Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Neutral Versus Extended Wrist Pushup For Patients With Wrist Injury, Emily Tucci

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The scapholunate interosseous ligament (SLIL) is a crucial stabilizing structure of the wrist. Damage to this ligament often results from falling upon an outstretched hand, leading to carpal instability­.^1,2,3 Tears to the SLIL create a gap in the scapholunate joint and allow the scaphoid to flex and the lunate to extend, rather than moving with one another as they do in healthy physiologic motion.^4,5 The SLIL is normally repaired following injury in order to decrease the risk of arthritis and pain.^1,2,5,6,7 Patients will often begin rehabilitation exercises after SLIL repair in order to reduce recovery time.^{8,9 …}

Relationship Between Syracuse University Employees’ Perceptions, Behaviors, Environment, And Fruit And Vegetable Intake, Alexa Folk Bickhart

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Objective: To determine how employees’ perceptions of the availability and price of fruits and vegetables within the work and surrounding environment correspond to the actual availability and price of fruits and vegetables and influence employees’ fruit and vegetable intakes.

Design: This study is a cross-sectional design comparing a survey of employees’ perceptions and behaviors and an environmental audit assessing the healthfulness of dining facilities on campus.

Setting: Syracuse University and the surrounding eating environment.

Participants: 130 Syracuse University employees.

Methods: Employees were invited to complete the Work Campus Environment & Behavior Perceptions Survey. The survey consisted of 28 Likert scale …

Examination Of Dietary Intake And Supplement Use Among Girls Ages 9-18, With Emphasis On Calcium And Iron, Katelyn E. Castro, Sydney Karp

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Diets of children and adolescents are often lacking in key nutrients due to their low intakes of important food groups (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy). This study examined nutrients of concern for growing girls compared to dietary recommendations. Specifically iron and calcium were analyzed to determine the highest dietary sources of these micronutrients and the impact of supplementation on girls’ mean intake. This cross-sectional analysis used a subset of data from a longitudinal study of growth and development in active Caucasian girls (n=74). Dietary data and supplement use were collected using the Youth Adolescent Questionnaire (Rockett, Wolf & …

Students’ Dietary Behaviors Related To Their Perception Of The College Dining Environment, Emily Danckers

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The objective of this Capstone is to study the healthfulness of the college dining environment and compare students’ perceptions of dining hall healthfulness and their behaviors by their dieting status.

The methodology used in this Capstone included the distribution of a healthy campus survey to a convenience sample of students at Syracuse University. This survey assessed health-oriented perceptions of the environment and behaviors, meal intentions, height, weight, desired weight status, and demographics. This capstone focused on the perception of dining halls on campus. The dining hall audit tool assessed the healthfulness of foods and the supportiveness of the environment of …

A Study To Explore Mindfulness Among Vegetarian And Non-Vegetarian Students On A College Campus, Miho Hatanaka

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Mindful eating is characterized by being fully present in the moment and using all the senses in the body to taste and savor food. There is a growing interest in the practice of mindful eating as it is shown to be effective for weight management and improving diet. Also in general, studies have shown that vegetarians tend to be more conscious about their food choices. This project, a cross sectional study, examines whether vegetarians exhibit a higher index of mindful eating than non-vegetarians. To conduct this study, 564 self-administered online surveys were collected and evaluated. The survey included both questions …

A Comparison Of Turkish Students In Istanbul And Syracuse: Using Three-Day Food Records, Surveys, And Photovoice To Evaluate Changes In Dietary Habits With Acculturation And Plan An Appropriate Nutrition Intervention, Brittany L. Peterson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The immigrant population of the United States is growing rapidly, so the health status of immigrant populations is an important public health issue. When it comes to nutrition, research has shown that immigration to the United States is often associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases, in particular, those related to dietary changes that include lower fruit and vegetable consumption and higher fat intake (Satia et al., 2002).

