Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Caffeine Supplementation On Vertical Jump Performance, Lucas Paul Bloms

Theses and Dissertations

The Effects of Caffeine Supplementation on Vertical Jump Performance. Introduction: Caffeine enhances performance of many types of exercise, but its effects on vertical jump are unclear. Purpose: To investigate the effects of caffeine on vertical jump tests on a force platform. Methods: The study was a single-blind, randomized, crossover design. Participants consumed either caffeine (5 mg/kg body weight) or placebo. After a sixty-minute waiting period participants performed three squat jumps and three countermovement jumps separated by 30 seconds each while standing on a force platform. There were two minutes of rest between the two different types of jumps. Results: In …

Exploring Individual Differences In Workload Assessment, Danielle K. Boeke

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force missions continue to increase in complexity often imposing higher levels of task load from cognitive tasks on the operators. This increased task load manifests itself in increased cognitive workload and potentially derogated performance. While cognitive workload has been studied for decades, recent advances in objective workload models and physiology monitoring have the potential to provide a more robust understanding of workload, potentially allowing systems to adaptively employ automation to maintain operator peak performance. The current research sought to provide insight into the relationship between subjective workload, task performance, objective workload, and select physiology measures. Analysis of an existing …

Quantitative Comparison Of Time-Frequency Decomposed Gait Emg Signals, L. Patrick Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Falls in the senior population represent an immediate threat to both current and future generations’ quality of life. The results of falls can be disastrous, create a long road to recovery, and in many cases result in death. Hypertension represents a difficult-to-quantify condition which is known to contribute to gait and balance dysfunction. Accurate assessment of conditions such as these represents an area of primary investigative need. In order to meet this need, a new experimental setup is developed which combines time-frequency analysis with surface electromyography (sEMG) signals obtained during ambulation. 3-bit pressure data is acquired using a pressure-sensitive mat, …

Improved Methods For The Analysis Of Estrogen Residues In Environmental Aqueous Matrices, Sameera Ranmal Gunatilake

Theses and Dissertations

Improved analytical methods using novel cleanup techniques and inexpensive instrumentation for the determination of residue estrogens in municipal wastewater and swine lagoon wastewater have been developed. Presented approaches are less expensive, less time consuming, yet produce comparable detection limits and extraction efficiencies to existing methods. Chapter I provides an overview on environmental estrogens. Chapter II describes a novel method to quantify five estrogens including estriol, estrone, 17alpha-estradiol, 17beta-estradiol, and 17alpha-ethynylestradiol in influent and effluent municipal wastewater. The method includes sample preparation using solid-phase extraction followed by a “QuEChERS” cleanup, dansylation and LC/MS/MS detection. Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance solid phase extraction (SPE) was …

A Multi-Compartment Model Of The Normal Menstrual Cycle: Integrating Hormonal, Ovarian, And Endometrial Elements, Victoria Lea Wolf

Theses and Dissertations

The uterine endometrium undergoes cyclical phases of cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and menstruation under the influence of the ovarian hormones, estrogen and progesterone. Since the data necessary to create a classical kinetic model of these signaling pathways is lacking, we used a Boolean network approach that includes the influences of various growth factors and the differential expression of their receptors under the influence of estrogen and progesterone. Results show a gain in endometrial tissue and loss of tissue during menstruation that mirrors what can be expected over the course of a normal menstrual cycle in women, where the endometrium typically …

Identification Of Microrna Biomarkers In Her2-Positive Breast Cancer, Hossam Tashkandi

Theses and Dissertations

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in approximately 30% of breast cancer patients with poor prognosis. In addition, microRNAs are small non-coding RNA that have been linked to many cancers. Here we investigate which miRNAs are differentially regulated by HER2 overexpression. Using quantitative reverse-transcription prolymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) and matching it with the clinical data acquired from Dvinge, we find five candidate miRNAs. When comparing the miRNAs’ effect on patient survival, only three miRNAs stand as good predictors of patient survival outcome. These miRNAs are miR-146a-5p, miR-181d, and miR-195-5p. When miR-146a-5p is up-regulated, which is the case …

