Yoga and Its Benefits on Mental Illness

This thesis looks into the role yoga can play as an aid to treatment of mental health illnesses such as eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. This research identifies some problems associated with treating eating disorders including co-morbidity and poor insurance coverage. Using yoga as an aid to treatment may bring better access to people while also being an affordable option to reduce symptoms of mental illness. The author participated in the Ohio State University's program RECESS to offer yoga workshops that provide information and the leading through of yoga asana poses that aid in mental health. Following the RECESS program, a study took place within Ohio State's Dance Department with 22 freshman dance majors. The students were given a survey asking about general eating patterns. They were then taught a simple yoga sequence to do before one meal a day for 10 days, and they then regrouped and filled out a post survey. The results were then analyzed, suggesting that performing a simple yoga sequence prior to eating may decrease negative affects associated with eating disorders.Karen A. Bell Dance FundNo embargoAcademic Major: Danc

Deconstructing the Gender Card: An Examination of Femininity Performance in US Elections

My thesis explores the use of strategic essentialism in US electoral politics, focusing on female senatorial and gubernatorial candidates from 2000 to 2006. Using advertising data I examine in which situations female candidates for public office choose to emphasize feminine traits and qualities and determine whether gender performance is most affected by the issue area being discussed, the audience, or constant factors such as the candidate s region, opponent, background, and office being sought

In Praise of Debt: Affective Economics in Early Modern English Literature

This dissertation examines texts that thematize the crises of trust resulting from the pressures of early modern England's expanding credit economy. A century before the founding of the Bank of England, early modern credit remained an emotive and moral currency, presumably dependent on affective ties, moral obligations, knowledge of a potential debtor's character and a concern for their well-being. And yet, in this period of widespread mobility, immigration, urbanization, conspicuous consumption, and heightened levels of debt litigation, creditors and debtors were often strangers bound only by a legal bond that carried penalties of surprising severity. At this critical moment of emerging capitalistic practices and their attendant social and moral disruptions, Elizabethan and Jacobean authors are drawn to the discursive interplay between the legal problem of debt and those debts of love and social obligation it threatened. As an emerging ethos shaped by market relations and commercial culture pervades, complicates, and reconfigures traditional structures of affective relations - Christian fellowship, friendship, marriage, kinship, and service - early modern writers exploit the age-old interdependence of economic and moral discourses. The resulting discourse of debt is characterized by a strategic slippage between debt's economic and emotive registers. The texts included in this study deploy this discourse to achieve ends at once self-interested and moralistic. Some debtors use the discourse to perpetually defer payment by reorganizing their debt relations, while others use it to resist disenfranchisement by reorienting the basis of credibility. Through its inscription into law with the 1571 Act Against Usury, this discourse enables the advancement of predatory lending as an acceptable violation of traditional social obligations. At the same time, its inscription into genres such as city comedy and domestic tragedy show the discourse to be a rhetorical antidote for the worst excesses of both economic and affective debt relations. On a broader scale, this project reveals a relationship between economic and affective bonds that is more complex than we have previously understood. As the two begin to move towards increasingly distinct fields, the implications of their shared rhetorical and conceptual basis become imbued with an unprecedented signifying power for social intervention.Doctor of Philosoph

Developing National and Global Identities: Adolescent Identity Crisis Negotiation during a Two Week International Exchange

Literature elucidating the adolescent travel experience is scarce. In fact, travel and tourism scholarship to date largely glosses over the adolescent experience, focusing instead on the perspective of the whole family unit or the experience of the older adult traveler. The purpose of this study was to give voice to youth travelers by investigating the travel experiences of two male and six female adolescents from the South Eastern United States

Penile Injury in Infant Male: Accident or Abuse?