“Dietary acculturation” is the term used to describe the changing dietary patterns of immigrants, but in this research it is used in relation to the changing dietary habits of international students …

Growing Food And Community: An Exploration Of Local Food Initiatives In Cape Town, South Africa, Megan Bradley

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Local food has recently arisen as a social movement, a diet, and an economic strategy. While the concept is abstract, it is characterized by an emphasis on organic production, conscious consumption, and the convergence of the farm and table. In Cape Town, South Africa, efforts exist across a wide variety of businesses, organizations and communities defined geographically, socially, and economically. This study explores the role of local food initiatives in sustainable community development with a focus on the notions of food sovereignty, community capacity, and social capital. It aims to compare diverse schemes in the movement to identify commonalities in …

Fracture Toughness Of Irradiated Bone In A Murine Model, Lynda Marie Brady

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Cancer is a prevalent and diverse disease affecting fourteen million people in the United Sates alone. While some cancers can be treated effectively with one-time operations such as surgery, other cancers require more persistent treatments, commonly chemotherapy and radiation. These latter two treatments can have extreme side-effects and long-term ramifications. One long-term side effect of radiation therapy is a higher incidence of insufficiency fractures in bones of the skeleton. The mechanism responsible for this apparent weakness in bone is not well understood. In order to quantify changes in ductility following radiation therapy, femora from mice treated with 20 Gy radiation …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Polysialic Acid-Polycaprolactone Based Micelles For Drug Delivery, Weston Ryan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The growing use and investigation of pharmaceuticals to treat disease has offered the field of drug delivery an opportunity to further improve upon the effects provided, as well as address therapeutic complications. An effective long-term treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has yet be developed, while many current treatments pose disadvantageous side effects due to undesirable reactions outside of the diseased tissue. Therefore, there is a need for an improved strategy for RA treatment. A previously developed drug carrier system based on polysialic acid (PSA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) micelles was shown to be effective for in vitro therapeutic use. The evaluated …

Development Of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Nanoparticles For Cancer Therapy, Philip Choiniere

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a class of biopolyesters produced and stored by bacteria, have garnered attention for a number of industrial and biomedical applications. The goal of the current study was to extend the use of PHAs to drug delivery for the treatment of cancer. As a first step, the cytotoxicity of poly(3- hydroxy-octanoate-co-10-undecanoate) (PHOU) towards the A549 lung carcinoma cell line was determined and nanoparticles were prepared via a single emulsion technique. Elution tests, whereby cells were grown in fluid extracts obtained from media incubated for 24 hours at 37°C with PHOU films, did not result in any significant changes in …

Knowledge And Behaviors Surrounding A Gluten-Free Diet Between Medically And Self-Diagnosed Individuals, Sara Andrea Quinteros-Fernandez

Theses - ALL

Objective: Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley has been linked to the inflammatory response of the GI tract in individuals with Celiac Disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and in some cases irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Several factors have contributed to the increase in these gluten-related disorders in recent years, including improved medical diagnosis, public awareness of the disease, changes in the composition of wheat due to modern agricultural technologies and perceived health benefits from following a gluten-free diet. The purpose of this research was to examine the knowledge, behaviors and adherence to a gluten-free diet by individuals with …

Redesigning The Use Of Electronic Health Records In The Exam Room: A Multidisciplinary Approach, Quinton Dean Fletchall

Theses - ALL

Utilizing video-recordings and transcriptions of actual clinical interactions, as well as interviews with patients and physicians, this thesis analyzes how the use of electronic health records, and the information found within them, impact doctor-patient interaction and, in effect, notions of patient-centered care. ‘Patient centered care,’ a major area of focus in doctor-patient communication literature, is a style of interaction where the patient is put first and their concerns and feelings are given priority over the ‘biomedical agenda’ by the doctor. Using a multidisciplinary approach between language and social interaction and industrial and interaction design, this thesis proposes possible changes to …

The Potential For Greek Housing To Shape Diet And Exercise Patterns: An Exploratory Intra-Greek Comparison, Anna Rose Riverso

Dissertations - ALL

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in diet and exercise patterns in sorority women from campuses with different Greek Life structures. The goal was to determine if the centralization of the sorority through the presence of a chapter sorority house altered these health behaviors for any of the women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to gather data from sorority members at two northeastern universities during October of 2014. Women created a one-week food and exercise record through the MyFitnessPal application for smartphones. They were also asked to complete a survey with questions regarding …

The Use Of Shape Memory Polymers As A Tool To Study Human Fibrosarcoma And Murine Mesenchymal Stem Cell Migration, Justin N. Elkhechen

