Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Comparative Study Of Esl Children's Improvement In Reading, Writing, Listening, And Speaking Using The Grapeseed Program, Morgan Mainess

Honors Theses

GrapeSEED is a program currently administered in the Berrien Springs Public School System that is specifically designed to improve literacy (reading and writing), listening, and speaking skills for English as a Second Language (ESL) chi ldren. This study analyzed whether the GrapeSEED program would significantly improve participants' development when compared to their pre-tests. Empirical observational data was additionally collected at Mars Elementary during the 2018-2019 academic year. A statistical analysis indicated significant advancement in listening and literacy with increased improvement for younger participants in the GrapeSEED program.

Purpose

This study aimed to determine the improvement in participant's development in the …

Food Insecurity On Wmu’S Campus: Student Satisfaction Of The Invisible Need Project, Ava Daly

Honors Theses

Previous research suggests that food insecurity is higher among college students and individuals from minority populations than the general population. Many college campuses have recognized this issue and developed on-campus food pantries to mitigate food insecurity among students. Nevertheless, barriers exist that prevent students from utilizing on-campus pantries. The purpose of this study was to investigate college students’ relationship to food and food access at Western Michigan University (WMU). Student satisfaction of WMU’s on-campus food pantry, The Invisible Need Project, was also explored. Data were gathered through a 28-question online survey and one in-person focus group. Participants were undergraduate and …

Depression, Anxiety, And Suicidal Ideation: An Evaluation Of Student Mental Health At Texas A&M — Commerce, Tristan Nelson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Neurosexism: The Extent To Which Sex And Gender Differences In Mental Illness Are Neurologically Explained Versus Socially Constructed, Christie Dionisos

Honors Theses

In the growing age of neuroscience, we are rapidly churning out answers to questions about the mind and mental illness that have always evaded us. While increased neurological understanding is valuable to mental illness, our current understanding of mental illness comes with historical baggage that has negatively shaped society’s beliefs connecting females to illness. Our definitions of mental illness and its association with women came out of a history of stigmatization against women, disease, and Otherness. This has manifested into the pathologization of female experience as mental illness. The onset of new brain science had a similar agenda to make …

The Ketogenic Diet: A Noteworthy Treatment For Pediatric Patients With Refractory Epilepsy, Hannah Christian

Honors Theses

Although epilepsy has been a well-documented neurological disorder for thousands of years, a third of individuals with epilepsy today still have seizures that are not well managed. After the addition of benzodiazepines to other anticonvulsants in the 1950s, doctors have largely focused on treating epilepsy with medications. But, an older treatment has been recently reintroduced into the medical community to help remediate seizure activity. Interestingly, a high fat and low carbohydrate diet regimen called the ketogenic diet has proven to be helpful to some people with refractory epilepsy, that is, epilepsy that does not respond well to medications. In a …

Mutations In The Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Caveolin Interaction Motif Cause Increased Basal Activation, Elizabeth Altman

Honors Theses

Over twelve percent of women aged fifteen to forty-five in America suffer from infertility and/or impaired fecundity and over seven million women have used infertility services, such as intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization. Some cases of infertility may be due to dysfunctional human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) signaling. hFSH plays a role in spermatogenesis in males, as well as follicle maturation and estrogen production in females. Problems with either hFSH or the hFSH receptor (hFSHR) decrease fertility in males and cause complete infertility in females. As part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, hFSH is released from the pituitary gland and …

The Theia Soteria: Alternative Design For Safer Initial Entry During Laparoscopic Procedures, Kayla Dubois, Patrick Ryan, Madelyn Joanis

Honors Theses

Laparoscopic procedures account for 15 million surgeries worldwide [1], with the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity accounting for 33-50% of all major laparoscopic complications [7]. This initial entry is the most dangerous as surgeons must enter the cavity using a sharp object with no visibility and space between the outer surface of the cavity and internal tissues. During the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity, the patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures are at a high risk for damage to internal organs and vasculature, necessitating the development of a device to protect these internal tissues and increase patient safety.