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic injury to the penis may occur from a wide variety of mechanisms in the context of accidental injury, or child physical or sexual abuse. Accidental penile injuries may include injuries occurring during toilet training in a closing toilet lid, with zippers, hair tourniquets, from straddle injuries, kicks, or more traumatic events such as bike wrecks or automobile accidents. Inflicted penile injury may occur in the context of physical or sexual abuse. The developmental ability, history provided by the caregiver, and other concurrent injuries play an important role in distinguishing between accidental or inflicted trauma. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 3 month old male presented to the emergency room due to redness on the glans and shaft of his penis that parents reportedly noticed after a bath. Coagulation studies and complete blood count were obtained which were unremarkable. Social work, Child Protective Services, and Law Enforcement were contacted. He was seen in follow-up the next morning at the Children’s Advocacy Center, where the Child Abuse Pediatrician ordered imaging studies to complete a work-up of possible child physical abuse, including a non-contrast head CT and a full skeletal survey radiography. Head CT was negative. The skeletal survey found bilateral distal medial metaphyseal corner fractures of the femurs, which raised additional concern for child physical abuse and prompted admission to the Children’s Hospital for further management. Pediatric orthopedics was consulted for management of the fractures; treatment included a Pavlik harness which was managed by orthopedics follow up. The patient’s father later admitted during interviews with law enforcement to have forcefully pinched the glans penis in an attempt to stop urination during the patient’s bath. The Child Abuse Pediatrician testified as an expert witness during the trial for this patient, which ultimately found the defendant guilty of child physical abuse. DISCUSSION: Classifying an injury as accidental, physical abuse, or sexual abuse depends on the setting in which it is reported as well as the intent behind the injury. Multiple accidental mechanisms of injury for the penis bruising were presented prior to the confession; no history was provided for the metaphyseal corner fractures. Child physical abuse was diagnosed due to the additional fractures and lack of history consistent with the injuries. The diagnosis was additionally ultimately supported by the partial confession. This case represents an uncommon presentation of child physical abuse that highlights the need for full appropriate medical evaluation and investigation by coordinating agencies.N

Boise Exploration Project

To being the innovate challenge, we were presented with five undeveloped properties that we needed to turn into something innovative, filled the needs of the community, was feasible, and grounded in evidence. Our wish was to build something so that Downtown Boise could become a place that truly fostered a sense of community, and culture, while emphasizing education by bringing together everyone from adults to children, students to businessmen, and urban to suburban. This vision was formalized through the construction of our idea: to build a large, interactive Boise City Museum. This museum would take visitors on an interactive journey through the world, from dinosaurs, to Idaho history, to space exploration. We wanted visitors to experience education, to not only learn about history in a classroom; therefore, the Boise City Museum would offer an IMAX experience as well as a public-access planetarium. These innovations would not only allow potential partners like Boise State University, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard the chance to have a foothold in the community, but also they would inspire young students through sponsoring an exhibit. However, our vision did not stop with the Boise City Museum, we wanted to foster all of the arts, so we added an amphitheatre that could house different plays, local orchestras and support other arts. Next to the amphitheatre, a shopping center called The Marketplace is set; it is a place that will be supportive to small, local businesses and restaurants. This place will have beautiful architecture to provide a breathtaking first glimpse of Boise when exiting the connector. Other innovative aspects to our design was the addition of pedestrian bridges to encourage walking and bicycling; also a parking garage, to help address some of the space issues business people downtown experience. Our design, the Boise Exploration Project, is a large scale, innovative project designed around Boise’s strengths as a community

Mixed Mood State Behaviors and Circadian Dysfunction following Homocysteic Acid Treatment: Potential Animal Model for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a neuropsychiatric disease characterized by cyclical fluctuations of mood states between mania and depression. Circadian rhythm abnormalities and inconsistent sleep patterns are two common symptoms of bipolar disorder (Millar, Epsie, & Scott, 2004). Elevated levels of homocysteine, in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid, commonly occurs in patients with neuropsychiatric illnesses, including bipolar disorder (Bell et al., 1992; Boushey, Beresford, Omenn, & Motulsky, 1995). Homocysteic acid (HCA), an endogenous metabolite of homocysteine, has been implicated as a harmful neurotoxin and agonist of NMDA receptors. We have previously shown that postnatal administration of HCA (from postnatal day 3-21) in Sprague Dawley rats results in both mania-like and depressive-like behaviors, suggesting that this may serve as a novel animal model for bipolar disorder. The purpose of the present study was to characterize any circadian abnormalities that may be present in HCA-treated rats, as sleep and circadian dysfunction are common symptoms of bipolar disorder. In addition, we also characterized the developmental onset of the mania-like and depressive-like behaviors in this model. Prior to puberty, we found that HCA-treated rats exhibited no manic-like behaviors and only a trend toward depressive-like behaviors. After puberty, however, HCA-treated rats presented a mixed mood-state of both manic-like and depressive-like behaviors, along with significant dysfunction in the circadian clock. Specifically, both the free-running period and the amplitude of the rhythm were significantly reduced following HCA treatment. We are currently using microarray analyses to determine differences in circadian gene expression levels between HCA treated animals and controls. Additionally, we are examining the therapeutic role of lithium for reversing the circadian disruptions exhibited by the HCA-treated animals. Altogether, the findings of the present study provide strong evidence in support of the HCA model’s face validity for bipolar disorder, allowing us to better understand the mechanisms underlying the development of this disease