The Roles Of Phosducin-Like Protein 1 And Programmed Cell Death Protein 5 As Molecular Co-Chaperones Of The Cytosolic Chaperonin Complex, Christopher M. Tracy

Theses and Dissertations

A fundamental question in biology is how proteins, which are synthesized by the ribosome as a linear sequence of amino acids, fold into their native functional state. Many proteins require the assistance of molecular chaperones to maneuver through the folding process to protect them from aggregation and to help them reach their native state in the very concentrated protein environment of the cell. This study focuses on the roles of Phosducin-like Protein 1 (PhLP1) and Programmed Cell Death Protein 5 (PDCD5) as molecular co-chaperones of the Cytosolic Chaperonin Complex (CCT).Signaling in retinal photoreceptors is mediated by canonical G protein pathways. …

Using Sensor-Based Demand Controlled Ventilation To Realize Energy Savings In Laboratories, Mark B. Chinery

Theses and Dissertations

The building sector in the United States accounted for 41% of domestic and 7% of global energy consumption in 2010, with heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) activities consuming approximately 41.4% of the total facility energy consumption. Within the HVAC system, the parasitic energy accounts for one-third of the total energy consumed while heating and cooling accounts for the balance. The fan energy is approximately 85% of the total parasitic energy in the HVAC system. In a laboratory, energy related to ventilation can account for nearly half of the electrical energy demand. A carbon dioxide (CO2)-based demand controlled ventilation (DCV) strategy …

Physiological Investigation Of Localized Temperature Effects On Vigilance Performance, Justine D. Jeroski

Theses and Dissertations

Despite a long history of vigilance research, the relationship between the vigilance decrement and a broad range of physiology measures has not been fully documented. In an attempt to address this gap, an experiment was designed in which participants detected critical signals displayed at random during a 40-minute simulated air traffic control vigilance task. Three localized temperature condition changes, a positive, negative, or no change, were randomly assigned to participants and administered at the halfway point of the task. In addition to collecting performance data, cerebral oximetry, electrocardiography (ECG), and electrooculography (EOG) were utilized to collect a range of physiological …

3d Reconstruction Of Ryr1 And Structural Validation Under Different Levels Of Noise, Joshua J. Lobo

Theses and Dissertations

Ryanodine receptors (RyR) are intracellular channels that are intricately involved in Ca2+ release. These channels large membrane proteins~2.26MDa in size. In this multi-goal project firstly we successfully studied the gating mechanics of the RyR1 in the presence of Mg2+. We used single particle reconstruction and image processing techniques to obtain the 3D structure of the RyR1 with Mg2+. The 3D structure in the presence of Mg2+ and an ATP analog is the closest representation of human physiological conditions. The open and closed state structures of RyR1 are known. However, the physiologically closed state has not been studied before. Understanding this …

Novel Technologies For The Detection And Mitigation Of Drowsy Driving, Samuel Lawoyin

Theses and Dissertations

In the human control of motor vehicles, there are situations regularly encountered wherein the vehicle operator becomes drowsy and fatigued due to the influence of long work days, long driving hours, or low amounts of sleep. Although various methods are currently proposed to detect drowsiness in the operator, they are either obtrusive, expensive, or otherwise impractical. The method of drowsy driving detection through the collection of Steering Wheel Movement (SWM) signals has become an important measure as it lends itself to accurate, effective, and cost-effective drowsiness detection. In this dissertation, novel technologies for drowsiness detection using Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) …

Marijuana Consumption And The Perception Of Harm, David Ruggeri

Theses and Dissertations

Drug use is a public health issue with one-third of the United States population having reported consuming marijuana at some point in their lifetime. This paper examines how the perception of risk (both health and criminal sanctions) affects consumption behavior. This study examined marijuana consumption for the age ranges of 12-17, 18-25, and 26 and older during the years of 1999-2007.

