Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Achieving Impactful Treatment For Pediatric Endocrine Disorders Through Primary Care In Low To Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review, Hannah E. Olson

Undergraduate Research Awards

Background: Endocrine disorders affect over 5% of the world’s population, with an additional 5% undiagnosed. Despite the increasing prevalence of endocrine disorders, especially cases in low to middle-income countries, limited research offers comprehensive guidance on trea9ng this complex medical field.

Objecive/Aim: To provide evidence-based recommendations for efficient, effective, and accessible treatment of pediatric endocrine conditions in low to middle income countries.

Method: We used the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews to analyze health care administration approaches in low to middle-income countries. These approaches included primary care, specialized care, government intervention, and mobile health initiatives. Evaluation criteria focused …

China's Hidden Role In Malaria Control And Elimination In Africa, Julius Nyerere Odhiambo, Carrie B. Dolan, Ammar A. Malik, Aaron Tavel

Arts & Sciences Articles

Background

Insufficient funding is hindering the achievement of malaria elimination targets in Africa, despite the pressing need for increased investment in malaria control. While Western donors attribute their inaction to financial constraints, the global health community has limited knowledge of China’s expanding role in malaria prevention. This knowledge gap arises from the fact that China does not consistently report its foreign development assistance activities to established aid transparency initiatives. Our work focuses on identifying Chinese-funded malaria control projects throughout Africa and linking them to official data on malaria prevalence. By doing so, we aim to shed light on China’s contributions …

Chinese Health Funding In Africa: The Untold Story, Carrie B. Dolan, Ammar A. Malik, Sheng Zhang, Wenhui Mao, Et Al.

Arts & Sciences Articles

The motivations behind China’s allocation of health aid to Africa remain complex due to limited information on the details of health aid project activities. Insufficient knowledge about the purpose of China’s health aid hinders our understanding of China’s comprehensive role in supporting Africa’s healthcare system. To address this gap, our study aimed to gain better insights into China’s health aid priorities and the factors driving these priorities across Africa. To achieve this, we utilized AidData’s Chinese Official Finance Dataset and adhered to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. We reclassified all 1,026 health projects in Africa, originally …

Chinese Health Funding In Africa: The Untold Story, Carrie B. Dolan, Ammar A. Malik, Sheng Zhang, (...), Eli Svoboda, Julius Nyerere Odhiambo

Arts & Sciences Articles

The motivations behind China’s allocation of health aid to Africa remain complex due to limited information on the details of health aid project activities. Insufficient knowledge about the purpose of China’s health aid hinders our understanding of China’s comprehensive role in supporting Africa’s healthcare system. To address this gap, our study aimed to gain better insights into China’s health aid priorities and the factors driving these priorities across Africa. To achieve this, we utilized AidData’s Chinese Official Finance Dataset and adhered to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. We reclassified all 1,026 health projects in Africa, originally …

Modeling Perinatal Outcomes In Disaggregated Asian American Subgroups, Suditi Shyamsunder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Asian mothers, as an aggregate, may be at increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes, but heterogeneity between disaggregated Asian American subgroups is an understudied topic. The first objective of this study is to examine differences in perinatal outcomes between disaggregated Asian American subgroups and differences compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). The second goal is to develop models to predict gestational diabetes, one perinatal outcome, in Asian Indian mothers to see how precision medicine may be able to advance pregnancy care. Using the National Vital Statistics System Natality Dataset (n=10,823,868), odds ratios (OR) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for …

Cognitive Decline And Contact Sports: The Relationship Between P3 Amplitude And Sub-Concussive Head Impact, Elizabeth Kerman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study sought to explore the effect of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts on the P3 event-related potential (ERP) amplitude and measures of movement kinematics. University students participating in collision, contact, and non-contact sports at the club and varsity level completed a cued visuomotor adaptation task. Results indicated that participants who estimated experiencing four or more sub-concussive head impacts per week display a significantly reduced P3 amplitude across both normal and adaptive trials. Additionally, participants who estimated experiencing less than four sub-concussive head impacts per week displayed no significant changes in P300 amplitude between “switch” and “stay” trials. This research …

