Health Sciences and Kinesiology
Presenter(s): Erin Nolte
Advisor(s): Dr. Frank Frisch, Dr. Oliver Lopez
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the degradation of bone, leading to an increased risk of fracture. 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will be affected by Osteoporosis. This study aims to understand how bone is affected by sleep deprivation in estrogen-deficient rats, and how Zoledronate might negate the inimical effects of sleep deprivation on bone. As bone mineral density (BMD) is a crude evaluation of the architectural changes seen in Osteoporosis, trabecular thickness may serve as a better single evaluation of bone health. 31 Wistar female rats were ovariectomized and separated into 4 random groups. The control group(C, n=4) were housed in standard conditions, which permitted a 12 hour light/dark cycle and given a one-time injection of 0.45 mL of 0.9% saline. The Sleep-Deprived group (SD, n=9) received the same injection but were limited to 6 hours of sleep. The Zoledronate group (Z, n=9) were housed in standard conditions but were treated with a one-time injection of 50ug/kg body weight of 10% Zoledronate. The Sleep-Deprived Zoledronate group (SDZ, n=9) were housed in the sleep deprivation conditions and received the same injection as the Z group. After 5 weeks, the rats were sacrificed, and tibiae and femora were collected and stored at -80℃ until a high-resolution micro-CT was done. This communication is a re-evaluation of previously presented data. Multiple comparison tests indicated significant differences between distal femur trabecular thickness of the C and SDZ groups (67.25, 75.5 microns, respectively; p=0.0001). Sleep deprivation improved distal femur trabecular thickness between the Z and SDZ groups (68.375, 75.5 microns, respectively, p=0.00007). Multi-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant interaction between the treatment and the amount of sleep the rats received (p=0.0078). The increased trabecular thickness found in the sleep-deprived groups may be explained by their additional load-bearing. Our findings encourage consideration for studies of longer duration.
Assessing Communication Strategies for Athletes at Chapman University
Presenter(s): Preetha Raj
Advisor(s): Dr. John Miklavcic
Nutrition is a critical component to improve and maintain athletic performance, however, without formal intervention, it is difficult to predict the level of understanding athletes have on sports nutrition principles. The objective of this research study is to test the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention on lifestyle and behavior changes related to nutrition during an athlete’s formal season. A survey was constructed on Google Survey to track measurable health behaviors and categorize all athletes based on gender, age, sport, and position. Male and female Lacrosse athletes at Chapman University were given a digital survey prior to any education intervention to assess their existing knowledge of nutrition material and health topics. Athletes attended a 45-minute live seminar on sports nutrition principles at the start of their season and completed a 24-question digital survey immediately after. Survey questions were evaluated using descriptive analysis by Google Survey metrics. Results from the survey after the live seminar indicated an increase in overall concern for diet by 3.6% in male athletes and 11.7% in female athletes. Results also indicated 8.5% of male athletes and 20.9% of female athletes increased their concern with their diet during their regular season rather than before their regular season. Athletes will be given a digital handout using a similar survey to evaluate results. Expanding this research project to include all sports teams at Chapman University will improve this research study’s findings.