Browsing by Subject "Age"
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Item Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System – Stop Sign Assist: Experiments to Validate Use of an In-Vehicle Interface Design(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2012-04) Becic, Ensar; Manser, Michael; Creaser, Janet; Donath, MaxThe three studies included in the current report examine the transition from an infrastructure-based rural intersection crossing assist system to one located inside a vehicle. The primary goals of the first study, conducted in a simulator, were to examine the effect of potentially confounding factors, such as the drivers’ familiarity with the assist system and the impact of cognitive load on the drivers’ performance. Next, we examined the efficacy of several different designs of such system to determine the optimal interface design to be used for the in-vehicle system. Finally, the optimal design of the system was examined in the third study, as a field test. The results showed that the use of the system under cognitively demanding conditions did not result in any adverse consequences, which suggested that the processing of the system required minimal cognitive resources. Additionally, the results showed that the benefits of the assist system, such as reduced probability of accepting a critical gap were exhibited under the limited visibility conditions when the perceptual task of determining an appropriate crossing gap became overly demanding. The results from the field study showed that the use of the assist system resulted in improved intersection crossing performance exhibited in increased likelihood of making a complete stop at the stop sign and showed a strong trend toward a decreased probability of accepting critical gaps. Additionally, the impact of the in-vehicle CICAS-SSA was equivalent for older and younger drivers; that is, both age groups benefited from the use of the system.Item High performance liquid chromatography with tandem laser induced fluorescence and mass spectrometry detection methods to monitor the metabolic profile of doxorubicin and its alteration with age(2010-09) Katzenmeyer, Joseph BradlyIn this thesis, a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and mass spectrometry (MS) is used to assess the metabolic profile of doxorubicin in vitro using the post-mitochondrial fraction (PMF) from the liver of Fischer 344 rats. Monitoring the metabolism of xenobiotics and drugs is important in the development, screening and assessment of new chemical compounds for use in therapies. This often requires the use of two or more techniques in order to collect the relevant data. This is the case for the analysis of metabolic products of the anticancer drug doxorubicin. An HPLC instrument with tandem LIF and MS detection was developed and then used to quantify and identify the metabolic products of doxorubicin in vitro. Using this instrumentation, the consumption of doxorubicin and the appearance of 7-deoxydoxorubicinone and 7-deoxydoxorubicinolone were monitored in rat liver post-mitochondrial fractions. This application demonstrates the potential of the tandem LIF-MS detection scheme in quantification and characterization of biotransformations of fluorescent xenobiotics of biomedical and environmental relevance. The HPLC-LIF-MS instrumentation and in vitro methods were then applied to investigate the changes in metabolism between young adult (10 months-old, 100% survival rate) and old (26 months-old, ~25% survival rate) Fischer 344 rats. Results suggest that with aging there is decrease in the rate of biotransformation of doxorubicin and that the timeframes needed to reach steady metabolite and doxorubicin levels are longer. On the other hand, the levels of metabolites and doxorubicin concentrations are not statistically different between the two age groups. In the future, the new methodologies presented here could be applied to investigate age-related changes in metabolism of drugs already in use, new compounds and xenobiotics with health relevance (e.g. pesticides or environmental pollutants).Item The Public Perceptions of Mental Illness in Moroccan Culture(2023-04-30) Mitchell, Madeline SIndividuals with mental illnesses are commonly exposed to a variety of stigmas. These stigmas differ across cultural and individual levels (Al-Krenawi et al., 2008; Corrigan & O’Shaughnessy, 2007; Gesser-Edelsburg & Shbat, 2016; Kadri et al., 2004; Markowitz, 1998; Stein, 2000; Zarrouq et al., 2021; Zolezzi et al., 2018). Specifically, stigma exists as a significant obstacle to the abilities of people with mental illness to receive adequate care and integrate into the public without worrying about discrimination (Gesser-Edelsburg & Shbat, 2016; Slate et al., 2013). This research examined the most prevalent factors that impact the Moroccan public’s attitudes and perceptions about individuals with mental illnesses, according to past research. It was found that men, specifically Muslim men, and participants ages 25 years old and above had significantly more stigmatic, particularly authoritarian, perceptions about people with mental illness. Conversely, women were significantly more benevolent than men. Significant findings also suggested that women and participants 24 years and younger were more likely to be interested in Westernized mental health services.Item Spatial Orientation and Navigation in Elderly Drivers(2010-11) Pick, Herbert L.This report details a research study that was conducted to determine whether elderly drivers have more difficulty than younger drivers in maintaining orientation when they learn routes in unfamiliar neighborhoods. Drivers learned an approximately three-mile irregular route through a novel neighborhood. After they could drive the route without errors, they were asked to indicate the direction of out-of-sight landmarks from various station points along the route. Elderly drivers (60 years and over) made almost double the size errors in their judgments than the younger drivers (25-35 years). Unexpectedly, there was also a gender difference with women especially elderly women, making larger errors than men. Although actually driving along a real route gives the experimental task considerable face validity, the situation lacks considerably in experimental control. Traffic conditions can vary, weather conditions can vary, there may be road construction, etc. The nature of the route itself cannot be experimentally manipulated. With all these factors, it is difficult to investigate how orientation affects vehicle control. Much greater control can be gained by driving in a simulator and it is much safer. The orientation study described above was replicated in a simulator with similar results. Initial crude observations indicated that when attention was on wayfinding, vehicle control was poorer. A more refined study of how vehicle control is affected by wayfinding followed this project.Item Treatment of Hypertension in patients 80 years of age and older maintains its benefit in terms of both morbidity and mortality.(2010-07-22) Yarke, CoryHypertensive patients 80 years of age or older were randomized into treatment with Indapamide with or without Perindopril or placebo control to obtain a blood pressure goal of at least 150/80. Active treatment group showed a statistically significant reduction in several measured parameters, including: the rate of death from any cause, the rate of death from stroke, and the rate of developing heart failure. There was not a measured increase in the rate of significant adverse side effects with active treatment group versus placebo control.