Volume 1 | 2011
Volume 1 | 2011
Volume 1 | 2011
3
4
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Oklahoma State University Š Copyright 2011 | Stillwater, OK
Volume 1 | 2011
Foreword
This inaugural volume of the Oklahoma State University
Journal of Undergraduate Research is a testament to the idea that research is integral to the cultivation of creative minds. And the diversity of fields represented here illustrates the pervasive culture of intense inquiry among undergraduates at OSU. The Journal is a project of OSU’s Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Recognition (SDR), which administers
several
extensive
undergraduate
research
programs, and the Office of the Vice President of Research and Technology Transfer (VPRTT), which encourages faculty to extend learning beyond the limits of the classroom. Funding in support of the Journal was generously supplied by the Office of the Provost, SDR, and VPRTT.
The articles included here are drawn from five colleges
on the Stillwater campus: Arts and Sciences; Education; Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; Engineering, Architecture and Technology; and Human Sciences. Articles were selected through a rigorous review process conducted by the dedicated faculty of the Editorial Review Board.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the
realization of this publication, especially Bob Graalman and Gail Gillilan in SDR, for their unfailing support. I sincerely enjoyed working with the students as they developed their projects into highly relevant and readable entries in the scholastic discourse. Tim O’Neil, Editor
5
6
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
7
Editor Tim O’Neil
Editorial Review Board Doren Recker Mihyun Kang Jason Kirksey Jennifer Sanders Karen McBee Satish Bukkapatnam Heather Fahlenkamp Arpita Basu Jeffrey Walker Bob Miller
8
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Volume 1 | 2011
Contents
11
Oklahoma’s Foolish Desire: Race, Politics and the Grandfather Clause By Justin Lollman Sponsoring Program: Lew Wentz Research Award
The Effects of Ultrasonic Sound Waves On
21 Frost Suppression for Microchannel Heat Exchangers By Amelia Wilson Sponsoring Program: Lew Wentz Research Award
Hip Flexor Tightness and Its
31 Influence on Muscle Power and Endurance By Jun Hashiwaki Quantifying the Phosphorous
41 Leaching Potential of Floodplain Soils By Laura Merriman Sponsoring Program: Lew Wentz Research Award
Basalt Grain Distribution in the Cimarron
53 River and Tributaries (Cimarron Co., OK) By Sloan Anderson
63
The Effects of Green Tea Flavonoid Supplementation on Body Weight, Fasting Glucose And Lipids in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome By Morgan Kinsey Sponsoring Program: Freshman Research Scholars
9
Volume 1 | 2011
11
Oklahoma’s Foolish Desire: Race, Politics, and the Grandfather Clause By Justin Lollman For the past few semesters Justin has been meeting with me in my office and working on research on the South and racial politics. While I met with Justin weekly, he did most of the work on his own initiative. We would “kick” ideas around and then he would return a week later having read and researched the kinds of ideas we discussed. While I sometimes directed him in a certain direction, he did the work and most of the original ideas are his. Justin was great to work with since he has a great deal of discipline and seemingly endless energy. Justin’s research is important to Oklahoma history and to race relations in the U.S. in general.
Danny Atkinson,
Political Science
Adopted in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment granted African
Americans the right to vote—or at least that was the goal.
In
reality, it took another 100 years of court cases, protests, and federal legislation to fully bring the amendment into effect. During this time, states employed a variety of strategies for denying black citizens access to the ballot box. Few of these strategies operated more effectively than the grandfather clause, one of the South’s
12
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
most severe disenfranchisement mechanisms. All of the states that adopted the grandfather clause had sizable black populations, except one—Oklahoma. The sixth and final state to implement the measure, Oklahoma’s population was only eight percent black. For the other five states in this category, this number ranged from 32 to 45 percent. Further complicating this situation, the wording of Oklahoma’s grandfather clause was the most austere and patently discriminatory of any of the states in this category. This paper explores the circumstances surrounding Oklahoma’s enactment of the grandfather clause in order to explain the many peculiarities of its adoption. By examining the legislative and political history behind this measure, I intend to show that
Oklahoma’s adoption of the
grandfather clause was not motivated out of political necessity, but rather a desire to make the overt
statement that Oklahoma was a
white man’s state—a state of the South.
Pioneered by Louisiana in 1898, the grandfather clause spread
throughout the South, quickly adopted by North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Oklahoma (Klarman 69). The measure operated by exempting individuals whose ancestors were allowed to vote prior to a certain date from having to meet additional voter registration requirements—often poll taxes or literacy tests. The date in question was always set at a time prior to the passage of the 15th amendment, thereby making the exemption inapplicable to African Americans. The process by which Oklahoma came to adopt the grandfather clause started approximately 16 months after the state’s admission into the Union.
Introduced during the 2nd Legislature, Senate Concurrent
Resolution No. 31 called for a referendum amending the state constitution to include the following provision: No person, shall be registered as an elector of this state or be allowed to vote in any election held herein, unless he be able to read and write any section of the constitution of the State of Oklahoma; but no person who was on January 1, 1866 or at any time prior thereto entitled to vote under any form of government, or who at that time resided in some foreign nation and no lineal decedent of such person shall be denied the right to register and vote because of his inability to read and write sections of such Constitution. (Tolson 141)
Voting largely along uneven party lines, the resolution passed both legislative houses by a margin of approximately two to one
Volume 1 | 2011
13
(House Journal 738; Senate Journal 635). Approved by Oklahoma voters on August 2nd 1910, the proposed amendment, entitled State Question No. 17, effectively disenfranchised approximately 138,000 black Oklahomans (Tolson 144).
Oklahoma’s version of the grandfather clause was more
extreme than any of its predecessors. In every other state, this clause was not permanent, but rather extended for a short period of time in order for the state to establish a sizable registry of white voters. After the provisions expired, all unregistered voters, both white and black alike, were subject to the same requirements and qualifications. These states were essentially willing to sacrifice the voting rights of many whites citizens in order to purge blacks from the state’s electorate. Oklahoma, however, offered no such compromise. The state’s grandfather clause included no expiration date, but rather was intended to be a permanent fixture in the state’s organic law (Simkins 358).
From its inception, the constitutionality of the grandfather
clause was clearly questionable—a risk that deterred many states from adopting the measure. Likewise, this uncertainty caused those states that ultimately did enact the grandfather clause to craft the measure with a certain degree of modesty. For this reason, these states limited the clause from exempting all whites from the state’s election requirements. Immigrants, for example, traditionally received little if no opportunity to qualify for exemption under a state’s grandfather clause. Moreover, some states, namely those with grandfather clauses based on military service, reserved the defense that at least some blacks were eligible for the exemption. This approach at the very least allowed these states to maintain some defense that the law was not wholly discriminatory. Oklahoma’s grandfather clause, however, reserved no such defense. The state legislature did not tread lightly on the question of constitutionality, but rather crafted a measure that without reservation was unequivocally racially discriminatory. The state’s grandfather clause ensured that all whites and absolutely no blacks were eligible for exemption from the state’s voter registration requirements. The wording of Oklahoma’s grandfather clause even provided an exemption for immigrants. Traditionally, the grandfather clause was based on qualifications relative to the United States—e.g.
14
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
“entitled to vote under the Constitution or statutes of any State of the United States, wherein he then resided” (Louisiana Constitution, art. 197, sec. 5). Oklahoma’s grandfather clause, however, applied to any individual who “was on January 1, 1866 or at any time prior thereto entitled to vote under any form of government” (Tolson 141).
No
other state would go to such lengths to ensure that their grandfather clause offered protection to all whites and absolutely no blacks.
Oklahoma’s attempt at making the grandfather clause permanent, referred to by one Southern historian as “Oklahoma’s foolish desire,” garnered the attention of the federal government (Simkins 358). In 1915, the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Guinn v. United States unanimously declared the provision unconstitutional. Delivering the opinion of the Court, Chief Justice White, a Democrat and Southerner from Louisiana, declared: “We have difficulty in finding words to more clearly demonstrate the conviction we entertain that this standard has the characteristics which the Government attributes to it [violating the 15th Amendment] than does the mere statement of the text.” Oklahoma’s disregard for the Fifteenth Amendment essentially left the Court at a loss for words. The state’s defense was reduced to the objection that the grandfather clause did not explicitly make reference to race, color, or previous servitude—an argument that even the bench’s Southerners refused to accept. The court’s repudiation of Oklahoma’s grandfather clause was historic as it marked the first time that the Fifteenth Amendment was used to strike down a state’s discriminatory election machinery (Goble 289).
It is difficult to understand why a state with an eight
percent black population would feel it necessary to enact a grandfather clause, much less the most extreme grandfather clause in the country. In every other state, the grandfather clause was the result of political necessity—representing the difference between Democratic control versus GOP control. The same, however, cannot be said for Oklahoma. At the time the measure was introduced, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a margin of more than two to one in both houses of the state legislature (Session Laws 673-76). Additionally, had Democrats truly felt threatened, they could have relied on measures less stringent—and arguably more constitutional— than the grandfather clause. Tennessee and Arkansas for example,
Volume 1 | 2011
15
both states with larger black populations, relied on measures far milder than the grandfather clause. Often states with fifteen to thirty percent black populations employed strategies designed to complicate the voting process rather than policies intended to inhibit voter registration. While these states did enact poll taxes, their taxes, unlike those found in the parts of the Deep South, were relatively inexpensive and noncumulative, meaning that a prospective voter was not required to pay all past, unpaid poll taxes before he could register (Perman 48-59). These states recognized that the circumstances they faced did not require expansive reforms. Rather, they could achieve their objectives by simply discouraging blacks from voting or disqualifying improperly cast ballots. Had Oklahoma’s intentions been purely political, simply a desire to maintain white, Democratic Party dominance, the state easily could have adopted the policies employed in Arkansas or Tennessee. For all intents and purposes, this approach would have met the basic political needs of the state’s Democratic Party, without unduly provoking the attention of the Supreme Court.
In rejecting this strategy, Oklahoma instead
adopted the policies of the Deep South—a decision that five years later launched the state to the forefront of a legal controversy as the standard-bearer for Southern disenfranchisement policies.
Oklahoma’s decision to enact a measure as stringent and
far-reaching as the grandfather clause cannot be explained by political motivations alone. Rather, this decision was in large part a deliberate effort on behalf of the state’s Democratic Party to reshape Oklahoma both politically and socially in the image of the South. The measure was intended to send the clear message, not only to African Americans but the country at large, that Oklahoma was a white man’s state. Just weeks before the state was set to vote on the measure, The Daily Oklahoman, the unofficial organ of the state’s Democratic Party, gave voice to this message, stating: “The truth is, the day is here when the ‘grandfather clause’ is as essential in Oklahoma to insure the political domination of the white race, as well as the potentiality of intelligence in political affairs, as in South Carolina or Mississippi” (Stafford 6). Democrats maintained that Oklahoma encountered the same conditions and difficulties found in the Deep South, going as far as to put the state on par with majority black
16
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
states. This Democratic rhetoric in no way reflected the prevailing conditions in the state, but rather served as an attempt to foster the impression that Oklahoma was in fact a Southern state.
