Digital Commons Network^™

Improved Portable Back Pain Relief Device With User Interface, Zachary Bobango, Samuel J. Dauterman, Benjamin Bowman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this project is to design and create a massage system that is user interactive, portable, safe, efficient, and comfortable. The system should allow for user feedback from an outside peripheral such as a phone to be able to modify the system. Some challenges facing the implementation of such a system include: ensuring the product can withstand substantial force without breaking or malfunctioning while simultaneously being light enough for a consumer to carry without difficulty, engineering the massage heads to be able to move in multiple different motion types, creating the software that can control the device, and …

Counterdirectionality In The Grammar: Reversals And Restitutions, Jyoti Iyer

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of counterdirectionality, a semantic notion encompassing various sorts of reversals, involving either movement along a path, or---more abstractly---the restoring of an object or a state of affairs to a prior condition. Counterdirectionality is a relationship between an asserted event and a presupposed event in a strict temporal ordering. Across languages, it is frequently expressed by presuppositional adverbs that mean BACK (as in English Ali flew back from New York, Bina hugged Ali back, The door swung back open). The distribution of BACK-adverbs tends to overlap in a systematic way with that of …

Back And Shoulder Exoskeletons For Occupational Use: A Review, Erkan Ozan

Theses

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for a large portion of all work-related injuries according to OSHA. Back and shoulder-related disorders make the most of work-related MSDs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Exoskeletons emerged in recent years with the potential to reduce the risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. Their use in occupational settings is increasing, and exoskeleton designs are rapidly evolving. This paper reviewed recent scientific articles (2015 and after) that evaluated back and shoulder-support passive industrial exoskeletons. The findings of these articles are summarized and analyzed to assess the benefits of passive upper-body exoskeletons by …

Case Study--Jimmy (Zero Balancing And Cst), Judith Sullivan

Journal of Transformative Touch

Jimmy started receiving Zero Balancing and CranioSacral Therapy when he was 11 months old for significant torticollis and scoliosis. In 7 sessions between the beginning of November and the beginning of February. His x-rays show changes within normal ranges.

The Effect Of Patient Financial Liability On Physical Therapy Utilization And Patient Reported Outcomes For Patients With Low Back Pain: An Instrumental Variable Analysis, Adam D. Lutz

Theses and Dissertations

Low back pain (LBP) is the most common orthopedic complaint managed by physical therapists in the United States. Insurance plans that require greater patient financial liability per physical therapy visit are thought to disincentivize participation in recommended physical therapy plans of care. The primary purpose of this investigation was to use instrumental variable regression to investigate the effect of insurancemediated patient financial liability per visit on physical therapy visit count and functional patient reported outcomes. The secondary purpose of the study was to examine the generalizability of results to the broader excluded patient population—and beyond to patients that seek physical …

Low Back Pain In Family Practice, Marc R. Kostrubiak

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Low Back Pain (LBP) is the worlds leading cause of disability and the second most common reason for visiting a physician in the US. LBP is the second only to heart disease in healthcare costs. In most cases a definitive cause is never found, however most cases are also self-limited. Patient education in this area is currently insufficient and many people expect to receive advanced imaging and treatments. Most of the time these are not indicated and may be harmful to patients. To address the gap in patient knowledge and improve health literacy a patient focused educational trifold pamphlet was …

An Evaluation Of The Treatment Modality And Management Of Acute And Chronic Low Back Pain Individuals In Rural Southeast Kansas, Michele R. Carey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

Roughly 25 million American adults experience pain, and 23 million others withstand severe assiduous pain that is disabling and results in decrease work productivity, loss of quality of life and diminished health (Meldrum, 2016). Treatment of pain, including chronic and acute low back pain includes a multidisciplinary approach merging cognitive-behavioral, psychological and physical therapies, respite, pain coping management and self-hypnosis (Meldrum, 2016). In 1999, pharmaceutical companies reassured physicians that opioid pain relievers were not addictive, and the prescribing rate began to increase (NIH, 2017). The quantity of opioids being prescribed has quadrupled since 1999 which has led to an increase …

Kinematic Analysis Of Diving Back Pike Somersault In Platform According To Players’ Skill Level, Jiho Park, Ji-Seon Ryu, Sangkyoon Park, Heesung Lim, Sangheon Park, Joonyeon Kim, Chan-Hyuck Jung, Sukhoon Yoon

