Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Psychological Distress And Change In A Pediatric Obesity Population, Amy Rebecca Beck

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Pediatric overweight and obesity is a growing national epidemic with 15 percent of children ages 6-19 considered obese and at least 22 percent considered overweight. While there is considerable research pointing to contributing factors of obesity, there is a paucity of research which elucidates what contributes to successful intervention. Considering that by the year 2050, nearly 50 million Americans may be obese, understanding the factors delineating success of weight loss and prevention is a necessity. The purpose of this study was to utilize archival data from the LLU Growing Fit Program to evaluate the levels of psychological distress experienced by …

Ethical Decision-Making Regarding Multiple Relationships Between Therapist And Client, Diana Jochai

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The current study examined a new conceptual model of factors critical to a therapist’s decision-making process when faced with the potential of a nonsexual multiple relationship with a client. This new model was founded on the conceptual framework proposed by Street, Douglas, Geiger, & Martinko (2001) and integrated the components of the decision-making process and the individual and situational factors influencing those components identified in existing general conceptual models and specific behavioral guidelines. For the ethical decision-making process to begin, a practitioner must be able to recognize the presenting problem as an ethical dilemma (Brazerman, 1986; Jones, 1991; Street et …

Evaluation Of An Interactive Health Communication Trans Fat Website, Tara Banks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to evaluate the short-term educational and behavioral impact of the American Heart Association's "Face the Fats" web application had upon college students, a study involving 116 Utah State University undergraduate students was conducted. A one-group pre-posttest design was utilized to answer eight research questions focusing on: health risks associated with trans fat, general trans fat knowledge, ability to identify foods containing trans and saturated fats, food label information, healthy alternatives to trans fat, and readiness to change trans fat intake. Participants completed an online pretest survey and then viewed the "Face the Fats" website at their own pace. …

Buccal Bone Changes Following Rapid Maxillary Expansion (Rmf), Long-Term Results, Elena S. Iacob

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to use Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images to quantitatively evaluate buccal bone changes of maxillary first premolar (P1), second premolar (P2) and first molar (M1) shortly after Rapid Maxillary Expansion (RME) and at the end of orthodontic treatment, as well as to evaluate the variables that may be associated with the short-term and long-term changes. Forty-seven consecutive patients (25 males and 22 females) with a mean age of 14.5years and who required RME as part of their orthodontic treatment and had pre-RME (T1) and post-RME (T2) CBCT images available were used for the …

Application At The Bedside: Moving From Knowing How To Knowing Why In Nursing, Joyel J. Brule

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nursing field is beginning to emerge as a profession with curricula that emphasis nursing as a discipline distinguished from a medically dominated paradigm. This changing focus places emphasis on professional competence upon graduation and entry into practice to foster fitness for purpose within an environment of continuously changing expectations of the nurse by society. Despite a growing body of research on transition into practice, a gap exists as to when this transition occurs and how this finding may influence educational preparation of nurses. This qualitative, exploratory study examined nurses’ perceptions of their transformation from novice to professional practitioner by …

Nonlinearity And Gestalt Therapy : Back To The Beginning, Darryl G. Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Gestalt methods are explored in the context of the nonlinear view. The original Lewinian equations are updated to the current notions of nonlinear dynamics and current Gestalt Therapy theory. Ordinary differential equations and nonlinear processes are applied some of the key features of Gestalt Theory. Theoretical positions are explored and therapeutic impact considered.

Parental Influences In Child Obesity, Janel Lynn Calinisan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

One of the greatest concerns in American society is peoples’ health. In the past several years there has been an overwhelming increase in obesity in Americans. This concern relates not only to adults, but also to children, as more are found to be overweight. Many factors have been suggested as to why more children are becoming obese, including parenting, demographics, physical activity, nutrition, and biological factors. Studies have shown that parental influence or involvement can be related to child obesity such that neglected children were more likely to be obese in adolescence and sustain it through adulthood. In order to …

For We See And Know In Part: An Examination Of The Portrayal Of African-American Female Athletes On The Covers Of Sports Illustrated, Chanel Leisa Lattimer

Masters Theses

This study examines the print media’s representation of African-American sportswomen’s femininity on the covers of Sport Illustrated. Sport is considered a male-dominated institution; a place where masculinity is expressed. Therefore, in spite of the increased participation for women in sport due to Title IX; the media’s coverage has been minimal and their representation of female athletes has been ambivalent at best, and trivializing at worse. The conveyance of African-American female athletes remains even more complex. Due to historical experiences, African-American women have developed a femininity that falls outside that of mainstream society. Therefore, the lack of coverage African-American female …

Controlled Release Of Insulin And Modified Insulin From A Novel Injectable Biodegradable Gel, Om Anand