The
idea that Oklahoma’s future depended on legally institutionalizing the dominance of the white race was pervasive throughout the politics of early statehood. The following quote by then gubernatorial candidate Charles Haskell perhaps best demonstrates this belief: “If we want our state to fulfill the promise of her possibilities, we must see to it that it is a white man’s state” (Stafford 2).
While the reasoning above explains why Oklahoma adopted
the grandfather clause over other measures, it does not account for the state’s decision to draft the most extreme, far-reaching grandfather clause in the country. Though such an explanation seems rational, a closer analysis suggests this development was in fact a necessary outcome of the state’s low black population. In every other state in this category, blacks represented a sizable portion of the state’s electorate, anywhere from thirty to forty-five percent. This voting strength represented a very real threat to the Democratic Party in these states. Consequently, white voters were willing to support measures that would disadvantage certain members of their race, namely immigrants and future generations, provided that these measures would firmly institute and maintain white supremacy in the state’s political system. In Oklahoma, black voting strength was more of a menace than a serious threat. While state Democrats certainly stood to benefit from black disenfranchisement, the party’s continued success was not conditional upon it. Under these circumstances, it stands to reason that white Oklahomans would be reluctant to support a measure that in years to come would likely disenfranchise large numbers of their race, simply to eliminate a small black voting bloc from the state’s electorate. The Oklahoma Legislature’s decision to make the grandfather clause permanent as well as applicable to immigrants was likely in recognition of these circumstances.
Oklahoma’s adoption of the grandfather clause was not the
first time that the state used legislative action to send a message to African Americans. During the 1st Legislature, Democrats implemented a meticulous system of legal segregation—segregation that much like the grandfather clause was unwarranted from the
Volume 1 | 2011
17
standpoint of demographics (see Table 1). No other state with a percent black population in the single digits even came close to the expansive system of Jim Crow seen in Oklahoma. Moreover, these laws served little practical purpose, as much of the state was already de-facto segregated.
Oklahoma’s drive to adopt such extreme race legislation
can be traced back to the state’s demographics. The admission of Oklahoma as the Union’s 46th state drew together two distinct and wildly divergent populations. Settled by a series of land-runs, Oklahoma Territory was populated largely by Midwesterners. Its laws were based on the statutes of Nebraska, and its politics were overwhelmingly Republican. Under the leadership of the GOP—at the time considered the party of racial progress—Oklahoma Territory afforded African Americans unprecedented political and economic opportunities. Conversely, Indian Territory was populated largely by Southerners. Its laws were premised on a modified form of Arkansas’ statutes, and its politics were strongly Democratic (U.S. Cong. 27). With the merger of these territories in 1907, the social ideologies and customs of Indian Territory became a prevailing aspect of the state’s broader collective identity. Over time these influences established a new basis for state race relations, thus pushing Oklahoma politics in a decidedly Southern direction.
Ultimately, the state’s Southern
Democrats were more passionate about adopting Jim Crow than Republicans were for the reverse.
One would expect Oklahoma’s unique cultural demographics
to serve as a barrier to the adoption of Jim Crow. Unlike its neighbors to the South, Oklahoma was not a bi-racial state. The presence of a large American Indian population complicated Oklahoma race relations in ways that few Southern states ever experienced. Historians often cite this tri-racial heritage as a factor that distinguished Oklahoma race relations from that of the South. Culturally speaking this distinction is valid. Oklahoma’s unique demographic composition was certainly unlike anything found in the states of the South. Politically, however, Oklahoma, under the constitution of 1907, was a bi-racial state. The framers of Oklahoma’s Constitution not only adopted the most extreme definition of race available, but also constructed that definition in such a fashion as to make race a dichotomous
18
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
distinction. Article 23, Section 11 of the state constitution provided the following definition of race: “Wherever in this Constitution and laws of this State, the word or words, ‘colored’ or ‘colored race,’ ‘negro’ or ‘negro race,’ are used, the same shall be construed to mean or apply to all persons of African descent. The term ‘white race’ shall include all other persons.” Under this provision, race was solely a question of black versus white. The white race did not receive a positive definition, but rather was defined by what it was not. Therefore, under Oklahoma law, American Indians, Asians, Latinos, and conceivably all other races of non-African descent were considered white, thus making Oklahoma a bi-racial state.
As this paper has shown, Oklahoma’s adoption of the
grandfather clause was not predicated on political motivations. Nothing about the state’s demographics warranted such draconian measures. By institutionalizing their beliefs on race, the state legislature was essentially using its position of power as a platform for espousing a message of racial hatred—that message: Oklahoma is a white man’s state, a state of the South.
Volume 1 | 2011
19
Table 1. State Laws Concerning Race (U.S. Census Bureau; Murray; Myrdal 1072)
State 1 2 3 4
MS SC GA LA
5 6 7 8
AL FL VA NC
Percent Black Population 1910 56.2
C
C
X
Jim Crow Street Cars X
55.2 45.1 43.1 42.5
C X X X
C C C C
X X X X
X X X X
X X X X
X
41 32.6 31.6 28.5
C X C
C C C X
X X X
X X X
X X X
X
28.1 21.7 17.9
X C X
X C C
X X X
X X X
X
X
X X
17.1
X
C
X
X
X
X
X
15.4 11.4 8.3 5.3 4.8 3.5 3.2
X X X X X
C C C C C
X X
X
X
X
AntiMiscegenation
9 10 11
D.C. AR TN
12
MD
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
TX DE KY OK WV MO NJ
20 21
KS PA
22 23 24
OH IN IL
2.2 1.9
25
RI
1.8
26 27
NY WY
1.5 1.5
28
CO
1.4
29
CT
1.4
30
MA
1.1
31 32
AZ CA
1 0.9
33
NV
0.6
34
MI
0.6
35 36 37 38
IA NE WA NM
0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5
39
MT
0.5
40
VT
0.5
41 42
MN UT
0.3 0.3
43
OR
0.2
X
44
ID
0.2
X
45
ME
0.2
46
ND
0.1
X
47 48 49
SD NH WI
0.1 0.1 0.1
X
School Segregation
Jim Crow RxR
Jim Crow Buses X
Jim Crow Waiting Rooms X
X X
X
OP
2.5 2.3 X
X
X X
OP
X
OP
X X
X OP X
X
C= by Constitution or Constitutional Amendment OP= Optional by district in accordance with certain circumstances * Maryland adopted a form of the grandfather clause that was applicable only in municipal elections
White Primary
Understanding Clause
X
C
X X X X
C
X X X
Grandfather Clause
C C C C C
*
C
20
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Bibliography Goble, Danney. “The Southern Influence on Oklahoma.” An Oklahoma I Had Never Seen Before: Alternative Views of Oklahoma History. Ed. Davis D. Joyce. Norman: Oklahoma UP, 1994. 280-301. Guinn v. United States. No. 238-347. Supreme Ct. of the US. 21 June 1915. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Second State Legislature of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma State House of Representatives, 1909. Journal of the Senate of the Regular Session of the Second State Legislature of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma State Senate, 1909. Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Louisiana Constitution of 1898. Murray, Pauli. State Laws on Race and Color. Athens: Georgia UP, 1951. Myrdal, Gunnar. An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1944. Oklahoma Constitution of 1907, art. 23, sec. 11. Perman, Michael. Struggle for Mastery: Disenfranchisement in the South 1888-1908. Chapel Hill: North Carolina UP, 2001. Tolson, Arthur. The Negro in Oklahoma Territory: 1889-1907. Norman: Oklahoma UP, 1966. Simkins, Francis. A History of the South. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953. Stafford, Roy E. “Haskell on the Negro Question.” The Daily Oklahoman 16 September 1907: 2. Stafford, Roy E. “The Negro in Politics.” The Daily Oklahoman 7 July 1910: 6. State of Oklahoma: Session Laws of 1909. Oklahoma City: State of Oklahoma, 1909 United States Census Bureau. Race for the United States, Regions, Divisions, and States: 1910. Washington: US Census Bureau, 1910. United States. Cong. House. Committee on Territories. “Testimony of Robert L. Owens.” United States Congressional Hearing on Territories. 29 March 1904.
Volume 1 | 2011
21
The Effects of Ultrasonic Sound Waves on Frost Suppression for Microchannel Heat Exchangers By Amelia Wilson Amelia conducted the entire work required for this project diligently and meticulously. She designed, constructed, and calibrated the test apparatus and conducted the measurements and the data reduction. The scientific and technical contributions of Amelia’s work are, in my opinion, outstanding. And the quality of her paper is highly admirable.
Lorenzo Cremaschi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Heat pumps have been used in commercial and residential
buildings as well as in the aerospace industry since the 1950s. The most enticing reason to use an air-source heat pump is that it delivers high performance energy efficiency at a low cost. Today’s heat pumps function on roughly one-fourth of the electrical power consumed by conventional electric air heaters (Department of Energy 2001). Heat pump systems are relatively inexpensive and more reliable than traditional systems because they have fewer moving parts.
22
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
The newest generation of heat pump systems under industry
consideration include microchannel technologies. An air-source heat pump consists of a compressor and two coils filled with refrigerant. In this type of heat exchanger, refrigerant flows through small hollow tubes called microchannels. The refrigerant enters the microchannels as a liquid. As heat is transferred from the air to the refrigerant, the refrigerant in the tubes evaporates and exits as vapor. Figure 1 shows a section of an outdoor coil made of vertical microchannel tubes with
folded
aluminum
louvered
fins.
Heat
exchange takes place mainly
between
the
aluminum fins and the air.
The
refrigerant
Aluminum Louvered Fins
within the microchannel
Refrigerant Tube
tubes drives the heat exchange
process:
refrigerant is at a much
Figure 1: Microchannel Close-up
lower temperature than the air so it absorbs heat. The installed fins increase the heat transfer area which increases efficiency.
In cold seasons outdoor temperatures often fall near the
freezing point: - 5 to 100 C. To maintain the heat transfer process in the outdoor coil, refrigerant inside the tubes must remain below the air temperature. If the fin surface temperature dips below freezing, frost will form. Frost accumulates on the surface of the fins, blocks air flow and creates thermal resistance on the heat path. These factors lower the overall efficiency of the heat pump. Ultimately frost must be melted away, which means interrupting the heating service of the unit, defrosting the outdoor coil, melting the frost, draining the water, and finally resuming the heating service. The defrost cycle is achieved by flushing hot refrigerant vapor in the microchannel tubes or by heating the microchannels with an electric heater. The current strategies for defrosting are inefficient in terms of energy, time, and cost paid by end users. In order to make heat pumps a viable source of heating in cold seasons, it is crucial that a less intrusive defrosting strategy be found. The outdoor coil is the focus of this work because it impacts the heat pump energy performance the most. It rapidly
Volume 1 | 2011
23
frosts and builds up ice when the outside air temperature approaches the freezing point.