Perceptions of health risk of marijuana vary from by age groups (12-17, 18-25, and 26 years of age and up). Persons age 26 and older perceive the health risks to be the greatest for occasional marijuana consumption, trailed by …

Panic Development Mechanisms And Preventive Methods Analysis, Inga Wuerges

Theses and Dissertations

Panic Development (PD) is one of the most important areas of Human Factors research due to its debilitating effects during high stress operating conditions in extreme environments. High levels of anxiety and panic evoke incidents that are a real threat to mission success and may result in fatalities. A delicate balance of crew selection, training, and systems' design is critical for mission success and human survival.

This research investigates possible panic development profiles and methods for preventing panic through realistic training. This research focuses on realistic training scenarios during the intense military flying exercise Red-Flag Alaska at Eielson AFB, AK. …

Reading And Listening To Music Increase Resting Energy Expenditure During Indirect Calorimetry In Healthy Adults , Blaire Snell

Theses and Dissertations

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has developed an evidence analysis library (EAL) for Nutrition and Dietetics professionals. The EAL is updated by members through workgroups consisting of experts in their fields, most often in response to unanswered questions. One such question is: what kinds of activities can be done during the rest period of an indirect calorimetry test in a healthy population? The objective of our study was to determine if listening to self-selected relaxing music or reading on an electronic device or a magazine effects resting energy expenditure (REE) as measured by an indirect calorimetry test in a …

Surface Modification And Transport Modeling Of Micron- And Nano-Sized Materials, Erick Salvador Vasquez Guardado

Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticle-based technologies are an emerging field with the promise to impact a wide range of application areas. However, that potential is somewhat married to a host of research questions that remain to be answered. This work explores the surface modification of magnetic nanoparticles in a controlled fashion to produce hybrid nanoparticle (metal/polymer) systems with different morphologies, understand in-situ behavior of stimuli-responsive polymers grafted to a substrate, and obtain better computational methods for particle-tracking and -deposition. Nanoparticle surface modification was performed using ATRP, obtaining homo-, block-co-, and ‘twoaced/biphasic’ polymer structures on the nanoparticle surfaces. Biphasic Janus nanoparticles (JPs) were formed using …

A Mixed Method Approach To Collegiate Aviation Self-Assessment Of G-Load On Landing: Pilot Perception Versus Reality, Karin Louise Hensellek

Theses and Dissertations

Because there is no universal definition of a hard landing, pilots themselves must determine if a landing was hard enough to require an unscheduled maintenance inspection. Large, transport category aircraft are equipped with flight data monitoring (FDM) as a secondary data source that can help pilots determine if a hard landing occurred, but FDM is not commonplace in general aviation. It is important for a pilot to be able to differentiate between a firm landing that does not cause damage to the aircraft and hard landing that potentially could cause damage to the aircraft by means of vestibular, visual, and …

Physiological Effects Of Monocular Display Augmented, Articulated Arm-Based Laser Digitizing, William Neil Littell

Theses and Dissertations

The process of capturing solid geometry as 3 dimensional data requires the use of laser based reverse engineering hardware, known as a digitizer. Many digitizers exist as articulated coordinate measuring machines augmented with a laser, which forces the operator into many postures that are not ergonomically sound, particularly in the operator's upper body. This study analyzes the traditional method of laser digitizing using modern methods and technologies. An alternative user interface using a head-mounted monocular display is hypothesized and evaluated.

Not Another Space Suit: Fusing Technology And Indigenous Solutions To Facilitate Thermal Comfort, Alia Khairat

Theses and Dissertations

Unseen, unheard and unconsidered, Qatar’s migrant worker population is building one of the richest countries in the world. They labor in Qatar’s high heat index1 climate, which is coincidentally comparable to an Oriental sauna, wearing the most rudimentary of clothes. Working up to 60 hours a week, migrant workers fall victim to heat stress and dozens are hospitalized daily, starting as early as March and increasing in numbers during the peak months of June to August. Since clothes are essentially a “second skin,” affecting the rate and efficiency with which heat is exchanged between the body and its surroundings, a …

Phylometagenomics: A New Framework For Uncovering Microbial Community Diversity, Christopher J. Friedline

