Quantitative Analysis of Electrotonic Structure and Membrane Properties of NMDA-Activated Lamprey Spinal Neurons

Parameter optimization methods were used to quantitatively analyze frequency-domain-voltage-clamp data of NMDA-activated lamprey spinal neurons simultaneously over a wide range of membrane potentials. A neuronal cable model was used to explicitly take into account receptors located on the dendritic trees. The driving point membrane admittance was measured from the cell soma in response to a Fourier synthesized point voltage clamp stimulus. The data were fitted to an equivalent cable model consisting of a single lumped soma compartment coupled resistively to a series of equal dendritic compartments. The model contains voltage-dependent NMDA sensitive (INMDA), slow potassium (IK), and leakage (IL) currents. Both the passive cable properties and the voltage dependence of ion channel kinetics were estimated, including the electrotonic structure of the cell, the steady-state gating characteristics, and the time constants for particular voltage- and time-dependent ionic conductances. An alternate kinetic formulation was developed that consisted of steady-state values for the gating parameters and their time constants at half-activation values as well as slopes of these parameters at half-activation. This procedure allowed independent restrictions on the magnitude and slope of both the steady-state gating variable and its associated time constant. Quantitative estimates of the voltage-dependent membrane ion conductances and their kinetic parameters were used to solve the nonlinear equations describing dynamic responses. The model accurately predicts current clamp responses and is consistent with experimentally measured TTX-resistant NMDA-induced patterned activity. In summary, an analysis method is developed that provides a pragmatic approach to quantitatively describe a nonlinear neuronal system

Accredited athletic training clinical experience : are we adequately preparing our students?

"May 2014."Dissertation Chair: Dr. Sandy Hutchinson.Includes vita.The purpose for the current study is to examine the perceived preparation of newly educated Certified Athletic Trainers from Accredited Athletic Training Programs' based on clinical educational experiences as compared to two older models of clinical educational experiences, the curriculum and internship models. This study was a quantitative study that examined the perceived preparation of the Certified Athletic Trainer for the BOC Examination and for the Profession based upon the route to Certification both in the didactic classroom and in the clinical education setting. An area of interest was the significant amount of findings for preparation for the BOC which indicated the newer programs were better preparing student for the national certification exam, however, they were not better at preparing our students for the profession of athletic training. The second area of interest in the study showed graduate accredited programs did a better job in preparing students in the area of clinical exam and diagnosis for the BOC than any other program type. This was the only program type and area of concentration that showed such a significant difference among all programs.Includes bibliographical references (pages 104-108)

RESEARCH STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EDUCATING MULTICULTURAL COLLEGE STUDENTS-Ch 1

Book Chapte

The Lawfulness of United States Assistance to the Republic of Viet Nam

In recent months, critics of United States assistance to the Republic of Viet Nam have increasingly used legal arguments in their attacks on that assistance. They have asserted that the United States presence and activities in Viet Nam violate general principles of international law and the United Nations Charter. In support of these assertions, they argue that the Republic of Viet Nam is not a state, that the United States is merely intervening in a civil war, and that this intervention neither qualifies as self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter nor is otherwise legally justified. Although there is certainly room for choice and disagreement among the available policy alternatives, these legal arguments substantially misstate the case

Surface Dynamics Profilometer and Quarter-Car Simulator: Description, Evaluation, and Adaptation

A Surface Dynamics Profilometer was acquired in December 1968. The SD Profilometer was designed to rapidly and accurately measure the profile of the surface over which it is driven. A Quarter-Car Simulator was obtained in 1970. The simulator, a special purpose analog computer, was designed to process road profiles measured with the SD Profilometer. This processing involves analog simulation of a simplified vehicle. Factors and variables associated with the devices and calibration and test procedures were investigated and standardized. The Automatic Roughness-Measuring System using an automobile (Kentucky interim standard method of test for roughness) was correlated with the SD Profllometer - QC Simulator system to permit continued assessment of pavements previously tested with the automobile. Precision of the SD Profilometer and QC Simulator was demonstrated by repeated testing of several pavements. Pavements with the higher roughness indices exhibited about the same standard deviation as pavements with lower roughness indices. On a percentage basis, therefore, the measurement precision was better for a rougher pavement than for a smoother pavement. A single measurement was within three percent of the sample mean 95 percent of the time. The roughness index obtained by simulating the Bureau of Public Roads Roughometer within the QC Simulator system was selected as the best expression of road roughness

PREDICTORS OF PELVIC ACCELERATION DURING TREADMILL RUNNING AT DIFFERENT STRIDE FREQUENCIES

The aim of this study was to examine predictors of peak vertical and anteroposterior pelvic acceleration during treadmill running. Participants ran at 9 km∙h-1 at their preferred stride frequency and at ± 5% of their preferred stride frequency. Coordinate and acceleration data were collected using a motion capture system and inertial measurement units. Linear mixed models showed that for every one standard deviation increase in the anteroposterior displacement from knee to ankle at initial contact, vertical pelvic acceleration increased by 2.18 m∙s-2 (p = 0.046). Additionally, for every one standard deviation increase in stride frequency, peak anteroposterior pelvic acceleration increased by 0.68 m∙s-2 (p = 0.035). Runners who suffer from injuries or pain at the pelvis may benefit from decreasing the anteroposterior displacement from their knee to their ankle at initial contact and reducing their stride frequency

MADAM Protein Decreases Microsporidia Attachment to Host Cells

Microsporidia are an obligate, intracellular fungal pathogen that can cause devastating, disseminating infections in the immunocompromised. Because of the limitations of current medications, microsporidia’s abundant presence in the environment, and an increasing number of at-risk populations, investigation into decreasing microsporidia infectivity is needed. As an intracellular pathogen, microspridial attachment is a vital first step to infection, and if attachment is reduced, previous work shows that infectivity is mitigated. An in silico analysis of Encephalitozoon intestinalis revealed a predicted protein similar in sequence to ADAM (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase) proteins. This predicted protein is termed microsporidia ADAM or MADAM. ADAM proteins contain an integrin binding region, which is well known to bind to integrin proteins. Integrins are important receptors for attachment and cell signaling, and several pathogens utilize host integrins as a receptor to aid in attachment during infection. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrates that MADAM protein is found on the plasma membrane, anchoring disk, and polar tube of E. intestinalis spores. Our hypothesis is that MADAM is involved in the key role of host cell attachment. To this end, a 17 amino acid long section of the MADAM protein was generated that surrounded the integrin binding domain. During spore adherence assays, pretreating host cells with this small peptide protein, significantly decreased E. intestinalis spore attachment to host cells as compared to control samples. These results suggest E. intestinalis cleverly exploits host integrins as a means to bind to host cells before infection

Making the Connection: Using Mobile Devices and PollEverywhere for Experiential Learning for Adult Students

Technology integration has significantly influenced the way students access and retain knowledge gained in the classroom (Ahmed, 2016). This is particularly relevant in classrooms for adult learners who engage in continuing education. This paper used a descriptive case study (Yin, 2014) to share how an instructor utilized mobile learning with a web-based polling tool, PollEverywhere, to gamify experiential learning for adult students in various roles within a southeastern state’s court administration—prosecutors, defense lawyers, magistrates, and jail administrators—and improve students’ engagement in the course and connection to course material

The Pros and Cons of Teaching Formal Grammar in the Elementary School

It was the purpose of this study (1) to discover and compare the arguments for and against the teaching of formal grammar in the elementary school and (2) to broaden the writer\u27s own point of view on whether or not formal grammar should be a part of the study of English in his elementary school classroom