Predicting Micronutrient Deficiency With Publicly Available Satellite Data, Elizabeth Bondi-Kelly, Haipeng Chen, Christopher D. Golden, Nikhil Behari, Milind Tambe

Arts & Sciences Articles

Micronutrient deficiency (MND), which is a form of malnutrition that can have serious health consequences, is difficult to diagnose in early stages without blood draws, which are expensive and time-consuming to collect and process. It is even more difficult at a public health scale seeking to identify regions at higher risk of MND. To provide data more widely and frequently, we propose an accurate, scalable, low-cost, and interpretable regional-level MND prediction system. Specifically, our work is the first to use satellite data, such as forest cover, weather, and presence of water, to predict deficiency of micronutrients such as iron, Vitamin …

Spatial And Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Approaches To Inform Covid-19 Surveillance And Control: A Systematic Review Of Statistical And Modelling Methods In Africa, Julius Nyerere Odhiambo, Carrie B. Dolan, Lydia Troup, Nathaly Perez Rojas

Arts & Sciences Articles

Objective Various studies have been published to better understand the underlying spatial and temporal dynamics of COVID-19. This review sought to identify different spatial and spatio-temporal modelling methods that have been applied to COVID-19 and examine influential covariates that have been reportedly associated with its risk in Africa.

Design Systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Data sources Thematically mined keywords were used to identify refereed studies conducted between January 2020 and February 2022 from the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE via Proquest, CINHAL via EBSCOhost and Coronavirus Research Database via ProQuest. A manual …

Understanding The Public Health Role, Motivations, And Perceptions Of Community Health Workers Deployed To Low-Income Housing In Richmond, Virginia, Iyabo Obasanjo, Alison Scott, Monica Griffin, Amma Agyemang-Duah, Charlie Westhoff, Stephanie Toney, Patrice Shelton

Arts & Sciences Articles

Background

Method

Synthesis And Biological Testing Of Small-Molecule Mitochondrial Complex I Inhibitors, Willough Sloan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis delineates two main projects: the first outlines the structure elucidation efforts toward a Diels-Alder adduct of a novel reaction for the synthesis of chimaphilin, a naphthoquinone-based natural product with apoptotic or antiproliferative activity in certain cancer cells^1,2. The structure elucidation extends to derivatives of chimaphilin synthesized by the same cyclization reaction. While Diels-Alder reactions are usually regioselective, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR of the adducts was inconclusive and indicated the possibility of regioisomer presence, with one regioisomer being chimaphilin (or derivatives). A multitude of crystallization methods were carried out in order to be able to analyze …

The Economic Efficiency Of Aid Targeting, Ariel Benyishay, Matthew Dilorenzo, Carrie B. Dolan

Arts & Sciences Articles

How efficient is the targeting of foreign aid to populations in need? A long literature has focused on the impacts of foreign aid, but much rarer are studies that examine how such aid is allocated within countries. We examine the extent to which donors efficiently respond to exogenous budget shocks by shifting resources toward needier districts within a given country, as predicted by theory. We use recently geocoded data on the World Bank’s aid in 23 countries that crossed the lower-middle income threshold between 1995 and 2010 and thus experienced sharp aid reductions. We measure locations’ need along a number …

Spatial And Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Approaches To Inform Covid-19 Surveillance And Control: A Review Protocol, Julius Nyerere Odhiambo, Carrie B. Dolan

Arts & Sciences Articles

Introduction

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have afflicted millions worldwide. Understanding the underlying spatial and temporal dynamics can help orient timely public health policies and optimize the targeting of non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccines to the most vulnerable populations, particularly in resource-constrained settings. The review systematically summarises important methodological aspects and specificities of spatial approaches applied to COVID-19 in Africa.