ISBS Proceedings Archive

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinematic difference in Back Pike somersault in platform diving according to players‘ skill level and to assist them to improve performances. Ten Korean diving athletes participated in this study and they were divided into skilled group (n=5) and less-skilled group (n=5) and t-test was performed to find the difference at the moment of take-off between groups. The results showed that the hip extension angle was greater and the extension velocity of knee and hip joints were faster in skilled group compared to less-skilled group. It is recommended, therefore that the flexibility …

Variant Prevertebral Muscle: Unique Cadaveric Findings., Jocelyn R Gonzales, Joe Iwanaga, Rod J Oskouian, R Shane Tubbs

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The levator scapulae muscle typically runs from the transverse process of the atlas to the superior angle of the scapula. In this paper, we describe a rare finding identified during a dissection of a male cadaver, wherein a continuation of the right levator scapulae ran past its normal attachment to the C1 transverse process, fusing with the inferior attachment of the rectus capitis lateralis muscle. No variants were found on the opposite side, and the innervation of the levator scapulae muscle variant was typical of that of a normal levator scapulae. We also describe other related variants of the cranial …

Fighting Back Against Prolific Online Harassment In The Philippines, Julie N. Posetti

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Something Wonderful In My Back Yard: The Social Impetus For Group Self- Building, Emma Elizabeth Heffernan, Pieter De Wilde

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

The housing crisis in the United Kingdom, as Barker (2004) identifies, has become shorthand for a chronic lack of suitable and affordable housing - in both the home ownership and rental sectors - and the undersupply and diminishment of social housing stock (Barker, 2004; Jefferys et al., 2014). What has also become clear is that the mainstream housebuilding sector - speculative housing development - has not risen to the task of ameliorating this crisis. Consequently, there is increasing marginalisation within the housing and land economy, with many people finding that their housing needs cannot be met by the sector. This …

Motion Optimization And Parameter Identification For A Human And Lower Back Exoskeleton Model, Paul Manns, Manish Sreenivasa, Matthew Millard, Katja Mombaur

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Designing an exoskeleton to reduce the risk of low-back injury during lifting is challenging. Computational models of the human-robot system coupled with predictive movement simulations can help to simplify this design process. Here, we present a study that models the interaction between a human model actuated by muscles and a lower back exoskeleton. We provide a computational framework for identifying the spring parameters of the exoskeleton using an optimal control approach and forward-dynamics simulations. This is applied to generate dynamically consistent bending and lifting movements in the sagittal plane. Our computations are able to predict motions and forces of the …

The Lived Experience Of Individuals With Chronic Back And Neck Pain, Depression, And/Or Anxiety, Tara L. Palmeri

Dissertations

More than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain (CP). People who experience chronic pain are 20 to 40% more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, and three to four times more likely to be clinically depressed than their pain-free counterparts. The relationship between CP and mental health has been studied quantitatively; however, few researchers have investigated co-morbid CP and mental health through a phenomenological lens. The subjective nature of the relationship is not comprehensively addressed within the literature.

This qualitative phenomenological study explored (a) how individuals with chronic back and/or neck pain (CBNP) experience, understand, and …

Public Won't Back A 'Politicians' Republic', So Turnbull Needs To Offer A Better Model, Gregory C. Melleuish

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

The word republic has many meanings - but they can probably be reduced to two. The first simply means a political order in which there is no king or queen at its apex. The Romans who invented the term res publica (public matter) were adamantly opposed to the idea of having a king. Julius Caesar was assassinated because it was believed he wished to make himself king. The second describes a political system composed by individuals motivated by an idea of virtue and by a series of institutional arrangements through which power is divided so it is not concentrated in …

Lead Hip Kinematics And Weight Bearing Patterns Of Amateur Golfers With And Without Low Back Pain, Steven K. Mcrae

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between lead hip kinematics, weight bearing patterns and lumbar kinematic differences between golfers who experience golf related low back pain and golfers who do not. Methods: A total of 12 amateur male golfers were recruited, 7 without low back pain and 5 with low back pain. IRED motion capture was used to determine kinematics and two force plates were used to collect kinetic data. Results: Low back pain golfers externally rotated their lead hip significantly less during address (p= 0.048), and internally rotated their lead hip significantly more …

Opening Social | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Welcome back AGGIES! Here is to hoping your first week has been going well.