One approach to the problem of front accumulation is ultrasonic destruction, which employs sound frequencies above human hearing: 15 kHz to 20 kHz (Chow 2005). Ultrasonic destruction has been shown effective on crystalline structures, such as frost. For example, ultrasonic destruction is used in the aerospace industry to defrost helicopter blades and airplane wings (Ramanathan 2005). The theory behind frost prevention and destruction lies in the science of crystalline structures. Crystals can be broken down in the process of cavitation—that is, the formation of gas bubbles—because they lose strength with the introduction of air (Adaci 2003). Cavitation is generally a serious concern in pumps. However, for this experiment, cavitation is highly desirable. Ultrasonic sound waves help cavitate the crystalline structures of frost due to the relatively high pressure they create, which can break up accumulated frost (Chow 2005).
Although ultrasonic destruction is a recognized method
to induce cavitation, there are few studies that examine ultrasonic destruction as a frost suppression method in the heating industry regarding microchannels. This work pioneers the use of ultrasonic destruction on heat pump technology. Because frost suppression using ultrasonic waves is a complex heat and mass transfer process, and given the intricate geometry of the microchannel fins, a theoretical approach might be possible but would require several simplifying assumptions that would make the solution unrealistic.
Numerical
approaches on simplified geometries would require computational fluid dynamics (computer methods of solving problems involving complex fluid flow) codes to handle phase change processes under high intensity pressure waves. Such numerical codes would be time consuming to develop and may have ultimately been too inaccurate to be reliable in engineering designs.
For testing the hypothesis that ultrasonic waves effect frost
melting time of microchannel fins, a proof-of-concept laboratory experiment was designed and conducted to observe the effects of ultrasonic sound waves on frost melting on the fins of microchannel heat exchangers. The theory of vibration frequency of resonance for a solid structure was used. In this case, the structure was a small
24
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
layer of frost on a fin. The specific objective of this work was to measure the reduction of the time required to melt completely the frost when ultrasonic sound waves were applied to the front of the fins compared to the case for which the same fins were subjected to similar thermal conditions but without sound waves. An experimental parametric study was also conducted by varying the frequency of the ultrasonic waves applied to the fins under frosting conditions in order to find the approximate frequency for maximum frost destruction and identify trends of frost melting time versus the frequency of the sounds waves.
As seen in Figure 2, a sample of microchannel coil with folded
louvered fins was set in a controlled environment in the testing lab. Frosting conditions were created for the microchannel sample using a small wind tunnel, a cold sink and a small fan. Room temperature air at a constant 150 C was circulated over the samples, which were kept near -10 C. A 20 cm diameter fan was placed at the open end of the tunnel. There were two 3.8 cm diameter holes—one on each side for proper air circulation. A 2.5 cm x 7 cm slot was cut on the back
right of the tunnel to provide a small opening for the tweeter speaker. Before the test, microchannel samples were dipped in water in order to cover the front half of the sample. The samples
Camera
Observation
35 cm
Figure 2: Tunnel Setup
30 cm
Volume 1 | 2011
25
were frozen for ten minutes—enough for a thin layer of ice to form. A thin layer of ice was the best representation of frost. The water used to saturate the samples was colored with blue food dye to more easily see the amount of frost on the sample. In the tunnel, the samples were placed in 500 mL plastic cups filled with 400 g of ice and 100 g rock salt (isometric crystals of sodium chloride). The solution kept the samples cold near -10 C during the tests and avoided immediate melting of the frost when placed in the tunnel at room temperature. The two samples were placed in the tunnel sideby-side during testing. The side of the microchannel that had been frosted was placed closest to the tweeter.
A small-scale wind tunnel was needed for these tests to
replicate a frosting environment. The frost tunnel shown in Figure 2 replicated an outdoor environment. The main tunnel was formed using a three-gallon, four-sided, clear glass container. The angled sides of the container helped channel the airflow directly to the microchannel samples. Holes were cut in the tunnel to provide air outlets and a place for the tweeter. A small shelf was built within the tunnel on which the microchannel cups were placed. The entire wind tunnel was supported on an incline to ensure that the back of the tunnel was vertical; this way, the tweeter was vertical while in use during the tests.
To measure the effect of ultrasonic sound waves on frost
destruction on microchannel heat exchangers, several photos were taken in sequence every three minutes throughout the test. An SLR digital camera was used with the macro setting to collect as much geometric detail as possible. The images were then analyzed to determine the amount of the frost remaining on the sample. The camera was mounted on the front of the tunnel at about 30 cm from the front side of the microchannel fin sample, which was Table 1: Test Results - Average Melt Time of Tweeted Samples
Frequency, kHz
Melt Time M:SS
Percent Decrease Respect to Baseline
Standard Deviation
0
7:30
--
1.33
20
7:20
3.77%
1.37
40
6:00
20.0%
1.34
60
6:20
16.6%
1.36
26
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
positioned directly behind the fan. The tests were timed from entry into the tunnel until all the blue ice (frost) was gone from the sample. A chronometer was used to time the frost melting period. Timing was recorded to the nearest quarter minute to account for transit time. Digital images were taken on the opposite samples to observe the difference between the two samples for the frost residue on the fins. The images were taken from the side of the sample that was exposed to the ultrasound. During the test, the samples were observed from the side closest to the tweeter.
Ultrasonic frequency sound waves were produced with
the use of a function generator and a ribbon tweeter. The function generator output was wired into the audio input of the tweeter. This arrangement allowed the tweeter to act as a speaker for the ultrasonic frequency. A BK Precision 3011B 2MHz Function Generator was utilized to produce the ultrasonic frequency. An Aurum Cantus G2 Ribbon Tweeter was used for frequency output. The tweeter output frequencies up to 60 kHz and pressures of up to 96 decibels (dB) with the function generator at maximum output. The tweeter was kept at a constant 12.5 cm from the sample. The tweeter was placed on top ofFrost a shelf to align it with the slot in theFrost tunnel. The combination
of ultrasonic frequencies with a high decibel level created a pressure wave that altered the crystalline structure of the frost as it melted Figure 4: 60 kHz Tweeted (Left) and Untweeted (Right) at 3 minutes
from the microchannel fin sample.
No Frost Figure 3: 40 kHz Tweeter (Left) - Untweeted (Right)
Frost
Volume 1 | 2011
Frost
27
Frost
Figure 4: 60 kHz Tweeted (Left) and Untweeted (Right) at 3 minutes
Producing an approximately 40kHz sound wave was determined to be the optimal frequency for cavitation, because it was found to be near the estimated resonant frequency for the geometry of the fin with frost. Similar experiments have also found the resonant frequency of similar materials with frost growing to be around 40 kHz. These experiments aim to show if the application of ultrasonic frequencies affect the melting of frost from metal surfaces. They conclude that if the frequency is too low, nothing will occur. If the frequency is too high, the fins of the microchannel may be permanently damaged.
The output of the tweeter/generator setup was calibrated
to a standard tuning pitch of 440 Hz using a musical tuner.
A
preliminary tweeter setup in place No Frost test was conducted with the Frost but completely powered down to calibrate the test procedure. The calibration test showed that frost begins to melt almost immediately. Figure 3: 40 kHz Tweeter (Left) - Untweeted (Right)
The microchannel is fully defrosted in approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Each test lasted six to eight minutes—that is, until the frost on the microchannel fully melted. Full melt was determined when all of the blue frost was no longer visible between the fins of the microchannel. Room temperature during testing was 150 C, the lab’s relative humidity was 50%, and the barometric pressure outside was 1030 mb of Hg. With the application of ultrasonic frequencies at 20kHz, 40kHz, and 60kHz there were distinct changes from the control tests. The percent
28
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
reduction of melt time was calculated by comparing the average melt time to the average control test. The average was computed using all runs of the test at that frequency.
Three families of tests were conducted by setting the
ultrasonic waves to a low, medium, and high frequency. First, let the word ‘untweeted’ be introduced to mean the sample that did not see an application of ultrasonic waves. At 20 kHz, the ice on the two samples, tweeted and untweeted, defrosted at nearly the same rate. At 3 minutes, each had defrosted approximately 60%, and then both were fully defrosted at around 7:30. The average reduction in melt time is 3.77%.
At 40 kHz the defrosting patterns were drastically
different. As seen in Figure 3, at three minutes, the tweeted sample was about 85% defrosted while the untweeted sample was 60% defrosted. This figure shows the sample at 40 kHz melted 20% faster than those at 20 kHz.
As seen in Figure 4, the samples melted at a
different rate than the 40 kHz samples. The melting rate was more gradual than 40 kHz. The samples at 60 kHz showed a reduction in melt time of 16.6%, which reduced the average melt time to 6:20.
The overall aim of this study is to improve the energy
efficiency of air-source heat pump systems during heating seasons by examining the efficacy of using ultrasonic sound waves to suppress frost accumulation on microchannel tubes. An increase in efficiency at this level could result in large-scale adoption of airsource heat pump systems across cooler climates and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. The work presented here pioneers a new frost suppression method using ultrasonic frequencies for microchannel heat exchangers wherein the application of ultrasonic frequencies near the resonant frequency of an aluminum louvered fin of microchannel heat exchangers shows a marked effect on the melting time of the frost, leading to 20% reduction in the defrost cycle. This reduction translates to less power consumption and thus higher energy efficiency. Further simulation and experiments are needed to determine how this technology can now be applied to complete heat pump units.
Volume 1 | 2011
29
Bibliography Adachi, Kazunari et al. “Ultrasonic Frost Suppression.” Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 42.3 (2003): 682-85. Ashley, M.J. “Preventing Deposition on Heat Exchange Surfaces with Ultrasound.” Ultrasonics 12.5 (1974): 215-21. Chow, R. et al. “A Study on the Primary and Secondary Nucleation of Ice by Power Ultrasound.” Ultrasonics 43.4 (2005): 227-30. Herold, K.E. et al. Absorption Chillers and Heat Pumps. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1996. Oh, Y.K. et al. “A Study of the Effect of Ultrasonic Vibrations on Phase-Change Heat Transfer.” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 45.23 (2002): 431-41. Ramanathan, Srinivasan et al. “Deicing of Helicopter Blades Using Piezoelectric Actuators.” Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Smart Electronics and MEMS 2005: 281-91. United States Department of Energy. Air Source Heat Pumps. Washington D.C.: US Dept. of Energy, 2001.
Volume 1 | 2011
31
Hip Flexor Tightness and Its Influence on Muscle Power and Endurance By Jun Hashiwaki By taking the initiative and completing this study as an undergraduate, Jun showed that he is a dedicated student not afraid to take intelligent risks. After carefully learning how to use the lab equipment and conducting a thorough literature review, Jun spent over thirty hours in the lab collecting data to study how and why athletes and patients suffer from low back pain as a result of hip flexor tightness. Jun’s study may be the first step in understanding why this pain may be linked to hip flexor tightness, and, as a result, health care professionals may be able to use this information when they rehabilitate injured patients.