Methods

Thematically selected keywords will be used to search for refereed studies in the following electronic databases PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, CINHAL, and Coronavirus Research Database from January 2020 to February 2022. Two …

True Price Of A Pack: Tobacco Expenditure And Height-For-Age In Indonesia, Madeline Helfer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

While the negative impact of tobacco on the health of smokers is well known, the ways in which smoking impacts the health of the smoker’s children is less understood. This study explores whether tobacco expenditure increases the risk of stunting among children under the age of five in Indonesia, where smoking and stunting rates are among the highest in Southeast Asia. Given the severe income constraints faced by poor Indonesian households, large tobacco expenditure potentially “crowds-out” spending on nutrition, worsening the nutritional health of children in smoking households. To examine this relationship, I use a sample of children under the …

Student Sleep Patterns When Exposed To Mindfulness Reminders, Zeyanna Dhalla

Undergraduate Honors Theses

University students are plagued with increased levels of stress and anxiety which can lead to poor sleep quality and quantity. Breathing techniques have demonstrated counteractive effects to the chronic stresses that the population encounters on an everyday basis. Wearable technology, such as Apple Watches, contain a mindfulness feature that encourages its users to pause throughout the day and engage in mindfulness through resonant breathing. Wearable technology has become increasingly accessible and is also growing in accuracy to measure different biometrics such as sleep quality and quantity. The purpose of the present study was to examine if the mindfulness reminders initiated …

Machine Learning In Healthcare: Improving The Diagnosis Of Pulmonary Embolism In Covid-19 Patients, Soheb Osmani

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created new challenges for clinicians diagnosing pulmonary embolism (PE). Clinicians currently rely on D-Dimer levels in conjunction with clinical prediction scores to rule out and diagnose PE. However, patients with COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2) often present with elevated D-Dimer levels. D-Dimer levels in COVID-19 patients have been found to be positively correlated with the severity of disease. Symptoms of COVID-19 also often align with symptoms of PE. Therefore, it becomes more difficult for clinicians to identify which COVID-19 positive patients should undergo further testing for PE. This study evaluates …

The Pandemic From Above: Estimating Covid-19 Cases Using Deep Learning And Satellite Imagery, John Hennin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Monitoring the spread of an outbreak of disease (such as COVID-19) is an important component of any coordinated pandemic response. Across the globe, our ability to conduct such monitoring - especially at early stages of the COVID- 19 pandemic - was highly limited due to a lack of public reporting mechanisms. Today, the process of case data collection remains expensive and, in some regions, is subject to political considerations. Researchers have turned to some techniques leveraging Google Trends and Twitter data to overcome limitations in public data sources. Here, we provide another approach which leverages satellite information to provide estimates …

A Mathematical Model Of Vagus Nerve Stimulation In Alzheimer's Disease, Julianne Miranda

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by cognitive decline as a result of brain atrophy. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown but current theories involve the aggregation of amyloid beta plaques as well as neurofibrillary tangles. Inflammation is emerging as central to the progression of the disease, with increased amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles associated with the Nuclear Factor Kappa B pathway. This project presents a mathematical model of the impact of vagus nerve stimulation in Alzheimer’s Disease, as seen through the Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NFKB) pathway. The model examines several factors involved in the inflammatory …

Digestibility Kinetics Of Polyhydroxyalkanoate And Poly(Butylene Succinate-Co-Adipate) After In Vitro Fermentation In Rumen Fluid, Hailey Galyon, Samuel Vibostok, (...), Kirk J. Havens, Jason Mcdevitt, Rebecca Cockrum

VIMS Articles

Using polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) materials for ruminal boluses could allow for longer sustained release of drugs and hormones that would reduce administration time and unneeded animal discomfort caused by continuous administration. The objective of this study was to determine ruminal degradability and kinetics of biodegradable polymers and blends. A proprietary PHA-based polymer, poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), PBSA:PHA melt blends, and forage controls were incubated in rumen fluid for up to 240 h. Mass loss was measured after each incubation time, and digestion kinetic parameters were estimated. Thermogravimetric, differential scanning calorimetry, and intrinsic viscosity analyses were conducted on incubated samples. Generally, across treatments, …

The Origins Of Inspiratory And Sigh Breathing Rhythms: Ion Channels, Bursting Mechanisms, And Synaptic Topologies Studied In Vitro And In Silico, Cameron J. Grover

