Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Seasonality On Pulmonary Function Tests, Nicholas James Cotter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lung spirometry data from three working-class industry populations were analyzed using logistic and linear regression to see if seasonality adversely affected test outcomes. Populations included emergency responders, general industry, and shipwrights. The data was organized into allergy and non-allergy seasons using NOAA meteorological data and regression and logistic analysis was run on these separate populations to test for demographic and seasonal effects on lung spirometry test outcomes. The American Thoracic Society gold standard was as a point for determining impaired lung function (FEV₁/FVC > 0.80). It was found that seasonality imparted a slight linear effect on the predictive values …

Altered Intraerythrocytic Development Phenotypes Of Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium Falciparum Confer A Fitness Advantage, Amanda Hott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Resistance to artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) has emerged in southeast Asia threatening the most widely used treatment against antimalarial-resistant Plasmodium falciparum worldwide. Artemisinin resistance has been associated with a reduced rate of parasite clearance following treatment with an ACT and is attributed to increased survival of ring-stage parasites. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in kelch gene (K13) has been associated with delayed in vivo clearance half-life of artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum and is the only known molecular marker of resistance. The absence of reliable in vitro phenotypes for artemisinin resistance has limited our understanding of the resistance mechanism(s) and fitness costs, therefore …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Tagteach For Teaching Yoga Postures To Novice Yoga Practitioners, Jessica Sade Andrews

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Over the past few years there has been an increasing number of people practicing yoga. There also have been reports of injuries as a result of practicing yoga. Many injuries have been attributed to poor teaching which can result in improper alignment. This study utilized a teaching technology, TAGteach to aide in skill acquisition of novice yoga practitioners. The current study focused on teaching three beginner asanas (poses) to novice practitioners. The intervention included the asanas being broken down by task analysis and the steps tagged one by one. The intervention was assessed by a multiple baseline across behaviors …

Improving Consistency Of Goal Attainment To Increase Physical Activity, Elizabeth Anne Solley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have successfully increased physical activity with self-monitoring, goal setting, and feedback. Goal attainment is a crucial part of what makes goal setting successful; however, it is often unreported in the literature or implied that goals were not reached consistently. A potential way to achieve this consistency is to create an action plan, or a detailed account of exactly how and when the individual will engage in the desired physical activity to reach his or her goal. This study evaluated whether making a detailed action plan would allow individuals to reach their physical activity goals more consistently than when using …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of An Internet-Based Behavioral Program For Increasing Physical Activity With And Without A Behavioral Coach, Diego Alejandro Valbuena

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a problem of vast social concern in the United States. One factor that has been linked to reduction in body fat and the health problems associated with obesity is increasing physical activity. Although in-person behavioral interventions have been shown effective at increasing physical activity, attention is now being placed on disseminating these interventions through the use of technology. Several internet-based interventions have been developed and are readily available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate "Fitbit," a web-based behavioral intervention for increasing physical activity and losing weight. Additionally, this study examined if the addition of contact from …

The Effects Of Video Self-Evaluation On Skill Acquisition With Yoga Postures, Holly Elizabeth Downs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the use of video self-evaluation and video feedback procedures to enhance the accuracy of yoga poses. In the self-evaluation intervention participants watched their behaviors via video and scored task analyses for feedback for each pose. In the video feedback intervention, the participants and the researcher together scored the task analyses for the behaviors along with practice during video recordings. The interventions were assessed in a multiple baseline across behaviors design. Results showed that both video self-evaluation increased the accuracy of all poses and video feedback further increased the accuracy on one pose for one participant