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The Impact Of Brief Clinical Interventions On Cardiovascular Reactions To Acute Stress, Katherine O'Leary

Doctoral Dissertations

The Impact of Brief Clinical Interventions on Cardiovascular Reactions to Acute Stress

Katherine Elizabeth O’Leary

University of Connecticut, 2013

Stress is a major public health concern due to its’ harmful effects on physical and mental health. An important goal for clinical health practitioners is to help patients reduce the psychological and physiological burden of stress. The present study sought to examine the impact brief clinical interventions have on cardiovascular reactions to acute stress. Additionally, we explored how depressive and anxiety symptomatology influence cardiovascular reactivity and recovery, and their moderating effects on treatment response to interventions. To address these aims, subjects …

Thimerosal Exposure And The Role Of Sulfation Chemistry And Thiol Availability In Autism, Janet K. Kern, Boyd E. Haley, David A. Geier, Lisa K. Sykes, Paul G. King, Mark R. Geier

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder in which a significant number of the children experience a developmental regression characterized by a loss of previously acquired skills and abilities. Typically reported are losses of verbal, nonverbal, and social abilities. Several recent studies suggest that children diagnosed with an ASD have abnormal sulfation chemistry, limited thiol availability, and decreased glutathione (GSH) reserve capacity, resulting in a compromised oxidation/reduction (redox) and detoxification capacity. Research indicates that the availability of thiols, particularly GSH, can influence the effects of thimerosal (TM) and other mercury (Hg) compounds. TM is an organomercurial compound (49.55% Hg …

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 …

Gait Variablility Is Altered In Older Adults When Listening To Auditory Stimuli With Differing Temporal Structures, Jeffrey P. Kaipust, Denise Mcgrath, Mukul Mukherjee, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Gait variability in the context of a deterministic dynamical system may be quantified using nonlinear time series analyses that characterize the complexity of the system. Pathological gait exhibits altered gait variability. It can be either too periodic and predictable, or too random and disordered, as it is the case with aging. While gait therapies often focus on restoration of linear measures such as gait speed or stride length, we propose that the goal of gait therapy should be to restore optimal gait variability, which exhibits chaotic fluctuations and is the balance between predictability and complexity. In this context, our purpose …

Multimodal Wearable Sensors For Human-Machine Interfaces, Mark Nolan

Doctoral

Certain areas of the body, such as the hands, eyes and organs of speech production, provide high-bandwidth information channels from the conscious mind to the outside world. The objective of this research was to develop an innovative wearable sensor device that records signals from these areas more conveniently than has previously been possible, so that they can be harnessed for communication. A novel bioelectrical and biomechanical sensing device, the wearable endogenous biosignal sensor (WEBS), was developed and tested in various communication and clinical measurement applications.

One ground-breaking feature of the WEBS system is that it digitises biopotentials almost …

Involvement Of Cytochromep4504a In Adenosine A1 Receptor Mediated Regulation Of Vascular Tone, Swati S Kunduri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The regulation of vascular tone plays an important role in normal cardiovascular function. Adenosine, an autacoid has several physiological and pathophysiological roles, apart from the regulation of vascular tone. Adenosine receptor (AR) contracts and relaxes blood vessels through all four subtypes (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3) linked to different signaling mechanisms. Deciphering complex tissue responses remains difficult because relationships of individual receptor subtypes and various end-effectors (e.g., ion channels) are yet to be identified. Apart from adenosine, 20-HETE, a cytochrome P4504a (Cyp4a) metabolite of arachidonic acid (AA) …

Bioengineering The Expression Of Active Recombinant Human Cathepsin G, Enteropeptidase, Neutrophil Elastase, And C-Reactive Protein In Yeast, Eliot T. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The yeasts Pichia pastoris and Kluyveromyces lactis were used to express several recombinant human proteins for further biochemical characterization. Two substitution variants of recombinant human enteropeptidase light chain (rhEPL) were engineered to modify the extended substrate specificity of this serine protease. Both were secreted as active enzymes in excess of 1.7 mg/L in P. pastoris fermentation broth. The substitution variant rhEPL R96Q showed significantly reduced specificities for the preferred substrate sequences DDDDK and DDDDR; however, the rhEPL Y174R variant displayed improved specificities for these substrate sequences relative to all other reported variants of this enzyme. The neutrophil serine proteases human …