Nutritional Knowledge And Behaviors Of Undergraduate Students, Victoria Inghram

Honors Theses

Poor dietary behavior can lead to various chronic health conditions, such as heart disease and obesity. Because dietary intake takes time to impact health, observing diet knowledge in college students can be beneficial. This study sought to measure whether greater nutritional knowledge would translate to a healthier dietary intake. Nutritional knowledge and behavior were measured and then compared in 257 students in two different undergraduate classes - an introductory nutrition course and a standard biology course - which was the control group. Each class was given the same survey at the beginning and end of the fall semester. Results indicated …

Molecular Nickel-Catalysts For Photocatalytic Reduction Of Co2, Harshin U. Sanjanwala

Honors Theses

Increased atmospheric CO2 has been the result of prominent usage of fossil fuels as a fuel source. As fossil fuels are a nonrenewable energy source, scientists are looking towards more renewable energy resources capable of both efficiently producing energy and reducing atmospheric CO2-emissions. A photocatalyst with an earth-abundant metal capable of chemically reducing CO2 paired with only water and photon inputs would provide a solution to these pressing issues. Here, studies were performed on three catalysts, each with a nickel metal center. Each catalyst went through a series of photocatalytic tests in various conditions to identify whether a catalyst was …

The Importance Of Cultural Humility In Occupational Therapy, Jessika Reberg

Honors Theses

The demographics of the US have changed over the years due to a rise in the number of immigrants in the United States. Despite the rise of immigrants, and the cultural diversity they bring, healthcare disparities remain in the United States for various culture groups. The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of how increased cultural humility can mitigate healthcare disparities. Health care disparities effect minority groups regarding access to care and quality of care. The development of cultural humility can help mitigate disparities because it promotes self-awareness, reflection, and engagement in an on-going learning process. Implicit …

Effects Of Foam Rolling On Range Of Motion And Vertical Jump Height, Giovanna Leone, Chad Smith

Honors Theses

Static stretching has been shown to elicit an acute improvement in range of motion (ROM) in both the contralateral and ipsilateral limb. However, static stretching has also been shown to impair performance. Foam rolling has been used in clinical settings as well as by the general population to increase ROM without impairing performance. To date, there is limited research evaluating the effect of foam rolling on the contralateral limb. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of foam rolling on ROM and single-leg drop jump performance in the foam rolled and non-foam rolled legs. The results …

Modification Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitor Pharmacophore To Assess Anti-Malarial Properties, Margaret Ann Street

Honors Theses

For years, the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and malarial parasites have both been prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Coinfections of HIV-1 and malaria are common in areas of geographic overlap as both infections seem to increase the severity of the other. HIV-1 treatments have shown to decrease the Plasmodium infections resulting in a lower malarial incidence. HIV-1 protease inhibitors target a crucial step in the life cycle required for viral maturation and have demonstrated a lower level of resistance compared with other therapies. Recent studies have shown the treatment of HIV-1 with protease inhibitors has resulted in inhibitory effects …

Neurotoxic Effects Of Hiv-1 Gp120 And Interaction With Allopregnanolone, Kimberly A. Thornton

Honors Theses

With increasing incidence of HIV and its associated neurocognitive disorders, there has emerged a need for an antiviral with improved delivery to the CNS. In searching for drug candidates that meet these criteria, some have noted that certain steroid hormones like estrogen and progesterone that naturally accumulate in the CNS show neuroprotective effects in cells exposed to HIV proteins. This investigation focused on testing the potential protective effects of the progesterone metabolite, allopregnanolone (AlloP), against HIV protein gp120-mediated neurotoxicity. Experiments were conducted using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells that were exposed to varying concentrations of AlloP (0-100 nM) in conjunction with one …

A Comprehensive Examination Of University Of Mississippi Early Entry Students’ Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Brianna Gray

Honors Theses

Mental disorders affect nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States in a given year, and that number is steadily increasing. Pharmacists, being some of the most accessible and frequently contacted health care professionals, must be prepared to provide support for these patients. They can play a key role in whether or not there is a positive patient outcome. Education can play a role in pharmacists’ comfort with and knowledge of mental illness. The primary objective of this study was to determine if University of Mississippi early-entry pharmacy students’ mental illness knowledge, familiarity, and acceptable social distance affected their …

Empathy In Aging, Morgan Kranz, James Charles Arendt

Honors Theses

Empathy in Agingis a project exploring how to show compassion for the inevitable aging process. This form of care is physical and mental. The concept for this work comes from my time working as a nursing assistantin a nursing home. Through my experiences, this project explores what I took away through observation and interaction

