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Situations of sensory overload are steadily becoming more frequent as the ubiquity of technology approaches reality--particularly with the advent of socio-communicative smartphone applications, and pervasive, high speed wireless networks. Although the ease of accessing information has improved our communication effectiveness and efficiency, our visual and auditory modalities--those modalities that today's computerized devices and displays largely engage--have become overloaded, creating possibilities for distractions, delays and high cognitive load; which in turn can lead to a loss of situational awareness, increasing chances for life threatening situations such as texting while driving. Surprisingly, alternative modalities for information delivery have seen little exploration. Touch, in particular, is a promising candidate given that it is our largest sensory organ with impressive spatial and temporal acuity. Although some approaches have been proposed for touch-based information delivery, they are not without limitations including high learning curves, limited applicability and/or limited expression. This is largely due to the lack of a versatile, comprehensive design theory--specifically, a theory that addresses the design of touch-based building blocks for expandable, efficient, rich and robust touch languages that are easy to learn and use. Moreover, beyond design, there is a lack of implementation and evaluation theories for such languages. To overcome these limitations, a unified, theoretical framework, inspired by natural, spoken language, is proposed called Somatic ABC's for Articulating (designing), Building (developing) and Confirming (evaluating) touch-based languages. To evaluate the usefulness of Somatic ABC's, its design, implementation and evaluation theories were applied to create communication languages for two very unique application areas: audio described movies and motor learning. These applications were chosen as they presented opportunities for complementing communication by offloading information, typically conveyed visually and/or aurally, to the skin. For both studies, it was found that Somatic ABC's aided the design, development and evaluation of rich somatic languages with distinct and natural communication units.
ContributorsMcDaniel, Troy Lee (Author) / Panchanathan, Sethuraman (Thesis advisor) / Davulcu, Hasan (Committee member) / Li, Baoxin (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Determining the factors associated with the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in the household may help in understanding the varying complexities that contribute to obesity among children and help design interventions to impact children's food consumption behaviors. This study examined factors that are associated with the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in children's home food environments (HFE). Data was collected from a random-digit-dial telephone survey of 1708 households, with at least one child between 3-18 years of age, located in five low-income New Jersey cities. HFE was assessed based on responses to a set of six items that measured availability of specific healthy and unhealthy foods in the respondent's home. These items contributed to construction of three HFE scales used as dependent variables in these analyses: healthy HFE, unhealthy HFE, and a ratio of healthy to unhealthy foods in the HFE. Independent variables included household socio-demographics, parental perceptions of their own weight and diet health, frequency of family meals, proximity to food outlets, and perception of access to healthy foods in the neighborhood food environment. Significant differences were observed in the HFE by race and ethnicity, with Non-Hispanic black children having fewer healthy foods and Non-Hispanic white children having more unhealthy food items available at home. Parents who reported being overweight or obese had a healthier HFE and those perceiving their own eating as healthy had more healthy and less unhealthy foods in the household. Food-secure households had more unhealthy compared to healthy foods at home. Households located farther from a supermarket had a greater number of unhealthy food items and a lower healthy/unhealthy food availability ratio. Parental perception of better access to fruits and vegetables and low-fat foods was associated with availability of a greater number of healthy food items at home. Overall, the HFE varied by parental and demographic characteristics, parental perceptions about the food environment and the actual features of the built neighborhood food environment.
ContributorsBerry, Andrea (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis advisor) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This thesis deals with the first measurements done with a cold neutron beam at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental technique consisted of capturing polarized cold neutrons by nuclei to measure parity-violation in the angular distribution of the gamma rays following neutron capture. The measurements presented here for the nuclei Chlorine ( 35Cl) and Aluminum ( 27Al ) are part of a program with the ultimate goal of measuring the asymmetry in the angular distribution of gamma rays emitted in the capture of neutrons on protons, with a precision better than 10-8, in order to extract the weak hadronic coupling constant due to pion exchange interaction with isospin change equal with one ( hπ 1). Based on theoretical calculations asymmetry in the angular distribution of the gamma rays from neutron capture on protons has an estimated size of 5·10-8. This implies that the Al parity violation asymmetry and its uncertainty have to be known with a precision smaller than 4·10-8. The proton target is liquid Hydrogen (H2) contained in an Aluminum vessel. Results are presented for parity violation and parity-conserving asymmetries in Chlorine and Aluminum. The systematic and statistical uncertainties in the calculation of the parity-violating and parity-conserving asymmetries are discussed.
