<p>Microrobots have a promising prospect to be used in healthcare and bioengineering applications due to their capability to gently access small and delicate body sites. Unfortunately, traditional materials used for the fabrication of microrobots are rigid, hindering safe operation due to the transfer of high stresses to the surrounding tissue. Additionally, traditional microrobots are often not biocompatible, which threatens the health of the patient if not properly retrieved. This dissertation describes the fabrication and actuation of small-scale (several micrometers in all dimensions) magnetic robots that are soft, biocompatible, and capable of moving over smooth and corrugated surface. <u>S</u>oft <u>M</u>agnetic <u>M</u>icro <u>R</u>obots (SMµRs) can carry payloads in their porous interior and release them using external magnetic inputs. SMµRs has therefore the potential to be used in a wide range of applications—including targeted drug release and remote biosensing and bio sampling—and access a number of difficult-to-reach sites in the human body, such as intestines or blood vessels. The structure of SMµRs consist of three thin layers: Two layers of polymer with embedded magnetic particles aligned along a preferential direction. One porous layer, in between the magnetic layers, where the SMµRs can accumulate and release payloads. SMµRs are small, light in weight, and fast and inexpensive to fabricate. Moreover, the manufacturing of SMµRs is compatible with large-scale production processes, facilitating their future commercial exploitation. Using external rotating magnetic fields, the position of the SMµRs can be controlled wirelessly <i>via</i> tumbling locomotion. We demonstrate two types of tumbling locomotion (length-wise and side-wise) as well as the possibility to release the internal payload of the SMµRs in a discrete or continuous manner using only changes in the intensity of the external magnetic field. We studied the performance of SMµRs under a variety of environmental conditions as well as their capability of overcoming obstacles.</p>

In gymnastics, females are often afflicted with lower extremity injuries during the landing phase of a backward rotating skill. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of using a drop landing and backward somersault landing to compare and contrast the kinetic and kinematic differences between the two tasks in order to determine if a drop landing is a suitable representative task to analyze when examining landing injury mechanisms. Eleven female NCAA Division I gymnasts (age 19.3 ± 0.9 yrs; body height 1.66 ± 0.05 m; body mass 61.36 ± 6.02 kg) were recruited to perform drop landings and backward somersaults. Two force plates along with a 3D movement analysis system were used to collect kinetic and kinematic data. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the differences in the variables with the significance level set at 0.05. There were mechanical differences and significance found between the peak vertical ground reaction forces, loading rate, kinetic and kinematic variables in the sagittal and frontal planes during the two tasks. It is evident that results may underestimate the effect of gymnastics landing impacts on risk of lower extremity injury because of the mechanical differences and significance found between the two tasks. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.