Theses and Dissertations

Microbial communities are recognized as major drivers of global biogeochemical processes. However, the genetic diversity and composition, as well as processes leading to the origin and diversification of these communities in space and time, are poorly understood. Character- ization of microbial communities using high-throughput sequencing of 16S tags shows that Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) abundances can be approximated by a gamma distribu- tion, which suggests structuring around small numbers of highly abundant OTUs and a large proportion of rare OTUs. The current methods used to characterize how communities are structured rely on multivariate statistics, which operate on pair-wise distance matrices. …

Camk-Ii: An Integral Protein In Cell Migration, Jamie Josephine Avila Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

Coordinated inductive and morphogenetic processes of gastrulation establish the zebrafish body plan. Gastrulation includes massive cell rearrangements to generate the three germ layers and shape the embryonic body. Three modes of cell migration must occur during vertebrate gastrulation and include: epiboly, internalization of the presumptive mesendoderm and convergent extension (C&E). C&E movements narrow the germ layers mediolaterally (convergence) and elongate them anteroposteriorly (extension) to define the embryonic axis. The molecular mechanisms regulating coordinated cell migrations remain poorly understand and studying these has become of great interest to researchers. Understanding cell migration during development is highly relevant to a number of …

Discrimination Between Child And Adult Forms Using Radar Frequency Signature Analysis, Stephanie R. Keith

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis we develop a method to discriminate between adult and child radar signatures. In particular, we examine radar data measured from behind a wall, which introduces radar signal attenuation and multipath effects. To investigate the child/adult discrimination problem in a through-wall, multipath scenario, a previously developed free-space human scattering model was expanded to incorporate multiple paths, and the effects of transmission through, and reflections from, walls and ground. The ground was modeled as a perfectly reflecting surface, while the walls were modeled as homogeneous concrete slabs. Twenty-five reflection paths were identified, involving the direct paths, as well as …

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Rhetorical Workings Of Simone De Beauvoir's Feminist Language, Emily Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Simone de Beauvoir's 1952 English rendering of The Second Sex translated into instant U.S. feminist acceptance, but by 1981 Julia Kristeva's call for "Women's Time" coupled with the rise of poststructuralism in the academy essentially sounded the death knell for Beauvoir in the world of feminist language theories. Where the new French feminists explored experimental ecriture feminine, Beauvoir's language appeared unsophisticated and outdated. In the past twenty years a handful of feminists have slowly and intermittently begun to reconsider Beauvoir's language from a variety of post-poststructuralist perspectives. My dissertation adds to this growing scholarship by exploring the rhetorical workings of …

Long-Term Depression Of Excitatory Inputs To Gabaergic Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area, Philip J. Sandoval

Theses and Dissertations

Dopamine cells within the ventral tegmental area of the brain are involved in motivation and reward. Drugs of abuse target these dopamine cells altering their activity and plasticity resulting in addiction. While dopamine cell activity is primarily involved in addiction, the GABA neurons in the VTA have also been shown to have an indirect role. By decreasing the activity of the inhibitory GABA inputs onto dopamine neurons abusive drugs can indirectly increase dopamine cell activity resulting in addictive behaviors. However, although GABA neurons are important in the perception of reward, much less is known about how the excitatory inputs to …

The Effects Of River Sediment, Endosulfan, And Moderate Hypoxia On Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus) From The Tidal, Freshwater James River, Laura Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile male blue crabs move into the tidal, freshwater James River during warmer months to feed and grow by undergoing molting. In crustaceans, growth and molting are hormonally controlled. The physiological effects of a multiple-stressor environment are determined by comparing the blue crab’s oxygen uptake after exposure to pure sand, James River sediment, or endosulfan-spiked sand. The effect of multiple stressors on molting is measured by the activity level of N-acetyl-ß-glucosaminidase (NAG), an enzyme in epidermal tissue important to molting. The oxygen uptake was decreased by exposure to James River sediment but not for exposure to endosulfan for seven days. …