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of “smart” materials that can transform between two distinct conformations through external stimuli, such as heat or electricity. Their usage in bioengineering has led to a promising field of research that lies at the interface of cell and mechanobiology, potentially providing insight into cancer therapies and tissue development—two processes that exist in dynamic environments in vivo. The present work involves creating new, shape changing, scaffolds for studies to analyze cell migration upon changes to the environmental topography. Specifically, this Capstone has been primarily focused on the development of a “half and half” fibrous …

Characterization Of Ghrelin O-Acyltransferase Active Site, Leslie Patton

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Ghrelin, first discovered in 1999, is a 28-amino acid peptide hormone involved in the regulation of appetite, insulin secretion and sensitivity, and many neurological effects such as learning, memory, and depression.^1-6 Ghrelin has been identified to have a unique posttranslational octanoylation carried out by the enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). This distinctive modification is a point of interest in studying GOAT whereby blocking the acylation of the ghrelin could potentially halt the activity of the peptide hormone and provide a means of treating obesity, diabetes, and other diseases affected by ghrelin levels. The duration of my project involved working …

Estrodial Effects On Age-Related Shifts In Learning And Memory: A Multiple Memory Systems Approach, Luis Castelan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Many findings from our lab and others suggest that circulating estrogens as well as estrogen replacement after ovariectomy influence cognitive performance. Young female rats trained during proestrus, when estrogens are high, or with acute estradiol (E2) administration after ovariectomy perform better on the hippocampus-sensitive place task but worse on the striatum-sensitive response task (Korol et al., 2004; Korol and Kolo, 2002). Behavioral neuroscience studies tend to use male rodent models to avoid the complexities of the female reproductive cycle, producing a gap in our knowledge about neural mechanisms of learning and memory in females. As a consequence, age-related effects of …

The Incidence Of Chagas Coinfections Amongst Acute Dengue Patients In Machala, Ecuador, Elizabeth A. Mcmahon

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Dengue fever is a febrile illness found throughout the tropics that, in severe cases, can be deadly. The most rapidly spreading of any mosquito-borne disease, dengue is re-emerging as an illness of great concern in Latin America and around the globe. The CDC estimates that as many as 400 million cases of dengue occur each year. The pathogenesis of dengue virus is complicated and acts through modulation of the host immune system. Dengue polarizes the immune system balance of T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 2 (Th2) cells towards a Th1 inflammatory response. Parasitic infections have also been shown …

Differential Activation Of Microglia In An In Vitro Model Of Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Bhakti Patel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

An in vitro model of intracerebral hemorrhage was established to examine the protective versus cytotoxic roles of microglia in the context of mild versus severe injury. Co-cultures of microglia, astrocytes, and granule neurons were prepared from the cerebellar cortex of neonatal rats, and grown in standard medium containing fetal bovine serum or, in some cases, a serum-free chemically defined medium. To mimic hemorrhagic stroke, co-cultures grown for 7-8 days in vitro were challenged with two different concentrations of the toxic blood product hemin, corresponding to a mild versus a severe brain bleed. Immunocyto-chemical, real-time RT-PCR, iron deposition, and cell survival …

Maternal Obesity And Incidence Of Depression, Caroline A. Habjan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Obesity is a national epidemic in the United States, which both directly and indirectly affects the social productivity of individuals, the American macro economy and individuals’ personal health and well being. Depression often interferes with an individual’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. A maternal state of both obesity and depression may cause serious adverse medical conditions in the mother’s child. Taking steps to treat depression and obesity are critical in the construct of modern medicine. This project yields results that have the potential to make treatment options better tailored, more efficient, effective and economically-sound for the …

Localizing The International: Examining How Fieldworkers Combat Adolescent Pregnancy In Northern Ghana, Alexandra C. Sloss

Honors Capstone Projects - All

International aid is often ineffective because it is delivered without an understanding of local ideologies and contexts. My Capstone examined whether or not international aid in northern Ghana could be effective when addressing adolescent pregnancy. The Ghanaian programs I address in my Capstone are six non-governmental organizations, a government sub-district clinic and government junior high schools. The majority of my data was collected through interviews with individuals at all levels of the organizations, including directors, staff members, volunteers and individuals seeking the organization’s services. Alongside interviews I also spent time in the field, participating in youth group discussions, visiting regional …