Le marinage et le saumurage améliorent la durée de conservation, la tendreté et la jutosité de la viande et du poisson. En complément, un malaxage ou « barattage » est souvent appliqué aux pièces de viande préalablement à la cuisson. Le but principal de cette étude était d’évaluer l’impact des conditions de traitement sur les modifications biochimiques et structurales du tissu musculaire ; une grande partie concerne le malaxage. Les essais relatifs au marinage ont permis de fixer le pH et la teneur en NaCl de petits échantillons de Semitendinosus de bœuf respectivement à 6,5, 5,4 ou 4,3 et à 0,9 ou 2 % en masse ; une ANOVA a révélé les effets de ces 2 paramètres sur la taille des cellules et des espaces extracellulaires, l’oxydation des lipides et des protéines et l’hydrophobie de surface de ces dernières. Un simulateur de saumurage-malaxage conçu par le laboratoire a permis d’imposer des successions de déformations contrôlées (nombre de 350 à 2500, taux de compression de 10 à 30%) à des muscles Semimembranosus (SM) ou Rectus femoris (RF) de porc. Des traitements mécaniques semblables à ceux existant dans des barattes industrielles de tailles différentes ont ainsi été reproduits. Les principales conclusions sont : (1) le malaxage augmente nettement la diffusivité apparente du NaCl, d’une part, en altérant la structure tissulaire (+ 20 %), et d’autre part, en induisant une convection s’ajoutant à la diffusion (+200 %) ; (2) le traitement mécanique entraine en lui-même une augmentation de la solubilité des protéines, connue pour moduler les qualités des viandes transformées, de 20 à 50% par rapport à des échantillons non malaxés, qu’ils soient salés ou non ; (3) il entraine aussi une augmentation modérée de l’hydrophobie des protéines ; (4) la dégradation de l’endomysium, servant d’indicateur des modifications structurales, est plus marquée au milieu qu’en périphérie du muscle malaxé et d’autant plus importante que le traitement mécanique est fort et long. / Marinating and brining improve shelf-life, tenderness and juiciness of meat and fish. As a supplement massaging or tumbling is often applied to meat pieces before cooking. The main aim of this study was to assess the impacts of the processing conditions on the biochemical and structural changes in the meat tissue; a great part is focused on massaging. In the marinating trials the pH and NaCl content of thin samples of beef Semimembranosus muscle were set at 6.5, 5.4 or 4.3 and at 0,9 or 2 % (w/w), respectively; an ANOVA have shown the effect of these two parameters on the cells and extra cellular space sizes, the oxidation of lipids and proteins and the protein surface hydrophobicity. A brining-massaging simulator built by the laboratory was used to apply controlled successions of deformations (number from 350 to 2500, compression ratio from 10 to 30 %) to Semimembranosus (SM) ou Rectus femoris (RF) pork muscles. Mechanical treatments similar to those existing in industrial tumblers of various diameters were so reproduced. The main conclusions are: (1) massaging clearly increases the NaCl apparent diffusivity, on the one hand, by a modifying the tissue structure (+20%) and, on the other hand, by adding convection to diffusion (+200%); (2) the mechanical treatment promotes by itself an increase in protein solubility, known to affect processed meat quality, from 20 to 50 % in comparison with salted or unsalted reference samples; (3) it also increases moderately protein hydrophobicity; (4) the endomysium degradation, used as an indicator of structural changes, was more pronounced in the muscle periphery than in the middle and all the more marked than massaging was strong and long.

The mobility and biomedical applications of a microscale magnetic tumbling (μTUM) robot capable of traversing complex terrains in dry and wet environments is explored. Roughly 800 x 400 x 100 μm in size, the robot is fabricated using standard photolithography techniques and consists of a rectangular polymeric body with embedded NdFeB particles. Static force analysis and dynamic modeling of its motion characteristics are performed with experimental verification. Techniques for simulating the intermittent, non-contact behavior of tumbling locomotion are used to find an optimized design for the microrobot, reducing time and resources spent on physical fabrication. When subject to a magnetic field as low as 3 mT, the microrobot is able to translate at speeds of over 30 body lengths/s (24 mm/s) in dry conditions and up to 8 body lengths/s (6.8 mm/s) in wet conditions. It can climb inclined planes up to 60° in wet conditions and up to 45° in dry conditions. Maximum open loop straight-line trajectory errors of less than 4% and 2% of the traversal distance in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively, were also observed. Full two-dimensional directional control of the microrobot was shown through the traversal of a P-shaped trajectory. The microrobot's real-time position can be accurately tracked through visual occlusions using ultrasound imaging. When applied as a coating, a fluorescein payload was found to diffuse over a two hour time period from the microrobot. Cytotoxicity tests also demonstrated that the microrobot's SU-8 body is biocompatible with murine fibroblasts. The microrobot's capabilities make it promising for targeted drug delivery and other in vivo biomedical applications.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of video feedback to improve three cheerleading tumbling skills in a multiple baseline across behaviors design. The study involved three high school cheerleaders. Target behaviors varied by participant, being some variation of a front walkover roundoff back handspring, a standing back tuck, and a toe touch two back handsprings. The primary researcher implemented the video feedback procedure. All cheerleading skills for all participants increased substantially during intervention. This study extended sports performance literature by evaluating video feedback in a sport that has never been the focus of research in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Tumbling take-offs on floor exercise apparatuses of varying stiffness properties may contribute to apparatus behaviors that lead to increased injury exposure. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the kinematics, kinetics, and timing performance characteristics of a springfloor and a spring-floor with an added Air Floor™. Five male international gymnasts performed a forward handspring to forward somersault and a round off, flic flac, backward somersault on a standard spring-floor and a spring-floor with an Air Floor™. Performances were measured via high-speed video kinematics (lower extremity joint angles and positions), electromyography of eight lower extremity muscles, mean peak forces on the feet, and timing. Comparisons of spring-floor types, lower extremity joint angles, lower extremity muscle activations, foot forces, and selected durations were determined. The spring floor with Air Floor™ resulted in longer take-off contact durations than spring-floor alone. Dynamic knee angles may indicate an unexpected and potentially injurious motion of the triceps surae musculotendinous structures. This pilot and hypothesis generating study has suggested future research examining dynamic knee position and angle changes, the role of spring-floor vibration and stiffness in take-offs, and take-off muscle activation alignment with the stiffness of the spring-floor. Pragmatically, there appears to be a convergence of evidence indicating that a slower frequency response of the spring floor may assist tumbling performance and reduce stress and strain in the lower extremity.