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The objective of the study was to develop a controlled release dosage form of
insulin, which can provide basal concentrations of insulin in diabetic rats for 1 to 2 weeks after a single subcutaneous injection.
A biodegradable injectable drug delivery gel was prepared by dissolving a
biodegradable polymer, polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), in biocompatible
plasticizer(s), triethyl citrate (TEC) and/or acetyl triethyl citrate (ATEC). Insulin was
then loaded into the blank gel to form an insulin suspension in the polymer solution.
After the insulin-loaded gel was injected subcutaneously, the plasticizer(s) dissolved in the aqueous media and were gradually taken away from the …

Investigation Of The Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Matrix Protein: Uncoating And Assembly, Chad E. Mire

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) is a simple, enveloped, nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus and is the prototype rhabdovirus to study viral entry, transcription, replication, and assembly. The matrix protein (M) of VSV is a central component of the viral replication cycle. While being the smallest of the viral proteins it is multifunctional and is involved in uncoating, cytopathic effects (CPE), and assembly of the virus. M protein interactions involved in the uncoating and assembly of VSV have been examined in this dissertation.

Uncoating of VSV involves dissociation of M from the ribonucleoprotein core (RNPs) of the virus. Current models of VSV …

Studies Of Entry, Reverse Transcription, And Regulation Of Splicing In Retroviruses, Timothy A. Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The study of retroviruses and their lifecycle has contributed immensely to our knowledge of the world of biology and medicine. The central dogma of the basic flow of genetic information was shattered when the discovery that retroviruses copy their RNA genome into DNA was made. The same enzyme that performs this step, reverse transcriptase (RT), also revolutionized molecular biology when it was used as a tool to generate full length cDNA clones of expressed genes. The impact of retroviruses on the medical field has been extremely exciting as the ideas of using retroviral vectors to deliver genes providing long term …

Structure- And Ligand-Based Design Of Novel Antimicrobial Agents, Kirk Edward Hevener

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The use of computer based techniques in the design of novel therapeutic agents is a rapidly emerging field. Although the drug-design techniques utilized by Computational Medicinal Chemists vary greatly, they can roughly be classified into structure-based and ligand-based approaches. Structure-based methods utilize a solved structure of the design target, protein or DNA, usually obtained by X-ray or NMR methods to design or improve compounds with activity against the target. Ligand-based methods use active compounds with known affinity for a target that may yet be unresolved. These methods include Pharmacophore-based searching for novel active compounds or Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies. …

A Kinematics-Based Testing Protocol To Study The Mechanics Of The Human Lumbar Spine, Nephi A. Zufelt

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The objective of this work was to develop a new kinematics-based testing protocol to quantify the axial and shear force components and rotational moment properties of the human cadaveric lumbar motion segment unit (MSU) in response to specific kinematic inputs. Modern, non-fusion spinal devices claim to treat degenerative disc disease better than traditional fusion surgery. Though there have been many biomechanical studies completed on these devices, there is still a debate over their efficacy. Conventional testing methods provide insight into the rotational properties of the MSU but lack the sensitivity or capacity to quantify lumbar MSU’s mechanical properties including shear …

Manipulation Of The Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus Envelope Protein In An Effort To Develop Directly And Indirectly Targeted Retroviral Vectors For Use In Human Gene Therapy, Geneva M. Vasser

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Highly effective, targeted therapies against cancer would revolutionize the way people recover from this devastating illness. Gone would be the lingering side effects of the current non-specific treatments and in their place would be faster recovery times, better quality of life both during and after treatment, and less ambiguity about whether or not treatment was effective. This concept will elude modern medicine until treatments can be tailored to the patient's individual and unique disease. This concept of a transient, targeted, and tailored vehicle aimed at cancer cells lends itself to the use of replication deficient retroviral gene therapy vectors with …

Role Of The Lpa2 Receptor In Protecting Against Apoptosis, Shuyu E

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a naturally occurring lipid mediator. It exists abundantly in biological fluids such as serum, saliva, follicular fluid, seminal fluid and malignant effusions and induces a vast array of biological responses affecting cell growth, survival, differentiation, migration and morphology. We recently identified lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a potent antiapoptotic agent for the intestinal epithelium. Based on computational modeling octadecenyl thiophosphate (OTP) was synthesized: a novel rationally designed, metabolically stabilized LPA mimic. OTP was more efficacious than LPA in reducing g-irradiation-, camptothecin-, or TNF-a/cycloheximide-induced apoptosis and caspase 3, 8 and 9 activity in the IEC-6 cell line. The …

Regulation Of The Human Parainfluenza Virus (Hpiv3) Fusion Protein, Amanda Ruth Chapman

