College students experience high levels of stress, especially those in health care programs. The purpose of this study was to determine what factors contribute to Tennessee radiography student stress levels and the methods by which they cope with stress. Additionally, do demographic factors affect radiography student stress levels? The research was conducted February 4 to March 30, 2016. A survey was distributed to students in a radiography program at two and four year colleges in Tennessee. Participants were asked questions on factors that influence their stress levels, coping strategies, and health issues experienced in the past year. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and Pearson correlations were used to determine what factors influenced student stress levels, the most effective coping strategies, and if demographics affected student stress levels. This analysis revealed that school causes students the most stress, while taking a break was the most used stress coping strategy.

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Diffusion-weighted image(DWI) and tractography have been developed for decades and are key elements in recent, large-scale efforts for mapping the human brain. The two techniques together provide us a unique possibility to access the macroscopic structure and connectivity of the human brain non-invasively and in vivo. The information obtained not only can help visualize brain connectivity and help segment the brain into different functional areas but also provides tools for understanding some major cognitive diseases such as multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, epilepsy, etc. There are lots of efforts have been put into this area. On the one hand, a vast spectrum of tractography algorithms have been developed in recent years, ranging from deterministic approaches through probabilistic methods to global tractography; On the other hand, various mathematical models, such as diffusion tensor, multi-tensor model, spherical deconvolution, Q-ball modeling, have been developed to better exploit the acquisition dependent signal of Diffusion-weighted image(DWI). Despite considerable progress in this area, current methods still face many challenges, such as sensitive to noise, lots of false positive/negative fibers, incapable of handling complex fiber geometry and expensive computation cost. More importantly, recent researches have shown that, even with high-quality data, the results using current tractography methods may not be improved, suggesting that it is unlikely to obtain an anatomically accurate map of the human brain solely based on the diffusion profile. Motivated by these issues, this dissertation develops a global approach that incorporates anatomical validated geometric shape prior when reconstructing neuron fibers. The fiber tracts between regions of interest are initialized and updated via deformations based on gradients of the posterior energy defined in this paper. This energy has contributions from diffusion data, shape prior information, and roughness penalty. The dissertation first describes and demonstrates the proposed method on the 2D dataset and then extends it to 3D Phantom data and the real brain data. The results show that the proposed method is relatively immune to issues such as noise, complicated fiber structure like fiber crossings and kissing, false positive fibers, and achieve more explainable tractography results. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / April 16, 2019. / active contours, Bayesian estimation, dMRI fiber tracts, geometric shape analysis, tractography / Includes bibliographical references. / Anuj Srivastava, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Klassen, University Representative; Wei Wu, Committee Member; Fred Huffer, Committee Member.