Blaine Long, Health and Human Performance
In clinical settings hip flexor tightness is a commonly
observed condition, which occurs when hip flexion muscles at rest are shorter than normal and cannot be stretched to their normal length, resulting in a loss of hip extension range of motion (ROM). To determine if patients test positively for hip flexor tightness, practitioners often use the modified Thomas test—a test in which one-joint and two-joint hip flexors can be assessed (Clapis 137;
32
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Ferber 344; Gabbe 92; Winters 803). Previous investigators, who have incorporated this test into practice, have reported that a positive test occurs when patients are unable to extend their hips to a neutral position (one-joint involvement) or when they are unable to flex their knees to at least 800 (two-joint involvement) (Jull 261). When assessing one-joint involvement in patients with hip flexor tightness, it is suggested that the primary muscle group involved is iliopsoas (Kendall 376). Any tightness in the iliopsoas muscle group may cause weakness of
gluteal muscles, resulting in a muscle imbalance of the
lumbo-pelvic complex—a condition commonly referred to as Lower Crossed Syndrome (LCS). Although the concept of LCS is broadly accepted, there are limited data to suggest that hip flexor tightness influences weakness in the gluteal muscles. It is also unknown if muscle weakness due to reciprocal activity influences muscle power or endurance. The purpose of this study is to examine muscle power or endurance in the hip flexor and extensor muscles of patients who
were positively diagnosed with a modified Thomas test. A 2×2×2 laboratory controlled experiment guided data collection for this study. The independent variables were hip flexor tightness (tight and non-tight), leg (dominant and non-dominant), and isokinetic dynamometer speed (60°/s and 180°/s). The dependent variables were hip flexion and extension peak torque, hip flexion and extension peak torque per body weight, and hip flexion and extension total work. Thirty-two healthy subjects participated in this study. Prior to participation, each subject completed a health history questionnaire and gave written informed consent. Subjects were excluded if they reported any injuries to the spine or lower extremity in the last 12 months, loss of sensation or muscle function in either leg or the lower back region, or low back pain. This study employed a baseline bubble inclinometer (Fabrication Enterprises Inc., White Plains, NY) to
determine
if
subjects
met
the inclusion criteria.
Table 1. Demographic data of subjects (mean ± SD) Male (n = 11) Female (n = 21) Age (yrs) 21.64 ± 1.80 20.86 ± 3.47 Height (cm) 174.80 ± 13.38 161.59 ± 11.00 Weight (kg) 74.54 ± 12.86 60.88 ± 8.89
Volume 1 | 2011
33
Subjects then performed a warm-up on a cycle ergometer (Monark, Sweden) at 2 kp for 5 minutes. To assess hip flexion and extension peak torque and total work, researchers used the Biodex System 4 isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical System Inc., Shirley, NY). And the ROM on the Biodex was set at 00 of hip extension to 900 of hip flexion.
Subjects reported to the testing center at approximately
the same time on two consecutive days. Each subject’s lower extremity was assessed for hip flexor tightness using the modified Thomas test. To perform the test, subjects laid supine with both knees fully flexed against their chest with their buttocks near the edge of a padded table. Subjects lowered their involved leg until the leg was fully relaxed while also holding the uninvolved leg against their chest. Hip angle was measured with the bubble inclinometer placed on the midpoint between the anterior superior iliac spine and the top of the patella (see Figure 1). Hip flexion ROM equal to and greater than 00 was considered tight (experimental group) and less than 00 was considered non-tight (control group).
Figure 1. Patient positioning for the modified Thomas test to determine each subject’s level of hip flexor tightness
34
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Figure 2. Subject positioning on the Biodex isokinetic dynamometer
Subjects warmed up on the stationary cycle ergometer
for 5 minutes where pedal cadence was set at 2 kp. Immediately after the warm-up, subjects were positioned supine on the Biodex isokinetic dynamometer chair to assess concentric muscular output of hip flexors and extensors. The axis of rotation was aligned with the greater trochanter and the dynamometer arm was fixed on the back of the subject’s leg just superior to the knee. To prevent accessory movement, the pelvis, trunk, and opposite thigh were secured with straps (see Figure 2). To ensure consistency within and between subjects, the chair position was standardized with the height of the dynamometer and the length of the arm allowing maximum hip movement. Subjects then underwent the familiarization session consisting of 5 submaximal repetitions at each test speed: 60°/s (power) and 180°/s (endurance).
Testing began immediately after
the familiarization session. The order of test speed and extremity were randomized and counterbalanced. Day One consisted of either 1 set of 5 repetitions at the 60°/s or 1 set of 25 repetitions at the 180°/s speed. Day Two was the same test protocol at the opposite speed.
The research team calculated the means and standard
deviations for subjects who presented with tight and non-tight hip flexors. Averages for each subject’s level of tightness were then
Volume 1 | 2011
35
determined at each speed (60°/s or 180°/s). Data did not meet the assumption for parametric statistics. The study team, therefore, organized all data into blocks (tight and non-tight) and ranked them. The team, then, used Friedman’s two-way ANOVA by ranking to examine flexion and extension peak torque with and without correcting for body weight and total work. Rankings were determined
for level of tightness observed in both extremities. Subjects
who
presented
with
hip
flexor
tightness
experienced greater peak flexion (F1,120=5.85, P=0.02, see Table 2) and extension torque (F1,120=3.76, P=0.05, see Table 2). Both flexion and extension peak torques were greater at 60°/s than 180°/s (flexion: F1,120=14.42, P=0.001; extension: F1,120=4.26, P=0.04, see Table 1). When correcting for body weight, hip flexor tightness resulted in greater flexion torque (F1,120=7.09, P=0.009, see Table 3) but not extension torque (F1,120=2.60, P=0.11, see Table 3). There was also no difference in leg dominance (flexion: F1,120=0.61, P=0.44; extension: F1,120=0.01, P=0.95). Total work was greater at 180°/s than 60°/s (flexion: F1,120=29.34, P=0.001; extension: F1,120=6.72, P=0.01, see Table 4). Hip flexor tightness and leg dominance did not affect total work (P>0.05). Hip flexor tightness ranged from 0° to 10°.
Table 2. Hip flexion and extension peak torque (n= 32 subjects; mean ± SD, Nm) Tight* Peak Torque Non-tight Flexion 60°/s 89.29 ± 28.04† 103.86 ± 33.01† 180°/s 74.98 ± 21.25 81.76 ± 25.62 Extension 60°/s 102.68 ± 33.99† 117.78 ± 38.07† 180°/s 89.81 ± 30.21 105.98 ± 41.53 * Non-tight group < Tight group (P<0.05) † 60°/s > 180°/s (P<0.05)
36
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Table 3. Hip flexion and extension peak torque corrected for body weight (n= 32 subjects; mean ± SD, Nm/kg) Peak Torque Non-tight Tight Flexion 60°/s 137.08 ± 29.68† 152.68 ± 41.13*† 180°/s 115.26 ± 21.91 119.65 ± 30.04* Extension 60°/s 159.62 ± 48.21† 173.49 ± 49.02† 180°/s 137.68 ± 33.15 155.55 ± 55.39 * Non-tight group < Tight group (P<0.05) † 60°/s > 180°/s (P<0.05)
Table 4. Hip flexion and extension total work (n= 32 subjects; mean ± SD, Nm) Peak Torque Non-tight Tight Flexion 60°/s 436.46 ± 154.48 504.15 ± 157.25 180°/s 1533.71 ± 475.34* 1638.15 ± 615.13* Extension 60°/s 478.39 ± 171.47 180°/s 1739.22 ± 751.41* * 60°/s < 180°/s (P<0.05)
577.13 ± 191.78 1882.38 ± 902.74*
The goal of this study was to examine the influence of hip flexor
tightness on power and endurance of the hip flexor and extensor muscles. And the data showed that hip flexor tightness increased hip flexion and extension peak torque but did not have an effect on either hip flexion or extension total work. When correcting for body weight, hip flexor tightness increased hip flexion but not extension peak torque. The outcome that hip flexor tightness increased hip flexion peak torque might be explained by three contributing factors: motor unit recruitment; the relationship amongst muscle tightness,
stiffness and strength; or synergistic muscle activity. Given that muscle tightness alters the neural irritability threshold, one could expect an increase in motor unit recruitment (Norris 128). Potential causes that may contribute to this threshold change include limbic system activation, muscle spasms, or adaptive shortening (Page 50). Muscle tightness does increase activity in the
Volume 1 | 2011
37
limbic system, an area known to be involved is stress, fatigue, pain and emotion (Umphred 22). Muscle spasms cause altered movement patterns or changes in joint position resulting from altered movement or tension (Mense 256). And adaptive shortening occurs when the muscle remains in a shortened position over time, causing a moderate decrease in muscle length due to a reduction in the number of sarcomeres (Huet de la Tour 591). This study did not distinguish types of muscle tightness or if subjects presented with muscle spasms, but any of these cases may have lowered the irritability threshold of the muscle resulting in greater motor unit activation (Janda 85).
Given that muscle tightness and stiffness are correlated
to strength (with tighter muscles demonstrating greater stiffness) increases in muscle stiffness could increase both isometric and concentric force production as other investigators have observed (Gajdosik 223; Klinge 714; Watsford 1328; Wilson 2716). Tight muscles may, therefore, exert higher peak torque due to the viscoelastic properties. Synergistic muscle activity of the two-joint hip flexors (rectus femoris, tensor fasciae latae, and sartorius) works with the iliopsoas (Kendall 376). These muscles, which also influence hip flexion peak torque, tend to become tight in patients who present in LCS (Jull 261). Accordingly, synergistic muscle tightness may contribute to increases in hip flexion peak torque. Although tightness of the synergistic muscles was not considered in this study, research is required to determine the influence of the synergistic muscles.
Considering body weight eliminates the influence of gravity
on peak torque. Hip extensors and knee extensors are included in an anti-gravity muscle group. All muscles of hip extensors (gluteus maximus and hamstrings) are regarded as anti-gravity muscles while only two-joint hip flexors are regarded as anti-gravity muscles (Kendall 376). Hip extension peak torque was not influenced by hip flexor tightness when divided by body weight. Therefore, the increase in hip flexion peak torque when correcting for body weight might result from an increase in the peak torque of one-joint hip flexors.
The study team expected to observe the peak torque of
hip extensors decrease in subjects with hip flexor tightness. And the results showed an increase in hip extension peak torque but no increase occurred when correcting for body weight. In patients
38
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
suffering from LCS, hamstrings are tight because they become overactive. This overactivity is known to compensate for inhibited gluteus maximus activity in order to decrease anterior pelvic tilt and maintain hip extension power (Jull 261). The study team was unable to isolate peak torques produced by the gluteus maximus and hamstrings, so it is unknown if the gluteus maximus or the hamstrings were the primary movers.
Hip flexor tightness did not affect muscle endurance in
this study. Researchers have asserted that muscle endurance is determined by muscle fiber types, intramuscular circulatory system, myoglobin stores, and enzymatic profiles (Heyward 399). Although muscle tightness is known to accompany a decrease in the number of sarcomeres (Huet de la Tour 591), lower the irritability threshold (Janda 85) and increase muscle stiffness (Magnusson 199), tightness did not affect muscle endurance in this study. It is possible that the lack of change in endurance is related to findings of previous investigators, who have reported low correlations (r = 0.27, 0.36) when examining isokinetic power and endurance (Barnes 716). Even though increased muscle power was observed in this study, it did not influence muscle endurance.