ContributorsBalascuta, Septimiu (Author) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Thesis advisor) / Belitsky, Andrei (Committee member) / Doak, Bruce (Committee member) / Comfort, Joseph (Committee member) / Schmidt, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The evaluation of nutritional status by dietary intake assessment is fundamental to nutrition research. Accurate assessment allows for health professional-moderated diet adjustment in order to promote disease prevention and management. However, dietary intake can be extremely challenging to measure properly as reliability and accuracy are essential. As technology use has become more prevalent in recent years, an assortment of online, web-based diet analysis methods have begun to emerge. Are these modern methods as accurate as the traditional methods? The aim of this study was to compare and contrast diet analyses from a feeding trial in which both subject-coded (using the Automated Self Administered 24 hour recall, or the ASA24) and investigator-coded (using the Food Processor diet analysis program) diet records were available. Sixty-four overweight (body mass index >27-40 kg/m2) members of a campus community between the ages of 20-45 were recruited for an 8-week parallel arm, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of two different pre-dinner meal snacks on satiety, calories consumed, and contribution to modest weight loss. As part of the study requirements, participants completed 3-day food logs at four different times during the trial: pre-trial, and week 1, 4, and 8. Participants also entered their dietary information into the ASA24 website the day after the intake was recorded by hand. Nutrient intake values were compared between the ASA24 records and the handwritten food logs. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistical Analysis version 19.0; bivariate analyses and Spearman correlation analyses were utilized. Energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intakes did correlate significantly between the two methodologies, though both under-reporting and over-reporting were found to exist. Carbohydrate and fiber intakes were under-reported by subjects; retinol, beta-carotene, and vitamin C amounts were over-reported. These results are consistent with previous findings in reporting differences and suggest that the ASA24 is a comparably accurate dietary tracking tool to the traditional diet record method.
ContributorsSchohl, Brooke (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Mayol-Kreiser, Sandra (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The ability to plan, execute, and control goal oriented reaching and grasping movements is among the most essential functions of the brain. Yet, these movements are inherently variable; a result of the noise pervading the neural signals underlying sensorimotor processing. The specific influences and interactions of these noise processes remain unclear. Thus several studies have been performed to elucidate the role and influence of sensorimotor noise on movement variability. The first study focuses on sensory integration and movement planning across the reaching workspace. An experiment was designed to examine the relative contributions of vision and proprioception to movement planning by measuring the rotation of the initial movement direction induced by a perturbation of the visual feedback prior to movement onset. The results suggest that contribution of vision was relatively consistent across the evaluated workspace depths; however, the influence of vision differed between the vertical and later axes indicate that additional factors beyond vision and proprioception influence movement planning of 3-dimensional movements. If the first study investigated the role of noise in sensorimotor integration, the second and third studies investigate relative influence of sensorimotor noise on reaching performance. Specifically, they evaluate how the characteristics of neural processing that underlie movement planning and execution manifest in movement variability during natural reaching. Subjects performed reaching movements with and without visual feedback throughout the movement and the patterns of endpoint variability were compared across movement directions. The results of these studies suggest a primary role of visual feedback noise in shaping patterns of variability and in determining the relative influence of planning and execution related noise sources. The final work considers a computational approach to characterizing how sensorimotor processes interact to shape movement variability. A model of multi-modal feedback control was developed to simulate the interaction of planning and execution noise on reaching variability. The model predictions suggest that anisotropic properties of feedback noise significantly affect the relative influence of planning and execution noise on patterns of reaching variability.
