Self-selected walking speeds as a function of load in reproductive age women carrying an indigenous pack basket.

Keywords: Women, locomotion, loads Almost universally, females from indigenous populations walk long distances carrying heavy loads; these loads include infants and toddlers, food, water, firewood, and household belongings. The purpose of our research was to determine how different levels of load carried in an indigenous pack basket affect the speeds selected by free-walking reproductive age women given qualitative speed directives. The study involved 14 women between 18 and 30 y who were in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle or taking oral contraceptives. Subjects carried three different load amounts in an indigenous style pack basket -- 0 kg (an empty pack), 10 kg, and 20 kg -- while walking around a gym perimeter at four different walking speed directives (“slow walk”, “walk all day”, “brisk walk”, “fast walk”). During each of two testing days, 12 trials (all combinations of 3 loads, 4 speed directives) were performed in a random order. Each trial consisted of six minutes walking followed by four minutes resting. Average selected walking speed for each trial was determined from video tape recordings on each side of the gym. Actual walking speed increased curvilinearly with speed directive. For a given speed directive, selected speeds dropped significantly from 0 to 20 kg loads at all but the “slow walk” directive, with the amount of the speed drop increasing at faster speed directives. Such load-related modulation of walking speed could limit daily foraging range, as well as increase the frequency of camp moves, potentially influencing the mobility of the entire population

Trauma-Informed and Family-Centered Paediatric Resuscitation: Defining Domains and Practices

Aim For paediatric patients and families, resuscitation can be an extremely stressful experience with significant medical and psychological consequences. Psychological sequelae may be reduced when healthcare teams apply patient- and family-centered care and trauma-informed care, yet there are few specific instructions for effective family-centered or trauma-informed behaviours that are observable and teachable. We aimed to develop a framework and tools to address this gap. Methods We reviewed relevant policy statements, guidelines, and research to define core domains of family-centered and trauma-informed care, and identified observable evidence-based practices in each domain. We refined this list of practices via review of provider/team behaviours in simulated paediatric resuscitation scenarios, then developed and piloted an observational checklist. Results Six domains were identified: (1) Sharing information with patient and family; (2) Promoting family involvement in care and decisions; (3) Addressing family needs and distress; (4) Addressing child distress; (5) Promoting effective emotional support for child; (6) Practicing developmental and cultural competence. A 71-item observational checklist assessing these domains was feasible for use during video review of paediatric resuscitation. Conclusion This framework can guide future research and provide tools for training and implementation efforts to improve patient outcomes through patient- and family-centered and trauma-informed care

Belly Mass in Walking Women: Effect of loads on kinematics and energetics

Marcie Myers, Associate Professor of Biology, and Andrea Hokanson, student researcher, received a $2,000 award from the 3M Small Scale Grant program to determine how the amount of mass carried around a woman\u27s abdominal area affects her patterns of movement and caloric costs during walking at different speeds

Integration of Leg and Arm Pendulums During Walking: Effect of Leg and Waist Loads

Marcie Myers, Associate Professor of Biology, and Jessica McCafferty, student researcher, received a $1,850 award from the 3M Small Scale Grant program to discover how key temporal characteristics of gait vary as the limb mass to body mass ratio is systematically altered in walking humans. This knowledge will help in the development of a comprehensive and mechanistic model of walking in humans

Melvina Kpanquoi\u27s Research Experience

In May, Melvina Kpanquoi ’11 graduated from St. Kate’s with a degree in biology and two collaborative research projects under her belt. Invaluable is how Kpanquoi describes both of her research experiences. “I’ve learned a lot about myself as both a student and individual,” she says. “As a researcher you put in a lot of hard work but the whole experience is really fun. In the end the hard work is worth it.” For one of Kpanquoi’s projects, she paired up with engineering student Anna Heithoff ’11. Connecting with other St. Kate’s researchers has been an added bonus, says Kpanquoi. “I’ve been able to meet and work with many women on campus that are passionate about the same topics or fields that interest me.” Associate Biology Professor Marcie Myers served as principal investigator and mentor on both research projects with Kpanquoi. Kpanquoi says she was grateful for Myers’ guidance. “She implements critically thinking and believes so much in you, it is impossible to think otherwise.” Being involved in collaborative research allowed for Kpanquoi to share information about her research projects at three conferences, which has been a highlight for her. “That’s been one of the most exciting parts of my experience. I am able to share the results from our research and I feel like an expert,” she says. Kpanquoi urges both current and prospective student researchers at St. Kate’s to attend conferences where they can showcase their projects. “People want to learn about your research and what you have accomplished.”https://sophia.stkate.edu/orsp_studentresexp/1006/thumbnail.jp

Marcie Myers, Ph.D., Biology

https://sophia.stkate.edu/orsp_faculty/1008/thumbnail.jp

Limb Mass to Body Mass Ratio: Influences on the Temporal Characteristics of Walking

Marcie Myers, Associate Professor of Biology, and Heather Marie Hirsch and Dilangani Boralessa, student researchers, received a $1,392 award from the 3M Small Scale Grant program to discover how key temporal characteristics of gait vary as the limb mass to body mass ratio is systematically altered in walking humans. This will help determine how much energy is saved within the body and within the lower limbs as a result of their pendular-like motion

Katies for Aging Research and Equity (KARE) at St. Catherine University

Katie Campbell (Interprofessional Education), Josh Guggenheimer (Exercise and Sports Science), and Marcie Myers (Biology) have been awarded $1,529,384 over 5 years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—National Institute on Aging (NIA). This grant, the largest St. Kate\u27s has received to date from the NIH, will launch the Katies for Aging Research and Equity (KARE) program, which will prepare diverse students for careers in aging research. Faculty from the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences will lead this joint initiative, which includes building a cross-disciplinary minor in gerontology. KARE is an innovative and integrated research education program that will prepare the next generation of underrepresented minority women to be leaders in aging research by combining support, education, and mentored research opportunities for students with scientists and clinicians at St. Kate\u27s as well as Mayo Clinic and the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center