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Musculoskeletal Pain and Preferred Pain Management Strategies Among Dental Professionals and Dental Students
No full textDental professionals and students are predisposed to musculoskeletal pain. However, few primary research studies have investigated musculoskeletal pain and pain management strategies among US-based dental professionals and students. Examining musculoskeletal pain and pain management experiences among dental professionals and students may provide inform opportunities to prevent musculoskeletal pain, thus improving their performance and retention in the workforce.
The primary purposes of this dissertation study were to: (1) understand issues that predispose dental professionals (workers and students) to musculoskeletal pain; (2) explain the associations between musculoskeletal pain and the strategies used for pain management; and (3) identify potentially harmful postures that could cause musculoskeletal pain among dental professionals by performing a concordance analysis of traditional ergonomic evaluation versus computer-based motion capture system assessment of select dental procedures.
The first study, a scoping review that examined musculoskeletal pain and pain management experiences of dental professionals and students, found musculoskeletal pain prevalence between 46% and 92.2%. The neck, wrist/hands, shoulders, and back had the most self-reported pain, while complementary alternative medicine (CAM) was the commonly used pain management strategy.
The second study administered internet-based surveys to dental professionals and dental students. Of the 1,510 study participants, 68.2% self-reported musculoskeletal pain. About 79.2% dental students, 70.6% dental assistants and hygienists, 65.7% dentists, and 60.4% dental therapists reported musculoskeletal pain. CAM (61.3%) and medication (49.7%) were the commonly used pain management strategies.
The third study, a concordance analysis of traditional (Rapid Entire Body Assessment, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, and Strain Index) and computer-based ergonomic assessment (Humantech motion capture system) on non-participatory observation data, assessed the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders among dental hygienists. Findings showed slight-to-fair agreement between traditional and computer-based ergonomic assessments. Findings suggest further refinement and testing of digital ergonomic assessment technologies are needed for the dental professions.
Taken together, this dissertation highlights the magnitude of musculoskeletal pain among dental professionals and students in the US and their preferences in strategies to manage pain. It illuminates factors associated with pain, the need for ergonomic assessment, and the potential for digital ergonomic assessment to detect harmful positions, which may cause or exacerbate musculoskeletal pain
Oebalus pugnax (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Resistance to ��-cyhalothrin in Texas Grain Sorghum and Efficacy of Potential Alternative Insecticides
No full textAlong the Coastal Bend of Texas, the rice stink bug, Oebalus pugnax (F.), is a pest of grain sorghum and rice that is primarily managed by application of insecticides. In 2015, a rice stink bug population from Wharton County, Texas, was found to be resistant to the pyrethroid insecticide ��-cyhalothrin, a common insecticide for rice stink bug management. In more recent years, reports of control failures have spread throughout Coastal Bend, a major hub of Texas grain sorghum production. Despite growing concern from grain sorghum producers, no studies have thoroughly evaluated the extent or geographic range of pyrethroid resistance in Texas. This thesis focuses on addressing the gaps in knowledge regarding rice stink bug pyrethroid resistance in grain sorghum and improving management tools and considerations for this pest.
Between 2021���2023, 21 rice stink bug populations across the Texas and Louisiana were evaluated for ��-cyhalothrin resistance over three grain sorghum growing seasons (2021���2023). Mortality was assessed through glass vial exposures to eight concentrations (0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, and 30 ��g/vial) of the pyrethroid ��-cyhalothrin. The concentration of ��-cyhalothrin required to kill 50% (LC������) of each population was estimated by probit analysis. Furthermore, the efficacy of insecticides including pyrethroid (��-cyhalothrin), organophosphate (dimethoate), and neonicotinoid (dinotefuran) insecticides were evaluated in field experiments conducted in Nueces County, Texas in 2021. The efficacy of these insecticides was evaluated for suppression of nymph and adult rice stink bug over the course of 22 days in experimental plots.