ContributorsApker, Gregory Allen (Author) / Buneo, Christopher A (Thesis advisor) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Santos, Veronica (Committee member) / Si, Jennie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Effective tactile sensing in prosthetic and robotic hands is crucial for improving the functionality of such hands and enhancing the user's experience. Thus, improving the range of tactile sensing capabilities is essential for developing versatile artificial hands. Multimodal tactile sensors called BioTacs, which include a hydrophone and a force electrode array, were used to understand how grip force, contact angle, object texture, and slip direction may be encoded in the sensor data. Findings show that slip induced under conditions of high contact angles and grip forces resulted in significant changes in both AC and DC pressure magnitude and rate of change in pressure. Slip induced under conditions of low contact angles and grip forces resulted in significant changes in the rate of change in electrode impedance. Slip in the distal direction of a precision grip caused significant changes in pressure magnitude and rate of change in pressure, while slip in the radial direction of the wrist caused significant changes in the rate of change in electrode impedance. A strong relationship was established between slip direction and the rate of change in ratios of electrode impedance for radial and ulnar slip relative to the wrist. Consequently, establishing multiple thresholds or establishing a multivariate model may be a useful method for detecting and characterizing slip. Detecting slip for low contact angles could be done by monitoring electrode data, while detecting slip for high contact angles could be done by monitoring pressure data. Predicting slip in the distal direction could be done by monitoring pressure data, while predicting slip in the radial and ulnar directions could be done by monitoring electrode data.
ContributorsHsia, Albert (Author) / Santos, Veronica J (Thesis advisor) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen I (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Background: Research in animal models suggests that fish oil ingestion may impair immunity and increase risk for infection. To date there are no studies examining this relationship between fish oil ingestion and risk for infection in humans. Objective: The primary aim of this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-arm study was to examine the effect of 400 mg of EPA and 200 mg of DHA, the main components of fish oil (FO) supplements, on the incidence of symptoms related to upper respiratory tract infections in healthy young females, at a large southwestern university. Design: Healthy young women between 18 and 38 years of age who were non-obese (mean BMI 23.7 ± 0.6 kg/m2) were recruited from an urban southwestern university campus. Subjects were non-vegetarians, non-smokers, and reported consuming less than one serving (3.5 oz) of fish per week. Participants (n=26) were randomized according to age, body weight, BMI, and daily n-3 fatty acid (FA) intake into two groups: FO (one gel capsule of 600 mg EPA/DHA per day) or CO (one placebo gel capsule of 1000 mg coconut oil per day). Participants completed a validated daily cold symptom survey, the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples measuring TNF-α concentrations were taken at weeks 1 and 8, when 24-hour dietary recalls were also performed. Anthropometric measurements were recorded via bioelectrical impedance at trial weeks 1, 4, and 8. Results: The 8-week trial of FO supplementation did not significantly change the average score for perception of cold symptoms between FO and CO groups (167 ± 71 and 185 ± 56, p=0.418, respectively). Plasma TNF-α levels (pg/mL) did not differ between groups (p=0.482). TNF-α levels were significantly correlated with body weight (r=0.480, p=0.037), BMI (r=0.481, p=0.037, and percent body fat (r=0.511, p=0.025) at baseline. Conclusions: Healthy young women taking a fish oil supplement of 400 mg EPA and 200 mg DHA per day over 8 weeks does not impose unintentional health consequences. These findings do not refute the American Heart Association's current recommendations for all Americans to consume two servings (3.5 oz) of a variety of oily fish per week. Depending on the type of fish, this current recommendation equates to approximately 200-300 mg per day of EPA and DHA n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Additional research is needed to investigate the effects of higher dosages of fish oils on daily cold symptoms.
ContributorsGutierrez, Megan (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Appel, Christy (Committee member) / Martin, Keith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The unpleasant bitter taste found in many nutritious vegetables may deter people from consuming a healthy diet. We investigated individual differences in taste perception and whether these differences influence the effectiveness of bitterness masking. To test whether phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) `supertasters' also taste salt and sugar with greater intensity, as suggested by Bartoshuk and colleagues (2004), we infused strips of paper with salt water or sugar water. The bitterness rating of the PTC strip had a significant positive linear relationship with ratings of both the intensity of sweet and salt, but the effect sizes were very low, suggesting that the PTC strip does not give a complete picture of tasting ability. Next we investigated whether various seasonings could mask the bitter taste of vegetables and whether this varied with tasting ability. We found that sugar decreased bitterness and lemon decreased liking for vegetables of varying degrees of bitterness. The results did not differ by ability to taste any of the flavors. Therefore, even though there are remarkable individual differences in taste perception, sugar can be used to improve the initial palatability of vegetables and increase their acceptance and consumption.