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Paramyxoviruses include a number of important human pathogens, including measles virus, mumps virus, and the human parainfluenza viruses (hPIV) 1-4, as well as several animal pathogens, such as Sendai virus, Nipah virus and Hendra virus. The creation of effective drugs and vaccines against this family of viruses would play an important role in decreasing the prevalence of these viruses and contributing to the health of both humans and animals worldwide. The purpose of this work was to determine how the fusion (F) protein is regulated with a focus on the heptad repeat B (HRB) region of the F protein located …

The Role Of Fgf Signaling In Retinal Development, Abbie A. Hartge

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The development of the retina is a precise balance between intrinsic competence and extrinsic factors. This interplay is known to regulate the generation of cell types in the developing retina and similar mechanisms have been found in other regions of the CNS. In the developing retina, FGFs are a large family of secreted polypeptide growth factors. Fgf15 is the major Fgf expressed during retinal development in mice. Fgf15 is an example of an FGF that has been shown to control proliferation, cell fate specification, differentiation and migration during development. In this thesis I used analysis of specific genes throughout retinal …

The Relationships Among Adaptive Behaviors Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Their Family Support Networks, Parental Stress, And Parental Coping, Heather Roberts Hall

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the adaptive behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their family support networks, parental stress, and parental coping and the relationships among these variables.

Background: Autism is the fastest growing diagnosed developmental disorder. When parents receive a diagnosis of autism for their child, mothers and fathers are affected differently. The costs to families of children with autism are personal, social, and affect family finances and day to day living. Parents of a child with autism are at high risk for increased stress levels. The child’s socially unacceptable behaviors and communication …

Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms And Obesity In African American Women Transitioning From Welfare To Work, Mayola Rowser

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Depression and obesity are significant public health problems that adversely affect the health and quality of life of women in the United States, particularly female African American welfare recipients transitioning to work. African American women are twice as likely to experience depressive symptoms as women of other races. Fifty percent of African American women are obese. The prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms and obesity is higher among African American women who receive welfare benefits. These health conditions jeopardize their health status, ability to work, and chances to become self-sufficient. To ensure the successful transition of recipients to work, health …

Use Of Compliant Interbody Force Sensing Grafts To Compare Load Sharing Properties Of Unidirectional And Bidirectional Multilevel Dynamic Translational Anterior Cervical Plates, Jason Roscoe Roberson

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

INTRODUCTION: Pseudoarthrosis is a relatively rare complication following anterior cervical arthrodesis, and is felt to be related to stress shielding. To address this, dynamic anterior cervical plates have emerged to maintain load sharing as an arthodesis matures. Dynamic plates can translate bidirectionally (allow translation in compressive and tensile loads), or unidirectionally (allow translation in compression, but maintain its position under tensile loads). The objective of this study was to compare the graft load mechanics between three plated conditions during settling using compliant interbody load cells: A static (fixed, non-moving) plate, a unidirectional multi-level translational plate design, and a bidirectional two-level …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Tetramic Acids As Antimicrobial Agents, Jason B. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

As bacterial infectious diseases are a major cause of morbity and mortality throughout the world, and many causative organisms are resistant to currently available antibiotics, the motivation for the development of new drugs is readily apparent. A number of natural products exhibiting antimicrobial activity possess a tetramic acid (2,4-pyrrolidinedione) functional group. As their antibacterial mechanism of action is different from that of many of the currently available antibiotics, these compounds have potential to serve as a basis for a pharmacophore in synthetic compounds. However, toxicity to eukaryotic cells is frequently a problem with currently known tetramic acids. The purpose of …

Torsina And The Pathophysiology Of Dyt1 Dystonia, Yu Zhao

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The goal of my dissertation work was to examine the systems biology of torsinA, a DYT1 dystonia-associated protein, by using rodent model systems. TorsinA is a putative ATPase associated with a variety of cellular activities (AAA+). Deletion of glutamic acid residue 302/303 in TOR1A is causally associated with many cases of early-onset primary dystonia.

In our work, transient forebrain ischemia and sciatic nerve transection were used as central and peripheral neural perturbations, respectively, to gain insight into the in vivo role(s) of torsinA. Moreover, transgenic mouse models that overexpress either human mutant torsinA (hMT) or wild-type torsinA (hWT) were used …

Interaction Of Bacteriophage Mu Middle Transcription Activator Protein Mor With Promoter Dna, Kartik Iyer

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Gene expression during lytic development of bacteriophage Mu is regulated by a

transcriptional cascade in three phases: early, middle and late. Transcription from the middle promoter Pm requires the 129-amino acid transcriptional activator Mor, a product of early transcription, and the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. The Pm promoter has a recognizable -10 hexamer but lacks a -35 hexamer. Mor binds as a dimer to an imperfect dyad-symmetrical element containing two 6-bp inverted repeats and centered at -43.5 in Pm. The goals of this study were:

