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- ItemEmbargoOccupational therapists' perspectives on their unique role In pelvic health(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Fyhrie, Jennifer, author; Schmid, Arlene A., advisor; Weaver, Jennifer, committee member; Fruhauf, Christine A., committee memberIntroduction: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) may present as urinary/fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and/or pelvic pain. These symptoms have been shown to cause disruption to individuals' activities of daily living and decrease quality of life. Conservative estimates indicate 28 million women are affected by PFD worldwide. The core of occupational therapy (OT) is to mitigate barriers to engagement in occupations of one's choosing, yet there is a gap in the literature detailing occupational therapy practitioners' (OTP) perspectives on their unique contributions in pelvic health. Methods: This exploratory descriptive study utilized an online survey to purposively recruit OTPs and screen individuals for an interview. Inclusion criteria required that participants a) be a licensed or retired OTP, b) have at least one year experience as an OTP, and c) have any professional experience in pelvic health. One-on-one semi-structured interviews occurred on a virtual platform, were audio-recorded, and transcribed. Using Dedoose software, thematic inductive analysis was conducted. Results: Thirty-one individuals completed the survey, 21 were eligible to participate, and 13 participated in an interview. It was found that OTPs believe they offer a unique contribution to the pelvic health field. Three primary qualitative themes were generated that elaborate on this belief: OTPs apply a psychosocial lens, the OT approach is comprehensive, and OTPs use occupation-focused interventions when working with people with PFD (e.g., consider the influence of client mental health as client preferences, culture, and lifestyle). Conclusion: This study identified the perceptions of OTPs regarding their unique approach to working with clients in pelvic health. Data suggests that OTPs complement the biomechanical focus of other pelvic health providers by recognizing the role of mental health and intervening to down-regulate the nervous system.
- ItemEmbargoHow are driving licensure status, delay in driving licensure, and driving exposure associated with alcohol and drug use, parental monitoring knowledge, peer alcohol and drug use, and health, education, and employment of emerging adults?(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Gao, Xiang, author; Li, Kaigang, advisor; Vaca, Federico E., committee member; Sharp, Julia, committee member; DeYoung, Wendy, committee memberIndependence and mobility facilitated by driving privileges could have a major impact on alcohol and drug use, parental monitoring knowledge, peer alcohol and drug use, and health, education, and employment of emerging adults. Driving privileges may provide emerging adults with the ability to move more freely, and that mobility may affect their access to drugs and alcohol. It may also mean that emerging adults with driving privileges were more likely to be in environments where alcohol and drugs were available. Parents of emerging adults with driving privileges may be more involved in monitoring their child's driving activities, resulting in higher levels of parental monitoring knowledge. Emerging adults with driving privileges were more likely to report a higher level of peer alcohol and drug use because having access to a car allowed them to spend more time with their peers and engage in alcohol and drug use. On the other hand, driving privileges may have positive impacts on the health, education, and employment of emerging adults. Having the ability to travel to places of employment and educational institutions may open more opportunities and allow for greater access to resources. This could lead to improved academic and professional outcomes. Overall, driving privileges may have both positive and negative impacts on alcohol and drug use, parental monitoring knowledge, peer alcohol and drug use, and health, education, and employment of emerging adults. It was important to consider these trade-off impacts when considering how to best support emerging adults in their development. My dissertation explored how were driving licensure status, delay in driving licensure, and driving exposure associated with alcohol and drug use, parental monitoring knowledge, peer alcohol and drug use, and health, education, and employment of emerging adults. Data was collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. emerging adults starting at grade 10th for a seven-year longitudinal assessment. Having driving licensure in high school, no delay in driving licensure, and higher driving exposure were associated with higher levels of alcohol and drug use, higher levels of parental monitoring knowledge, higher levels of peer alcohol and drug use, better health, higher levels of education attainment, and more working hours in emerging adulthood. My dissertation could inform policymakers and practitioners on the importance of driving privileges in promoting the well-being of emerging adults.
