Down the Bay Oral History Project Newsletter - Winter 2025

Public newsletter sharing information about progress and discoveries during the Down The Bay Project

Age and Handgrip Strength Related Differences in Near Infrared Spectroscopy Outcomes as a Result of a Vascular Occlusion Test

Purpose: Handgrip (HG) strength is a potent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Advances in technology have provided novel assessments of peripheral microvascular health and function such as measurements of skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation (StO2, %) with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during vascular occlusion tests (VOT). Although NIRS-VOT derived measures have been shown to change across the lifespan, it is unknown if these variables are sensitive to group differences as defined by HG strength. Therefore, our purpose was to examine mean differences in NIRS-VOT parameters across the lifespan and between groups of low and high HG strength. We hypothesized that individuals with lower HG strength would exhibit lower vascular function, and that older individuals would have slower vascular responses. Methods: 84 adults were separated into age groups: 29 young (19 – 40 yr), 28 midlife (41 – 64 yr), and 27 older (65+ yr). Groups were divided into low and high strength at the median for HG strength, and quasi-balanced based on biological sex. This resulted in six participant groups (e.g., midlife low strength). The VOT included 3 min of rest, 5 min of ischemia, and 3 min of reperfusion to determine indices of reactive hyperemia. NIRS-VOT outcomes included the desaturation rate (i.e., first 30 s), minimal StO2 (StO2min), initial (i.e., first 10 s) rate of re-saturation (upslope), maximal StO2 (StO2max) and time to peak saturation. Separate 2×3 between factor (HG x Age Group) ANOVAs were conducted for each outcome. A p≤0.05 was considered significant, and data were presented as mean ± SD. Results: There were no significant interactions for the outcome variables, so marginal differences were examined. Independent of strength, there was a significant main effect of Age for baseline (p\u3c0.001, ηp 2 =0.187), and time to peak (p\u3c0.001, 2 =0.166) with greater values exhibited for the young compared to older group (70.4±4.2% vs. 65.0±4.9% and 42.2±10.9s vs. 32.6±7.6s). There was also a main effect of Age for downslope (p\u3c0.001, 2 =0.178), which compared to the young group (-0.143±0.02 %·s-1) was lower for midlife (-0.115±0.03%·s-1; p=0.001) and older adults (-114±0.03 %·s-1; p=0.002). For StO2min (p=0.028, 2 =0.088), there was only a significant difference between young and midlife (30.1±7.2 % vs. 36.7±10.7%; p=0.023). The main effect of Age for StO2max (p\u3c0.001, 2 =0.396), indicated a progressive decrease across the life span (83.9±2.8% vs. 80.6±3.6% vs. 77.0±4.1%). Collapsed for age, there was a significant main effect of HG strength for downslope (p=0.023, 2 =0.065), StO2min (p=0.019, 2 =0.069), upslope (p=0.004, 2 =0.101), and time to peak (p=0.025, 2 =0.063), such that the low HG strength group had faster slopes and lower values for StO2min and time to peak. Conclusions: The main findings included that the young low HG strength group had the greatest downslope and total magnitude of desaturation, as well as HG strength did not equally influence metrics of the reactive hyperemic phase. The downslope results partially supported the hypothesis that older adults would have slower microvascular responses. For StO2max, age appeared to elicit a stronger effect than HG strength. These findings suggested that HG strength may be most reflective of a specific portion of the vascular tree, while upslope and StO2max may be influenced by different mechanisms associated with reactive hyperemia. Notably, the participants in this study were relatively healthy based on being free of any chronic disease. Future work is necessary to determine the predictive power of NIRS-VOT parameters and its relation to HG strength

USA Archaeology Museum Newsletter - February 2025

In this edition of the museum\u27s newsletter; USA Archaeology Museum Spring Semester Exhibition: INTO LIGHT Project Alabama Alabama Archaeological Society, Southwest Chapter: The Archaeology of France on the Gulf Coast Lecture Series Upcoming Free and Mostly Online Talks Legacies of Slavery & the Shared History of the South Laissez Les Bons Temp Rouler Museum Spring Break Closure Giving to the Archaeology Museu

Medical Graphic Novels: Comic Art and Medicine

Leesha Coleman, USA Biomedical Librarian, gave a presentation at the West Regional Library of the Mobile Public Library. She discussed the use of medical graphic novels and the incorporation of art in science degrees

Toulmin House Conversation

Dr. Kern Jackson and Frye Gaillard discuss the Toulmin House, a historic building that was moved to the University of South Alabama in 1975. Frye Gaillard shares his personal connection to the house, which belonged to his family, the Toulmins, from the 1820s until his childhood. He reflects on the complexities of the house’s history, including its construction by enslaved people and its use as a family residence

Exploring the Relationship Between Anxiety and Virtual Reality Sickness

As virtual reality (VR) becomes more commonly used in education, it is important to understand the technology’s weakness and mitigate any potential negative effects on student success. One adverse side-effect of VR use is simulation-induced motion sickness, known in the context of VR as VR sickness. Previous research by Howard and Van Zandt (2021) found that possessing a phobia had a significant positive correlation with VR sickness, but only if the phobia is triggered by the simulation, suggesting that symptoms are actually connected to the anxiety the phobia induces. This study explored the hypothesized correlation between anxiety and VR sickness, and added to the existing literature by seeking a deeper understanding of a phenomenon closely tied to the success of VR implementation. Sixty-five undergraduate university students used an Oculus Quest to view two 360 YouTube videos: one with low motion intensity and one with high motion intensity. Anxiety and VR sickness were measured before and after each video using a series of questionnaires; balance and heart rate were measured before, during, and after each video using a Wii Balance Board and BIOPAC MP36 system respectively. Statistical analysis comprised a series of three-way mixed ANOVAs testing for correlations between pre- and post-immersion trait anxiety, state anxiety, VR sickness, balance, and heart rate. I also ran two multiple regression models testing the ability of confounding variables (age, gender, ethnicity, technological xvi experience, prior VR experience, and motion sickness susceptibility) along with state and trait anxiety to predict post-immersion VR sickness for each video. The results showed the effects of state and trait anxiety can replicate the effects VR sickness outside of VR exposure, creating the risk of a false positive with regard to VR sickness. However, genuine VR sickness does also become more severe in the presence of heightened state anxiety. There is reason to suspect this correlation remains in place across levels of motion intensity in VR content and across the general population. The study also offers insight into best practices for implementing VR as an instructional method. Instructors implementing VR should take note of students exhibiting signs of very high anxiety and remain mindful of the possibility that those students could have a harder time completing VR tasks than students with low anxiety