STRATA
STRATA, the STudent Research, Academic, and Talent Archive, is a collection of selected Fort Lewis College student work, including undergraduate research, senior seminar papers, published works, conference presentations, and other creative and artistic projects. Search by name, subject, title, or academic department.
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- Primal Reflex Release Technique: Mental and Physical Stress Relief
- The purpose of this study was to study the effect of Primal Reflex Release Technique on perception of pain and inducement of relaxation. Primal Reflex Release Technique or PRRT created by John Iams is a physical therapy technique for reducing pain quickly and relaxing muscles effectively throughout the entire body. This test examined a new idea for the treatment of mental and physical stress and treating pain. Participants responded to their physical pain, physical stress, and mental stress on a 1 to 10 scale, rating how intense each was before and after massage and PRRT, as well as explaining how often they were stressed and where majority of their pain resided. Each participant relaxed on a massage table with soothing music playing in the background, and had 30 minutes with PRRT and massage in order to decrease stressors. Individually, participants received each technique according to their major pained and tense areas. These numbers were then examined, both against each procedure and also pre and post averages of both methods. Although both massage and PRRT decrease pain in the body, and well as with physical stress decreasing with both, there was no significance (p-value >0.05) in the results to accept the hypothesis. After conducting the study, the results show that PRRT relieved physical pain and stress, but did not decrease mental stress as much as massage therapy. The hypothesis was rejected with mental stress not decreasing after PRRT was performed (p-value >0.05).
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- Process Documentation: Concepts of Basic Web Theory, Design, and Development Applied to Digital Portfolio Design
- In the realms of art and design, it is the finished and presented work that is often valued most by society and individuals. Consumers and viewers have become accustomed to focusing only on the finished piece they see in front of them with little regard to the labor that went into making it. In the fine arts it is sometimes possible to reveal an artistic process or technique within the finished piece, however in the world of digital design the artistic process is almost always completely lost to the viewer. We have all heard the age-old adage, "the journey is more important than the destination". As cliché as this saying may be, it is very accurate when discussing art and design. An artist's process is often more artistic and creative than the finished work and can reveal much about the finalized piece that would otherwise go unnoted. Because the process is so essential to understanding the finished work, it is important for artists to document their processes. In this presentation I will reveal and discuss the creative process I applied during an independent study in which I am developing a web-based design portfolio for my work. The presentation will provide insight into my research, methods, and outcomes, as well as the ongoing development of my website.
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- Project Armeise: An Altitude/Azimuthal Multi-Camera Mount for High Altitude Atmospheric Research
- Project Armeise is an engineering design project with a goal to design, fabricate, analyze, and test an affordable camera mount to be used in the research of sprites, a high altitude electrical phenomenon. Scientific research and exploration has led to the discovery of these large scale electrical discharges in the earth's troposphere. Sprites appear during thunderstorms as reddish-orange flashes of light traveling upwards at high speeds. Recent developments in high-speed camera technology have helped scientists find evidence of the wide-ranging effects that thunderstorms can have throughout the earth's atmosphere. Dr. Ryan Haaland of Fort Lewis College is currently conducting sprite research and is in need of a pan and tilt mount capable of holding research cameras that are used in the field. In order to reach the requirements demanded by the field research setting, this mount must be easy to set up and transport by one individual. The mount must be capable of rotation about two axes to within 0.5 degrees of accuracy and a slew rate of 15 degrees per second. An on-board power supply must be wirelessly controlled via a graphical user interface for ease of use in remote locations. The variety of pan and tilt mounts currently on the market leave a gap between prohibitively expensive high end mounts and inexpensive low end mounts. This project seeks to fill the void left by the current market by creating an affordable mount designed specifically for field research.
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- Projective Geometry: Perspectives from Art and Mathematics
- It's all in the way you look at it. This is true of many situations, and even more so when regarding the fields of art and mathematics. Some may see art and mathematics as two distinct subjects; how could the rigidity of mathematics be at all related to, or in influenced by the fluidity of art? After all mathematics is all about theorems and proofs and right or wrong answers, whereas art is determined by the imagination and interpretation of the artist. Surprisingly amidst these differences art and mathematics are connected. During the Italian Renaissance of the 15th century the development of linear perspective in art led to the development of projective geometry as a mathematical discipline. In turn, through further studies within the field of projective geometry mathematics has been able to explain the principles underlying the technique of linear perspective. The following sections will discuss linear perspective and projective geometry both in their own right as well as the unique connection between them.
