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Functional Interrogation of Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) GABA Neurons in Anxiety and Novelty Detection, and Classification of Neuron Dendrite Types by Electrophysiological Properties
No full textM.S.The ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain region located on the floor of the midbrain, is composed of 60-65% dopamine (DA) neurons, 30-35% gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons and ~5% glutamate neurons, and is involved in a wide range of functions. The role of VTA DA neurons in motivated behavior has been extensively studied, and the signaling of VTA DA neurons has been canonically viewed as coding for the prediction error of reward. However, the molecular distinctive neuron populations and the complexity of structural connections of both local VTA and long range projections influence dynamic behavioral states, and require research approaches that probe multiple aspects of possible VTA functions to dissect the role of the VTA in different behaviors. VTA DA neurons respond robustly to aversive and novelty stimuli, and controlling DA neuron activity produces behavioral disruptions on aversion processing and novelty detection. Because excitation of local GABA neurons is inhibitory to DA neurons, we hypothesized that activating VTA GABA neurons would enhance anxiety related behavior and disrupts novelty recognition. Activation of VTA GABA neurons was achieved by selective expression of excitatory DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) and clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) administration during a marble burying test (MBT), open field test (OFT) and a novel object recognition (NOR) task. No significant change was found in the percentage of buried marbles or time spent in the center of the open field, indicating VTA GABA stimulation has limited effect on anxiety related behavior. In addition, there was no significant differences in novel object interaction time, which suggests VTA GABA stimulation does not change motivation to explore novel objects. Next, we sought to establish an optogenetic platform with behavior tracking in order to assess how VTA DA and GABA neurons influence positive reinforcement in an optical self-stimulation paradigm. In our preliminary experiments, optogenetic activation of VTA DA was achieved by selective expression of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) and blue light stimulation, which supported intracranial self-stimulation without altering locomotor activity. Thus optogenetic control was sufficient to drive reinforcing behavior. This platform provides the basis for future studies to optically manipulate VTA DA and GABA neurons during operant tasks. Even within the same region, individual neurons differ greatly in morphological and electrophysiological properties, which contributes to the functional diversity of neurons. Neuron classification is required to analyze neuron functions in a systemic and reproducible way. To categorize neurons with similar electrophysiological properties and to study the morphological and functional correlates of neurons, we performed unsupervised and supervised classification on a publicly available large scale neuron electrophysiology database by machine learning (ML). We identified multiple neuron subgroups that are discriminative by electrophysiology profiles, and successfully characterized two dendrite morphological features by electrophysiology profiles. ML provides a powerful tool for systemic neuron classification, and will provide insight into the functional components of VTA when more detailed VTA neuron profiles are acquired in future studies.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Beauty's Loss: Aesthetics and Ethics in Eighteenth-Century British Literature
No full textPh.D."Beauty's Loss: Aesthetics and Ethics in Eighteenth-Century British Literature" evaluates the relationship between eighteenth-century aesthetic philosophy, particularly the discourse of beauty, and literary form. In addition, it considers the relationship between the discourse of the beauty and structures of loss, ultimately detailing beauty as a formal apparatus based on and in structures of loss. In doing so, the project reveals the particular formality of beauty's aesthetic-ethical project, and likewise makes innovative contributions to the history of aesthetic philosophy. Readings of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, Eliza Haywood, John Cleland, and Thomas Gray populate the project, whose methods are based on psychoanalytically inflected closed-reading practices**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Interactive Shape Control of Swarm of Robots Using Geographic Information System (GIS) Based Shape Model
