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Fitbit depression detection in an undergraduate student population
No full textDepression is the most prevalent mental health disorder in society today, especially in the undergraduate student population. This study examines the potential of the Fitbit Charge 4 to detect early depression, using measures of sleep disruption and movement. Undergraduate Psychology students (N=22) attending Acadia University during the year 2020-2021 participated in the study by wearing a Fitbit for at least seven days and nights and also filling out the CESD-R self-report depression questionnaire. Sleep data was available for all but one participant, and only a subset of participants (N=11) agreed to share their activity data. I hypothesized that Fitbit measures of sleep disruption (e.g., number of awakenings, low total sleep time) and low activity (e.g.,low total step count) would be correlated with higher measures of depression on the CESD-R. Most of the variables examined did not correlate with depression. However, the study did find that those with later waketimes were more depressed than those who got up earlier in the day, and also that increased variation in nightly sleep time was significantly correlated with depression, These results suggest that poor sleep hygiene and circadian factors may be associated with student depression, such that students who are less depressed wake up earlier and at the same time each day. These results support the hypothesis that the Fitbit could be a useful tool to detect depression in this student population, and that more research is warranted
A study of the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) on acute stress behaviours of zebrafish
No full textStress in animals is typically caused by factors such as predation and competition. In humans, stressful experiences more often include major life events, trauma, abuse and, even more commonly, difficult social situations, job loss, and navigating relationships. Potential treatments or coping mechanisms for dealing with or mitigating stress would be useful. The objective of this study was to determine if Δ9-etrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD) had an effect on the acute stress response of the zebrafish, Danio rerio, during the novel tank diving test. Behavioural observations including the latency to enter the top half of the tank, entries to the top, duration in the top, erratic movements, freezing frequency, and freezing duration were made after fish were treated with THC (200 nM in DMSO), CBD (200 nM in DMSO), or AM251 (1.8μM;a CB1 receptor antagonist) for one hour. In addition, the effect of THC, CBD, and AM251 treatments on skin mucus cortisol levels were measured. THC, but not CBD, had a significant effect on several stress-related behaviours though neither cannabinoid had an effect on mucus cortisol levels in stressed fish. These results suggest that THC may be anxiogenic in zebrafish but the role of THC, CBD, and other cannabis compounds in modulating the impact of stress requires further study
Neuromuscular fatigue of hip joint stabilizers and its influence on knee kinematics and kinetics during jumping and reactive cutting tasks
No full textINTRODUCTION: The combined manifestation of neuromuscular fatigue and reactive agility tasks create high-risk situations for ACL injury and these components are rarely discovered independent of one another. Decreased force production, delayed neuromuscular activation and hindered motor coordination that results from neuromuscular fatigue leads to hazardous compensatory movement strategies that can often place excessive strain on the ligaments of the knee joint. Proximal hip musculature plays an integral role in the dynamic stabilisation and force attenuation of the lower extremity and thus has been postulated to have influence over the positioning of more distal joints, including the knee. Considering the high demand of unanticipated cutting and jumping tasks on the musculoskeletal system, developing an understanding of the impact of intrinsic hip muscles over knee kinematics and kinetics during demanding tasks is of great importance to minimizing injury risk. METHODS: Twenty-two female subjects were recruited to participate in the study with sixteen subjects (mean age; 20.38±0.96) data being collected and analyzed. Subjects completed pre-and post-testing following a fatigue protocol that targeted the external rotators and abductors of the hip. The pre-and post-testing consisted of triple hop (for distance) and a series of
unanticipated cutting tasks. All fatigue and dynamic testing were conducted solely on the subjects' dominant leg. Force plate data and 3D motion capture was used to examine knee kinematics and kinetics during testing. A two-way repeated measures MANOVA was employed to determine the effects of fatigue on variables of performance of the dynamic tasks. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed a significant decrease in muscle strength and triple hop performance (p=0.026) following fatigue. More specifically, a significant decrease in knee flexion angles (p=0.007)
was observed in the POST condition of triple hop testing. IMPORTANCE: The neuromuscular fatigue of proximal musculature (intrinsic hip muscles) is capable of affecting movement patterns at more distal joints, being the knee. The compensations that occurred as a result of hip muscle fatigue placed the knee in positions of higher ACL injury risk during dynamic tasks. Due to this, integration of proximal muscle strengthening into rehabilitation and prevention programs for lower extremity injuries should be considered. Furthermore, incorporating a fatiguing element into return to play testing may be beneficial in solidifying return to play decisions following injury
Can prism adaptation effects generalize to wheelchair maneuvering?