1. To test the prediction from the crystal structure of Mor that residues Y70 and …

Promoting Animals For Well-Being And Self-Acceptance With The Human Patient, Vicki J. Marquardt

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Few empirical studies have been conducted in order to scientifically measure the benefits of using animals with individuals suffering from neurological disorders, or traumatic brain injuries, with or without the inclusion of chronic pain. This study looked at the benefit of using horses in the therapeutic setting, by measuring the levels of anxiety, depression, self-esteem and quality of life pre- and post-therapy, in individuals diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Three groups were used in this study, and were measured pre and post therapy over an eight week period of time. The first group did not participate in the therapy at …

Characterizing, Assessing And Improving Healthcare Referral Communication, Adol Esquivel

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Similar to other health care processes, referrals are susceptible to breakdowns. These breakdowns in the referral process can lead to poor continuity of care, slow diagnostic processes, delays and repetition of tests, patient and provider dissatisfaction, and can lead to a loss of confidence in providers. These facts and the necessity for a deeper understanding of referrals in healthcare served as the motivation to conduct a comprehensive study of referrals.

The research began with the real problem and need to understand referral communication as a mean to improve patient care. Despite previous efforts to explain referrals and the dynamics and …

Unsupervised Indexing Of Medline Articles Through Graph-Based Ranking, Jorge R. Herskovic

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The biomedical literature is extensively catalogued and indexed in MEDLINE. MEDLINE indexing is done by trained human indexers, who identify the most important concepts in each article, and is expensive and inconsistent. Automating the indexing task is difficult: the National Library of Medicine produces the Medical Text Indexer (MTI), which suggests potential indexing terms to the indexers. MTI’s output is not good enough to work unattended. In my thesis, I propose a different way to approach the indexing task called MEDRank. MEDRank creates graphs representing the concepts in biomedical articles and their relationships within the text, and applies graph-based ranking …

Structure-Activity Relationship And Mechanistic Studies On The Chemopreventive Activity Of Dipyridamole And Its Analogues, Ja’Wanda Shavon Grant

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

There is an escalating demand in the area of cancer prevention and control for the development of novel agents and molecular targets that have potential to reduce the incidence of cancer. In this study, the JB6 mouse epidermal cell-culture based transformation model was used in efforts to identify novel chemopreventive agents and targets. The nucleoside transport inhibitor dipyridamole (DPM) showed potent chemopreventive activity against JB6 P⁺cells (tumor promotion sensitive). To probe the effects of DPM structural features on its antitumor promotion activity, the soft-agar colony forming efficiency assay was used to screen an in-house library of …

Self-Controlled Feedback And Activity Level In Learning A Simple Movement Skill, Tim Van Nguyen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if active and sedentary individuals differed in terms the effects of self-controlled feedback on the learning of a movement skill. The task consisted of a blindfolded beanbag toss using the non-preferred arm. Participants were prescreened according to their physical activity level using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Craig et al., 2003). An equal number of active (A) and sedentary (S) participants were assigned to self-control (SC) and yoked (Y) feedback conditions, creating four groups: Self-Control Active; Self-Control Sedentary; Yoked Active; and Yoked Sedentary. SC condition participants were provided feedback whenever they requested …

Short-Term Clinical Evaluation Of Nobelreplace® Tapered Groovy Implant, Manouchehr Pouresmail

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this clinical investigation was to make comparisons and to achieve estimates of the short-term implant success, marginal bone resorption, and soft tissue responses around the immediately loaded NobelReplace® Tapered groovy implant (with groove on a rough collar portion) as compared to an implant without a groove on the collar (Replace®Select Tapered). This was a randomized controlled and prospective investigation in which subjects were consecutively included according to strict inclusion/exclusion criteria. Single stage procedure was used with immediate function. Seventeen subjects were recruited, and were randomly divided in two groups. Each group was received the predetermined type of …

C-Reactive Protein Polymorphism And Serum Levels As An Independent Risk Factor In Sickle Cell Disease, Elizabeth A. Chismark

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This study explored the relationship of a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the intron of the CRP gene and serum CRP levels as independent risk factors for end-organ dysfunction (mild vs. severe) in adults with sickle cell disease. The pathogenesis of secondary complications of sickle cell disease is complex and poorly understood. Predicting the severity of these complications could assist in therapeutic decision-making.

The study measured serum CRP levels and the number of CA intron repeats located on the CRP gene in 29 adults (31.74 ± 11.54 years) with sickle cell disease The hemoglobin genotypes were distributed as Hgb SS 48.6% …