- ItemOpen AccessLeveraging operational use data to inform the systems engineering process of fielded aerospace defense systems(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Eddy, Amy, author; Daily, Jeremy, advisor; Marzolf, Gregory, committee member; Miller, Erika, committee member; Wise, Daniel, committee memberInefficiencies in Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition processes have been pervasive nearly as long as the DoD has existed. Stakeholder communication issues, funding concerns, large and overly complex organizational structures all play a role in adding challenges to those tasked with fielding, operating, and sustaining a complex aerospace defense system. As legacy defense systems begin to age, logistics and other supportability element requirements may change over time. While research literature supports the evidence that many stakeholders and senior leaders are aware of the issues and the DoD faces the impact those issues cause to mission performance, most research and attempts to improve the performance issues have been focused on high level restructuring of organizations or policy, processes, and procedures. There has been little research dedicated to identifying ways for working level logisticians and systems engineers to improve performance by leveraging operational use data. This study proposes a practical approach for working level logisticians and engineers to identify relationships between operational use data and supply performance data. This research focuses on linking negative aircraft events (discrepancies) to the supply events (requisitions) that result in downtime. This approach utilizes standard statistical methods to analyze operations, maintenance, and supply data collected during the Operations and Sustainment (O&S) phase of the life cycle. Further, this research identifies methods consistent with industry systems engineering practices to create new feedback loops to better inform the systems engineering life cycle management process, update requirements, and iterate the design of the enterprise system as a holistic entity that includes the physical product and its supportability elements such as logistics, maintenance, facilities, etc. The method identifies specific recommendations and actions for working level logisticians and systems engineers to prevent future downtime. The method is practical for the existing DoD organizational structure, and uses current DoD processes, all without increasing manpower or other resource needs.
- ItemEmbargoDevelopment of an artificial temporomandibular joint disc replacement(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Kuiper, Jason Paul, author; Puttlitz, Christian M., advisor; Prawel, David, committee member; McGilvray, Kirk, committee member; Henry, Charles, committee memberThe temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a complex bilateral ginglymoarthroidal joint containing a fibrocartilaginous disc and is essential for chewing, speaking, and swallowing. Due to the high loading frequency, small imbalances in joint homeostasis can overcome the natural capacity for adaptation and lead to a cascade of degenerative changes. For progressive TMJ disorders, resection of the TMJ disc is the leading treatment, but disc resection inherently increases stress and friction on the articular cartilage surfaces, leading to a progression to total joint replacement in 11.7% of patients. The current methods of treatment for disorders of the TMJ musculoskeletal complex are predominantly palliative and do not reliably address disorders of arthrogenous origin. Unfortunately, no synthetic TMJ disc replacements currently exist due to profound implant failures in earlier attempts. Introduction of a robust artificial TMJ disc replacement after resection will prevent further joint degradation and improve patient outcomes. Rigorous preclinical evaluation of artificial TMJ disc replacement strategies must be conducted to support future translation to humans. Therefore, the following aims are proposed: (1) Characterize the biomechanical behavior of the ovine temporomandibular joint soft tissues, (2) identify and evaluate a material candidate for a temporomandibular joint disc replacement, (3) develop in silico and in vitro methods for evaluating design candidates for artificial TMJ disc replacement, and (4) implement a temporomandibular joint disc replacement strategy in an ovine model.
- ItemOpen AccessDemystifying viruses: understanding the role of river viruses on microbial community structure and biogeochemical cycling through a multi-omic lens(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) RodrĂguez-Ramos, JosuĂ©, author; Wrighton, Kelly, advisor; Hall, Edward, committee member; Metcalf, Jessica, committee member; Wilkins, Michael J., committee memberViruses are the most abundant entity on the planet, with estimates of up to 1031 viral particles dispersed across the globe in every ecosystem that can sustain life. Today, as the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, the word "virus" often evokes a negative response because of their impacts on human health and disease. Yet, most viruses that exist in the world can only infect bacteria and archaea. In fact, it has long been estimated that for every 1 bacterial or archaeal cell, there are 10 viruses that can infect it. While bacteria and archaea are long regarded as essential to overall ecosystem health and functionality, the roles of viruses in natural systems are much less understood and appreciated. Due to a scarcity of genome-resolved multi-omic studies, this lack of understanding is compounded in river ecosystems, which play critical roles modulating global carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry. The overarching aims of this dissertation are to harness genome-resolved, multi-omic datasets to 1) decipher the impact that viruses can have on river microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling, and 2) to explain how viral ecology can enhance our understanding of river ecosystem function. To define the role that viral and microbial communities have on river function, I first set out to understand what is currently known of river viral ecology. In Chapter 1, I provided a background primer on viruses and their impacts on natural ecosystems. I then zoomed in on viral roles exclusively within rivers and described the current state of river viral ecology. I also highlighted some of the knowledge gaps addressed specifically by my thesis. My literature review revealed that while there are publicly available metagenomic datasets, there is a drastic underutilization of genome-resolved strategies which are critical for constraining microbial metabolism and viral impacts