The result that both hip flexion and extension peak torque
were greater at 60째/s than 180째/s supports previous research (Cahalan 140; Montgomery 318), which can be explained with the force-velocity relationship of skeletal muscle wherein faster concentric muscle contractions produces less force at the same level of excitation (Ehrman 37). Consequently, hip flexor tightness increased hip flexion peak torque but not hip extension peak torque when body weight was taken into consideration. And hip flexor tightness did not influence muscle endurance. Additional data are required to determine the influence of synergistic muscles and isolated muscle power.
Volume 1 | 2011
39
Bibliography Barnes, William. “The Relationship between Maximum Isokinetic Strength and Isokinetic Endurance.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 51.4 (1980): 714-17. Cahalan, Thomas, et al. “Quantitative Measurements of Hip Strength in Different Age Groups.” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research Sep.246 (1989): 136-45. Clapis, Phyllis, Susan Davis, and Ross Davis. “Reliability of Inclinometer and Goniometric Measurements of Hip Extension Flexibility Using the Modified Thomas Test.” Physiotherapy Theory and Practice 24.2 (2008): 135-41. Ehrman, Jonathan. American College of Sports Medicine’s Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercises Testing and Prescription. 6th ed. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. Eston, Roger, Jane Mickleborough, and Vasilios Baltzopoulos. “Eccentric Activation
and
Muscle
Damage:
Biomechanical
and
Physiological
Considerations During Downhill Running.” British Journal of Sports Medicine 29.2 (1995): 89-94. Ferber, Reed, Karen Kendall, and Lindsay McElroy. “Normative and Critical Criteria for Illiotibial Band and Illiopsoas Muscle Flexibility.” Journal of Athletic Training 45.4 (2010): 344-48. Gabbe, Belinda, et al. “Reliability of Common Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Screening Tests.” Physical Therapy in Sport 5.2 (2004): 90-97. Gajdosik, Richard. “Relationship between Passive Properties of the Calf Muscles and Plantarflexion Concentric Isokinetic Torque Characteristics.” European Journal of Applied Physiology 87.3 (2002): 220-27. Heyward, Vivian. “Influence of Static Strength and Intramuscular Occlusion on Submaximal Static Muscle Endurance.” Research Quartely 46.4 (1975): 393-402. Huet de la Tour, Eiffel, et al. “The Respective Roles of Muscle Length and Muscle Tension in Sarcomere Number Adaptation of Guinea-Pig Soleus Muscle.” Journal de Physiologie 75.5 (1979): 589-92. Janda, Vladimir. “Muscle Strength in Relation to Muscle Length, Pain and Muscle Imbalance.” Muscle Strength (International Perspectives in Physical Therapy). Ed. K. Harms-Ringdahl. Vol. 8. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone, 1993. 83-91. Muscles as a Pathogenic Factor in Back Pain. The Fourth Conference of the
40
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapists. February 18-22 1980.
Jull, Gwendolen, and Vladimir Janda. “Muscles and Motor Control in Low Back Pain.” Physical Therapy of the Low Back. Eds. Twomey, Lance T. and James R. Taylor. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone, 1987. 253-78. Kendall, Florence, et al. Muscles Testing and Function with Posture and Pain. 5th ed. Baltimore, MD: Lippimcott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. Klinge, Klaus, et al. “The Effect of Strength and Flexibility Training on Skeletal Muscle Electromygraphic Activity, Stiffness, and Viscoelastic Stress Relaxation Response.” American Journal of Sports Medicine 25.5 (1997): 710-16. Magnusson, Peter, et al. “Determinants of Musculoskeletal Flexibility: Viscoelastic Properties, Emg and Stretch Tolerance.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine ad Science in Sports 7.4 (1997): 195-202. Mense, Siegfried, and David Simons. Muscle Pain: Understanding Its Nature, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001. Montgomery, Leslie, Larry Douglass, and Patricia Deuster. “Reliability of an Isokinetic Test of Muscle Strength and Endurance.” Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 10.8 (1989): 315-22. Norris, Christopher. “Spinal Stabilisation: 4. Muscle Imbalance and the Low Back.” Physiotherapy 81.3 (1995): 127-38. Page, Phil, Clare Frank, and Robert Lardner. Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance: The Janda Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2010. Umphred, Darcy. “The Limbic System: Influence over Motor Control and Learning.” Neurological Rehabilitation. Ed. Umphred, D A. 4th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 2001. 148-77. Watsford, Mark, et al. “Muscle Stiffness and Rate of Torque Development During Sprint Cycling.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 42.7 (2010): 1324-32. Wilson, Greg, Aron Murphy, and John Pryor. “Musculotendinous Stiffness: Its Relationship to Eccentric, Isometric, and Concentric Performance.” Journal of Applied Physiology 76.7 (1994): 2714-19. Winters, Michael, et al. “Passive Versus Active Stretching of Hip Flexor Muscles in Subjects with Limited Hip Extension: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Physical Therapy 84.9 (2004): 800-07.
Volume 1 | 2011
41
Quantifying the Phosphorous Leaching Potential of Floodplain Soils By Laura Merriman Lauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is an important contribution for the protection of water quality in the state of Oklahoma. Significant funds are spent installing riparian buffers adjacent to streams to prevent sediment, nutrient, and pesticide transport to streams. Effectiveness of these buffers may be smaller than originally anticipated if a transport pathway through the subsurface circumvents the surface trapping mechanisms of the riparian buffers. In riparian floodplains of eastern Oklahoma, subsurface transport is possible because of the gravel subsoils common in the region. However, data is limited on the leaching potential of such gravel-laden soils. Lauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work provides an initial quantification of the leaching potential of the soils without considering the presence of the gravel and supports a current United States Geological Survey (USGS) nationally-competitive grant.
Garey Fox, Biosystems Engineering
In recent years, the effect of increased nutrient loadings on
surface waters has drawn considerable attention. Polluted drinking water, excessive algal growth, and taste and odor issues are only a few of the negative effects that can result from an overload of
42
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
nutrients. An accumulation of nutrients can lead to excess growth of algae which will degrade water quality. While nitrogen is a concern, phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient not only for crops but is also considered the most limiting nutrient for aquatic life. However, excessive soil P concentrations can increase potential P transport to surface waters or leaching into the subsurface, which cause serious harm, including lake eutrophication. Researchers have investigated the sources of P loads reaching surface waters due to these increasingly important issues. Many studies found that the primary transport mechanism for P from the source to the water body occurred through surface transport (runoff) and considered subsurface transport negligible. Certain field conditions, especially riparian floodplains, present hydraulic conditions conducive to subsurface transport of P (Fuchs 2009; Fox 2011). More research concerning the role of subsurface P transport is needed, especially in riparian floodplains. Current field practices aimed at reducing P loads through surface transport may be unsuccessful if subsurface flow is a significant transport mechanism. The objective of this research is to quantify the leaching potential of P in a riparian floodplain by investigating the P sorption characteristics with respect to the flow velocity. This research investigated this leaching potential relative to small-scale disturbed samples of floodplain sediment, with future work planned to investigate larger-scale in-situ leaching to determine the influence of scale within heterogeneous floodplain soils.
Areas such as riparian floodplains commonly consist of
alluvial deposits with gravelly soils. Gravel or cherty soils are common throughout the Ozark region of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. For this study, soil was obtained from the Clear Creek alluvial floodplain site, located five miles northwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Washington County (latitude: 36.125째, longitude: -94.235째). Clear Creek is a fourth order stream (see Figure 1a) and a tributary to the Illinois River. Streamflow during baseflow conditions is estimated to be around 0.5 m3/s. The Clear Creek site also supplies pasture for cattle. The soils include intermixed layers of gravel and silt loam. The site also possesses the characteristics for lateral subsurface P transport with a visible seepage erosion layer just above the gravelly subsoils (see Figure 1b).
Volume 1 | 2011
43
Figure 1.a. Clear Creek field site near Fayetteville, AR; and Figure 1.b. layering observed on streambank show visible seepage layer suggesting rapid horizontal flow to streams from upland soils
44
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Figure 2. Laboratory flow-cell experimental setup (DeSutter 2006; Fuchs 2009)
Fine material (diameter less than 2.0 mm) was used in
laboratory flow-cell experiments to investigate the P sorption characteristics with respect to the flow velocity (DeSutter 2006; Fuchs 2009). Approximately 5.0 g of the soil was placed in each flow-cell. A Whatman 42 filter was placed at the bottom of each cell to prevent the fine material from passing through the bottom. Each cell had a nozzle at the bottom with a hose running from the nozzle to a peristaltic pump (see Figure 2). The pump pulled water with predetermined P and potassium chloride (KCl) concentrations through the cells and fine material at a known flow rate (mL/min). The KCl was used to lessen the dispersion of the soil. Two different flow rates were used on the peristaltic pumps to evaluate the effect of velocity on P sorption. The flow rates averaged 0.20 mL/min for the low flow experiments and 0.75 mL/min for the high flow experiments. These flow rates corresponded to average flow velocities of 0.42 and 1.59 m/d, respectively. Numerous experiments were performed at each of the flow rates by varying the inflow P concentration: 0.55, 5.48, and 11.63 mg/L for the 0.20 mL/min flow rates and 0.55, 1.17, 5.32, and 11.56 mg/L for the 0.75 mL/min flow rate.
Volume 1 | 2011
45
The experimental procedure consisted of first pulling a
0.01M KCl solution through the soil to determine the background P that was removed from the soil. Then, a KH2PO4 and 0.01 M KCl solution was injected into each cell at different concentrations and kept at a constant head using a Marriott bottle system (see Figure 2). The experiments were run for approximately eight hours. Samples were taken periodically throughout each experiment. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory for P using the MurphyRiley method. Outflow P concentrations were compared to the total amount of P added to the system for both low flow and high flow scenarios. The principle of this load method was that the measured P concentrations in the outflows would be approximately equal if flow velocity did not have an effect on P sorption. The mass of P added per kilogram of soil (mg P/ kg soil) was found by multiplying the flow rate, Q (mL/min), by the inflow P concentration (mg/L) and by the elapsed time of the experiment (min). These data were plotted against the P concentrations (mg/L) detected in the outflow solutions for both flow velocities. If equivalent sorption was occurring, the curves associated with each data set would be approximately equal (Fuchs 2009). Outflow P concentrations were also analyzed using contaminant transport theory using CXTFIT—a numerical model for solving the one-dimensional advection/dispersion equation under physical equilibrium (sorption) conditions (Toride 1999; Fox 2011). The P concentrations were plotted versus a dimensionless injection time,
t*, or the number of pore volumes pulled through the fine material: t* = tQ/Vps where
(1)
t is the cumulative time, Q is the inflow rate and Vps is the
pore volume. A sorbing contaminant moves through porous media at a retarded flow velocity, as presented in the following advectiondispersion-retardation equations: 2 ∂c ∂c (h) ∂ c R = −v + D ∂t ∂x ∂x 2 ∂c ∂c v ∂ 2c = −v s + α L vs ∂t ∂x R ∂x 2
(2)
46
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
x is the direction along the length of the column, c is the v is the pore water velocity, D(h) is the hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, ÎąL is the dispersivity, and vs is the sorbed where
concentration,
contaminant velocity. The sorbed contaminant velocity is the groundwater velocity divided by the retardation factor,
R, and
describes the reduced rate a sorbing contaminant moves through the soil (Fuchs
2009). To model the P flow-cell data, empirical
estimations for the ÎąL (= 0.1x), assumed to be a function of the length of the column, and
D(h) (ÎąLv) were utilized; these assumptions are
used in numerical modeling of flow in porous media. With the given parameters, assumptions, and laboratory data, the retardation factor (R) was inversely estimated for each data set using CXTFIT.