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Breathing is the rhythmic motor behavior which maintains homeostasis by driving gas exchange between our blood and the atmosphere. This behavior is essential for life in all terrestrial mammals. This behavior involves two distinct but coupled rhythms: the inspiratory rhythm, the normal breathing rhythm that occurs on the order of seconds, and the sigh rhythm, which produces large amplitude breaths that occur on the order of minutes and maintain pulmonary function. The rhythm for both behaviors and their control originates in a specialized neuronal region of the ventral medulla called the preBötzinger complex (preBötC). While we know the anatomical region …

Soldier’S Beliefs In Abstinence Before And After The Implementation Of A Novel Army Nicotine-Free Policy, Adam Edward Lang, Aleksandra Yakhkind, Adena J. Schonfeld, Frank T. Leone

VIMS Articles

United States Army soldiers have used tobacco for decades1 despite known health risks associated with these products.2 Material connections between the tobacco industry and the military during the early part of the 20th century, coupled with pervasive advertising images of soldiers using tobacco during combat, served to promote tobacco use among young recruits entering training.3 A variety of policies
have been instituted during the training period, to varied and sometimes suboptimal effect.4 Currently, tobacco (defined as any non-therapeutic nicotine product) is banned during basic combat training (BCT), the first phase of training in a soldier’s career, which lasts 10 weeks. …

Developing Iron Complexes For Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Generation, Benjamin Travis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Artificial photosynthesis systems convert solar energy into chemical fuels such as hydrogen gas. Photocatalytic hydrogen generation systems have previously been developed, but reliance on expensive metal catalysts limits the viability of these systems. In order for artificial photosynthesis to be used as a large-scale clean energy solution, it is crucial to discover more active and cost-efficient catalysts.

To this end, several novel iron polypyridyl complexes were synthesized using relatively inexpensive reactants. Electrochemical testing revealed that these complexes are active electrocatalysts for the reduction of protons to generate hydrogen gas. Furthermore, a naphthalene-terminated iron polypyridyl complex was found to be an …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Paediatric Surgery: An Economic Evaluation Of World Paediatric Project Surgical Interventions In St. Vincent And The Grenadines (2002–2019), Carrie B. Dolan, Samuel A. Agyemang, Brian Clare, Charles Coleman, Et Al.

Arts & Sciences Articles

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to examine the cost-effectiveness of six types of surgical interventions as part of a sustained paediatric surgical programme in St.Vincent and the Grenadines from 2002 to 2019.

Design

In this economic model, six paediatric surgical interventions (ophthalmic, orthopaedic, plastic, general, urology, neurosurgery) were compared with no surgery in a deterministic cost-effectiveness model. We assessed health benefits as averted disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Costs were included from the programme perspective and measured using standard micro-costing methods. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated for each type of surgical intervention. Interventions with ICERs of <50% of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita were considered cost-effective. Costs are reported in 2019 US$. Univariate sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the effect of uncertainty.

Results

The average …

The Battle Between Expertise And Misinformation To Influence Public Opinion: A Focus On The Anti-Vaccination Movement, Alexandra Bongiorno

Undergraduate Honors Theses

How do experts and anti-vaccination advocates effectively influence public opinion? This study examines the role of experts and non-experts in influencing public opinion. It uses the anti-vaccination movement as a case study to observe the antagonism between expert opinion and misinformation and how they are perceived by and influence the public. In particular, I examine the relationships between social media, misinformation, and expert opinion and how these relationships impact individuals to form their opinions. Additionally, I measure individual components such as science education background, ideology, and social media use to determine the effects of personal factors on opinion formation. I …

Welcoming The Game Changer Of Human Society: A Defense Of The Moral Permissibility And Obligations Of Human Genetic Engineering, Yongkang Li

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2018, a Chinese scientist, Jiankun He, announced the birth of two HIV-resistant babies through his experiment of human genetic engineering. This incidence has soon shocked the entire scientific community and invoked public outrage towards He’s corrupt moral integrity.

However, this event should also act as a harbinger to the human society that the technique of human genetic engineering is rapidly approaching maturity. In that case, how should we respond?