Our results indicated numerous rice stink bug populations along the Coastal Bend were resistant to ��-cyhalothrin with LC������ values ranging from 42���1,600 times more than a susceptible population. In a 2021 field efficacy trial, ��-cyhalothrin did not provide adequate control for rice stink bugs. Dinotefuran provided excellent control of nymphs, but dimethoate provided greater control of adult rice stink bugs. This study resulted in the approval of three Section 2(ee) bulletins for dimethoate products to be used on rice stink bug in Texas grain sorghum, thereby expanding the products available for control of this pest
Biological Ecosystem Inspired Approaches for Circular Economy Design and Quantification
No full textA cornerstone of sustainable development is the idea of a circular economy, a closed loop system where resources are cycled through a system and waste generated and virgin resource use are minimized. This thesis proposes a new of design tools based on environmental network analysis (ENA) and new design metrics, Ns* and NS, as tools which can be used to design systems in accordance with circular economy principles. NS is the number of nodes which strongly connect to a cycle, thus participating in both donation and acceptance, and Ns* is the proportion of total actors connected to a cycle that have a strong connection to that cycle. To explore these tools, multiple engineered systems were evaluated to benchmark their performance against the performance of biological ecosystems and to investigate the ties between ENA metrics and circular economy strategies. Manufacturing floors were also assessed in their ability to be easily reconfigured and their performance based on ENA metrics. The manufacturing floors with the closest values to biological ecosystems also performed the best at reconfigurabilty. The results showed how the low data metrics were able to guide design decisions of an emerging technology through exploring the potential resource cycling routes in a hypothetical economy. Additionally, a carpet network model was used to understand how the design tools related to circular economy strategies. Ns* and NS were found to be integral in assessing collaboration between industries participating in cycling, while FCI showed to be a good indicator of resource cycling, waste diversion and a decreased reliance on raw materials
���Let the Storm Begin!���: Ethnic Politics, German Americans, and the Mass Lynching of Eleven Italians in New Orleans, 1830-1899
No full textThis thesis argues elite German New Orleanians used the anti-Italian hysteria in New Orleans following Police Chief David Hennessy���s death in 1890 to promote their precarious social status among the elite White New Orleans native-born community. 1890 is only one year in the German community���s long endeavor to prove their status as members of elite White New Orleans society. Upon their arrival in the 1830s, German immigrants navigated anti-immigrant sentiment directed towards them. Not until after the Civil War did the German New Orleanians��� social status begin to shift within the southern socio-racial hierarchy. This thesis will demonstrate that German New Orleanians benefitted directly from the expansion of the definition of whiteness in the late nineteenth century as they participated in the racialization of the city���s Italian community. Sources for this study came largely from the city���s local English-language and German-language presses
Thermal Management and Defect Engineering in Reversible Transformations
No full textThis study delves into the nucleation behavior of thermoelastic martensitic transformations in Ni45Co5Mn36.7In13.3 microparticles, examining the influence of mesoscale order-disorder domains and phase boundaries between L21 and B2 phases on nucleation kinetics. The study compares microparticles with varying L21 domain interfacial area densities by employing solution heat treatment and secondary annealing. Characterization of 131 single particles reveals a range of undercooling from 11.3 to 59.4 K, with smaller volumes exhibiting the largest magnitude and variance. Surprisingly, nucleation site potency distributions between different domain sizes are statistically similar, suggesting that anti-site defects do not significantly impact nucleation at the length scales examined.
Additionally, our study explores the effects of helium and localized gallium irradiation on nucleation behavior. Helium irradiation induces Frenkel-pairs at our low doses (��� 0.1 dpa) and penetrates to about 4 ��m at 2 MeV. In comparison, localized gallium irradiation creates high-order defects (��� 140 dpa) and gallium implantation at depths of approximately 10 nm at 5 keV. Interestingly, helium irradiation and associated Frenkel-pairs do not statistically alter nucleation. In contrast, gallium irradiation leads to a notable reduction in the undercooling mean, indicating the potency of localized Ga+ irradiation to create potent nucleation sites.
Furthermore, this dissertation develops a theoretical framework based on thermal impedance to improve the melting efficiency of phase change material composites in transient power systems. The framework highlights the importance of the storage fraction in determining thermal impedance, offering insights into thermal design strategies for pulsed power systems. Finally, the study investigates the thermal impedance of PCM-intercalated copper foams with different pores per inch (40 ��� 90 PPI). Results show that at sufficiently small pores, the time for maximum thermal buffering decreased, peaking near on-times of 7.5 to 8 s, with diminishing returns observed for decreasing pore radii, independent of heat flux. However, the thickness of the foams was found to be a more prominent factor in reducing the observed timescales. This research contributes valuable insights into nucleation phenomena and thermal management strategies in materials science and engineering applications
Disparities of Flood Risk in Urban Areas and Historically Marginalized Populations in Sarasota County, FL