Both the contaminant transport and load perspectives
suggested that the flow velocities in the experimental range had no effect on the sorption capabilities of the system (see Figure 3a), but instead illustrated that the initial P concentrations were an influential factor (see Figure 3b). Note that Figure 3b compares experiments with different initial P concentrations but the same flow velocity. Initial concentrations of 11.6 ppm and 5.3 ppm reached the peak P concentrations with approximately 100 pore volumes while initial concentrations of 1.2 and 0.5 ppm did not reach the maximum P concentration in this time series (250 pore volumes). Plotting the data relative to a load basis (see Figure 4) illustrated the same trends. For example, the two 11.6 ppm initial concentrations at different flow rates followed the same increasing profile. The same can be said for the initial concentrations of 5.5 and 5.3 ppm (see Figure 4).
Volume 1 | 2011
47
(a)
(b)
Figure 3.a. P sorption characteristics relative to flow velocity; and Figure 3.b. comparing P sorption relative to initial P concentration
48
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Figure 4. P sorption characteristics relative to mg of P added per kg of soil
For CXTFIT modeling with a constant D (h) for each flow
scenario and constant soil layer thickness, R and the initial P concentrations become the dynamic parameters. After modeling the experiments (see Figure 5), it became evident these two variables were related, as shown in Figure 6. For a constant flow velocity, as the initial P concentration increased, R decreased. The P outflow concentration increased faster with a lower R. A summary of the assumptions and transport parameters when using CXTFIT is shown below in Table 1.
Volume 1 | 2011
49
Figure 5. Example of fitting laboratory P flow-cell data in CXTFIT. Note that u is the pore velocity, D(h) is the hydrodynamic dispersion, R is the retardation coefficient, and R2 is the coefficient of determination.
Figure 6. Comparing retardation factors (R) derived from CXTFIT relative to initial P concentrations
Flow Velocity (m/d)
0.42
1.59
Flow Rate (mL/min)
0.20
0.75
8.50E-04 8.50E-04 3.20E-03 3.20E-03 3.20E-03 3.20E-03
11.63 0.55 1.17 5.32 11.56
8.50E-04
0.55 5.48
Hydrodynamic Dispersion, D(h) (cm2/min)
Initial P Concentration (ppm)
29.5
35.4
135.0
149.0
23.5
35.7
74.5
Retardation Factor, R
0.75
0.97
0.86
0.93
0.97
0.93
0.96
Coefficient of Determination, R2
Table 1. Summary of contaminant transport characteristics inversely estimated from flow-cell data using CXTFIT
50 OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Volume 1 | 2011
This
research
demonstrated
that
phosphorus
51
sorption
characteristics were independent of flow velocity (in the range studied) but were dependent on the initial P concentration. CXTFIT was capable of modeling P transport properties for this type of experimental application. The research demonstrated the importance of topsoil depth on leaching potential of P in floodplains. This research also provided important data on the leaching potential of small-scale disturbed soil samples in alluvial floodplains that can be compared to the leaching potential of P derived from larger-scale in-situ tests within heterogeneous floodplain soils.
52
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Bibliography DeSutter, T.M., G.M. Pierzynski and L.R. Baker. “Flow through and batch methods for determining calcium-magnesium and magnesium-calcium selectivity.” Soil Science of America Journal 70 (2009): 550-54. Fox, G.A., D.M. Heeren, R.B. Miller, A.R. Mittelstet and D.E. Storm. “Flow and transport experiments for a streambank seep originating from a preferential flow pathway.” Journal of Hydrology 403.4-5 (2011): 360-66. Fuchs, J.W., G.A. Fox, D.E. Storm, C. Penn and G.O. Brown. “Subsurface transport of phosphorus in riparian floodplains: Influence of preferential flow paths.” Journal of Environmental Quality 38.2 (2009): 473-84. Murphy, J. and J.R. Riley. “A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters.” Anal. Chem Acta. 27 (1962): 31-36. Toride, N., F.J. Leij and M.Th. van Genuchten. The CXTFIT Code for Estimating Transport Parameters from Laboratory or Field Tracer Experiments, Version 2.1. Research Report No. 137. Riverside, CA: U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1999.
Volume 1 | 2011
53
Basalt Grain Distribution In the Cimarron River and Tributaries (Cimarron Co., OK) By Sloan Anderson Sloan is one of the most independent, highly-motivated students in the Geology department. After working with Dr. Alexander Simms as a research assistant on a project in the Gulf of Mexico, Sloan asked about opportunities to conduct his own research. While this project may seem like it is confined to a relatively small location, the implications are quite important. Sloan demonstrated that the source of basalt grains in the Cimarron River is not Black Mesa as commonly assumed. Rather, by identifying gravels in the Ogallala as the real source of the grains, he provides critical data for understanding ancient paleotopography and fluvial response to changes in bedrockâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;important in paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstructions.
Anna Cruse,
Geology
In the far northwest corner of the Oklahoma panhandle, two
miles north of Kenton, lies Black Mesa, a plateau capped by a layer of Pliocene Basalt. It is only one small finger of Mesa de Maya, which extends several miles Northeast into New Mexico and Colorado. The
54
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Cimarron River runs along the southern flank of Mesa de Maya for approximately 24 km in Oklahoma and New Mexico. The Cimarron is the largest river in Cimarron County, its basin draining some 1533 km² of the county (Rothrock 11). Yet much remains unknown about the river’s fluvial transportation of sediment, such as the basalt of Black Mesa. The river enters the county in two forks, one of which runs along the southern edge of the Mesa de Maya, and the second approximately 1.13 km south of the first. The river flows east through the county for approximately 64 km, then turns north for approximately 19 km and enters Colorado (Rothrock 12). The river is nearly perennial in the western portion of the county, but east of the Highway 287 bridge is dry through much of the year (Schoff 23). The purpose of this study is to understand better the breakdown and ultimate fate of basalt grains transported by the Cimarron River and its tributaries,with the goal of providing insight into the nature of fluvial sand provenance in the semi-arid environment of Cimarron County.
Cimarron County is part of the High Plains section of the
Great Plains Physiographic province. Elevations range from 1,127 m above sea level in the southeast corner of the county to 1,524.00 m above sea level on top of Black Mesa, making it the highest point in Oklahoma. Cimarron County has a semi-arid climate, only averaging 38-45 cm of precipitation per year. It has an average maximum temperature of 21.7°C and an average minimum temperature of 4.4°C. Abundant basalt clasts ranging in size from fine grained sand to boulders are not limited to drainages proximal to Mesa de Maya. Basalt clasts can be observed in drainages throughout the county, almost all of which lack basalt outcrops in their drainage basins. In addition to understanding the breakdown and deposit of basalt grains in the Cimarron River, this study offers suggestions as to the source and transport mechanisms responsible for depositing basalt clasts throughout Cimarron County.
Sand provenance studies such as this aim to decipher the
geologic history of an area through analysis of sand composition. The composition of sand is determined to a large extent by the type of source rocks that furnished the sand grains, as well as by the climate and weathering conditions of the source area. Therefore, analysis of sand composition provides a method of working backward to
Volume 1 | 2011
55
Figure 1. Geologic Map, Setting, & Stratigraphy of Northwest Cimarron County
understand the nature of the source area (Boggs 575). Basalt grains in the Cimarron River are unique because they are somewhat rare, and have a known source: Pliocene volcanic eruptions in New Mexico and Colorado. Studying the distribution of basalt grains in Cimarron County allows the opportunity to reconstruct part of the paleoenvironmental conditions that have shaped the area over the last 5.5 million years.
56
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research For this study, sediment samples were collected from the
Cimarron River and tributary streams during periods of low to no flow in March of 2010. Samples were collected at bridges and low water crossings, as well as portions of the river proximal to public and private roads from the east side of Black Mesa to the Highway 287 Bridge, north of Boise City (see Figure 1). Approximately 0.5 kg of sand was scooped by hand at each location into 1.2 mL plastic bags, which were sealed and labeled with a sample number and GPS coordinates of the sample site. Bags were stored in a case during transport to the lab, and the case was inspected upon arrival to ensure none of the bags leaked. To obtain a background of the local sediments being input into the Cimarron via its tributaries, several tributaries were sampled near their confluence with the Cimarron. North Carrizo Creek, South Carrizo Creek, Galinas Canyon Creek, and North Canyon Creek were all sampled within 5 km of their confluence with the Cimarron River. To characterize the number of basalt grains being transported off Black Mesa, Coopers Arroyo, a tributary of North Carrizo Creek that acts as the primary drainage for the northeast end of the plateau, was sampled in four places.
Upon unsealing and drying, all samples were sieved using 8â&#x20AC;?
test sieves shaken with a RO-TAP. 200. Medium sized grains ranging from 0.706mm to 1.0 mm were selected for point counts from each sample. To ensure point counts were conducted randomly, all samples were run through a splitter designed to mix sand grains. With the aid of a microscope, the 200 grains were then classified as basalt, quartz, feldspar, or lithic grains. These grains are the dominant constituents of common sands with the exception of basalt grains, which are unique to the study area (Boggs 157). Classification of grains based on physical appearance was sufficient for this study (see Figure 2). Basalt grains were easily identified based on their mafic (dark) color and the presence of vesicles created by trapped gas bubbles during lava cooling. Feldspars look similar to basalt, except they feature felsic (light) coloration. Lithic grains are aggregates of smaller grains cemented together, and the transparency/translucency common of quartz grains make them easy to identify.
Figures 3 and 4 show the distribution of basalt, quartz,
feldspar, and lithic grains with respect to distance. In Figure 3
Volume 1 | 2011
57
Figure 2. Microscope images of Quartz, Lithic, Feldspar, and Basalt Grains
distance is measured from the Carrizo Road Bridge at the eastern foot of Black Mesa. Basalt grain counts remain remarkably constant throughout the 72 km of river bed in the study area, with the exception of one sample. Five samples showed basalt grain counts of either 15 or 16, and one contained 24 grains. Feldspar counts appear to mirror the trends shown with the basalt, remaining almost constant throughout the study area. Quartz and Lithic grains are the dominant grain types, and the graph shows an inverse relationship between the two. Figure 4 distances are measured from where the Carrizo Creek tributary contacts the northern edge of Black Mesa. Basalt grain concentrations drop off exponentially with distance downstream from Black Mesa.