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- Prophylactic Ibuprofen Use in Comparison to a Placebo in Division II Football Players
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen have a high prevalence of use among many athletes (Corrigan, 2003; Tscholl, 2008, 2009; Warner, 2002). These drugs can be dangerous to a person when used as a treatment and the effects of taking them prophylactically are unknown. To look at the possible effects, ibuprofen use was examined in nine Fort Lewis College football players, aged 18 to 24, who had been taking ibuprofen prophylactically. The effects of ibuprofen were then compared to the effects of a placebo. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference in the subjects overall performance or well being when ibuprofen was used prophylactically in comparison to the placebo. Athletes were given either the placebo or ibuprofen prior to practice and were asked to answer a question about their level of discomfort ranging from 0-10 (0 being no discomfort and 10 being extreme discomfort). This question was given immediately following practice again along with a question regarding their quality of practice. Using an ANOVA two-factor with replication test, the average level of discomfort was compared between the placebo and ibuprofen groups for each subject resulting in a p value of .96. The same ANOVA test was done to see if the quality of their performance had changed between the groups resulting in p=.67. This showed that there was no significant difference in the subject's level of discomfort or quality of practice when ibuprofen was used in comparison to a placebo.
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- Proteomic Characterization and Cloning of Glucokinase and Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) Carboxykinase in Acidobacterium Capsulatum.
- Acidobacterium capsulatum is an environmental bacterium that is relatively abundant in soil and aquatic environments, prefers pH 3 for optimal growth, and encapsulates itself in a polysaccharide. Little is known about the biochemistry and physiology of this organism, but its genome has been completed and growth conditions have been found that support growth on glucose as a single carbon source. We are focusing on the metabolism of glucose and the proteins that are involved with the first and last steps of glycolysis. These two proteins were chosen because in similar organisms they are important in glucose metabolism. In these studies, PEP carboxykinase and glucokinase were characterized and cloned with the ultimate goal of expressing them and defining their activities. PEP carboxykinase catalyzes the conversion of oxaloacetate to phophoenolpyruvate and carbon dioxide within glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. In the 3 assays we found on PEPCK, they all described conditions for the assay at pH 8. The pI of PEP carboxykinase was found to be 6.09. Glucokinase converts glucose to glucose-6-phosphate in the first step of glycolysis. After searching NCBI for the appropriate assay, it was determined that for glucokinase a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-coupled reaction would work best at pH 7.5. The pI of glucokinase was found to be 5.48. Because A. capsulatum has optimal growth at pH 3, our hypothesis is that the cytoplasm of these organisms is at a somewhat lower pH than the normal physiological pH of 7.5, which is supported by the calculated pIs for these proteins. The genes that encode for PEP carboxykinase and glucokinase were determined using KEGG. Primers were designed using the primer design function on NCBI. Once the desired primers were created, the genes were amplified using PCR followed by a PCR cleanup to isolate our amplicon. The purified gene was inserted into the TOPO-TA plasmid using a directional TOPO cloning kit. To continue this study we will characterize the gene insert by sequencing, and if glucokinase and PEP carboxykinase are inserted correctly then they will have lengths of 1,000, and 1,500 bp, respectively.
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- Psychological vs. Physiological: The Effects of Music in a 30-Min Treadmill Run
- The "Mozart effect" reported by Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993, 1995) indicates that spatial-temporal abilities are enhanced after listening to music composed by Mozart. Seeing the effects that music has on spatial and temporal skills brings up the question, to what extent does music effect variables in humans? The physiological variables taken into account include the following: blood pressure, lactate concentration in the blood, and heart rate. Very little research is found in a comparative analysis of psychological and physiological effects of music on performance. This research could be very important because it could justify a certain kind of music that helps athletes exude maximal level of performance without feeling fatigued. The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of music on physiological and psychological variables to determine whether the effects of music are physiological, psychological, or a combination of both. We hypothesize that music will have significant changes in RPE, affect, and distance but will not have a significant effect on the physiological functions during a 30-min treadmill run. Five athletic, college-aged (18-21) Fort Lewis College students volunteered to have measurements from heart rate (HR) blood pressure (BP) taken every five minutes in a 30-min run. Each subject repeated the test three times as a (C) control, with (P) preferred music, and (NP) non-preferred music. Music choices were self selected by the subjects by evaluating them using a STOMP-R2. Blood lactate was taken using lancets, latex gloves, alcohol pads, and a Nova Biomedical lactate meter. Samples were taken at the beginning (0min) at halfway (15min), and at the end of the test (30min). A two-way repeated measure ANOVA (with replication) was used to determine significant values within each trial (C, P, NP) and a Tukey's test to determine the intervals that these changes occurred from. Significant values (p<.05) were found for HR and BL for time. There was no significance for music and its effect on the physiological functions. In addition, there was no significant data with music in the psychological response of RPE. On the contrary the psychological response of general affect showed significant results between all three musical categories (p=.003).
