Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences
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The Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences (OMALS), http://www.cals.vt.edu/online/, is uniquely positioned to meet the evolving and dynamic needs of today’s agricultural professionals. The program offers concentrations in the areas of agribusiness, applied animal behavior and welfare, applied nutrition and physical activity, education, environmental science, food safety and biosecurity, and leadership studies, as well as plant science and pest management. In addition to engaging classes, students benefit from the opportunity to work on-on-one with well-respected faculty in Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to complete a rigorous final project, using what they've learned and developing real-world research and communication skills. This collection showcases final projects completed by current and former OMALS students.
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Browsing Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences by Author "Anderson, Angela"
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- Design and Implementation of a Pilot Collegiate Sleep Health Incentive ProgramAnderson, Abigail (Virginia Tech, 2024-08-06)This study examined collegiate sleep health habits and aimed to design a sleep health promotion program to support better quality sleep for college students. A variety of factors affect college students’ sleep health and affect the current state of campus wellness programming. Although various studies have examined sleep education incentive programs among college students, few utilized the Self-Determination theoretical framework to focus on students' psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This current study focused on delivering sleep education activities to college students to foster long-lasting behavior change for sleep health rooted in Self-Determination Theory. A total of eight Virginia Tech Summer 1, online students completed the 5-week sleep intervention which delivered a module based asynchronous sleep education course through the CANVAS learning platform. As an incentive to participate in the program, they were offered extra credit points to be added to their final course grade. Participants engaged in a pre-program sleep hygiene index assessment to assess current sleep habits, then they engaged in several weeks of educational, social, and physical activities designed to help promote healthy sleep habits. After the program, participants filled out an additional sleep hygiene index survey to compare results as well as a post-program survey which assessed the success rate of the program. Post-program results showed a significant improvement in sleep hygiene (p < 0.001) with 87.5% of participants made positive habit changes to their sleep and 100% of participants would recommend the Goodnight Hokies sleep education program to other students. In addition, several of the weekly activities received a 50% positive relation to SDT. Even though 100% of participants would recommend this program to other students the study still had an overall attrition rate of 52.5% with only eight students completing the entire program.
- Determining Sex-specific Differences in Gait Symmetry during Walking and Running in Participants who Have Undergone Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction at the Time of Release to Sport using a Wearable In-Shoe SensorJohnstone, Serena (Virginia Tech, 2024-12-17)Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is something many athletes may experience during their career due to a torn ACL. This study included ACLR athletes after their rehabilitation process, before returning to their sport to assess gait symmetry during walking and running trials using wearable in-shoe sensors to specifically measure average loading rate (ALR), peak impact force (PIF), and impulse symmetry (IMP). This study utilized 40 athletes (20 males and 20 females) from various sports, ages ranging from 14 to 21 years of age with females having 7 right limb and 13 left limb ACLRs, and males having 9 right limb and 11 left limb ACLRs. Females showed higher levels of asymmetry in their limbs that underwent ACLR during both walking and running trials compared to males. Additionally, females showed a tendency to spend less time on their surgical leg when assessing PIF during walking. Conversely, during walking and running trials assessing left limb ACLRs only, females showed higher levels of asymmetry in offloading their weight from their non-surgical limb when assessing PIF and IMP. In addition, females showed higher levels of asymmetry during average loading rates (ALRs) in both walking and running compared to males when assessing right limb ACLRs only. More research into right ACLR to left ACLR differential outcomes between males and females should be conducted in order to validate these findings, since leg dominance can play a role in the initial injury. The use of wearable technology for gait assessment should be implemented in other laboratory settings as it is a valuable and accessible tool for measuring gait symmetry. This data is valuable for any clinician involved in the rehabilitation process for the athlete. In conclusion, females tend to show higher levels of asymmetry in comparison to males after ACLR.
- A Review of Physical Activity Interventions in a Hispanic/Latino Population with Elevated Risk for Type 2 Diabetes MellitusJohn T Murie (Virginia Tech, 2024-06-23)Context: Hispanic/Latino adults are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to non-Hispanic white adults. Regular physical activity can help reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. Standard prevention programs have not shown the same level of effectiveness in the Hispanic/Latino population. Objective: The purpose of this systematized review was to evaluate the recent literature of physical activity interventions in the Hispanic/Latino population that may lead to an increase in physical activity and reduce long-term health risks. Design: A systematized review of recent published articles utilizing physical activity interventions in the Hispanic/Latino community. This included seven articles that were published in the past five years. Eligibility Criteria: Hispanic/Latino adults who have not been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, but who may have certain risk factors such as pre-diabetes or obesity. Study Selection: Sources searched were PUBMED and CINAHL. These sources were searched between December 2023 and February 2024. The search yielded 1,298 citations without duplicates. The inclusion criteria included studies in which the populations were entirely Hispanic or Latino adults, with an intervention that included the promotion of physical activity and was conducted in Spanish. Main Outcome Measures: Increasing physical activity and decreasing risk factors, such as elevated hemoglobin A1c, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and body weight. Results: Most researchers reported an increased engagement in physical activity with their interventions. The approaches to engage participants and the end points varied in the individual studies. Researchers reported significant increases in “leisure walking” (p=0.46) or “brisk walking” (p=0.011), which also resulted in decreased sedentary time. Researchers also reported an increased likelihood of achieving Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physical activity guideline goals of ≥150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous- physical activity per week. After 12 months of a web-based physical activity tool, those meeting the CDC physical activity guidelines logged on significantly more than those who did not meet the guidelines (p=0.002). In addition, some researchers reported significant decreases in mean body weight with increased physical activity (p=0.004). Conclusion: In those studies that were most effective in increasing physical activity, researchers implemented structured use of technology that were customized to the Hispanic/Latino community. Additional studies need to be conducted to evaluate the appropriate level of reach and engagement to increase physical activity in the Hispanic/Latino populations.