No full textM.S.Swarm of mobile robots are used widely in the area of geographical exploration, surveillance, agriculture, navigation, search and rescue and defense purposes. In this situation shape of the swarm plays a critical role for the efficacy of the mission. Due to the processing limitation we require framework which is effective and provides comprehensive shape analysis capability. Also framework should provide more control over the system when an operator is controlling multiple robots. So, desired algorithm requires flexibility, scalability and reliability. Human Swarm Interface (HSI) plays an important role when operator is controlling swarm of mobile robots. We present the novel method for shape control of swarm of mobile robots using Geographic Information System (GIS) based topological shape model which can be easily integrated with the touch based HSI to provide better control over the swarm shape to the operator. This way human can define any arbitrary region and that shape can be incorporated into the formation control algorithm. This method completely eliminates the necessity of the geometric functions or other non linear function approximators which are normally used in currently available shape controllers for complex shapes. Lyapunov proof of stability is given to prove the convergence of the shape control algorithm. We also introduce new shape morphing method along with our algorithm for better performance of the system. To test the robustness and controlability of our algorithm we created touch based GUI which lets user to define any scenario along with drawing various shapes at desired location to test the performance. Moreover, we have also presented simulation pyBullet framework which uses the bullet physics engine integrated with GIS based path planning to test our algorithm. This framework can be used with any open source environment.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Tactile Values: Touch in Victorian Literature and Psychology
No full textPh.D.Focusing on Victorian literary and psychological understandings of touch, this dissertation examines how thinking about such an intimate, embodied experience led Victorians to question seemingly fixed dichotomies such as inner/outer, material/immaterial, and self/object. While critical attention in both literary history and histories of the body has most often emphasized the distanced senses of sight and sound, I argue that attention to the more proximate senses – touch, taste, and smell – is crucial for understanding how Victorians conceptualized what it meant to be embodied. Foucauldian and poststructuralist accounts of the body as something that is primarily understood and controlled through the visual often seem to render "the body" more of an abstract concept than a material, lived reality. Recent work in fields such as affect theory and disability studies have offered us new ways of thinking about embodied experience as precisely that – the experience of having a body. I argue it is this experience of having a body that Victorians explore in thinking about touch. In doing so, what they reveal is the strangeness and ambiguity of embodied experience. Engaging with the materialist psychology of the second half of the nineteenth century "Tactile Values" considers how this model shaped Victorians' understandings of not only physical boundaries but the boundaries of subjectivity, affect, and consciousness and the ways in which these boundaries are rendered permeable and malleable through contact and sensation.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Engineering In-Vitro Three-Dimensional Models of Early Liver Organogenesis Using a Stable Liver Cell Line
No full textM.S.Collective cell migration is a sustained phenomenon that takes place in tissue reconstruction witnessed during embryonic morphogenesis, wound healing, and cancer invasion. Collective cell migration can occur in many different shapes such as sheets, strands, cell clusters, or a duct-like manner. The collective cell migration involved in liver cancer migration can postulate a model for studying the fundamental invasion during metastasis as well as clarify the morphogenetic changes frequented with embryological liver development. Understanding the basics of liver development is of pivotal importance for research areas in liver tissue regeneration, direct tissue replacement and alleviating chronic liver diseases. Thus, it is vital to generate biological models that replicate the human liver physiology and mimic its function. It is postulated that the structures and signaling pathways that lead to three-dimensional (3D) liver formation can be simulated with miniature 3D cell aggregates called spheroids. We successfully engineered 3D systems that exhibit hepatic migration in vitro using a stable liver cell line, HepG2, and tissue engineering aspects to model and investigate the interaction between liver cells and the septum transversum mesenchyme using multiple stromal cells in vitro.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
The Use of Ultrasonography to Improve Epidural Education
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectLiterature recommends using ultrasonography (US) to assist anesthetists in finding and accessing
the epidural space in individuals with atypical anatomy. Simulation allows for a safe
environment to learn US on ultrasound-compatible neuraxial manikins. This Doctor of Nursing
Practice (DNP) project compared perceived competence, confidence, satisfaction, and accuracy
of epidural cannulation among student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) using landmark
technique versus those who received a neuraxial ultrasound in-service. Kolb’s Theory of
Experiential Learning acted as the theoretical framework. A quasi-experimental design utilizing
surveys along with skill assessments was used. One cohort performed epidurals on an
ultrasound-compatible manikin using ultrasonography and the other cohort used traditional
epidural techniques on the same manikin. An additional cohort of Certified Registered Nurse
Anesthetists (CRNAs) completed an online survey on perceived confidence and competence of
using US with epidural cannulation. Most CRNAs (62.5%) completing the online survey
disagreed that they would be able to identify spinal anatomy using US while 62.5% agreed that
US is helpful in guiding placement of epidurals in patients with atypical anatomy. For all inperson