Learning To Learn And Naming Through Receptive And Expressive Identification, Kelli Perry

Dissertations

Poor or no language skills are typical of most preschool children with autism (American Psychological Association, 2013). Language can be divided into the two components of receptive, or listener, skills and expressive, or speaker, skills. Recommendations for sequencing language instruction vary across the different behavior-analytic instructional models (Lovaas, 1981; Barbara & Rasmussen, 2007; Sundberg & Partington, 1998; Sundberg, 2008). The current study sought to examine those recommendations using young children (three- to four-years-old) with limited vocal repertoires and to explore the acquisition of learning to learn (Harlow, 1949) and naming (Greer & Ross, 2007). This research (1) adds to the …

Biodynamic Parameters During A Step Down Task In Subjects With Chronic Or Recurrent Low Back Pain Classified With Lumbar Instability, Kim M. Poulsen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background: Low back pain (LBP) affect a majority of the population. Lumbar instability has been identified as a factor in a significant portion of individuals with LBP but movement characteristics of this population has seen limited research regarding functional tasks. Objective: This study examined biodynamic parameters during a step task. Design: Quasi-experimental with 2 factors, group and side (L/R), and 1 repeated measure (stepping). Statistics: Two-way Mixed-Design Repeated Measures ANOVA with Alpha = .05. Movement task: Subjects with LBP and lumbar spine clinical instability classification (N=11) and control subjects (N=11) performed a step down task from a 9.5 inch …

'Get Your Life Back': Process And Impact Evaluation Of An Asthma Social Marketing Campaign Targeting Older Adults, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

Background: Asthma in older adults is underdiagnosed and poorly self-managed. This population has little knowledge about the key symptoms, the prevalence among older adults, and the serious consequences of untreated asthma. The purpose of this study was to undertake a multifaceted evaluation of a social marketing campaign to increase asthma awareness among older adults in a regional Australian community. Methods: A cohort of older adults in an intervention region (n = 316) and a control region (n = 394) were surveyed immediately prior to and following the social marketing campaign. Campaign awareness, message recall, materials recognition, and actions taken as …

Financial Accounting Reform: The Need For A 'Back To Basics' Approach For Profit Measurement And Wealth Measurement, John Ryan

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

By recognising the dual purposes of financial accounting, and developing distinct theories to guide the preparation of financial reports, the apparent internal contradictions in accounting theory can be resolved. Property rights and measurement theory provide the basis for explaining transaction-based profit measurement and funds commitment, and for a statement of wealth measured using market prices. Property rights are recognised in The New Institutional Economics. Going beyond accepted accounting conventions, property rights provide the qualitative, empirical property giving meaning to accounting practice for profit measurement through the 1940s to 1960s. Examples of profit and of wealth measurement are included.

Back To The Classroom: Language Educators Learning A Language, Lidia Bilbatua, Laetitia Vedrenne, Rowena G. Ward

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

As part of our preparation for this presentation, we undertook research into the field of teachers as students etc but there is virtually none irrespective of language or other. Research on the motivation of students and teachers and the differences between teachers’ beliefs and their actual classroom practice is ample but there is virtually nothing on teachers as students and the impact that being a student had on their teaching practise etc. In some ways, it seems that once you are a language teacher, you are expected to remember what it is like to study a language – from our …

The Anthropocene And Geography I: The Back Story, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This and two companion papers (Geography and the Anthropocene II: Current Contributions and The Anthropocene and Geography III: Future Directions) consider the relevance of 'the Anthropocene' to present and future research in Geography. Along with the concept of 'planetary boundaries', the idea that humanity has entered a new geological epoch of its own making is currently attracting considerable attention - both within and beyond the world of Earth surface science from whence both notions originate. This paper summarises the origins and evolution of the scientific discourse since the Anthropocene idea was first proposed in 2000. It ends by outlining the …

Water Reclamation From Shale Gas Drilling Flow-Back Fluid Using A Novel Forward Osmosis-Vacuum Membrane Distillation Hybrid System, Xue-Mei Li, Baolong Zhao, Zhongwei Wang, Ming Xie, Jianfeng Song, Long Nghiem, Tao He, Chi Yang, Chunxia Li, Ghang Chen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This study examined the performance of a novel hybrid system of forward osmosis (FO) combined with vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for reclaiming water from shale gas drilling flow-back fluid (SGDF). In the hybrid FO-VMD system, water permeated through the FO membrane into a draw solution reservoir, and the VMD process was used for draw solute recovery and clean water production. Using a SGDF sample obtained from a drilling site in China, the hybrid system could achieve almost 90% water recovery. Quality of the reclaimed water was comparable to that of bottled water. In the hybrid FO-VMD system, FO functions as …

