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Self Hypnosis For School Success: Empowering Adolescents With Anxiety And Stress, Nilani Shankar

Doctoral Dissertations

Self-hypnosis is a treatment that has been utilized to address the social-emotional concerns of adolescents with high levels of anxiety and stress. In this study, a multiple baseline design across three high school-aged participants was implemented to examine whether self-hypnosis could decrease symptoms of anxiety and stress and help to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The results of the study indicated that the treatment resulted in decreases in trait and state anxiety for two out of three participants, improvements in stress levels for two out of three participants, and improvements in HRQoL for all three participants. Participants reported that …

Graphene Kirigami And Its Use In Biocompatible Strain Sensor, Erik Vyhmeister

Honors Theses

Graphene's large fracture strain (>30%), chemical inertness, and piezoresistive nature make it well suited for use as a biocompatible strain sensor. A rectangular multilayer strucutre with graphene as its operative component was designed. It consists of a bottom layer of SU-8, a center layer of graphene, and a top layer of SU-8 and gold, with gold acting as the electrical contact. Kirigami-style patterning is applied via photolithography and oxygen plasma etching, allowing for a greater fracture strain. Additionally, the kirigami affects the stress concentraton in the graphene, affecting its piezoresistive gauge factor. The complete (patterned) structure exhibited a fracture …

Interactions Between Stress-Induced Inflammation, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (Gsk3), And Depression, Yuyan Cheng

Open Access Dissertations

Major depressive disorder is a prevalent disease that is inadequately treated with available interventions, and recovery is difficult, particularly in patients refractory to antidepressant treatments. Studying the learned helplessness depression model in mice, we examined mechanisms regulating its initiation and regulating its reversibility. Stress increases susceptibility to depression in patients and rodent models, and depression is associated with aberrant activation of inflammation. We found multiple inflammatory cytokines were increased in mouse plasma and hippocampus after a paradigm of inescapable foot shock stress that causes learned helplessness. A 24 hr prior pre-conditioning stress accelerated the rate of stress-induced plasma and hippocampal …

Integrating Physiological And Reflex Biomarkers Of Fishing Capture Stress In Coastal Shark Species, Jacob M. Jerome

Open Access Theses

In both commercial and recreational fisheries, many sharks are captured and released alive due to harvest regulations, the capture of non-target species, or conservation ethics. Nevertheless, released individuals may suffer post-release fitness loss or even mortality due to capture stress. Additionally, some of these species that would otherwise be intended for release are found dead upon capture. Understanding physiological and behavioral responses of sharks to capture stress is important for determining best fishing practices and for establishing effective management strategies. In this study, I investigated sub-lethal effects of capture through monitoring blood glucose, lactate, hematocrit and reflex impairment on four …

Investigating The Effects Of Environmental Treatment On Social Stress, Depression And Anxiety, Blessy Johnson

Honors Capstones

In the proposed study we will be investigating how age affects the responsiveness to EE, willingness to exercise, and depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in prairie voles that are subjected to social isolation. Previous research findings show that EE helps in the prevention and remediation of social isolation induced depressive and anxiety related behaviors (Van Praag, Kempermann & Gage, 2000).Therefore, in this study we are hypothesizing that the older prairie voles will be less responsive to EE when compared to younger animals because of less adaptability and flexibility. In addition, older voles will show less remediation of social isolation induced depressive …

Investigating The Relationship Among Sleep, Stress, And Body Mass Index In At-Risk First-Year College Students, Grace A. Violette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study objective was to investigate relationships among body mass index (BMI), sleep quality/duration, and perceived stress in 1,176 first semester college students who enrolled in Get Fruved, an 8-state social marketing intervention to prevent unwanted weight gain. Research was limited to first-year college students at-risk for unwanted weight gain. Eligibility was based on self-report of inadequate fruit and vegetable intake and subjects meeting one or more health-risk criteria (e.g., high BMI). Students (mean age=181 years; 65% white) completed physical measurements and an online survey, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (score range 0-21; ˃5=disordered sleep) and the Cohen …

The Path Of Least Resistance: A Student’S Guide For Working Smarter, Not Harder., Scott Abel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The amount of stress that accumulates over the course of one’s collegiate career can be overwhelming to say the least. What if I told you that with a basic strategy you could cut your workload in half and alleviate much of the stress that goes hand in hand with school? Well now you can. This capstone project shows students different ways to achieve their goals by my method of Working Smarter and not Harder.