Table 1 shows the point counts taken from sand sampled from
tributary creeks of the Cimarron River. Distance is measured from the eastern edge of Black Mesa. These counts reveal significant numbers
58
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Figure 3. Cimarron River point counts
Figure 4. Coopers Arroyo basalt point counts
Volume 1 | 2011
59
of Basalt grains deposited in creeks upstream of the Cimarron River. Note the presence of basalts in North Canyon and Galinas Canyon, whose drainages are completely isolated from Black Mesa. In all samples, the Basalt grain count for the Cimarron tributary streams is lower than that of the river itself.
Point counts from the Coopers Arroyo samples show basalt
grain concentrations dropping off exponentially with distance from Black Mesa. The samples only represent a small portion of Coopers
Table 1. Tributary Stream point count data
Location Gallinas Canyon North Canyon South Carrizo North Carrizo
Quartz Feldspar Lithic Basalt Distance (Km) 179 3 9 9 12.64 178 0 17 5 18.20 170 5 14 11 12.44 162 17 19 12 00.17
Arroyo, but if the trend were to continue downstream, basalt grain concentration would quickly diminish. It is expected that this precedent of basalt grain concentrations decreasing with distance from Ogallala gravels holds true for other drainages in the area. Basalt grains from Black Mesa appear to occur proximal to their source, at least under present conditions. If Coopers Arroyo is representative of other drainages off Mesa de Maya, it would be difficult for these drainages to supply basalt grains to the Cimarron River. Point counts from the Cimarron River reveal a different trend altogether. Basalt grain counts in the Cimarron show substantial numbers of basalt grains, and these concentrations hold steady throughout the study area. A decrease with distance from Black Mesa would be expected, but measured basalt grain concentrations remain constant. There are more controls on basalt grains entering the Cimarron River than just stream input from Black Mesa. This is made more apparent by the presence of basalt grains in tributary streams with no basalt outcrops in their drainages. All tributary streams contain basalt grains (see Table 1).
60
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research The presence of Basalt grains in the tributary streams can
likely be attributed to the gravel layers within the Ogallala formation. Oklahoma Geological Survey Quadrangle 43 of the Boise City area describes the base of the Ogallala as follows: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where exposed, base may consist of a well-indurated bed of conglomerate with basalt, limestone, and dolomite clasts; thickness up to 91 meters (300 feet).â&#x20AC;? E.P. Rothrock describes the character of the pebble layers within the Ogallala by counting 100 pebbles, at random, from five different outcrops across Cimarron County. This study observed Basalt pebbles in four of the five locations, and on average they constitute 2.4% of all pebbles. It is also worth noting that igneous and metamorphic clasts are some of the dominant constituents of the pebble layer of the Ogallala in Rothrockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s study. However, the igneous and metamorphic rocks that dominate the pebble counts are not found locally with the exception of the Basalt. Rothrock was under the impression that these rocks originated in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range of Colorado and New Mexico. This implies that they were transported between 290 and 370 kilometers depending on their location within the county (Rothrock 1925).
The long distance these rocks were transported is a testament
to the magnitude of the erosion of the high plains landscape that took place during Pliocene-Pleistocene time. This rapid erosion resulted from what is judged to be the sharpest climatic change of the late Cenozoic, when the semi-arid constructional plain of the Pliocene yielded to the humid degradation of the early Pleistocene (Frye 1957). The erosion resulting from this very wet climate is responsible for depositing basalt clasts of all sizes throughout the Cimarron Basin, and the basalt in the pebble base of the Ogallala is just one example of this. Abundant vegetation and cattle grazing, combined with the diverse nature of fluvial bedforms (sand deposits) throughout the Cimarron River channel, makes sampling a consistent river feature such as a point bar difficult. An advantage of performing point counts on a specific fraction of grain size is that the effects of sediment sorting processes that create fluvial bedforms can be diminished. Selecting one grain size for analysis ensures that the character of sand is accurately portrayed at each sample location, despite variations in bedform type.
Volume 1 | 2011
61
The role of breakdown and dilution of basalt grains during
fluvial transport and during in-situ placement after deposition should also be addressed. Basalt grains breaking down during fluvial transport could significantly alter grain counts. But the abundance of distal basalts in Cimarron County suggests that little breakdown has taken place since the Neogene. The effects of dilution are thought to be minimal in the western portion of Cimarron County where samples were obtained. The survey area for this study does not extend eastward so much as to be affected by the Quaternary sand dune fields of southern Colorado and eastern Cimarron County.
Further study of basalt clasts near Mesa de Maya has the
potential to yield broad and useful implications. Two dominant types of basalt gravel outcropsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Proximal Basalts (PB) and Distal Basalts and Metamorphics (DBM)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;are thought to exist in the vicinity of Black Mesa. PB are dominated by basalt clasts which originated from the Piney Mountain eruption whose basalt flow caps the Mesa de Maya. DBM are a mixture of metamorphic, basalts and other igneous rocks sourced from as far westward as the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of Colorado and New Mexico prior to the eruption of Piney Mountain. The geometry of the deposits of each can be an indicator of paleofluvial conditions. Comparing the pre-Piney Mountain eruption fluvial conditions represented by DBM to the post eruption fluvial conditions characterized by PB could offer insight into the fluvial responses of a basalt flow entering a drainage network.
62
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Bibliography Boggs, S. Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. 4th Ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2006. Luza, K.V., R.O. Fay and G.R. Standridge. Geologic Map of the Boise City 30’ X 60’ Quadrangle, Cimarron and Texas Counties, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey. Quadrangle 43. Scale 1:100,000. 2003. Rothrock, E.P. Geology of Cimarron County Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin. No. 34. 1925. Schoff, S. L. Geology and Ground Water Resources of Cimarron County, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin. No. 64. 1943. Cimarron County, OK Climate Quick Facts, Accessed March 23, 2011. Electronic. http://climate.mesonet.org/county_climate/Products/CountyPages/ cimarron.html Frye, J.C., Leonard, A.B. “Ecological Interpretations of the Pliocene and Pleistocene Stratigraphy in the Great Plains Region.” American Journal of Science 255 (1957): 1-11.
Volume 1 | 2011
63
The Effects of Green Tea Flavonoid Supplementation on Body Weight, Fasting Glucose and Lipids in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome By Morgan Kinsey This research represents original work conducted by a group investigating the antioxidant and weight loss effects of green tea. Morgan contributed actively to this project by conducting data analyses and interpretation. She has displayed impressive research skills with critical thinking abiliities in making practical sense of the research findings.
Arpita Basu,
Nutritional Science
Long-used in Chinese medicine as a healthful beverage
and widely consumed in Japan, Korea and Morocco, green tea is becoming increasingly popular in western countries.
Produced
simply by steaming and drying tea to inactivate the polyphenol oxidase present in the leaves, green tea has been shown to have significant positive effects on a wide-range of health factors. The flavanoid (catechin) epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) present in
64
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
green tea has been shown in cell culture and animal models to reduce adipocyte differentiation and proliferation, lipogenesis and fat absorption. And green tea extracts, or EGCG supplementation, have been shown to reduce body weight, body fat, and increase fat oxidation and thermogenesis in humans (Cabrera). Green tea has also been shown to inhibit LDL oxidation and increase plasma total antioxidant capacity (Kuriyama). Recent studies suggest that green tea may even prevent type II diabetes (Maruyama).
Research done in both epidemiological and clinical studies on
the effects of green tea consumption has shown that it is effective in significantly decreasing many cardiovascular risk factors.
In a
2004 study, researchers found that green tea promoted glucose metabolism in healthy human volunteers as well as lowered blood glucose levels in diabetics (Tsuneki). The decade-long Ohsaki study conducted in Japan showed that green tea consumption strongly correlates with decreased mortality due to cardiovascular disease, but not to a reduced mortality for cancer. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of consumption of a green tea supplement in the form of a beverage or green tea extract on body weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, and lipids.
Thirty-five obese subjects were recruited at the General
Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Subjects completed an initial telephone
questionnaire and were scheduled for an initial screening visit. During the screening, subjects had their height, weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference measured. A fasting blood draw of 13 mL was done by a certified phlebotomist to analyze fasting glucose, lipids, and insulin. To qualify for inclusion in the study, each subject had to present features of metabolic syndrome (waist circumference ≥ 40 for men and ≥ 35 for women, blood pressure ≥ 135/85 mmHg or that the subject was on prescribed blood pressure medication, triglycerides >150 mg/dL, fasting blood glucose >100 mg/ dL but < 126 mg/dL, and HDL < 40 mg/dL in men or < 50 mg/dL in women).
The research subjects were divided randomly into three
groups. Two groups were experimental and one functioned as the control. A total of thirty-three subjects completed the study. The first group was given a green tea beverage (n=12) and the second was
Volume 1 | 2011
65
given a green tea supplement (n=10). The control group (n=11) ate and drank their usual diet. The green tea beverage group drank four cups of green tea every day, and the green tea supplement group took two green tea capsules every day.
Each group of subjects
participated in this study over a period of eight weeks. Subjects in the control and supplement groups made biweekly visits with personnel at the GCRC for general discussion on their progress in the study, to turn in food records, to get their supply of green tea capsules, and to be compensated for their involvement. In addition to their biweekly visits, those in the green tea beverage group also came five days a week to the GCRC to drink the first two cups of green tea at the clinic. The other two cups were provided to drink later in the day.
Blood
draws
and
anthropometric
measurements
were
conducted at the initial screening, at four weeks, and at eight weeks in the study. Body weight was measured by nurses at the GCRC and fasting glucose and lipid levels were measured and analyzed at the OU Medical Laboratories. Oxidized LDL was measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. The variables used in this study are body weight, insulin, fasting glucose and lipid levels, as well as total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins and highdensity lipoproteins. Pair wise differences (green tea verses control and green tea extracts versus control) among the three groups at baseline were assessed using student t-tests.
All statistical tests
were two-tailed with significance level set at 0.05. Significance levels were not adjusted for multiple hypotheses testing; rather, the results were reviewed for consistencies.
Body weight decreased in all three groups. The green tea
drinkers lost a significant amount of weight when compared to the control group. There was no significant change in diastolic or systolic blood pressure. There was also no significant change seen in fasting blood glucose levels or fasting blood insulin levels. Triglycerides also showed no significant changes. Cholesterol, however, did show a significant decrease for the supplement drinkers versus the control. HDL levels did not significantly change although they did increase slightly for the green tea drinkers. LDL levels showed a significant decrease in both the green tea beverage group and the supplement group versus the control (see Table 1). Oxidized LDL levels showed
66
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
the most significant change. For the green tea beverage drinkers, there was not a significant change versus the control, but there was a significant change between the 8 week measurement and the baseline (see Figure 1). Table 1
Volume 1 | 2011
67
Figure 1
To the knowledge of the research team, this is the first
study reported to demonstrate that green tea beverage and extract supplementation for eight weeks leads to a significant weight loss in obese subjects who demonstrate features of metabolic syndrome in comparison to age and gender-matched controls. These significant results could be attributed to the test subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high compliance rate in which all of the test subjects in the green tea beverage group came to the clinic to receive their 4 cups of green tea per day. The weight loss for both the green tea beverage drinkers and the supplement takers showed that both forms of the green tea can reduce weight in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome.
