Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Inversely Associated With Clustering of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors: The Ball State Adult Fitness Program Longitudinal Lifestyle Study

Objective: The focus of this study was the association between the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) defined as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Although previous research has shown a relationship between MetSyn and CRF, most studies are based on less objective measures of CRF and different cardiometabolic risk factor thresholds from earlier guidelines

Experimental design for study of nucleate boiling in porous structures

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 48).The superheat required to initiate nucleate boiling inside porous wicks is not well understood in practice. This thesis reports the design of an experimental setup for investigating the onset of vapor nucleation in sintered porous structures. Pressure sensing was evaluated as an effective means of detecting the onset of nucleation. Thermal studies were conducted with a custom finite difference script in conjunction with finite element analysis. Heat conduction through a three dimensional wick was reduced to one dimensional conduction via symmetry and design constraints. The wick was optimized to achieve a temperature drop of 30 *C at a common heat pipe operating temperature of 70 °C.by Mitchell Joseph Kelley.S.B

Best Practices to Increase Efficacy of Graduate School Admissions Communications at Clark University

Within the period of time that a graduate student deposits and subsequently arrives at their academic institution, receiving timely information is important for their preparation. This process has been deemed by the Deans of the Enterprise Schools at Clark University as one that needs further investigation. As such, this Capstone looks at the array of communication that goes out to each graduate student during this four-month period. The purpose of examining this communication is to analyze its effectiveness in engaging students. To analyze the effectiveness of this communication, surveys were distributed to current students in these schools to gather data surrounding their experience after applying to Clark. In addition to looking at Clark University’s current process, we conducted an analysis of trends and best practices from colleges and universities across the country. Based on findings from this research and our firsthand interviews of the aforementioned Deans and involved staff members, we have provided recommendations to improve this process. Ultimately, in order to improve student engagement our group has created recommendations that could improve some of the challenges in engaging and retaining students during this period of time

Hip Strength and Core Endurance in Female Adolescent Runners With and Without Knee Pain

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most prevalent orthopedic conditions affecting young athletes today. Epidemiological studies have reported PFPS to be the most common injury seen in runners. Deficits in hip strength have been identified in runners with PFPS, but core endurance in relation to knee pain has not been well documented. The primary purpose of our study was to investigate differences in hip strength and core endurance between female, adolescent runners with PFPS and their age matched controls. The secondary purpose of our research was to examine any correlations between hip strength and core endurance in our participants. METHODS: A cross sectional design was used. We recorded pain, Kujala score, hip strength and endurance and core endurance in 34 adolescent female cross country runners. Cases with PFPS were defined as young female runners with a minimum three month history of anterior knee pain of insidious onset and had a most severe knee pain rated 3/10 or higher. Control subjects had no history of knee surgery, traumatic knee injuries, patellar instability, or neurologic conditions. Between-group differences and correlations were calculated between age-matched cases and controls using t-tests. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine associations for selected measures. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between cases and controls for hip strength and endurance. However, there was a large percent difference between cases and controls in selected core endurance measures. It was found that all hip strength and core endurance results had low correlations ( \u3c 0.28). Among cases with PFPS, a strong and significant, negative correlation was found between subjects’ reported worst pain and Kujala score (r=-0.79, p\u3c0.05)). A non-significant moderate negative correlation between side plank endurance and usual pain was found (r=-0.49). CONCLUSION: There were minimal differences noted in isometric strength tests between groups. There was a clear difference noted with endurance testing between groups. However, this difference was not found to be significant, which could be due to low number of subjects with PFPS. The differences in endurance between athletes with PFPS and their pain free counterparts merit further investigation and research. Of note, it was found that strength and endurance had a minimal correlation; this indicates that clinically, endurance cannot be inferred from isometric strength testing. Therefore, we recommend clinicians perform specific measures of endurance when attempting to identify impairments in runners with PFPS

Absenteeism Problems And Costs: Causes, Effects And Cures

Employee absences are both costly and disruptive for business, and the trend has been increasing steadily over the years.  Personal illness and family issues are cited as the primary reason for unplanned absences. Employers have been attempting to determine the validity of these illnesses and offer incentives and propose possible solutions to mitigate these absences, including those caused by family issues.  Illness, family responsibilities, personal issues and stress all take a toll on the worker which in turn affects morale, absences and productivity in the workplace.   Some sources including Statistics Canada cite that absenteeism approximates 15-20 percent of payroll (direct and indirect) costs.  This is significant.   Canada Newswire stated on May 23, 2008 that absenteeism translates into losses of over $16 billion in salary expenses.  The purpose of this paper is to identify the leading factors of absenteeism, possible “cures” that exist for these factors, and present results of companies that have implemented programs to combat the problem of absenteeism.  It is important that businesses determine if they in fact have an absenteeism problem and thus consider utilizing some of the proposed solutions offered in this paper

