DigitalCommons@UConn Copyright (c) 2012 University of Connecticut All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu Recent documents in DigitalCommons@UConn en-us Wed, 16 May 2012 04:50:26 PDT 3600 High Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Techniques for the Efficient Study of Nanotribology http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/260 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/260 Mon, 14 May 2012 14:04:16 PDT As mechanical devices scale down to micro/nano length scales, it is crucial to understand friction and wear at the nanoscale (nanotribology) especially at technically relevant sliding velocities. Accordingly, three novel techniques have been developed to study nanotribology, leveraging recent advances in high speed AFM. The first method utilizes high line-scanning rates coupled with sinusoidal scanning along the AFM fast scan axis, enabling rapid friction measurements as a function of velocity up to 20 mm/sec. The second method rapidly acquires friction versus force curves through disabling the feedback loop during scanning and relating the resulting lateral data with the correspondingly varying normal loads. The third and most widely applicable technique rapidly creates a map of friction-force curves based on a sequence of high speed images each with incrementally lower loads. As a result, ‘images’ of the coefficient of friction, friction at zero load, and/or load for zero friction (typically adhesive) can be uniquely determined for heterogeneous surfaces. This work includes measurements on mica, nanocrystalline diamond, and Au/SiO2 micro-fabricated structures, and is applicable for wear of sliding or rolling components in MEMS, biological implants, contact lenses, data storage devices, etc. The sinusoidal scanning technique allows friction force measurements in two dimensions to be acquired faster than any system currently on the market. The high scan velocity friction properties of mica have been characterized, and viscous damping forces between the cantilever and substrate dominate in agreement with the thermally-activated Eyring and Tomlinson models. Friction force curves are also extracted at any scan velocity along the line scan, allowing less experimental time to acquire such a broad range of equivalent friction data. Friction force curves collected with a disabled vertical feedback loop allow for the rapid characterization of substrates with either low or high varying topographies. The theory has been demonstrated on a silica characterization grating, allowing the coefficient of friction, friction at zero applied force, and pull-off force to be extracted. Finally, an array of friction force curves was acquired on a SiO2/thiol substrate at a scanning velocity approaching 3 mm/s. The coefficient of friction and friction at zero applied force were determined for the SiO2 phase and the thiol phases, and were equivalent to the coefficients acquired at normal scan rates, approximately 300 times slower. Not limited to high scan velocities, the importance of this approach is that friction can be mapped for specimens with defects, topographic features, and/or phase differences at the micro- and nano- scale.

]]> James L. Bosse Assessing Treatment Fidelity in Child Language Intervention Literature: A Systematic Review http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/259 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/259 Mon, 14 May 2012 14:04:09 PDT Laura Marie Czernik Causes of Rising Prevalence of Childhood Obesity and the Development of an Intervention Program Aimed at Reducing the Trend Among School-Aged Children in Manchester CT. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/258 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/258 Mon, 14 May 2012 13:16:13 PDT Marcellinus Onyia Raccoon Acclimation Towards Traps and its Effect on Surveillance and Monitoring of Zoonotic Diseases http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/257 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/257 Mon, 14 May 2012 07:58:54 PDT Raccoons (Procyon lotor) serve as a source of infection with various pathogens for people, most notably, rabies. Raccoons are specifically targeted for the control of rabies in the United States, primarily due to the 100% fatality rate in humans and animals. There is no cure or treatment for rabies and vaccines may be administered to people if it is administered promptly. In order to evaluate how successful trapping of raccoons is by using conventional methods, motion sensing cameras were placed on traps in order to captured raccoon behaviors. Pictures were coded based on these behaviors (around the trap but not entering, entering the trap but not being caught, captured, etc) and analyzed. The first hypothesis proposed that raccoons required a period of time to become adjusted to traps placed in their environment; this hypothesis could not be accepted. The second hypothesis suggested that raccoons exhibit a trap-prone behavior, this hypothesis was accepted. These results will help in designing more successful surveillance methods for zoonotic infectious disease programs.