No full textBackground. While prism adaptation (PA) has been recognized as a promising tool for treating spatial neglect, implementation as a standard treatment in clinical care has been lagging. Limited
evidence for the generalization of after-effects to everyday activities has been a barrier towards implementation.
Objectives. This study examined whether a home-friendly standardized PA protocol (Peg-the-Mole, PTM) induces after-effects that can transfer to wheelchair maneuvering. We also examined the impact of using constant (1 starting hand position) or variable (3 starting hand positions) training conditions on the transfer of after-effects to wheelchair maneuvering.
Methods. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to one of four PTM conditions: 1) prisms/constant training; 2) prisms/variable training; 3) sham goggles/constant training; 4) sham goggles/variable training.
Results. The use of PTM with rightward shifting prisms induced after-effects on proprioceptive and visual pointing outcome tasks. Groups using PTM with prism goggles showed a leftward shift in their position within a wheelchair course and a reduction in the number of right-sided collisions. The training condition did not have an impact on the transfer of after-effects to wheelchair driving.
Conclusion. PTM is a clinically appealing PA protocol that induces after-effects that can transfer to an everyday activity relevant to patients with neglect
Synthesis of xanthene derivatives from salicylaldehydes phenols and aryl-boronic acids
No full textPetasis reaction is a multicomponent reaction that involves the reaction of an amine, a carbonyl compound, and a boronic acid to form substituted amines. We envisioned that the nucleophilic amine reactant can be replaced with a nucleophilic phenol in the Petasis reaction to produce
substituted benzoxanthenes after intramolecular cyclodehydration. Benzoxanthenes are important biologically active heterocycles. The reaction of -naphthol, salicylaldehyde, and phenyl boronic acid in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst Cu(OTf)2 under microwave heating conditions (150 [degree] C, 10 min) in DMF as the solvent afforded the desired substituted benzoxanthene, 12-phenyl-12H-benzo[a]xanthene, in 40% yield. However, in the process of method development, the same reaction under microwave heating conditions (170 [degree]C, 20 min) afforded 12H-benzo[a]xanthene
(unsubstituted at position 12) in 25% yield when carried out without the Lewis acid catalyst. This unexpected product does not contain the phenyl group which is derived from the phenyl boronic acid. If the phenyl boronic acid did not participate in the reaction, the reaction of -naphthol and
salicylaldehyde should have, mechanistically, afforded 12H-benzo[a]xanthen-12-ol that contains a benzylic -OH group. Moreover, the product was not obtained if phenyl boronic acid was not used. Thus, somehow the benzylic -OH appeared to have been reduced in presence of phenyl boronic acid. This was intriguing as no reductant was used in the reaction. An exploratory reaction showed that phenyl boronic acid catalyses in the reduction of triphenylmethanol (a model benzylic alcohol) to triphenylmethane. The reaction of triphenylmethanol with phenyl boronic acid in DMF under microwave heating conditions (170 C, 20 min) afforded triphenylmethane in 71% yield. Furthermore, deuterium-labeled reactions showed that the "H" on triphenylmethane was provided by the solvent DMF. Several analogs of both the substituted and unsubstituted benzoxanthenes were prepared and characterized by the two novel processes developed in this investigation
Specialization, pressure, prep-schools and player development: insights from elite Canadian hockey players
No full textArticles within the popular media have identified hockey academies as a growing concern within the hockey landscape in Canada, that market themselves as building elite performance. Pathways to elite sport performance have been broadly identified to include sampling early or specializing early. While there is a lack of research on specialization specifically within the Canadian ice hockey framework, previous research on early specialization in general has determined this approach to be potentially detrimental to the development of a young athlete, with many sport and medical associations preferring sampling as a safer method of achieving elite sport status. Despite this seeming consensus within the academic community, youth sport continues to trend toward increasing specialization. It is postulated that elements of parental involvement
potentially contribute to this trend, and the place of hockey within Canadian society may also perpetuate specialization within the sport. However, there is little research regarding the developmental pathways of youth Canadian hockey players such that one must go back almost twenty years to find the most recent paper charting the developmental activities of elite Canadian hockey players, and this does not include any insight into the emergence of hockey academies. Further, what little literature that exists regarding athlete development within elite Canadian hockey likely does not reflect the experiences of current Canadian hockey players