The Use Of Simulation To Decrease Stress In First Year Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Jared Scott Seymour

Doctoral Projects

Each year, critical care nurses across the nation make the decision to become anesthesia providers. In order to become a certified anesthesia provider, nurses must meet the high standards required to be considered for entrance into anesthesia school. Once accepted, these students, known as Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs), must successfully complete a rigorous curriculum consisting of both didactic and clinical training. Due in part to the high degree of difficulty of anesthesia programs, SRNAs are at risk for experiencing high levels of stress. Chipas and McKenna (2011) shows SRNAs experience a self-reported average daily stress level of 7.2 on …

Effect Of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (N-3 Pufa) Supplementation To Lactating Sows On Growth And Indicators Of Stress In The Post-Weaned Pig, John M. Mcafee

Masters Theses

The first experiment was designed to determine the concentration of protected fish oil product (PFO), as Gromega^TM, to be added that would sufficiently decrease the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio in the sows’ milk and colostrum. Of the 3 diets tested (0.25%, 0.5% and 1%) with a control (0% PFO), only the 1% PFO diet had an effect on the PUFA concentrations. The docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration tended (P = 0.05) to be greater in the 1% PFO diet for both colostrum and milk samples. A second experiment was designed to …

Strategies And Techniques For Fabricating Mems Bistable Thermal Actuators., Dilan Ratnayake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bistable elements are beginning to appear in the field of MEMS as they allow engineers to design sensors and actuators which require no electrical power and possess mechanical memory. This research focuses on the development of novel strategies and techniques for fabricating MEMS bistable structures to serve as no electrical power thermal actuators. Two parallel strategies were explored for the design and fabrication of the critical bistable element. Both strategies involved an extensive material study on candidate thin film materials to determine their temperature coefficient of expansion and as-deposited internal stress properties. Materials investigated included titanium tungsten, Invar, silicon nitride …

Smartwalker – Rolling Walker Instrumentation And Data Acquisition System Development To Monitor, Visualize And Store Rolling Walker Usage Data, Mauricio Jaguan Nieves

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

The Smart Walker project was designed to fill a necessity of monitoring in real time the use of rolling walkers (RW) and study the causes that contribute to the high rate of fallings among its users. The main objectives of the project were to measure the major forces applied by RW users in real time and store it safely for further analysis. The first prototype of the Smart Walker includes the measurement of axial load, torque and gripping force applied on the handle as well as acceleration and rotation angles while it is being used. The axial load was measured …

Relationship Among Teacher Absenteeism, Evaluation Scores, And Satisfaction With Teaching At The Elementary School Level, Marilyn Denice Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher absenteeism is a growing problem in the United States.Teachers miss more days in the educational field than in any other workforce according to Cheng (2013). Educational leaders are beginning to pay close attention to the number of days teachers are missing as they seek waysto improve school effectiveness. Seven elementary schools were surveyed using Bentley and Rempels (1980) Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire to determine what relationships exist between 89 third through fifth gradeteachers in a small southwestern school district in Tennessee. This quantitative study addresses relationships in terms of teachers usage of sick and personal days, the teacher's professional TVAAS …

Gestational Weight Gain And Maternal Health Among Hispanic Women, Megan W. Harvey

Doctoral Dissertations

More than 70% of women do not gain within their target range of gestational weight gain (GWG), as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2009. Risks associated with inadequate GWG include small-for-gestational age, low birthweight, pre-term birth, and difficulty establishing breastfeeding. Risks associated with excessive GWG include large-for-gestational-age, macrosomia, and delivery complications. There are also long-term consequences for maternal and fetal metabolic processes. Higher pre-pregnancy BMI, lower education level, and higher parity are known risk factors for excessive GWG. There are also possible racial / ethnic differences, and Hispanic women, in particular, may be at high risk for …

Corticotropin Releasing Factor Receptor Type 1 Signaling In Epilepsy And Traumatic Brain Injury, V V Chakravarthi Narla

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Stress increases the frequency by which epileptic seizures occur. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) coordinates neuroendocrine, autonomic and behavioral response to stress. This thesis sought to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which CRF regulates the activity of neural circuits in the piriform cortex (PC) in normal and epileptic states. The PC is richly innervated by CRF and 5-HT containing axons arising from the central amygdala and raphe nucleus. CRFR₁ and 5-HT_2A/CRs have been shown to interact in a manner where CRFR activation subsequently potentiates the activity of 5-HT_2A/CRs. The first purpose of this thesis was …

Sex Differences In Stress, Burnout And Coping In Emergency Medical Service Providers, Celia R. Sporer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The physical and psychological wellbeing of emergency medical service (EMS) providers is important for sustaining the overall model of emergency responding as well as providing consistent quality patient care. Despite the importance of the role, very little research has been undertaken for this occupational group. In particular, very little research on stress, burnout and coping have been undertaken. The failure to examine these areas fully has resulted not only in gaps in the literature but also practical failure for providers and the populations they serve. The assumption that EMS providers work under stressful circumstances which can result in burnout and …

State And Trait Anxiety: A Comparison Of The On And Off Field Anxiety Levels Of Athletes And Non-Athletes, Asha Satori Rutland Stegall

