Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Msa In The Global Regulation Of Virulence In Staphylococcus Aureus, Vijayaraj Nagarajan

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing life threatening diseases in humans. Previously we showed that msa modulates the activity of sarA (Staphylococcal accessory regulator), which is one of a major global regulator of virulence in S. aureus. The objective of this study is to characterize the role of msa (Modulator of SarA) in the global regulation of virulence in S. aureus. Structure and function predictions were done using several computational tools and approaches to understand the nature of msa. A novel S. aureus microarray meta-database (SAMMD) was designed and developed to compare and contrast other transcriptomes with msa transcriptome. …

Knowledge Of Pain Management In Older Adults As A Content Area For Continuing Professional Education For Licensed Nurses, Wanda Cleveland Dubuisson

Dissertations

The research of the last 30 years has revealed the inadequacy of pain management in the older adult. Although evidenced-based clinical practice guidelines exist to direct the management of pain in the older adult, health care providers are either unaware or lack the proper understanding of the guidelines. This study investigated the differences in knowledge of pain management in older adults when examining licensed acute care nurses and extended care nurses. It sampled 118 acute care nurses working in two hospitals in Mississippi and 78 extended care nurses working in six extended care facilities (ECF) in Mississippi.

Based upon the …

A Study To Determine Factors That Inhibit Compliance With Engaging In Recommended Papanicoaou Smear Screenings In African American Women, Valecia Gail Carter-Vaughn

Dissertations

Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screenings help to detect abnormal cervical cells in the cervix. African American women are usually diagnosed in the later stages of cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine factors that inhibit compliance with Pap smear screening in African American women.

Ninety-three African American women ages 18 or older, attending an urban health clinic participated in this descriptive design study to answer three research questions: 1) What factors inhibit compliance with recommended Pap smear screening in African American women age 18 or older? 2) Is there a difference between participants who attended the mobile clinic …

Use Of Monoclonal ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Antibodies Chemically Bound To A Polystyrene Surface Using Glutaraldehyde For The Purpose Of Extracting ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid From Postmortem Whole Blood Samples For Analysis By Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Thomas Sidney Pittman

Dissertations

Quantitations of drugs and their respective metabolites in postmortem blood samples using gas chromatographic instrumentation is a primary analytical practice used to determine if drugs played a role in or were the cause of a victim's death. Postmortem blood samples often prove difficult to work with due to interfering substances formed during the putrefaction process. Attempts to eliminate interfering substances with present day extraction methods can be time-consuming, costly and often ineffective when dealing with drugs that exhibit toxicity or impairment at very low concentrations. This study was conducted using monoclonal antibodies chemically bound to a polystyrene surface to extract …

The Rhetorical Strategies Of Pregnancy Support Centers Including The Visual Rhetoric Of Fetal Ultrasound Technology, Raymond Kyle Jones

Dissertations

This study examined the rhetorical strategies, including verbal and visual rhetoric, of pregnancy support centers that provide clients with fetal ultrasounds to persuade those who may be considering abortion as a means of resolving their unplanned pregnancy to carry to term. Qualitative data were gathered from 12 interviews of directors and ultrasound personnel from 7 states as well as from television advertisements and printed material. Eighteen research questions investigating the rhetorical transactions between centers and clients were answered. Rhetorical analyses were performed on the verbal and visual messages used in client interactions.

The grounded theory approach of inquiry resulted in …