No full textDisaster vulnerability and risk assessments typically focus on socioeconomic characteristics and physical hazards, often omitting factors such as risk perception. Assessing disaster risk using physical and standardized demographic data (i.e., census data) can limit risk assessment accuracy, as the results do not fully encapsulate the complexity of disaster vulnerability, risk, and resilience contexts. Risk perception is essential when planning for disasters because it directly affects how people and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Examining how a community perceives and reacts to a hazard can help planners develop more accurate risk assessments and help decision-makers more equitably allocate disaster resources and develop/implement community-relevant mitigation strategies. Flooding is the most common natural hazard and the leading cause of natural hazard fatalities in the US. For these reasons, it is crucial to develop a more accurate baseline of flood risk identification in addition to analyzing the geosocial relationships to vulnerability by analyzing risk perception, socioeconomic demographics, and urban growth. Finally, the capacity to recover from disasters is often directly correlated to socioeconomic inequality, historic marginalization, and the current structure of the political system. Communities with higher percentages of black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) or low income per capita are often the last to see disaster recovery or risk reduction resources and, even then, are often underfunded and underserved. Historically marginalized demographics are also more likely than their white, affluent counterparts to live with higher exposure and vulnerability to flood hazard. Findings within this study have identified discrepancies within FEMA DFIRMs within smaller urban communities, and a reclassified floodplain better represented underestimated areas within Sarasota County. This reclassified floodplain allowed a further analysis into a geocoded risk perception survey to observe disparities of vulnerability based on sociodemographic variables and exposure to flood. This analysis showed significant positive correlation between perceived vulnerability to damage from flood and women exposed to flood. Additionally, while statistical significance was lacking for multiple relationships, regression models succeeded in showing relationship trends between marginalized groups and how their vulnerability to flood is affected by exposure to flood
Improving Access to River Discharge Data Through Satellite Remote Sensing
No full textRivers are a critical engine for the transportation of water, nutrients, and sediments across landscapes, making them an integral natural resource for many ecosystems and civilizations. Historically, river discharge, the volumetric flow of water at a point, has been measured using river gauges. These gauge discharge measurements serve a vital role in water resource management by improving our understanding of river dynamics and informing flood predictions. In this dissertation, I compile the largest collection of publicly available river gauge data and analyze this database for spatial and temporal trends in river gauge availability. I find that global gauge availability has remained stable since 1980 but the gauge network is biased towards the Americas and Europe. In addition, I find that 77% of global gauge records are not available in real-time, limiting our ability to make effective water management decisions. To alleviate the issues associated with the global gauge network, I leverage satellite remote sensing to provide real-time estimates of discharge in both gauged and ungauged reaches. By developing empirical relationships between gauge discharge measurements and satellite river widths, I am able to add nearly 300 thousand daily discharge observations to the global gauge record. Along ungauged North American reaches, I develop an algorithm, RODEO, to estimate river discharge efficiently and accurately from Landsat imagery. RODEO is available as a publicly available Google Earth Engine application and provides a path forward for the accurate quantification of remote sensing of discharge uncertainty. River discharge can directly influence and be influenced by lake dynamics. With the aim of better understanding lakes and rivers as an interconnected system, I develop the LakeFlow algorithm. LakeFlow leverages satellite observations from the recently launched Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission and mass conservation principles to estimate discharge at river-lake boundaries. LakeFlow has been tested using synthetic datasets at three lakes and shows promising accuracy. Ultimately, LakeFlow can be used to provide discharge at approximately 35 thousand river reaches globally
John Bickham field notebook: AK26501-AK27000.pdf
No full textBound book, each page corresponds to a karyotype slide data.Data pages for GEN1-GEN500 corresponding to unique identifiers of specimens/samples examined for biological research. Specimens are primarily housed at Texas A&M University; Biodiverstiy Research and Teaching Collection
A Study of Texture Characterization of Fiducial Markers for Visual Navigation
No full textA full six degree-of-freedom state estimation is an important problem in robotics, augmented reality, and autonomous navigation. Obtaining such information using visual features has been challenging since such a task always needs information-rich images. Getting access to a visually rich environment is not often possible. In such scenarios, artificial visual references like fiducial markers are used. This thesis conducts a systematic study of the texture of such fiducial markers. The study provides insight into the fiducial markers��� visual characteristics and design patterns. A general implementation of the ArUco marker detection and estimation system is created to understand the fiducial marker design process fully. The thesis reports results and lessons from both the set of tasks. Based on the study of other markers, a new fiducial marker-based on the Spidron pattern is proposed. A detection and pose estimation system is developed for this Spidron based marker. The system is tested in an experimental setup simulating refraction, motion blur due to rotation and jitters, and transformation due to scaling
Biological Ecosystem Inspired Approaches for Circular Economy Design and Quantification
No full textA cornerstone of sustainable development is the idea of a circular economy, a closed loop system where resources are cycled through a system and waste generated and virgin resource use are minimized. This thesis proposes a new of design tools based on environmental network analysis (ENA) and new design metrics, Ns* and NS, as tools which can be used to design systems in accordance with circular economy principles. NS is the number of nodes which strongly connect to a cycle, thus participating in both donation and acceptance, and Ns* is the proportion of total actors connected to a cycle that have a strong connection to that cycle. To explore these tools, multiple engineered systems were evaluated to benchmark their performance against the performance of biological ecosystems and to investigate the ties between ENA metrics and circular economy strategies. Manufacturing floors were also assessed in their ability to be easily reconfigured and their performance based on ENA metrics. The manufacturing floors with the closest values to biological ecosystems also performed the best at reconfigurabilty. The results showed how the low data metrics were able to guide design decisions of an emerging technology through exploring the potential resource cycling routes in a hypothetical economy. Additionally, a carpet network model was used to understand how the design tools related to circular economy strategies. Ns* and NS were found to be integral in assessing collaboration between industries participating in cycling, while FCI showed to be a good indicator of resource cycling, waste diversion and a decreased reliance on raw materials