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively compare anxiety levels among collegiate basketball players and intramural athletes at a public, Division I university in the Southern part of the United States. This research looked at two different forms of anxiety: State Anxiety and Trait Anxiety. Surveys were completed by 60 students, 30 of which were classified as collegiate basketball players and the remaining 30 students were classified as non-collegiate intramural athletes. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The results showed no statistical difference in state or trait anxiety levels among different genders or athlete type. Further research …

The United States Medical Licensing Exam (Usmle) And Medical Student Wellness: An Ethnographic Qualitative Study At Cooper Medical School Of Rowan University, Patricia Davis Vanston

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that medical students experience unusually high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loss of empathy while in medical school. As the number of medical students rises and residency positions remain stagnant, the USMLE receives greater emphasis as a barometer to determine residency placement and future career paths thereby increasing levels of stress among students. Stress is associated with diminished self-care, potentially leading to a negative impact on well-being. This ethnographic, qualitative study sought to examine the extent to which the anticipation of, preparation for, and implications of the USMLE contribute to medical student stress, wellness, and self-care. Through …

Reactivity And Recovery Among Oif/Oef/Ond Combat Veterans: Do Those With Subthreshold Ptsd Differ From Veterans With And Without Ptsd?, Paula Castro-Chapman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study expanded the current literature by assessing PTSD in relation to reactivity and recovery from negative emotional arousal among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. Cardiac impedance was employed during a speech task and a trauma imagery procedure. Those in the PTSD-S group displayed lower SBP and higher TPR reactivity relative to the PTSD- and PTSD+ groups; lower CO reactivity relative to the PTSD+ group; and more CO recovery than those in the PTSD+ group to the trauma task. For speech task, Veterans in the PTSD-S group exhibited lower HR reactivity for both speech preparation and delivery than those in the PTSD- group. …

Development Of An Educational Seminar On Coping With Stress For Nurse Anesthesia Trainees, Becky Belk

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Stress is the body’s way of responding to something out of the norm, or a stressor. Stressors affect nurse anesthesia trainees (NATs) to unpredictable levels of stress. The purpose of this study was to explore stressors experienced; ways to cope with stressors as perceived by NATs, if there was any association between socio-demographic variables to the various ways of coping with stress, and development of a one-hour seminar on different ways to cope with stress during a nurse anesthesia program.

A survey was distributed to members of the Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists (IANA), which identified demographic information, stressors, and …

Characterizing The Role Of The Neuropeptide Y-Y5r System In Breast Cancer, Jenna Kara

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Studies have demonstrated a correlation between stress and an increased risk of breast cancer. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is up- regulated in chronic stress and induces proliferation and chemotaxis of 4T1 breast cancer cells via Y5 receptor (Y5R) activation. In the studies performed in this thesis, we characterize NPY-Y5R as a regulatory system that promotes breast cancer metastasis. We compared three cancer cell sublines derived from the same murine mammary fat pad tumour, that greatly differ in metastatic potential (67NR, 168FARN, and 4T1) in addition to a 4T1-Y5R knockdown established in our labs. In this thesis we demonstrate significance of up-regulation …

Use Of Proteomics To Probe Dynamic Changes In Cyanobacteria, Amelia Yen Nguyen

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms that capture and convert light energy to chemical energy, which is the precursor for feed, fuel, and food. These oxygenic phototrophs appear blue-green in color due to the blue bilin pigments in their phycobilisomes and green chlorophyll pigments in their photosystems. They also have diverse morphologies, and thrive in terrestrial, marine water, fresh water, as well as extreme environments. Cyanobacteria have developed a number of protective mechanisms and adaptive responses that allow the photosynthetic process to operate optimally under diverse and extreme conditions. Prolonged deprivation of essential nutrients, such as nitrogen and sulfur, commonly found …

Effects Of Telephone-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management Intervention On Fatigue Interference And Neuroimmune Function In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Daniel Lee Hall

Open Access Dissertations

The perceived impact of chronic fatigue on daily living (i.e., fatigue interference) is particularly relevant for patients diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), a medically unexplained illness associated with neuroendocrine and immune abnormalities. Literature suggests that fatigue interference is higher among women with CFS/ME than with other women facing chronic fatigue concerns, such as cancer survivors. To date, these comparisons have been primarily qualitative, limiting the ability to statistically control for related factors such as fatigue severity. Furthermore, greater fatigue interference in CFS/ME may relate to a suppressed cortisol awakening response (CAR) and heightened levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine …

Navigating Stress In Public Education: A Personal Reflection And Narrative Study Of My Closest Relationships In Teaching, Stephen I. Smith