into informative units. Further, these datasets are largely unused because the data is collected in an un-coordinated manner, leading to the lack of similar sampling methods, and ultimately an inability to make results interoperable. Together, in this chapter I present compelling evidence for the need of genome-resolved, virus-host paired multi-omic analyses that are pivotal to our understanding of river ecosystems and lay the groundwork for the questions I will address throughout my dissertation. After identifying that there was a gap studies that leverage metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) and viral metagenome assembled genomes (vMAGs), for Chapter 2 I focused on using a genome-resolved lens to uncover the microbial and viral metabolic underpinnings responsible for the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the Columbia River system. This chapter used a dataset that was spatially resolved at the centimeter scale for three sediment cores across two transects of the Columbia River and included 33 samples, all of which had metagenomes that were paired to metaproteomes, biogeochemistry, and metabolites. Using this dataset, I created the first river microbial and viral database genome-resolved database called Hyporheic Uncultured MAG and vMAG (HUM-V). Leveraging metaproteomics paired to HUM-V database, I built a conceptual model outlining microbial and viral contributions to carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry in these river sediments. With this metabolic reconstruction, I showed an intertwined carbon and nitrogen cycle that can likely contribute to the fluxes of nitrous oxide. Specifically, I demonstrated that well recognized river microbes like those of the phyla Nitrososphaeraceae as well as other less recognized phyla like Binatia encode and express genes for denitrification. I also showed that the clade II nosZ gene, which is responsible for nitrous oxide production, could possibly act as a nitrous oxide sink without contributing to its production. Linking viral members to microbial hosts demonstrated that viruses may be key modulators of carbon and nitrogen cycling. Specifically, I presented evidence that viruses can infect key nitrifying organisms (i.e., Nitrospiraceae) as well as key polymer degrading organisms (i.e., Actinobacteria). Highlighting their potential roles, linear regression analyses consistently identified viral organisms as key predictors of ecosystem biogeochemistry. Chapter 2 of my thesis yielded insights that uncovered some of the microbial contributions that were thought to occur but were poorly defined in river sediments (e.g., nitrogen mineralization), and presented a genome-resolved, virus-host paired strategy that I could then use to directly assess how viruses impacted host metabolism and ecosystem function. Ultimately, Chapter 2 highlights the power of genome-resolved database strategies to reduce existing predictive uncertainties in river corridor models. Having provided a genome-resolved view of metabolic processes in Chapter 2, for Chapter 3 I set out to expand upon our understanding of river viruses by providing insights into their temporal and spatial dynamics. For this, I worked with a finely tuned temporal dataset from an urban stream near Berlin, Germany called the Erpe River. The Erpe River dataset is a metagenomic timeseries where samples were collected every 3 hours for a total of 48 hours across both the surface water (SW) and pore water (PW) compartments. In addition to metagenomes, Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and biogeochemistry were collected for each sample. Using this dataset, I created a database consisting of 1,230 vMAGs and 125 MAGs. Only 1% of our vMAGs clustered to known taxonomic representatives, highlighting the underrepresentation of river viruses in public databases. Due to this underrepresentation, I supplemented my viral taxonomic analyses with over 20,000 vMAGs spanning different publicly available studies that were relevant to rivers and wastewater treatment plants and showed that nearly half of the novel genera identified were cosmopolitan in aquatic ecosystems. I also characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of the river microbiomes across the surface water (SW) and pore water (PW) compartments. Both the viral and microbial communities were distinct between the SW and PW samples and were both driven by the same chemical drivers. Given that these compartments had distinct communities, I set out to understand how they were changing over time. By employing multiple temporal statistical methods, I show that SW communities are more persistent and more stable relative to the PW communities, likely resulting from the homogeneous selection pressures of the SW, and the heterogeneity within the sediment. In addition to resolving these temporal dynamics, I highlight some specific virus and host genomes that influence biogeochemical cycling. In summary, my third chapter shows how river viral and microbial communities change across spatial and temporal gradients, and highlights how genome-resolved metagenomics enhances our interpretation of microbiome data. The final chapter of this dissertation (Chapter 4) summarizes the key findings of my thesis and provides future perspectives to inspire research in environmental river viral ecology. This section also showcases several publications that I have worked on throughout my doctoral degree that span multiple ecosystems like mouse guts, human guts, soils, and the development of the computational tool Distilled and Refined Annotation of Metabolism (DRAM). This final chapter also highlights a manuscript that I was involved in that showcases a new scientific framework: Interoperable, Open, Coordinated, and Networked (ICON). I further highlight this framework to address how these ICON strategies are beginning to be implemented in other fields and propose that in order to move the discipline of river microbial ecology forward, we need to implement ICON frameworks and the standardization and coordination of sampling collection. In summary, the aims of this dissertation were to summarize what is known in the field of river viral ecology (Chapter 1), to investigate viral roles that viruses play on river organic nitrogen and carbon processing (Chapter 2), to interrogate the temporal and spatial dynamics of viruses within rivers (Chapter 3), and to summarize how this dissertation has added to the understanding of river viral ecology, and what the next big questions for the field should be (Chapter 4). Ultimately, these works shine a spotlight on the viruses found in river ecosystems and shows that they likely play key roles in the regulation of microbial biogeochemical cycles.