ContributorsWilkie, Lynn Melissa (Author) / Phillips, Elizabeth D. (Thesis advisor) / Cohen, Adam (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Many people with or at risk for diabetes have difficulty maintaining normal postprandial blood glucose levels (120-140 mg/dl). Research has shown that vinegar decreases postprandial glycemia. The purpose of this study was to examine a possible mechanism by which vinegar decreases postprandial glycemia, particularly the effect of vinegar ingestion on gut fermentation. In this parallel arm randomized control trial, the effects of daily ingestion of vinegar on gut fermentation markers were observed among adults at risk for type 2 diabetes in Phoenix, Arizona. Subjects (n=14) were randomly assigned to treatments consisting of a vinegar drink (1.5g acetic acid) or a placebo (2 vinegar pills containing 40mg acetic acid each). All participants were required to consume the vinegar drink (16 oz) or 2 placebo pills every day for 12 weeks. At week 12, participants filled out a questionnaire to report gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and three consecutive breath samples were taken from each subject to measure fasting breath hydrogen (BH2) with a breath analyzer. Fasting BH2 measures for the vinegar drink group (16.1+11.8 ppm) were significantly different than those from the pill group (3.6+1.4) with a partial eta squared of 0.39 (p=0.023). After adjusting for age as a confounding factor (r=0.406) and removing an outlier, fasting BH2 measures for the vinegar drink group (4.3+1.1 ppm) were still significantly different than those from the pill group (3.6+1.4) with a partial eta squared of 0.35 (p=0.045). Participants in both groups reported mild changes in GI symptoms. In conclusion, adults at risk for type 2 diabetes that consume 2 tablespoons of vinegar a day may have increased gut fermentation compared to those who do not consume vinegar.
ContributorsWhite, Serena (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Appel, Christy (Committee member) / Martin, Keith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Humans moving in the environment must frequently change walking speed and direction to negotiate obstacles and maintain balance. Maneuverability and stability requirements account for a significant part of daily life. While constant-average-velocity (CAV) human locomotion in walking and running has been studied extensively unsteady locomotion has received far less attention. Although some studies have described the biomechanics and neurophysiology of maneuvers, the underlying mechanisms that humans employ to control unsteady running are still not clear. My dissertation research investigated some of the biomechanical and behavioral strategies used for stable unsteady locomotion. First, I studied the behavioral level control of human sagittal plane running. I tested whether humans could control running using strategies consistent with simple and independent control laws that have been successfully used to control monopod robots. I found that humans use strategies that are consistent with the distributed feedback control strategies used by bouncing robots. Humans changed leg force rather than stance duration to control center of mass (COM) height. Humans adjusted foot placement relative to a "neutral point" to change running speed increment between consecutive flight phases, i.e. a "pogo-stick" rather than a "unicycle" strategy was adopted to change running speed. Body pitch angle was correlated by hip moments if a proportional-derivative relationship with time lags corresponding to pre-programmed reaction (87 ± 19 ms) was assumed. To better understand the mechanisms of performing successful maneuvers, I studied the functions of joints in the lower extremities to control COM speed and height. I found that during stance, the hip functioned as a power generator to change speed. The ankle switched between roles as a damper and torsional spring to contributing both to speed and elevation changes. The knee facilitated both speed and elevation control by absorbing mechanical energy, although its contribution was less than hip or ankle. Finally, I studied human turning in the horizontal plane. I used a morphological perturbation (increased body rotational inertia) to elicit compensational strategies used to control sidestep cutting turns. Humans use changes to initial body angular speed and body pre-rotation to prevent changes in braking forces.
ContributorsQiao, Mu, 1981- (Author) / Jindrich, Devin L (Thesis advisor) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Committee member) / Abbas, James (Committee member) / Hinrichs, Richard (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012