A characterization of the set of invariant distributions of a random walk on a graph
No full textIn this paper, a characterization of the set of attainable limiting distributions of a random walk on a strongly connected directed graph is described. This result is shown in terms of the invariant distributions of Markov chains. The exisitence of invariant distributions of Markov chains is proven by way of the Perron-Frobenius theorem. Then it is shown that the set of possible limiting distributions of a graph Gis the convex hull of the uniform cycle distributions of the cycles of G
Development of a geomorphometric approach to seafloor morphology classification of the Manicouagan Peninsula using high-resolution topo-bathymetric LiDAR
No full textCoastal zones play a vital role in aquatic ecosystems, marine industry, environmental monitoring and protection, and meteorological forecasting. Traditionally sonar-based remote sensing technologies have been the dominant technologies used to map coastal regions, but in recent decades topo-bathymetric LiDAR has been more widely employed as it enables the user to cover a larger study area quicker in shallow areas difficult to survey by boat. This thesis seeks to use topo-bathyemtric LiDAR derived bathymetry and identify a method of accurately classifying the seafloor morphology using geometric and geomorphometric variables. In previous scientific studies on the topic the features used in the classification have been relatively simple and normally occupied a role of secondary importance to spectral reflectance data, LiDAR intensity, or acoustic backscatter. While these variables are of no doubt valuable to seafloor classification, it is believed that the introduction of more complex and descriptive variables will result in a more accurate classification of the seafloor. The methodology developed in this research uses only the digital elevation model (DEM) and information that can be extracted from the DEM in order to provide an analysis that can be used regardless of data-collection technique, or where the data is being collected. The classification was done using the K-nearest neighbour algorithm and achieves accuracies of 72.8% and 81.9%. These accuracies are comparable to the accuracies achieved in other studies
that look to classify seafloor morphology or habitat
Why does precarious work matter?: the implications of precarious work on job and life satisfaction in Canada
No full textThe goal of this study is to understand how precarious work relates to job and life satisfaction. Additionally, this research aims to describe who is most likely to experience aspects of precarious work based on their socio-demographic characteristics and what attributes of precarious work can be found in five main industries. To answer these questions, I used the 2016 Canadian General Social Survey (cycle 30). I analyzed the
dataset in SPSS and STATA. I analyse descriptive data using crosstabulations and comparing means. For the multivariate analysis I use both logistic regression analysis and ordinary least squares regression analysis. The findings from the research show that as the number of indicators for precarious work increases for men and women, those who work in precarious jobs are significantly more likely to report lower job satisfaction than those who do not work in precarious jobs. Finally, for each additional precarious work indicator, men report a decrease in their life satisfaction, but the relationship between precarious work and life satisfaction is not significant for women. Furthermore, women, younger people, those who identify as a visible minority, those who are Indigenous, those who are recent immigrants, and those with lower levels of education are significantly more likely to experience aspects of precarious work. Also, aspects of precarious work are most likely to be found in the accommodation and food services and retail trade industries. Overall, this research explores precarious work in Canada and how it relates to job and life satisfaction
Synthesis and optimization of bulky tetraarylstannane as precursors for diarylstannylenes for hydrogen Activation
No full textTetraarylstannanes (SnAr4) can be used as precursors for diarylstannylenes (SnAr2), which show promise for hydrogen activation. The syntheses of tetraarylstannane derivatives, R4Sn (where R= Ph, Mes, Mes*H, tBuC6H4, tol), were attempted using Grignard and substitution reaction. The synthesis of Mes*'Br, a very big bulky group, was attempted via a bromination reaction between Mes*H, Br2 and iron fillings. The bromination of Mes*H was done to obtain compounds that are bulky and stabilized, which will allow the removing of hydrogens. The synthesis of diaryl dichloride tin was attempted via a Kocheshov reaction with a 2:1 ratio between reactants. The ligand synthesis of Dipp2 DAB was done via a condensation reaction. Each product was purified by recrystallization, except Mes*'Br products was distilled. Products were characterized with 13C{1H} and 1H NMR spectroscopy. However, 119Sn{1H} NMR spectroscopy would be required to further confirm the synthesis of tetraarylstannanes and diaryl dichloride tin