Open Access Theses

This study originally intended to explore the various effects of burnout – defined by the researcher as the steady decline of joy and increase of stress associated with teaching – on secondary school teachers. Using narrative inquiry, the researcher’s story and that of three other male eighth grade junior high school teachers close to him shaped the core of the study. Students the researcher taught in a first year undergraduate course exploring teaching as a career were also surveyed to look for any possible link between preservice teacher enthusiasm and the harsh realities of teaching. A question addressed was if …

Radiography Students: Factors Contributing To Their Stress And Methods Of Coping, Kayla A. Rosenbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students experience high levels of stress, especially those in health care programs. The purpose of this study was to determine what factors contribute to Tennessee radiography student stress levels and the methods by which they cope with stress. Additionally, do demographic factors affect radiography student stress levels? The research was conducted February 4 to March 30, 2016. A survey was distributed to students in a radiography program at two and four year colleges in Tennessee. Participants were asked questions on factors that influence their stress levels, coping strategies, and health issues experienced in the past year. Descriptive statistics, independent …

Polymer Characteristics Of Polyelectrolyte Polypeptides, Jorge Monreal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polypeptides are polymerized chains of amino acids linked covalently through peptide bonds. Polyelectrolyte polypeptides are polypeptides with electrolyte repeating groups. Several amino acids contain ionizable side chains which result in charge distributions when dissolved in aqueous solutions. This dissertation is motivated by a desire to gain knowledge of polyelectrolyte polypeptides as recent advances in chemical synthesis of polypeptides have made possible the fabrication of designed polypeptides that do not naturally occur in nature. Potential applications of newly designed polypeptides span the range from medical to clothing and energy even to robotics.

In this dissertation we compare the characteristic behavior of …

Ohm … Pardon The Interruption! An Exploration Of Mindfulness As A Buffer Against The Effects Of Intrusions, Keaton Allen Fletcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has provided a helpful, albeit narrow, understanding of task interruptions as related to outcomes such as wellness and performance (e.g., Eyrolle & Cellier, 2000). Building on this foundation by viewing interruptions through the broader theoretical context of the theory of mental workload, this study sought to explain the cognitive processes underlying the negative performance effects often associated with interruptions and to apply an intervention aimed at mitigating these effects. Specifically, mindfulness has emerged as a promising method for reducing the cognitive burden of interruptions. This study examined the effects of intrusions (a type of interruption) on psychological strain …

The Effects Of Two Different Resistance Training Protocols With Similar Volume On Non-Uniform Muscle Hypertrophy, Vince Bendotti

Theses and Dissertations

Resistance training programs utilize variables such as exercise volume, intensity, muscular activation, and tension in order to obtain specific hypertrophic adaptations. The challenge of designing a hypertrophy-centric program is understanding the non-uniform adaptations of skeletal muscle. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to observe the impact of two volume-equated, whole body exercise protocols over 9 weeks utilizing 9 different compound exercises on non-uniform muscle adaptations. METHODS: Fourteen (age = 20.9 ± 1.3 years; body mass = 84.0 ± 11.1 kg; fat free mass = 67.3 ± 5.7 kg), well-trained men randomly assigned to a hypertrophy based protocol (HG) or …

Trust, Reciprocity, Fairness, And Mind Reading Under Stress, Charles Jia Yao Xie

Master's Theses

Some hypothesized that when stressed, females activate tend-and-befriend, a stress response that enhances social abilities. Yet, critics argued this stress response is not exclusive to females and others suggested that males and females have different stress responses associated with social skills. This study intended to address these criticisms by testing whether males exhibit prosocial responses to stress and if particular stress responses improved social skills. To do this, 70 healthy introductory psychology students from a large public university in northern California were recruited to participate. Using random assignment, half of these individuals were exposed to an acute stressor and another …

Associations Among Respite Care, Uplifts, Stress, And Marital Quality Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Down Syndrome, Jamie Kaye Easler

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the relationships among respite care, uplifts, stress, and marital quality across two different groups of caregivers' 102 heterosexual married couples with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 111 heterosexual married couples with children with Down syndrome (DS). This study also investigated if the effect of respite care on stress and marital quality varied as a function of the amount of uplifts these caregivers experienced. Participants completed self-report surveys. Three two-group Actor Partner Interdependence Models were estimated to calculate the direct, indirect, and partner-effects among these variables. Respite care was not related to stress for either groups …

Work Stress: A Review, Analysis, And Extension Of The Job Demands-Control (-Support) Model, Marcus J. Fila

Dissertations

Occupational stress and health literature is devoted to understanding and predicting the phenomenon of stress in the workplace, given its costly implications to individual and organizational health and well-being. The job demands-control (-support) (JDC(S)) model has been highly influential in occupational stress and health literature for over 37 years, and has been the theoretical foundation of more empirical studies than any other work stress model. To date, over three-hundred published studies have examined relationships between various forms of demands, control over work, and support on numerous physical and psychological strains. However, several issues concerning the model have yet to be …