Effects Of High-Velocity Versus Low-Velocity Resistance Training On Resting Metabolic Rate And Functional Performance In Older Adults, Laura Ashleigh Morgan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a 12-week high-velocity resistance training (HVRT) protocol to a traditional low-velocity resistance training (LVRT) protocol on resting metabolic rate (RMR) and other selected measures of muscular and functional fitness in older adults. Nineteen adults between the ages of 65 and 82 participated: 8 HVRT, 7 LVRT, and 4 controls (CTRL). Initially, no differences existed between groups except for age (p = .016). HVRT (75.6 years) was older than LVRT (69.6 years) and CTRL (69.3 years). The exercise intervention consisted of 2 days/week sessions for 12 weeks at 3 sets …

Diurnal And Nocturnal Avian Antipredator Behavior In Thermally Challenging Conditions, Jennie M. Carr

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diurnal avian antipredator behavior has been the focus of much past research, yet the influence of the thermal environment on such behaviors is often overlooked. Far less is known about nocturnal avian antipredator behavior, including how these behaviors are influenced by challenging thermal environments. The first portion of my research focused on how the thermal environment influences the diurnal antipredator behavior of wintering birds while (i) exposed to high wind speeds, (ii) foraging in sunlit and shaded microhabitats, and (iii) when using thermoregulatory postures to conserve body heat. In addition to increasing convective heat loss, high wind speeds increase the …

Controversy And Debate Within Social Media: Can Museums Improve 21st Century Democracy?, David Gerrard, Ann O’Brien, Thomas Jackson

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

This paper describes the motivation behind proposed research that will investigate the quality and scope of public debate inspired by museums and galleries; namely the conviction that social media has yet to reach its potential for enabling innovative critical debate within society, and that museums might have a role in realising this potential. Key to this conviction is the example that connoisseurs and critics provide for how to behave in a constructive debate, by understanding and supporting valuable and challenging ideas. They achieve this by regulating, skilfully, the emotions caused by such (potentially shocking) new ideas, then discerning and disseminating …

Impact Of Graphical Fidelity On A Player’S Emotional Response In Video Games, Vivianette Ocasio De Jesus

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

Higher quality computer graphics in the areas of virtual reality and games is generally assumed to create a more immersive experience for the end user. This assumption was examined by testing to what degree graphical fidelity was associated with physiological arousal as measured by a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor. Thirty-six subjects played two different video games, Crysis and Dead Space, at the highest and lowest graphical quality settings while their GSR activity was measured. No significant difference in GSR was observed as associated with graphical quality. However, when asked how the user would rate graphical fidelity usage in Dead …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 31, Summer 2013), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Shear Stress On Ecnos Expression And Dilation In Soleus Feed Arteries, Blanca Perez, Jay L. Brewster, Jeffrey Jasperse

Featured Research

Shear stress causes artery dilation and increased expression of endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) in coronary and placental arteries. We sought to determine the importance of shear stress in maintaining normal dilation and normal levels of ecNOS in rat soleus feed arteries (SFA). SFA were isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats and cannulated for in vitro microscopy (Fig. 6). SFA were exposed to no shear stress, low shear stress, or high shear stress conditions for 4 hours. After 4 hours, endothelium-dependent dilation (acetylcholine: ACh) and endothelium-independent dilation (sodium nitroprusside: SNP) were tested. Arteries were then uncannulated, mRNA was isolated, and …

The Effect Of Shear Stress, Potassium, And Adenosine On Α-1 Adrenergic Vasoconstriction Of Rat Soleus Feed Arteries, Tanner J. Heckle, Jeffrey Jasperse

Featured Research

During exercise, blood flow increases to the working skeletal muscle primarily because of dilation of the arteries and arterioles feeding the muscle. Sympathetic nerve activity also increases during exercise, augmenting the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) at the arterial wall and into the blood. NE acts to constrict blood vessels; however, arteries and arterioles within contracting skeletal muscle dilate despite the increased NE present. This has led to the concept of functional sympatholysis (4), the idea that a chemical released from contracting skeletal muscle interferes with NE signaling. NE acts by binding to adrenergic (alpha and beta) receptors, and …

Expression Of Protease-Activated Receptor 3 In The Trigeminal And Dorsal Root Ganglion Of Adult Rats Using Immunohistochemistry, Joshua Press

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Protease-activated receptors (PARs) have been implicated in a variety of human physiological and pathophysiological processes, including; nociception, neuroinflammation, neuroprotective and neurodegenerative pathways (Peters and Henry, 2009; Adams et al. 2011). PAR3 was discovered as a second thrombin receptor in 1997, and since then few papers have been published which assess its expression in the nervous system (Ishihara et al. 1997). This paper investigates the expression of PAR3 in sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of naïve adult rats. Immunohistochemistry showed PAR3 to be strongly expressed in non-neuronal cells of both the TG and DRG. …

Pre-Nursing Program, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Biology, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Pre-Professional Curricula, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