Tumbling take-offs on floor exercise apparatuses of varying stiffness properties may contribute to apparatus behaviors that lead to increased injury exposure. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the kinematics, kinetics, and timing performance characteristics of a springfloor and a spring-floor with an added Air Floor™. Five male international gymnasts performed a forward handspring to forward somersault and a round off, flic flac, backward somersault on a standard spring-floor and a spring-floor with an Air Floor™. Performances were measured via high-speed video kinematics (lower extremity joint angles and positions), electromyography of eight lower extremity muscles, mean peak forces on the feet, and timing. Comparisons of spring-floor types, lower extremity joint angles, lower extremity muscle activations, foot forces, and selected durations were determined. The spring floor with Air Floor™ resulted in longer take-off contact durations than spring-floor alone. Dynamic knee angles may indicate an unexpected and potentially injurious motion of the triceps surae musculotendinous structures. This pilot and hypothesis generating study has suggested future research examining dynamic knee position and angle changes, the role of spring-floor vibration and stiffness in take-offs, and take-off muscle activation alignment with the stiffness of the spring-floor. Pragmatically, there appears to be a convergence of evidence indicating that a slower frequency response of the spring floor may assist tumbling performance and reduce stress and strain in the lower extremity.

The nervous systems of animals evolved to exert dynamic control of behavior in response to the needs of the animal and changing signals from the environment. To understand the mechanisms of dynamic control, we need a means of predicting how individual neural and body elements will interact to produce the performance of the entire system. We have developed a neuromechanical application named AnimatLab that addresses this problem through simulation. A computational model of a body and nervous system can be constructed from simple components and situated in a virtual world for testing. Simulations and live experiments were used to investigate questions about locust jumping. The neural circuitry and biomechanics of kicking in locusts have been extensively studied. It has been hypothesized that the same neural circuit and biomechanics governed both behaviors, but this hypothesis was not testable with current technology. We built a neuromechanical model to test this and to gain a better understanding of the role of the semi-lunar process (SLP) in jump dynamics. The SLP are bands of cuticle that store energy for use during jumping. The results of the model were compared to a variety of published data and were similar. The SLP significantly increased jump distance, power, total energy, and duration of the jump impulse. Locust can jump precisely to a target, but also exhibit tumbling. We proposed two mechanisms for controlling tumbling during the jump. The first was that locusts adjust the pitch of their body prior to the jump to move the center of mass closer to the thrust vector. The second was that contraction of the abdominal muscles during the jump produced torques that countered the torque due to thrust. There was a strong correlation relating increased pitch and takeoff angle. In simulations there was an optimal pitch-takeoff combination that minimized tumbling that was similar to the live data. The direction and magnitude of tumbling could be controlled by adjusting abdominal tension. Tumbling also influenced jump elevation. Neuromechanical simulation addressed problems that would be difficult to examine using traditional physiological approaches. It is a powerful tool for understanding the neural basis of behavior.