Absenteeism Problems And Costs: Causes, Effects And Cures

Employee absences are both costly and disruptive for business, and the trend has been increasing steadily over the years. Personal illness and family issues are cited as the primary reason for unplanned absences. Employers have been attempting to determine the validity of these illnesses and offer incentives and propose possible solutions to mitigate these absences, including those caused by family issues. Illness, family responsibilities, personal issues and stress all take a toll on the worker which in turn affects morale, absences and productivity in the workplace. Some sources including Statistics Canada cite that absenteeism approximates 15-20 percent of payroll (direct and indirect) costs. This is significant. Canada Newswire stated on May 23, 2008 that absenteeism translates into losses of over $16 billion in salary expenses. The purpose of this paper is to identify the leading factors of absenteeism, possible cures that exist for these factors, and present results of companies that have implemented programs to combat the problem of absenteeism. It is important that businesses determine if they in fact have an absenteeism problem and thus consider utilizing some of the proposed solutions offered in this paper

Mitocans induce lipid flip-flop and permeabilize the membrane to signal apoptosis

Pancratistatin (PST) and narciclasine (NRC) are natural therapeutic agents that exhibit specificity toward the mitochondria of cancerous cells and initiate apoptosis. Unlike traditional cancer therapeutic agents, PST and NRC are effective, targeted, and have limited adverse effects on neighboring healthy, noncancerous cells. Currently, the mechanistic pathway of action for PST and NRC remains elusive, which in part inhibits PST and NRC from becoming efficacious therapeutic alternatives. Herein, we use neutron and x-ray scattering in combination with calcein leakage assays to characterize the effects of PST, NRC, and tamoxifen (TAM) on a biomimetic model membrane. We report an increase in lipid flip-flop half-times (t1/2) (≈12.0%, ≈35.1%, and a decrease of ≈45.7%) with 2 mol percent PST, NRC, and TAM respectively. An increase in bilayer thickness (≈6.3%, ≈7.8%, and ≈7.8%) with 2 mol percent PST, NRC, and TAM, respectively, was also observed. Lastly, increases in membrane leakage (≈31.7%, ≈37.0%, and ≈34.4%) with 2 mol percent PST, NRC, and TAM, respectively, were seen. Considering the maintenance of an asymmetric lipid composition across the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) is crucial to eukaryotic cellular homeostasis and survival, our results suggest PST and NRC may play a role in disrupting the native distribution of lipids within the OMM. A possible mechanism of action for PST- and NRC-induced mitochondrial apoptosis is proposed via the redistribution of the native OMM lipid organization and through OMM permeabilization

Investigating the cut-off effect of n-alcohols on lipid movement: a biophysical study

Cellular membranes are responsible for absorbing the effects of external perturbants for the cell’s survival. Such perturbants include small ubiquitous molecules like n-alcohols which were observed to exhibit anesthetic capabilities, with this effect tapering off at a cut-off alcohol chain length. To explain this cut-off effect and complement prior biochemical studies, we investigated a series of nalcohols (with carbon lengths 2-18) and their impact on several bilayer properties, including lipid flip-flop, intervesicular exchange, diffusion, membrane bending rigidity and more. To this end, we employed an array of biophysical techniques such as time-resolved small angle neutron scattering (TRSANS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), all atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and calcein leakage assays. At an alcohol concentration of 30 mol % of the overall lipid content, TR-SANS showed 1-hexanol (C6OH) increased transverse lipid diffusion, i.e. flip-flop. As alcohol chain length increased from C6 to C10 and longer, lipid flip-flop slowed by factors of 5.6 to 32.2. Intervesicular lipid exchange contrasted these results with only a slight cut-off at alcohol concentrations of 30 mol % but not 10 mol %. SAXS, MD simulations, and leakage assays revealed changes to key bilayer properties, such as bilayer thickness and fluidity, that correlate well with the effects on lipid flip-flop rates. Finally, we tie our results to a defect-mediated pathway for alcohol-induced lipid flip-flop

Judging Knowledge in the Digital Age: The Role of External-Memory Organization

Two studies examined relations between features of external-memory repositories (personal computers) and confidence in knowing. Participants judged their confidence in knowledge related to their work or studies and then answered questions about the way they store and use information. Participants who maintained more organized repositories were more confident in their knowledge. Furthermore, moderation analyses showed that the participants who navigated through their files by manually clicking through folders to find documents, but not those who use an automated search feature, felt more knowledge confident if they maintained a well-organized electronic repository. These results provide evidence for relation between assessments of internally “stored” knowledge and the degree of organization of their externally stored “knowledge.