cohorts, there was a statistically significant improvement (P<0.05) for each topic in the
perceived competence and confidence testing. Participants reported high levels of confidence
and satisfaction. There lacked statistical significance between the control and intervention
cohorts for needle insertion attempts and time cannulation times. Project results confirmed
higher perceived competence and confidence scores after receiving an in-service on US applied
to epidural insertion. Such in-services could be incorporated into anesthetist training in the
clinical and classroom settings
Promoting Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Adherence among Residents in a Subacute Rehabilitation Center through Policy Revision and Health Care Provider Education
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common form of sleep disordered breathing in the
United States with an estimated 25 million adults having moderate to severe OSA. Continuous
positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard treatment for OSA and has proven
beneficial in decreasing comorbid hypertension and cardiovascular disease, while reducing
inflammation, oxidative stress, and providing cardio-metabolic protection. Benefits of CPAP
therapy to treat OSA can be severely limited due to poor adherence and varied usage. The
purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to develop an updated evidencebased
policy on proper CPAP usage and adherence for older adult residents in a subacute
rehabilitation center (SARC) located in Western New York (WNY) accompanied by a health
care provider focused PowerPoint presentation in-service outlining key points of the revised
policy, the pathophysiology behind OSA, the rationale for CPAP use for OSA among older
adults, and common adverse health consequences for older adult CPAP non-adherence. The
project aim was to promote resident quality of life by promoting resident CPAP adherence and
increasing health care provider awareness regarding the importance of resident CPAP adherence.
The theoretical framework guiding this project was Peplau’s theory of Interpersonal Relations in
Nursing
Conceptualizations of Slope and Approaches Used by University Calculus Students and Presented in Calculus Textbooks
No full textPh.D.The full text PDF of this dissertation is embargoed at author's request until 2021-02-19.The purpose of this study is to investigate the visual and nonvisual approaches and conceptualizations of slope used by introductory calculus students when presented with a variety of tasks and presented in introductory calculus textbooks. Further, comparisons are made between applied and traditional calculus students and calculus textbooks.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Designing Way-Finding and Environmental Learning Tool for People with Mild to Moderate Dementia
No full textM.S.This thesis is an attempt to understand the impact of a neurodegenerative condition like Alzheimer's dementia on navigation in familiar places and develop a way-finding app that could support individuals with mild dementia in maintaining independence in their local community. The research started with a review of the literature and an exploratory study on cognitive maps. Research on user needs and preferences was conducted followed by a review of precedents in the field of interaction design to understand the existing technological solutions for design for disabilities and way-finding. The most important aspect of the thesis is the user research which was completed to obtain a deep understanding of dementia and the needs and challenges of people living with dementia as well as all other stakeholders like their families, loved ones, caregivers, doctors, nurses and service providers. Gathering valuable insights from literature and field study, a design process was implemented, resulting in design guidelines and a preliminary design concept. A feedback session on the design was conducted with a non-functional prototype to gain a better understanding of the problems and opportunities of the concept. This helped to direct further research and design the second iteration of the concept. Future research will lead to a working prototype and eventual development of a commercial product.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Uncertainty Analysis on Hovering Helicopter Using Conjugate Unscented Transform
No full textM.S.The ability to automatically maintain a hovering aircraft's attitude over a desired point in the presence of multiple degrees of uncertainty is highly practical. Formulating a framework to efficiently measure the robustness of a controller when model uncertainty exists is an important step to enabling further automation of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Traditionally, evaluation of controller robustness in a probabilistic approach was computationally expensive due to the large number of sample points required to capture the possible perturbations of multiple model parameters. The Conjugate Unscented Transformation (CUT) provides minimum number of quadrature or sample points to quantify uncertainty in system response due to perturbation in model parameters. The robustness of the output variance constrained controller is measured by eigenvalues, gap metric, and generalized stability margin. An efficient alternative to Monte Carlo by providing a polynomial surrogate model for the robustness metric is developed from CUT runs. The numerical examples considered provide a basis of optimism for developed approach to quantify robustness of a controller.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*