Post-Laminectomy Back Pain: Understanding The Progress From Acute To Chronic Pain State, James Derek Calhoun

DNP Projects

In the United States, 74.6% of patients who have lumbar laminectomy surgery have residual low back pain (Hussain & Erdek, 2014) and overall costs of low back pain may reach up to $200 billion per year (Carey & Frebuger 2013). To further address this problem, a study was conducted to determine if treatment in a chronic pain clinic could result in a reduction in the development of a chronic pain state for adult patients who have had lumbar laminectomy surgeries. A convenience sample of 50 patients was selected from the Interventional Pain Associates clinic at the University of Kentucky. Records …

Media Reforms Take One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Eric Loo

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

Malaysians are evidently freer today to openly criticise their government than they were prior to 1998.

But fundamental reforms that civil societies had hoped for during the internet-driven Reformasi movement in 1998 and Bersih rallies (in 2007, 2011 and 2012) are wanting.

Instead, Malaysians have a government focused on achieving a high-income developed-nation status by 2020 while eschewing the cultural prerequisites of a normative democracy — freedom of access to public information, free and fair elections, vigilant media and press freedom.

Shame And The Anti-Suffragist In Britain And Ireland: Drawing Women Back Into The Fold?, Sharon Crozier-De Rosa

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

Shame has been heavily relied on as a political tool in the modern world and yet it is still a much under-historicised emotion. Using the examples of early twentieth-century Britain and Ireland, I examine how women opposed to the campaign for female suffrage used shame instrumentally in their writing. Exploring the versatility of this political device, I find that shame was used with the oppositional intentions of binding and excluding. Whereas British conservatives used it to protect an already well-established imagined community of good imperial women, Irish radicals drew on it to invite women to take part in the construction …

Back Translation: An Emerging Sophisticated Cyber Strategy To Subvert Advances In 'Digital Age' Plagiarism Detection And Prevention, Michael Jones, Lynnaire Sheridan

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Advances have been made in detecting and deterring the student plagiarism that has accompanied the uptake and development of the internet. Many authors from the late 1990s onwards grappled with plagiarism in the digital age, presenting articles that were provoking and established the foundation for strategies to address cyber plagiarism, including software such as Turnitin. In the spirit of its predecessors, this article presents a new, less-detectable method of cyber-facilitated plagiarism known as 'back translation', where students are running text through language translation software to disguise the original source. This paper discusses how this plagiarism strategy attempts to subvert academic …

Proposed Performance Standards For The Plank For Inclusion Consideration Into The Navy's Physical Readiness Test, David D. Peterson

Allied Health Faculty Publications

Since 1982, the U.S. Navy has used the curl-up as part of its semiannual physical readiness test (PRT) to assess core muscular endurance. Although no formal study has been conducted yet, there is speculation that the incorporation of the curl-up into the PRT has contributed to the navy's lower back injury rate. Therefore, there has been considerable interest as of late to identify a safer (and more operationally relevant) alternative to the curl-up. The following article takes a formal look at the standard front plank as a possible replacement for the curl-up for incorporation into the Navy's PRT.

Nintendo Wii: Opportunities To Put The Education Back Into Physical Education, Dana Perlman, Gregory J. Forrest, Philip J. Pearson

Dana Perlman

Movement-based gaming technologies, such as the Nintendo Wii, are becoming more visible within the physical education. As research on movement-based technologies develops, an aspect that has gained interest is the potential educational value for the physical education student. The purpose of this study was to examine movement-based sport games and the potential learning opportunities (i.e. game performance elements) for physical education students. Using qualitative measures, experts in the field of physical education teacher education analyzed the game performance opportunities across multiple sport-based games. Findings indicated that movement-based games provide opportunities to develop and work on the cognitive understanding of sport …

"Health" Magazine Article - Osteopathic Concept And Spinal Study Statistics In Children, Richard S. Koch

Koch Collection, Papers of Richard S Koch, DO

Rough Draft for Dr. Koch's contribution to an article in Health magazine discussing spinal findings in children and their correlation in neck and back pain and other dysfunctions.