In some rural and remote locations in New South Wales and elsewhere in Australia, a limited range of radiographic examinations may be performed by nurses and general practitioners if there is no radiographer available. These so called remote x-ray operators are licensed under the New South Wales Radiation Control Act 1990. This study aimed to investigate the experiences and perceptions of remote x-ray operator radiography and examine the role of remote operators in New South Wales from the perspective of a cohort of rural radiographers and nurse and GP remote x-ray operators involved in frontline delivery of rural radiographic services. Methodology Semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with twenty rural radiographers, ten rural nurses and seven rural general practitioners from various rural communities in New South Wales. Interview questions explored the informants’ knowledge, opinions and values, experience and behaviour, and attitudes and feelings in relation to remote x-ray operator radiography. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Data analysis was subsequently performed using an iterative process based on a modified grounded theory methodology. Data labelling and comparative analysis were carried out in parallel with data collection, allowing progressive modification of the interview theme list to ensure that theoretical saturation was achieved. Results Data analysis led to the emergence of three key concepts, together with their relevant themes and sub-themes. The primary key concept, ‘Dimensions of Practice’, was inclusive of the central precepts of remote x-ray operator radiography. It includes themes titled ‘Licence Conditions and Limitations’, ‘Competency Requirements’ and ‘Image Quality and Practice Standards’. The key concept of ‘Service Provision and Equity of Access’, represents the realities of clinical practice in the rural and remote health care setting. It includes themes of ‘Clinical Management and Decision Making’, ‘Access and Availability’, ‘Patient Expectations’ and ‘Commitment to Service’. The third key concept is ‘Professional Roles and Relationships’, which deals with the interactions that take place between individual practitioners and the factors that influence them. It encompasses the xii themes of ‘Boundary Delineation’, ‘Professional Status and Esteem’ and ‘Interprofessional Conflict and Collaboration’. Relationships between the key concepts, via their themes and sub-themes were also explored. Conclusions Analysis of the data led to the development of a conceptual model and a single story line that represent the perspectives of the study informants. Remote x-ray operator radiography takes place at the intersection of the occupational worlds of rural radiographers, nurses and general practitioners. Remote operators provide a valuable service that prevents rural residents having to travel to access minor radiographic examinations. However, the quality of the radiography they perform is below the standard expected of radiographers. Improvements in collaborative teamwork could improve the quality of service, although interprofessional communication is stifled by status and hierarchical relationships. The remote x-ray operator experience may inform the development of future models of health care. / PhD Doctorate

Study Design. This study investigated the effects of a lumbar support belt on lumbar disc deformation and joint angles. Trunk strength and endurance were also compared to disc deformation and joint angles to determine if any meaningful relationships existed. Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine if back support belts relieve stresses encountered by the lumbar spine during lifting activities and thus reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, trunk strength and endurance measures were collected in order to determine if strong, well conditioned trunk musculature aids in the support of the lumbar spine. Summary of Background Data. Low-back pain and injury are responsible for a major portion of lost work days and injury compensation claims. Back support belts have been proposed as a counter measure towards reducing low-back injuries in the industrial setting. Methods. Twelve male subjects (average age, 49.7 years) performed two sessions of stoop type lifting with a loaded milk crate (11.5 kg), at a rate of 4 repetitions per minute, for a total 15 minutes per session in accordance with the NIOSH 1993 lifting equation. The order of testing with and without a belt was randomized for the two sessions. Fluoroscopic images were collected prior to and following both lifting sessions. Fluoroscopic images were collected with the subjects positioned at the initiation (flexed trunk), mid-range, and completion of the lift (erect standing). Images were imported into Auto Cad where lumbar disc deformation and joint angles were measured by calculating changes in position of adjacent vertebra (L3-4 and L4-5). A reduction of deformation was deemed indicative of reduced stress. Trunk extension and flexion strength were measured with a Kin Com isokinetic dynamometer. Trunk flexion endurance was measured via a 60 second curl-up test. Results. Analysis of variance revealed that compressive and shear disc deformation were reduced while in the erect trunk posture for the support belt condition (p<.05). No significant reduction in disc deformation was detected while in flexed trunk postures for the support belt condition (p>.05). A significant inverse relationship was detected (p<05) between: abdominal strength and shear stress (flexed trunk positions), abdominal endurance and shear stress (erect trunk), and spinal erector strength and L4-L5 joint angle (erect trunk). Conclusions. During stoop type lifting, support belts provide a measurable amount of stress reduction of the lumbar spine when the trunk is in the erect posture, with little effect during flexed trunk positions. Strong, well conditioned trunk musculature is associated with reduced stress on the lumbar spine. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Radiology, June 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

<p><font face="Arial"> <p align="left">In this study, the capabilities of Neutron Radiography (NRad) and -Tomography (NTomo), as well as X-ray Radiography (XRad) to investigate chlorides and chlorides corrosion effects within steel reinforced laboratory concrete samples are practically explored. Capabilities of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), Neutron Diffraction (NDIFF) and X-ray Diffraction (XDIFF) analytical techniques are also explored through review of literature.</p> </font></p>

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Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medical Sciences - Orthodontics. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on January 24, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

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