]]> Lindsay Rollend A Stochastic Simulation Model of Alarm Response Strategies on a Telemetry Floor http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/256 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/256 Mon, 14 May 2012 07:29:33 PDT The large quantity of alarms characteristic of clinical settings have resulted in nursing staff suffering from a phenomenon termed ‘alarm fatigue’. Alarm fatigue is desensitization via habituation – as these commonly heard noises cause caregivers to have delayed or no response to alarms. Alarm management was ranked number one on the annual top ten list of technology hazards afflicting healthcare institutions published by the ECRI Institute for 2012. Several patient safety organizations have established alarm fatigue as a priority concern, and are working to eradicate the issue from the healthcare environment by 2017. To better understand the problem, a simplified simulation model was created using AutoMod® to investigate the routine processes involved in responding to cardiac arrhythmia alarms on a telemetry unit as well as the sources of noise attributing to alarm fatigue. By quantifying these workflows and response strategies, this model can be utilized to aid administrators and managers in selecting alarm escalation times as well as modifying hospital protocols to minimize alarm response time and enhance nursing efficacy. The results also support the identification of hospital policy elements where clinical workflow could be augmented based on the physical layout of the telemetry floor, use of distributed alarm notification systems and staff roles and responsibilities.

]]> Tasneem M. Pishori Clinician Approaches to the Diagnosis of the Patient with Suspected Lyme Disease http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/255 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/255 Mon, 14 May 2012 07:07:29 PDT Tyler W. Hudon Impact of Adiposity Status on the Association of Regular Statin Use and Increased Number of Aberrant Crypt Foci http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/254 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/254 Fri, 11 May 2012 06:08:49 PDT INTRODUCTION: While animal studies consistently show a preventive role of statin use in colon cancer development, evidence from human studies is conflicting with recent reports suggesting an increased risk of aberrant crypt foci and adenoma. We hypothesize that insufficient control of confounding due to indication bias for prescribing of statins, particularly obesity-induced physiologic dysregulation, might partly explain discrepant results. METHODS: We analyzed data from patients receiving standard colonoscopy at the Colon Cancer Prevention Program of the University of Connecticut Health Center, which was followed by chromoendoscopy for ACF detection. ACF number was categorized at low (RESULTS: Participants who reported regular use of statins had a higher mean ACF number than participants who reported taking (17.20 vs. 9.02, respectively, p=0.001). The mean age for the high ACF group was greater than the mean age for the low ACF group (59.40 versus 54.17 years, respectively, p=0.002). Never and past smokers were more likely to have low ACF than current smokers (58.9% vs. 60.0% vs. 18.2%, respectively, p=0.037). Univariate logistic regression showed that patients who regularly took statins were 3.9 (95%CI=1.43-10.74) times more likely to have a high ACF count than those not taking statins regularly, which was reduced to 2.67 (95%CI=0.89-7.97) in the age-adjusted analysis. In the basic multivariate model, the OR for high ACF among regular statin users was 1.47 (95%CI=0.28-7.74) in comparison to patients who consumed 1 or fewer pills per week. When adiposity measures were added into the basic multivariate model, the ORs for high ACF were: 1.24 for BMI (95%CI=0.21-7.47; p=0.017); 0.68 for WHR (95%CI=0.10-5.40; p=0.702); and 1.20 for WC (95%CI=0.20-1.20; p=0.842). Compared to taking neither aspirin nor statins (referent group), univariate ORs were: 15.0 (95%CI=1.55-145.23) for taking statins only on a regular basis; 1.83 (95%CI=0.59-5.68) for regular use of aspirin only; and 4.29 (95%CI=1.24-14.83) for regular use of both statins and aspirin. OR estimates were slightly attenuated in age-adjusted analyses and were substantially reduced in multivariate analyses, and no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: While regular statin use in our study population was associated with a statistically significant higher ACF count in univariate analyses, this effect did not remain after controlling for key risk factors for colon cancer. It is possible that prior evidence of an adverse role of statin use in colorectal neoplasia in human studies may be explained in part by confounding. Our results must be interpreted with caution due to small numbers in study groups.

