The examination of aging and attention control with optical imaging

Peltz, Carrie Brumback University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this dissertation project was to utilize a detailed analysis to start exploring the contributions of aging and individual differences to attention control. Experiment I describes eye movement, behavioral, and event-related optical signal (EROS) data during blocked versions of the pro- and antisaccade tasks for younger and older adults. The results of this study show that younger adults have more attentional control than older adults, evidenced by fewer errors and faster brain responses during the antisaccade task. Unfortunately, recording errors and a small sample size precluded further analysis of this data set. Experiment 2 examined eye movements, behavior, and brain activity (recorded by EROS) in younger and older adults during a task with randomized pro- and antisaccade trials. This comprehensive data set showed the different brain activation patterns dominated the EROS analysis. The younger and older adults appeared to use different control strategies to perform the tasks. Specifically, the younger adults relied on more task-general attention-related brain areas to perform the task while the older adults showed greater activity in more task-specific brain areas. Similar to the younger adults, older adults with high working memory capacity utilized more task-general attention brain areas when compared with older adults with low working memory capacity. This study is an interesting example of how an in-depth analysis can give a full range of data about how task-related information is processed and how it may be processed differently by various groupings of participants.

From theory to application: A study of knowledge transfer in dental education

Peltz, Ivy D New York University 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

Traditionally, dental education is divided into two phases: pre-clinical and clinical education. The pre-clinical phase of dental education includes the assimilation of theoretical topical knowledge in addition to the completion of simulated exercises. Upon completion of and demonstration of competency in their pre-clinical courses, students begin to treat live dental patients in the clinical phase of their dental education. Although they have been deemed competent by their pre-clinical faculty, dental students often have difficulty transferring the knowledge they gained in the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase of their dental education. This project examined whether the relationship between experiential learning and/or written reflection subsequent to clinical observation experiences affect dental students' ease in transferring the knowledge gained in the pre-clinical phase of their education to application during patient care. In order to investigate the relationship between frequent exposure to the clinic and written reflection to ease of transfer of knowledge to application, 128 participants in their second year of dental school were assigned to one of four groups. Participants in two limited observation groups observed third and fourth year students with their patient care six times over the course of the academic year, as dictated by their syllabus. The participants in the two frequent observation groups were instructed to observe third and fourth year dental students weekly during the course of the academic year. The participants in two groups were instructed to write reflective entries after each observation session. The participants in the other two groups did not write any reflective entries. Reflective journal entries were examined to identify recurrent themes. Quantitative measures of patient care were analyzed statistically utilizing SPSS. Analysis of quantitative data revealed that participants who were traditional dental students without prior experience in patient care and who engaged in more frequent observation achieved higher scores on a mock version of Part II of the National Board Dental Examination than participants who observed patient care less frequently. In addition, productivity measures at three and six months into the patient care phase of dental education were higher for those traditional participants who observed more frequently.

The role of altered loading in pathological changes in the long head of the biceps tendon following rotator cuff tears in a rat model

Peltz, Cathryn University of Pennsylvania 2010 해외박사(DDOD)

Damage to the biceps tendon is common clinically and is frequently seen in the presence of rotator cuff tears. However, there is some debate over the role of the biceps tendon at the shoulder following a rotator cuff tear with some believing the biceps to play a significant role as a humeral head depressor while others believe the biceps plays no role at all. Therefore, controversy exists regarding its optimal treatment, with physicians relying mostly on anecdotal experience. Unfortunately, most clinical studies are not able to address the underlying causes in a controlled manner and cadaveric studies cannot monitor the injury process with time. Tendon degeneration and inflammation are both thought to play a role; however, the mechanisms responsible remain unknown, making clinical management of this problem difficult. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of alterations in loading on the initiation of pathological changes in the long head of the biceps tendon following rotator cuff tears in order to determine its role as a mechanism for these changes. We hypothesized that rotator cuff tears result in altered loading that lead to degeneration of the biceps tendon, beginning at the insertion site and continuing along the length with time. Additionally, we hypothesized that increased loading following rotator cuff tears would result in further degeneration while decreased loading would result in improved tendon properties. We created an animal model of biceps tendon pathology in the presence of rotator cuff tears and utilized this model to examine the early, intermediate and late changes in histological, organizational, compositional and mechanical properties of the biceps tendon. We found that changes began in the intra-articular portion of the tendon before progressing to the extra-articular portion with time. We also investigated the effect of altered loading on these properties and found that increased loading resulted in further detrimental changes while decreased loading resulted in improved properties. These results indicate that the biceps tendon plays an increased role as a load bearing structure in the presence of rotator cuff tears and that these changes may be recoverable with decreased loading.

Can Documentary Films Move the Levers of Discourse Around a Public Health Issue - A Systematic Review

Peltz, Perri ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Columbia Universit 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the potential of documentary films to impact the discourse around a public health issue and in particular the current opioid epidemic. In addition to reviewing the history of drug policy and drug epidemics, this dissertation analyzed an HBO documentary about the opioid epidemic as a means of contextualizing the current crisis and understanding whether documentary can change the narrative around a public health matter. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the existing published evaluation studies relating to the potential role of documentary films to influence the levers of discourse related to the opioid epidemic and related substance use and mental health disorders and found the existing research was limited to fifty-four citations. Documentaries can have a potential impact on public discourse most notably through raising public awareness but the impact is limited as drug use epidemics are complex and multifactorial. Further study is needed to fully understand the role that documentary films can play in shaping public discourse.