This thesis focuses on the moral issues surrounding human genetic engineering and advertises an accepting moral attitude to this booming technology. This thesis will first discuss the types of human …

Laurence Sterne: A Different Way Of Approaching The Notion Of Life In The Early Novel, Robert Metaxatos

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis employs the later philosophy of Michel Foucault to think through the unique set of socio-cultural problems that emerged alongside the early novel. I endeavor to explain the development of “biopower” and the concomitant (yet historically grounded) concept of a mass population in order to round off a nettlesome tendency among historicist rise-of-the-novel critics to focus on the creation of a bourgeois individual at this time. To that end, the texts of Anglo-Irish author Laurence Sterne bear out a unique narratorial response to biopower that begins with the ‘body’ of his work: i.e., Shandeism. Signaling the importance of the …

Message Reframing & Covid-19 Safety Precautions, Elise Coberly

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Past research found that the personality aspect Orderliness was more strongly associated with conservatism, while Compassion was more strongly associated with liberalism. The present research aimed to examine whether framing COVID-19 safety precautions (about mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccination) with an Orderliness or Compassion focus would make the message more receptive to liberals and conservatives. We hypothesized that reframing the messages to match with the participants’ personality and ideological leanings would lead to greater support for the message. In our study (N = 679), participants read a COVID-19 safety precaution message with either an Orderliness or Compassion frame …

The Role Of Spider Silk In Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Langston Forbes-Jackson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spider silk neural guidance channels (NGCs) are highly important innovations in the field of regenerative medicine. This paper will discuss the evidence in the literature that supports their function in regenerative medicine and provide a template for future experiments in the field. While many studies within the past 15 years have demonstrated the validity of spider silk as a scaffold for peripheral nerve regeneration, the molecular mechanics that facilitate regeneration are poorly understood. An emphasis on using silk from orb weaving spiders in particular may have caused researchers to overlook other spiders whose silk could prove to have vastly different …

Running Naked And Unmasked In Goa: Pleasure In The Pandemic, R. Benedito Ferrão

Arts & Sciences Articles

In November 2020, Indian celebrity Milind Soman posted a picture of himself on social media, which showed him running naked on a beach. He was charged with obscenity. This article considers the time and place of Soman’s act over the alleged impropriety. The photograph was taken on a beach in Goa, the tropical setting serving as a pleasure periphery to India which annexed the region in 1961. Accordingly, a longer history of states of undress in Indian advertising, filmmaking, and tourism are considered here to apprehend how Goa has been posited in the Indian imagination as a destination for wanton …

The Influence Of Marginalization On Cultural Attitudes And Trash Disposal Practices In Esfuerzo De Paraíso Of The Dominican Republic: A Qualitative Interview Study, Madison Sasman, Carrie B. Dolan, Daniel Villegas, Estelle Eyob, Catherine Barrett

Arts & Sciences Articles

The inadequate management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in fast-developing nations is a major public health problem. Trash collection is often inconsistent, leaving residents to use unsafe disposal methods such as incineration or unregulated dumping. The issue is especially pronounced in marginalized communities, where public service provision is scarce. Past research has identified factors that perpetuate harmful disposal practices. The current study expanded on previous work by exploring how individuals’ perceptions of political, spatial, and economic marginalization affected their agency with regards to waste management. Researchers focused on a marginalized community in the Dominican Republic known as Esfuerzo de Paraíso. …

Cellular And Synaptic Mechanisms That Underlie Eupnea And Sigh Rhythms For Breathing Behavior In Mice, Daniel Scott Borrus

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Breathing is a lifelong activity that involves the coordination of several rhythmic behaviors. This dissertation investigates the neural origins of two of these breathing rhythms: eupnea and sighing. Eupnea, or regular unlabored breathing, occurs on the order of seconds and serves to drive the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the circulatory system and the environment. Sighs, deep breaths that are typically 2-5 times the volume of a eupneic breath, occur on the order of minutes and are critical in maintaining pulmonary function. Understanding how these rhythms are generated on a cellular and synaptic level is an essential step …