]]> Homaira Rasool An Investigation of Fraxinus Americana Branch Sway Using a 3 Dimensional Motion Capture System http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/253 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/253 Fri, 11 May 2012 05:54:20 PDT Abstract

Wind is a dominant abiotic factor that a tree experiences throughout its lifetime and can cause severe tree damage, resulting in risk of injury to humans, and economic and ecological losses. It is thought that trees develop structural properties and architectures that help withstand loading conditions by dissipating wind energy through damping mechanisms. The role of branch motion in reducing potential dangerous wind loads has been the focus of relatively few studies. Even fewer studies have examined tree sway response to natural wind loaded conditions. In this investigation, branch frequencies were calculated for three Fraxinus americana using a three-dimensional motion capture system for both wind loading and hand loading conditions. Individual branch frequencies and phase angle values were calculated after portions of the tree crown mass were removed. Wind loaded branch sway frequencies ranged between 0.2 and 1.1 Hz while the pull and release test induced mean frequencies of 0.2 Hz. There was no significant difference between phase angle shifts or frequencies after the removal of tree crown mass. The hypotheses tested require further investigation as the interference with neighboring tree crowns prevented desired tree sway dynamics to occur.

]]> Anna T. Campiformio A Look at In re Fabian A.: Examining the Extension of Due Process Protections and Failure to Object as Waiver in the Juvenile Justice System http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/7 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/7 Thu, 10 May 2012 14:25:12 PDT Vol. 11, No. 1

]]> Elizabeth Bannon Coalition, Cross-Cultural Lawyering, and Intersectionality: Immigrant Identity as a Barrier to Effective Legal Counseling for Domestic Violence Victims http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/6 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/6 Thu, 10 May 2012 14:22:12 PDT Vol. 11, No. 1

]]> Jessica H. Stein “We’d Love to Match Them, But…”: How Temporary Employment Agencies Understand and Use Race and Ethnicity http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/5 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/5 Thu, 10 May 2012 14:15:28 PDT Meghan M. Sweeney Criminal Law’s Tribalism http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/4 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/4 Thu, 10 May 2012 14:11:25 PDT Molly Townes O'Brien Food Security, Food Assistance Program Participation and Diet Quality Among Food Pantry Participants in the North End of Hartford http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/252 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/252 Thu, 10 May 2012 12:25:46 PDT Julie L. Menounos In Translation v.2:no.3 (2012:Spring) http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/uchcres_articles/88 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/uchcres_articles/88 Thu, 10 May 2012 11:41:54 PDT In This Issue

CICATS Spring Update

Why CICATS is Important to Dr. Andemariam…

CICATS Welcomes New Staff

Partners Collaborate in Clinical Trial

]]> Matthew J. Cook Educational Prepardness of Entry-Level Athletic Trainers Regarding Preventing Sudden Death and Emergency Procedures http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/251 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/251 Thu, 10 May 2012 07:07:42 PDT Thomas M. Yabor Assessing Help-Seeking Attitudes, Service Utilization, and Provider Preferences Among Undergraduate Students With Self-Reported Sexual Functioning Concerns http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/250 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/250 Thu, 10 May 2012 06:49:06 PDT Researchers who have studied help-seeking for sexual concerns have consistently documented that individuals, couples, and families underutilize services. Additionally, research has demonstrated that individuals endorse myriad barriers to seeking informal and formal help, especially for sexual functioning concerns. This study examined the types of sexual concerns faced by a sample of 347 of undergraduate students, their provider preferences in the past, present, and future, and their help-seeking behaviors for formal and informal help sources. Despite the occurrence of sexual functioning concerns in the current study, services that address sexual concerns were largely underutilized. However, barriers to seeking help and negative attitudes toward seeking help did not seem to be primary reasons for the underutilization of services for the current sample. Results also indicated that providers that focus specifically on the treatment of sexual functioning concerns are among the most underutilized services.