Development of X-TOOLSS: Preliminary Design of Space Systems Using Evolutionary Computation

Evolutionary computational (EC) techniques such as genetic algorithms (GA) have been identified as promising methods to explore the design space of mechanical and electrical systems at the earliest stages of design. In this paper the authors summarize their research in the use of evolutionary computation to develop preliminary designs for various space systems. An evolutionary computational solver developed over the course of the research, X-TOOLSS (Exploration Toolset for the Optimization of Launch and Space Systems) is discussed. With the success of early, low-fidelity example problems, an outline of work involving more computationally complex models is discussed

Evolution of the primate vomeronasal system: fossil evidence from the Fayum

Extant primates vary dramatically in the presence and development of the vomeronasal system (VNS), which largely detects social pheromones and anti-predator chemosignals. While the strepsirrhine VNS resembles most mammals, haplorhines either have derived VNS traits with ambiguous effects on vomeronasal function, or have lost the system entirely. While a reduced reliance on vomeronasal olfaction in haplorhines is inferred, few studies have addressed VNS variation in extinct primates to examine the timing and context of the loss of this system. We have previously identified an osteological correlate of the vomeronasal organ, the vomeronasal groove (VNG), which allows us to implement a paleontological approach toward understanding primate VNS evolution. We investigated cranial material of fossil primates for the presence or absence of a VNG using microCT scans. The VNG was present in a broad temporal and taxonomic range of primate fossils, including plesiadapiforms, adapiforms, omomyoids, crown platyrrhines, stem anthropoids, and stem catarrhines. Notably the VNG persists as a relatively small gutter in the stem catarrhine Aegyptopithecus zeuxis, but is absent in advanced stem catarrhine Saadanius hijazensis, and the Miocene cercopithecoid Victoriapithecus. We estimate that VNG loss occurred between 30-28ma, based on our sample. These dates complement estimates for the accelerated rate of deleterious mutations, and loss of function, in the TRPC2 pheromone transduction gene in catarrhines between 40-25ma. Further exploration of the VNG in fossil primates will lead to a more thorough understanding of past sensory environments and their ultimate effects on sensory specializations of extant lineages.First author draf

Delivery of community-based antiretroviral therapy to maintain viral suppression and retention in care in South Africa

Background: To determine whether the Centralized Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) program in South Africa's differentiated ART delivery model affects clinical outcomes, we assessed viral load (VL) suppression and retention in care between patients participating in the program and those receiving the clinic-based standard of care. Methods: Clinically stable people living with HIV (PLHIV) eligible for differentiated care were referred to the national CCMDD program and followed up for up to 6 months. In this secondary analysis of trial cohort data, we estimated the association between routine patient participation in the CCMDD program and their clinical outcomes of viral suppression (<200 copies/mL) and retention in care. Results: Among 390 PLHIV, 236 (61%) were assessed for CCMDD eligibility; 144 (37%) were eligible, and 116 (30%) participated in the CCMDD program. Participants obtained their ART in a timely manner at 93% (265/286) of CCMDD visits. VL suppression and retention in care was very similar among CCMDD-eligible patients who participated in the program compared with patients who did not participate in the program (aRR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.94–1.12). VL suppression alone (aRR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.97–1.08) and retention in care alone (aRR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.95–1.12) were also similar between CCMDD-eligible PLHIV who participated in the program and those who did not. Conclusion: The CCMDD program successfully facilitated differentiated care among clinically stable participants. PLHIV participating in the CCMDD program maintained a high proportion of viral suppression and retention in care, indicating that community-based ART delivery model did not negatively affect their HIV care outcomes