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- Psychopaths Among Us: What Predisposes People to Become Psychopaths
- Psychopathy is one of the most difficult disorders to diagnosis and treat. Psychopaths can appear normal and charming, but they lack moral conscience and empathy. This lack of remorse and deviance makes them manipulative, and volatile which can lead to criminal behavior. What predisposes a person to become a psychopath? Do childhood environmental factors predispose people to become psychopaths? Or is it the way the brain is wired and functioning that helps explain why people turn to psychopathy? Biological and genetic factors can contribute to how a person acts, as well as show what they are capable of doing. A psychopath's brain functions differently than a non-psychopathic person's brain. Along with biological factors, environmental factors, such as low SES, and childhood tragedies, play a role in whether a person becomes a psychopath later on in life. With that said, this project takes a case analysis approach to understand potential factors contributing to the development of 2 serial killers, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Both of these men are prominent figures that display psychopathy to its very core. What is found is that biological and genetic influences play a tremendous role in turning people to displaying psychopathic tendencies. Environmental factors can play a role with that, that finally pushes people over the edge.
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- Public Perception of the Police
- The public perception of police is a common issue that law enforcement agencies across the nation are concurrently dealing with. The purpose of this research was to analyze reasons for the poor public perception of police, methods of improving perception and examining local attempts made by the Durango Police Department in this area. Through a review of the literature, historical and contemporary factors have been discovered for the current perception of police, as well as attempts at mitigating this poor perception. Additionally, through an internship with the Durango Police Department, observations and ethnographic data have been collected on several local efforts to address this issue.
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- Pumping Profit: Postnatural Bodies and Consumer Masculinities
- Issues concerning masculinity and men's bodies have become increasingly tied to a culture of consumerism in modern America. This research addresses the impact of postnatural physiques in media on American men's beliefs about their bodies, their definitions of what it means to "look" masculine, and how they approach embodying that definition. Why are men spending more and more money on gym fees and supplements without corresponding increases in health and fitness? By considering the evolution of idealized male bodies within American culture, the paradoxical relationship between masculine embodiment and modern consumerism are examined.
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- Quantification and Purity Assessment of Acidobacterium Capsulatum Using Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction to Amplify the 16 S Ribosomal Gene
- The bacteria Acidobacterium capsulatum is a gram-negative acidophilic chemoorganotroph found in soils throughout the world. A. capsulatum is a member of the relatively new identified phylum of bacteria, Acidobacterium. Among the unique characteristics of this organism is the absence of the gene coding for the key glycolytic enzyme aldolase. Currently, colleagues within the department are underway examining how A. capsulatum is able to bypass the aldolase enzymatic process. To aid in the common endeavor this project's focus was to develop a method to assess the purity and quantification of experimental A. capsulatum samples through qPCR reaction. The 16 S ribosomal gene was selected for amplification because of its universal expression and virtual omnipresence in all bacteria. Differentiating A. capsulatum from all other bacteria was accomplished using two forward primers: 31F [GATCCTGGCTCAGAATC], specific for the A. capsulatum 16 S gene; the other, 27F [AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG], is capable of priming all bacterial 16 S genes. A reverse primer, 138AR, with the sequence [TTACTCACCCGTNCG] was explicitly designed to accommodate complementary priming of both forward primers. The resulting amplicons are 107 and 111 base pairs, respectively. To account for all other potential bacterial contaminants, Escherichia coli DNA was used as a general representative of the bacterial domain. Quantification of cells was determined through serial dilution standards of both A. capsulatum and E. coli after primer specificity had been confirmed. The protocol developed here will allow researchers working with A. capsulatum to quickly and confidently verify that their experimental samples are not tainted with unwanted bacteria, plus the relative concentration of sample cells. Additionally, this method may serve as a launching pad for future qPCR experimentation with A. capsulatum.
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- Quantification of Acetylation in Histones H3 & H4 Isolated from Human Lung Epithelial Cells
- Cigarette smoke is known to contain toxins that increase the expression of inflammation response genes. To begin to address whether increased expression of inflammation response genes is due to increased levels of histone acetylation, we exposed human lung epithelial cells to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) at a final concentration of 200 µg/ml for 6 to 24 hours; as a control, a second set of cells were exposed to DMSO. Histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) were extracted from each sample using an already established protocol. Each sample was then divided: One set was acetylated using deuterated acetic anhydride to mark lysine residues that were unacetylated in vivo, and the acetylated samples were then digested with trypsin. The other set remained as whole protein (i.e. was not acetylated with deuterated acetic anhydride nor digested with trypsin). All four samples were sent to the Proteomics & Metabolomics Facility at Colorado State University for mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. Ion trap MS/MS was used to determine the levels of acetylation in specific histone H3 and H4 peptides and MALDI was used to analyze the whole protein samples. The results of these analyses are presented below.