]]> Ashley M. Reckert The Effects of High Intensity, Short Rest Resistance Exercise on Testosterone and Muscle Damage Markers in Men and Women http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/249 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/249 Thu, 10 May 2012 06:35:13 PDT High intensity, short rest protocols have become increasingly popular within the fitness industry. Such protocols can elicit extensive muscle damage and oxidative stress; thus the purpose of this study was to examine markers of muscle tissue damage and inflammation along with testosterone responses to a high intensity (75% 1RM), short rest resistance exercise protocol and sex-specific effects. Nine resistance trained men (age: 23.6 ± 3.5 years, weight: 77.8 ± 8.8 kilograms, height: 172.4 ± 4.0 cm, body fat 9.3 ± 3.3 %) and nine resistance trained women (age: 22.9 ± 2.0 years, weight: 68.6 ± 10.4 kilograms, height: 168.6 ± 9.4 cm, body fat 13.6 ± 3.3 %) participated. The protocol consisted of a descending pyramid scheme starting at 10 for three major lifts. No significant sex interactions were seen with testosterone or IL-6. There were significant sex interactions observed in myoglobin (IP) and CK (IP, +60, +24). Men demonstrated significant increases in testosterone (IP, +15), myoglobin (IP, +15, +60, +24), IL-6 (IP), and CK (IP, +60, +24). Women demonstrated significant increases in myoglobin (IP, +15, +60), IL-6 (IP), and CK (+24). There were no significant increases observed in women for testosterone. Women demonstrated a greater absolute increase in myoglobin per kilogram of fat free mass than men (+15, +60) indicating a sufficient degree of muscle damage. Both men and women demonstrated significant muscle damage with a high intensity, short rest protocol with different hormonal and immune responses, most likely mediated through differing signaling cascades.

]]> Kristen R. Heavens The "ILLEGAL" Tax http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/3 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cpilj/3 Wed, 09 May 2012 20:39:37 PDT Francine J. Lipman A Spectacle of Great Beauty: The Changing Faces of Hagia Sophia http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/248 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/248 Wed, 09 May 2012 14:15:28 PDT Victoria M. Villano Racial and Ethnic Group Variations in Service Use among Medicare Home Health Care Beneficiaries with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/247 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/247 Wed, 09 May 2012 07:01:53 PDT Purpose: Due to the importance of Medicare home health care (HHC) to beneficiaries when complications of diabetes mellitus result in the need for skilled home care and consistent with efforts to better understand and minimize racial disparities in patterns of HHC service use, we compared racial and ethnic groups across measures of HHC service use in a nationally representative sample of Medicare HHC beneficiaries with a primary diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Medicare HHC claims were linked to Outcome and Assessment Information Set data in a 20% stratified random sample of Medicare beneficiaries who completed HHC episodes in 2002. Inclusion criteria for this study were self-reported identity as White, African American, Hispanic, or Asian; and a primary HHC diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. HHC use measures were: visits per week by nursing, physical therapy, home health aide, and all HHC clinicians combined (including occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social work). Results: Racial and ethnic group distribution of study sample (N=9,838) was: 62% White, 22% African American, 12% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. Controlling for numerous health-related and sociodemographic covariates, African Americans as compared to Whites received fewer nurse visits per week and fewer visits per week from all clinical staff combined (p < 0.001); Hispanics as compared to Whites were less likely to receive physical therapy (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.640, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.543-0.754, p < 0.001) or home health aide (AOR = 0.716, 95% CI = 0.582-0.880, p = 0.002) services. There were no statistically significant differences in service use measures between African Americans and Hispanics. Conclusions: Hispanic and African American Medicare HHC beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes mellitus received less rehabilitation and fewer skilled nursing services.

]]> Amoah Yeboah-Korang Computable Linear Orders and Turing Reductions http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/246 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/246 Wed, 09 May 2012 06:26:43 PDT This thesis explores computable linear orders through Turing Reductions and codes zero jump and zero double jump into linear orders using discrete, dense, and block linear relations.

]]> Whitney P. Turner