The Identification And Classification Of Flow Disruptions In The Operating Room During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy And Open Hernia Repair Procedures, Sacha N. Duff

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The operating room is one of the most complex work environments in healthcare; it is estimated that at least 7% of adverse events due to medical error occur in the operating room. Flow disruptions are events that cause a "break" in the primary surgical task, or the loss of any team member's situational awareness. An empirical link between flow disruptions and surgical errors in the OR has been established; therefore, identifying and classifying the specific flow disruptions present during different types of procedures should facilitate the development of evidence-based interventions. The goal of this study was to identify and classify …

Exhausting Life, Steven Luper

Philosophy Faculty Research

Can we render death harmless to us by perfecting life, as the ancient Epicureans and Stoics seemed to think? It might seem so, for after we perfect life—assuming we can—persisting would not make life any better. Dying earlier rather than later would shorten life, but a longer perfect life is no better than a shorter perfect life, so dying would take nothing of value from us. However, after sketching what perfecting life might entail, I will argue that it is not a desirable approach to invulnerability after all.

The Principle Of Double Effect: Act-Types And Intentions, James G. Murphy

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Objections to the principle of double effect usually concern its first and second conditions (that the act not be evil in itself, and that the good effect and not the evil effect be intended). The difficulties often arise from a rejection of the idea that acts have a moral nature independent of context, and a tendency to interpret intention as purely psychological. This article argues that the “act itself” should be understood as the act-type, and suggests that examples of evil act-types are not hard to find. It argues that the notion of intention is involved in both conditions, but …

The Public Health Impact Of Maternal Smoking Cessation During Pregnancy : The San Bernardino County Experience, Michael Batech

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Most studies of maternal tobacco cessation during pregnancy have estimated measures of effect that can be useful in identifying the exposure as an etiologic risk factor in maternal and child health. However, in the case of maternal tobacco use there is overwhelming evidence for a causal role in adverse infant outcomes, and public health needs to focus on measures of potential impact in order to better prioritize and allocate resources toward interventions. The aims of this dissertation were: 1) to investigate the public health impact of smoking cessation during pregnancy among mothers giving birth in San Bernardino County, California; and …

Learning From Experience: A Philosophical Perspective, Ethan Landes

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This work examines philosophical solutions to David Hume’s problem of induction—a skeptical attack on our ability to learn from experience. I explore the logical, ontological, and epistemic difficulties behind the everyday assumption that the future will resemble the past. While historical solutions by philosophers such as Bertrand Russell and Karl Popper have been unsuccessful at tackling these complications, combining recent work on natural kinds and naturalistic epistemology has promise. Ultimately, I expand on work done by Howard Sankey, Hilary Kornblith, and Brian Ellis to create an account of nature and epistemology that explains why objects in nature have predictable behavior. …

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.

Differential Hydrogen Bonding In Human Cyp17 Dictates Hydroxylation Versus Lyase Chemistry, Michael Gregory, Piotr J. Mak, Stephen G. Sligar, James R. Kincaid

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Consequences of alternative H-bonding: Raman spectra of oxygenated intermediates of Nanodisc-incorporated human CYP17 in the presence of natural substrates (pregnenolone and progesterone) directly confirm that substrate structure effectively alters hydrogen-bonding interactions with the critical Fe–O–O fragment and dictates its predisposition for one of two alternative reaction pathways. Such substrate control has profound physiological implications.

A Prescription Warning, Carlton Lee Harpst

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cycling Time Trial Performance Is Not Enhanced By Either Whey Protein Or L-Alanine Intake During Prolonged Exercise, Adam B. Schroer

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Previous studies have reported that adding protein (PRO) to a carbohydrate (CHO) solution can enhance endurance performance. This ergogenic effect may be a function of additional calories from supplemental protein/amino acids, but this thesis has not been directly examined. Additionally, L-alanine (ALA) is readily oxidized when provided during exercise; the impact that this has on metabolism and prolonged endurance performance is unknown. The purpose of this investigation was to assess performance and various cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes during prolonged cycling, to independently gauge the efficacy of whey PRO hydrolysate and ALA supplementation. Eight trained male and female cyclists (age: 22.3±2.0 …

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 …

The Effect Of Skeletal Muscle Mass On Basal Metabolic Rate In College-Age Males 2013, Chase Vaughn

Master's Theses

There are many misconceptions within the fitness community. One such misconception is that an increase in muscle mass will have a large increase in basal metabolic rate, yet this may not be the best way for successful weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between skeletal muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. The hypothesis tested was that basal metabolic rate is strongly correlated with skeletal muscle mass. The participants were college-aged males (n =17). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was estimated using the skin-fold circumference model (SFCM): SMM (kg) = Ht (0.00744 CAG2 …