Gβγ Acts At An Inter-Subunit Cleft To Activate Girk1 Channels, Rahul Mahajan

Theses and Dissertations

Heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) consist of an alpha subunit (Gα) and the dimeric beta-gamma subunit (Gβγ). The first example of direct cell signaling by Gβγ was the discovery of its role in activating G-protein regulated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels which underlie the acetylcholine-induced K+ current responsible for vagal inhibition of heart rate. Published crystal structures have provided important insights into the structures of the G-protein subunits and GIRK channels separately, but co-crystals of the channel and Gβγ together remain elusive and no specific reciprocal residue interactions between the two proteins are currently known. Given the absence of direct …

Membrane Properties Involved In Calcium-Stimulated Microparticle Release From The Plasma Membranes Of S49 Lymphoma Cells, Lauryl Elizabeth Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

The mechanism of microparticle shedding from the plasma membrane of calcium-loaded cells has been investigated in erythrocytes and platelets. Recent studies have revealed the physiological and clinical importance of microparticle release from nucleated cells such as lymphocytes and endothelium. The experiments of this study were designed to address whether simple mechanisms discovered in platelets and erythrocytes also apply to the more complex nucleated cells. Four such mechanisms were addressed: potassium efflux, transbilayer phosphatidylserine migration, cytoskeleton degradation, and membrane lipid order. The rate and amount of microparticle release in the presence of a calcium ionophore, ionomycin, was assayed by light scatter …

Automatic Generation Of Music For Inducing Emotive And Physiological Responses, Kristine Perry Monteith

Theses and Dissertations

Music and emotion are two realms traditionally considered to be unique to human intelligence. This dissertation focuses on furthering artificial intelligence research, specifically in the area of computational creativity, by investigating methods of composing music that elicits desired emotional and physiological responses. It includes the following: an algorithm for generating original musical selections that effectively elicit targeted emotional and physiological responses; a description of some of the musical features that contribute to the conveyance of a given emotion or the elicitation of a given physiological response; and an account of how this algorithm can be used effectively in two different …

Transgene Delivery Via Microelectromechanical Systems, Aubrey Marie Mueller Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The invention of pronuclear microinjection initiated the field of transgenic research. Over 30 years later microinjection remains the most straight-forward and most commonly used transgene delivery option. In this work we address the current progress of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) used as transgenic delivery mechanisms. The nanoinjector is a specially designed MEMS device which uses electrostatic charge to manipulate transgene molecules. The process of nanoinjection was designed as an alternative to microinjection which causes less damage to developing embryos, improves embryo survival, birth rates, and overall efficiency of injections. In vivo testing of nanoinjection demonstrates it is both safe and effective. …

A Physiological Signal Processing System For Optimal Engagement And Attention Detection., Ashwin Belle

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s high paced, hi-tech and high stress environment, with extended work hours, long to-do lists and neglected personal health, sleep deprivation has become common in modern culture. Coupled with these factors is the inherent repetitious and tedious nature of certain occupations and daily routines, which all add up to an undesirable fluctuation in individuals’ cognitive attention and capacity. Given certain critical professions, a momentary or prolonged lapse in attention level can be catastrophic and sometimes deadly. This research proposes to develop a real-time monitoring system which uses fundamental physiological signals such as the Electrocardiograph (ECG), to analyze and predict …

A Proposed Mediation Model Of The Effects Of Motivation For A Healthy Lifestyle: Impacts On Emotional Exhaustion, Medication Regimens, And Low-Density Lipoprotein, Nathan M. Leuthold

Theses and Dissertations

This research addressed the following question: "How are behavioral indicators related to physiological responses?" Three theories -- Conservation of Resources, Planned Behavior, and Achievement Motivation -- were employed to build a proposed model of the effects that an individual's motivation for a healthy lifestyle would have on his/her emotional exhaustion, daily medication usage, and low-density lipoproteins. Motivation for a healthy lifestyle was hypothesized to have a negative relationship with emotional exhaustion when using body mass index as a partial mediator. Emotional exhaustion was hypothesized to have positive relationships with daily medication usage and low-density lipoproteins. The model was tested using …