This study also saw
a significant decrease in LDL-cholesterol levels as well as an increase in HDL cholesterol levels, which suggests that green tea consumption may reduce cardiovascular risk factors.
A possible
reason for the insignificant change in blood pressure could be that many of the subjects studied were taking a stable blood pressure medication, which could have masked the effects of the green tea on blood pressure in the subjects. At least one limitation of this study is that the subjects were all recruited from the same area, so the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population. Also, though
68
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
the subjects were reminded not to change their regular exercise or diet routine, they may have changed these patterns and influenced the results as these routines were not monitored.
This study does show that green tea beverage and green
tea extract supplementationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all commercially available productsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk factors in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome, providing an inexpensive option for cardiovascular protection. The most beneficial dose of the green tea for cardiovascular protection and benefit is yet to be determined. But the promising results of this study beg the need for larger, more diverse population studies so that the findings can be more easily generalized. Although further research is needed to understand the mechanism of the catechin in green tea that causes weight loss, the general public may include this anti-oxidant rich beverage in their diet and experience similar results.
Volume 1 | 2011
69
Bibliography Basu, Arpita, Lucas, Edralin. “Mechanisms and effects of green tea on cardiovascular health.” Nutrition Reviews 65.8 (2007): 361-75. Cabrera, Carmen, Artacho, Reyes, Gimenez, Rafael. “Beneficial Effects of Green Tea-A Review.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 25.2 (2006): 79-99. Kuriyama, Shinichi, Shimazu, Taichi, Ohmor, Kaori, Kikuchi, Nobatuka, Nakaya, Noaki, Nishino, Yoshikazu, Tsubono, Yoshitaka, Tsuji, Ichiro. “Green Tea Consumption and Mortality Due to Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All Causes in Japan: The Ohsaki Study. “ Journal of the American Medical Assosication 296.10 (2006): 1255-65. Maruyama, Koutatsu, Iso, Hiroyasu, Sasaki, Satoshi, Fukino, Yoko. “The Association between Concentrations of Green Tea and Blood Glucose Levels.” Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition 44.1 (2008): 41-45. Tsuneki, Hiroshi, Ishizuka, Mitsuyo, Terasawa, Miki, Wu, Jin-Bin, Sasaoka, Toshiyasu, Kimura, Ikuko. “Effect of green tea on blood glucose levels and serum proteomic patterns in diabetic (db/db) mice and on glucose metabolism in healthy humans.” BMC Pharmacology 18.4 (2004): 1-10. Wolfram, Swen, Wang, Ying, Thielecke, Frank. “Anti-Obesity effects of green tea: From bedside to bench.” Molecular Nutrition and Food Research 50.2 (1998): 176-87.
Volume 1 | 2011
CALL FOR PAPERS VOLUME 2 | 2012
DEADLINE: Spring 2012 MORE INFORMATION http://scholardevelopment.okstate.edu
71
72
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Lew Wentz Research Award
The Wentz Research Award ($4,500) is an opportunity
for undergraduates to design and conduct a research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Applicants outline a research project and paper that can be completed within an academic year.
Research scholars use their funds for
materials and travel to professional conferences.
The Research Award is funded by the Lew Wentz
Foundation, founded by oilman Louis “Lew” Haines Wentz who in 1926 established foundations for student loans at four Oklahoma colleges—OSU, then Oklahoma A&M, among them. Today the foundation funds several prestigious scholarships at OSU, serving as an investment in the future.
Students in all disciplines are encouraged to apply.
Applicants may even choose topics from areas not related to their major if they wish; some of the most creative projects have been this type of study. Students winning awards will receive information concerning Institutional Review Board guidelines and research orientation with their offer letter.
Wentz Research Awards are limited to OSU students
(Stillwater or Tulsa) officially listed as undergraduates at the time of application and for the duration of the project year (those classified as graduate students, in 3-2 programs, or in Veterinary Medicine are not eligible). Applicants must have a minimum 3.00 GPA and have completed at least 12 in residence hours at OSU.
MORE INFORMATION http://scholardevelopment.okstate.edu
Volume 1 | 2011
Niblack Research Scholars
The Niblack Research Scholars (NRS) program provides
support to Oklahoma State University undergraduates to conduct research in one of OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research laboratories under the general guidance of a member of the research faculty with day-to-day mentoring by a graduate student. The NRS receives a stipend of $4,000 for the academic year plus $4,000 for the summer ($8,000 total).
The purpose of this award, made possible by the
generosity of Dr. John Niblack, former Vice Chairman of Pfizer Inc., is to give outstanding students an appreciation of scientific research in a laboratory environment at an early stage of their academic careers.
Research experience
is invaluable in helping the students choose a career path for themselves, improving their likelihood of success in the workforce, and helping students decide if graduate school is the correct choice for them.
These awards are not intended to provide faculty members
with assistants, but to provide students with a valuable educational experience not available to most undergraduate students. Eligible students, studying on the Stillwater campus and enrolled full-time, must have at least 28 and no more than 94 semester credit hours earned (cumulative graduation/ retention) at the start of the fall semester.
MORE INFORMATION http://research.okstate.edu/NRS
73
74
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
FRS provides the opportunity for bright, ambitious students to extend their education beyond the classroom by engaging in cutting-edge research under the guidance of innovative faculty researchers.
Volume 1 | 2011
75
By elevating your education with a real handson research experience, you can distinguish as a leader capable of contributing to fryourself s the scholarly community in ways that coursework alone cannot. Freshman research scholars Program
The Freshman Research Scholars Program
Such discovery learning complements a wellF R S pr ovide s an opp or t uni t y for appr ox ima tely six t y br igh t , rounded course load by providing the critical ambi t ious s t uden t s t o ex tend t heir educ a t ion beyond t he cla s sr o om opportunity to apply fundamental skills. by engaging in cu t t ing- edge re s ear ch under t he guidance o f innova t ive f acul t y re s ear cher s.
Connections made through FRS often lead O S U under s t ands t ha t s t uden t s w ho gr adua te wi t hou t re s ear ch toexrewarding long-term relationships with likeper ience have no t t aken f ull ad van t age o f all t ha t a minded students and faculty. c omprehensive re s ear ch univer si t y ha s t o o f fer, s o O S U leads t he way in supp or t ing under gr adua te re s ear ch in all f ields o f s t ud y.
Freshman Research Make your first year about more than satisfying general education requirements.
Beyond FRS Par ticipants in F t a ke a d v a n t a g e oppor tunities fo
a pprox i m ate l y s i
scholars are awa
Research Grants
their own design awards, such as
students in selec
OSU a vibrant re undergraduates
pa r ticipate in the
pursue successf
pl acement in top
other s choose to
the pr i vate secto
76
OSU Journal of Undergraduate Research
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Fall Semester Learn basic research ethics and methodology in a college-specific orientation course taught by tenured faculty researchers Identify mentors in your field of study to guide you in the pursuit of your research interests
Spring Semester Implement the research plan developed in the fall under the guidance of your mentor Share the results of your research in a peer-level colloquium at the end of the semester
BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR Participants in FRS are uniquely prepared to take advantage of OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive research opportunities for undergraduates. Each year approximately sixty of OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most innovative scholars are awarded $4,500 Lew Wentz Research Awards to conduct projects of their own design. Additionally, several other awards, such as the Niblack Research Award ($8,000), are granted to students in selected fields of study, making OSU a vibrant research community for undergraduates. Many of the students who participate in these programs continue to pursue successful careers in academia with placement in top research institutions, while others choose to take their experience into the private sector.
Volume 1 | 2011
77
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION FRS is open to incoming freshman in all disciplinesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; not just the laboratory sciences. Generally students with a high grade point average and an ACT score of 30 or higher (or SAT equivalent) are most competitive. Students who demonstrate a high level of analytical ability, intellectual curiosity or motivation are encouraged to apply. We are especially seeking qualified students from under-represented groups. Previous research experience is helpful but not required. Also, participation in The Honors College is not required.
APPLY ONLINE NOW http://OKStateU.com/FreshmanResearchScholars
DEADLINE: March 1, 2012 (FOR PRIORITY CONSIDERATION)
s of 1972, Americans status as a veteran in ion Amendments and or staff) who believes with the OSU Title IX (fax). This publication, 80.00 500/Sept/2011.
n
OSU
CHOOSE
OSU
CHOOSE
Undergraduate Research Opportunities at OSU
DISCOVERY
A SCHOLARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PURSUIT of HERE
Wentz
50 annual awards
Wentz Scholars Scholars
EARN FRS EARN FRS COLLECT COLLECT $1,000 $1,000
COLLEGE
CONSIDER CONSIDER THE THE HONORS HONORS COLLEGE
WORK IN A
WORKRESEARCH IN A LAB RESEARCH LAB
$8,000 each
h.ok stat e
ENTER ENTER HERE HERE
SCHOLARSHIP
EARN A EARN A PRESTIGIOUS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP
EARN EARN NRS NRS COLLECT COLLECT $8,000 $8,000
minimum 28 hours,
.edu
CONQUER CONQUER THE THE WORLD WORLD
$8,000 each minimum 28 hours, targeted disciplines, targeted disciplines, earn credit hours, Fall, &Spring & Summer semesters earn credit hours, Fall, Spring Summer semesters
Niblack Research Niblack Research Scholars 12 annual Scholars 12 annual awardsawards
60 60 annual awards annual awardsearn earn creditcredit hours,hours, Fall &Fall Spring semesters & Spring semesters $1,000 each $1,000 each
any discipline, any discipline,
ENTER
HERE ENTER HERE
earc
Visit aboutour web pa researc exciting unge for more de de h oppo Unde rtunitiergraduate tails rgra dRe s. s
Ok S Untatelaho J ma U ou ive Re ndernalrsity sea rg o Ok rchrad f S ua U ta laho te Jo nivte m a e U u Re ndernalrsity sea rg o rchrad f ua te
PUBLISH IN THE OSU
JOURNAL OF PUBLISH UNDERGRADUATE IN THE OSU RESEARCH JOURNAL OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Freshman Research Freshman Research incoming freshmen, Scholars incoming freshmen, Scholars
WORK WITH A FACULTY A FACULTY MENTOR MENTOR
Fall & Spring semesters
minimum 12 hours, minimum 12 hours, any discipline, any discipline, earn credit hours, earnFall credit hours, semesters & Spring
ENTER 50 annual $4,500awards each HERE $4,500 each ENTER
WORK WITH
PRESENT A POSTER
PRESENT A POSTER
EARN WENTZ
COLLECT EARN WENTZ $4,500 COLLECT $4,500
Volume 1 | 2011
79
Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development & Recognition
334 Student Union, Stillwater, OK 74078 (p) 405.744.7313 / (f) 744.6802 (e) schdev@okstate.edu http://scholardevelopment.okstate.edu