Catfish fillets that were enhanced with salt and various phosphate treatments through vacuum tumbling or multi-needle injection were evaluated for yield, protein exudate (only tumbling), surface color, pH, cooking loss, tenderness, purge loss and shelf-life. An agglomerated sodium phosphate blend (AGSP) was the optimum treatment for both vacuum tumbling and multi-needle injection and was further utilized in conjunction with potassium lactate (PL) and/or potassium acetate (PA) through vacuum tumbling to determine their effect on the quality, shelf-life and sensory characteristics of enhanced catfish fillets. In addition, the combination of AGSP and PA+PL that maximized shelf-life was further utilized in conjunction with liquid or wood smoking to evaluate the quality and inhibition of L. monocytogenes growth in ready-to-eat (RTE) smoked catfish fillets. All phosphate treatments increased (P<0.05) tenderness, but AGSP that contained mono-, tri-, and polyphosphates increased (P<0.05) pH and yield and decreased (P<0.05) yellowness in both tumbling and injection systems when compared to the control treatment. In addition, AGSP decreased (P<0.05) protein exudate when fillets were tumbled and increased (P<0.05) solution pick-up when injected. Psychrotrophic plate counts (PPC) for all phosphate treatments were similar to the control at each storage time and reached 7 log CFU/g by day 7 of storage; however, when AGSP was used in conjunction with PA+PL, PPC and sensory spoilage scores of raw catfish fillets were lower (P<0.05) than the control at each storage time. Marinating with a combination of 0.25% PA and 0.58% PL increased shelf-life (P<0.05) to between 10 and 14 days when compared to the control which had a shelf-life between 7 and 10 days. In addition, consumers preferred (P<0.05) fried catfish fillets that were treated with AGSP with and without PA+PL when compared to non-marinated controls with respect to appearance, flavor and overall acceptability. In conclusion, AGSP optimized yield and improved the quality of refrigerated catfish fillets, and extended shelf-life three days over other treatments when combined with PA+PL. This combined treatment also enhanced sensory properties of fried catfish fillets and had a synergistic effect with wood smoke constituents that inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes on RTE smoked catfish fillets.

We present a new diffuse interface model for the dynamics of inextensible vesicles in a viscous fluid with inertial forces. A new feature of this work is the implementation of the local inextensibility condition in the diffuse interface context. Local inextensibility is enforced by using a local Lagrange multiplier, which provides the necessary tension force at the interface. We introduce a new equation for the local Lagrange multiplier whose solution essentially provides a harmonic extension of the multiplier off the interface while maintaining the local inextensibility constraint near the interface. We also develop a local relaxation scheme that dynamically corrects local stretching/compression errors thereby preventing their accumulation. Asymptotic analysis is presented that shows that our new system converges to a relaxed version of the inextensible sharp interface model. This is also verified numerically. To solve the equations, we use an adaptive finite element method with implicit coupling between the Navier-Stokes and the diffuse interface inextensibility equations. Numerical simulations of a single vesicle in a shear flow at different Reynolds numbers demonstrate that errors in enforcing local inextensibility may accumulate and lead to large differences in the dynamics in the tumbling regime and smaller differences in the inclination angle of vesicles in the tank-treading regime. The local relaxation algorithm is shown to prevent the accumulation of stretching and compression errors very effectively. Simulations of two vesicles in an extensional flow show that local inextensibility plays an important role when vesicles are in close proximity by inhibiting fluid drainage in the near contact region.