to measure musculoskeletal properties and gait kinematics following mild iSCI. The data indicated joint-specific changes in kinematics in the absence of measurable muscle atrophy, particularly at the ankle as a result of the injury. Kinematic changes manifested as a decrease in complexity of ankle motion as indicated by measures of permutation entropy. In the second study, a new 2-dimensional computational model of the rat ankle combining forward and inverse dynamics was developed using the previously collected data. This model was used to test the hypothesis that altered coordination of flexor and extensor muscles (specifically alteration in burst shape and timing) acting at the ankle joint could be responsible for increases in incidence of foot drag following injury. Simulation results suggest a time course for changes in neural control following injury that begins with foot drag and decreased delay between antagonistic muscle activations. Following this, beneficial adaptations in muscle activation profile and ankle kinematics counteract the decreased delay to allow foot swing. In both studies, small changes in neural control caused large changes in behavior, particularly at the ankle. Future work will further examine the role of neural control of hindlimb in rat locomotion following iSCI. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Bioengineering 2012

Orientador: Aureo Evangelista Santana / Banca: Júlio Carlos Canola / Banca: Maria Angélica Dias / Resumo: Estudos recentes demonstrac.am a presença de células-tronco no sangue do cordão umbilical (SCU) humano, representando uma fonte alternativa para reconstituição tecidual. Em eqüídeos, o estudo do SCU é recente e ainda não existem relatos sobre a colheita e análise do SCU na referida espécie. Neste experimento foram realizadas colheitas de SCU e da jugular de neonatos eqüinos (n=05) e asininos (n=05), imediatamente após o nascimento. Em seguida, foram colhidas amostras de sangue de suas respectivas mães. Alíquotas de sangue foram acondicionadas tubos com e sem EDT A. As amostras de SCU e da jugular do potro e de sua mãe foram submetidas à contagem global de hemácias e leucócitos e à determinação do volume globular e da concentração de hemoglobina com o auxílio de um contador automático de células. As contagens diferenciais de leucócitos foram conduzidas em esfregaços sangüíneos corados com Metanol, May-Grunwald e Giemsa (MMG). Os índices eritrocíticos de Wintrobe foram obtidos por relações matemáticas estabelecidas entre o número de hemácias, taxa de hemoglobina e volume globular. A dosagem de proteínas séricas totais foi obtida pelo método colori métrico do Biureto e o fracionamento eletroforético das proteínas séricas em gel de agarose. No SCU eqüino foram observados valores significativamente maiores para contagem de hemácias, hemoglobina e CHCM e menores para VCM, PT, a, b e g-globulinas, contagens global e diferencial de leucócitos, exceto contagem de NB e monócitos, comparativamente aos valores obtidos no sangue de suas mães. No SCU asinino observaram-se valores significativamente maiores para hemoglobina e menores para VG, PT, albumina, a, b e g-globulinas, contagens global e diferencial de leucócitos, exceto para basófilos, NB e monócitos, quando comparados aos valores obtidos no sangue de suas progenitoras. / Abstract: The presence of stem-ceiis in human umbilical cord blood (UCB) was demonstrated in recent studies, representing an alternative source to tissue reconstitution. Equine UCB study is recent, and stiii doesn't have reports about neonatal foals UCB collect and analysis. In this work, were collected UCB and circulating blood of 10 newborns, been 5 horses and 5 donkeys, immediately after birth. Following, mare's blood was coilected. Biood samples were packed in tubes with and without EDTA. UCB samples and foal's and its mother's circulating blood samples were submitted to red blood cell (RBC) and total white blood cell counts and determinations of packed cell volume (PCV) and hemoglobin concentration using an electronic cell counter. The differential leukocyte counts were carried out in MMMG-stained blood smears. The Wintrobe erythocytic indices were obtained through mathematics relations among RBC count, PCV and hemoglobin. Total serum proteins (TSP) dosage were obtained through the Biureto's method and the serum proteins electrophoresis in agarose gel were carried out. Equine UCB, showed higher values of RBC count, hemoglobin concentration and MCHC, and lower values of MCV, TSP, a, b e g-globulins, total and differential leukocytes counts, except to BN and monocytes counts, when compared to mare's blood. Donkey UCB showed a higher values of hemoglobin and lower values of PCV, TSP, albumin,a, b e g-globulins, total and differential leukocytes counts, except to basophiis, BN and monocytes when compared to mare's blood. / Mestre