Auditory Verbal Hallucinations In Schizophrenia, Katherine Joiner

Honors Theses

The primary auditory cortex being linked to the AVHs could be due to it being overly sensitive when being stimulated by processing found internally, opposing to outward stimulation. The 173 individuals who were available for both structural data and resting state, 83 were found to have schizophrenia or schizoaffective. Resting state echo planar image (EPI) volumes had 32 slices of 4mm 64x64 matrix with 4mm thickness (voxel size = 3x3x4mm), with repetition time (TR) of 2000ms and echo time (TE) of 29ms. A total of 150 volumes (5 minutes) were used in the analysis. The auditory cortex in the SZ …

The Sources And Effects Of Occupational Stress On Recent Graduate Nurses, Athena Pham, Mirabella Mercado

Honors Theses

This paper will examine the underlying stressors and consequences of occupational stress on recent graduate registered nurses and how they cope with it. By exploring the various factors, early interventions and strategies can be implemented to help reduce cases of compassion fatigue, occupational mental illness, and early retirement that is associated with cumulative stress. Stress is not just an occupational hazard, but a significant health problem as well. A nurse’s role is associated with physical labor, long work hours, sleep deprivation, and exposure to work-related violence or threats. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the relation …

Electronic Cigarettes: Addiction And Physiological Effects Within Adolescents And Young Adults, Matthew Pastrana

Honors Theses

In recent years, different organizations such as the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released statements and plans regarding the use of, and possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, mods, vape pens, etc. Data released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse stated that teenagers in grades 8-12 are smoking e-cigarettes but have not smoked cigarettes before. In addition, 66% of those teenagers reported that the liquid they are smoking are “just flavoring” (NIH 2016).

According to the ACS, although electronic cigarettes are …

Saudade: An Exploration Of The Choreographic Process And The Power Of Dance, Audrey Erickson

Honors Theses

This paper serves as a reflection on my choreographic process as a LINES BFA senior and as an investigation into the innate power of human creative movement. I will document the challenges and joys of producing movement in the dancing arts, as well as illuminate the physical and psychological power of movement harbored within the practice of Dance Movement Therapy, an enduring form of psychotherapeutic movement used to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical well-being. The main goals of my personal choreographic experience, as well as those of my fellow Dance Majors were three-fold: 1) the cultivation of an encouraging …

Safe Injection Facilities, Timothy Kwong

Honors Theses

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “In 2016, a total of 63,632 persons in the United States died from drug overdoses; the age-adjusted rate was 19.8 deaths per 100,000 persons.” There have been countless programs with the sole purpose of reducing the amount of drug related deaths. Some with positive outcomes and others with negative outcomes. Since there is no feasible method of eradicating the problem as a whole, the next logical thing to do would to be creating effect prevention programs.

Safe Injection Facilities (SIFs) have been around for over three decades. They are widespread …

Pediatric Pain Management During Intravenous Line Placement: Nursing Perceptions And Interventions, Kate Shaffer

Honors Theses

Children are under assessed and under treated for pain associated with medical procedures, specifically during venipuncture. Recent studies show that procedural pain is preventable and that pain management interventions are underutilized. Failure to provide adequate pain relief can mentally and physically hurt children - in addition to inducing fear, suffering and lack of trust, exposures to pain can alter the central nervous system and increase a child’s sensitivity to pain. Pediatric nurses are responsible for assessing and managing pain before, during and after a procedure. Therefore, this review of literature and pilot study examines how registered nurses practicing in the …

Learning Style Preferences In Undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology And Audiology Students, Callahan Shirk

Honors Theses

Learning styles can be described as an individual’s unique way of assimilating new information based on his/her preferences and methods of acquiring knowledge. The awareness of a student’s learning style preference can be beneficial to both students and instructors. The goal of this project was aimed at identifying the learning style preferences of undergraduates in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology programs within the state of Mississippi. The researchers surveyed 137 participants involved in this study by utilizing the Kolb Learning Style Inventory and the VARK Questionnaire. Results from this study revealed that students enrolled as undergraduates in Speech-Language Pathology and …

Hiv-1 Integrase Multimerization By Quinoline Based Drugs, Samer Beauti

Honors Theses

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1), a single stranded RNA retrovirus, affects over 30,000,000 people world-wide1. The virus works by infecting and promoting destruction of CD4 immune cells. and thus, suppressing proper immune functions2. Contrary to DNA viruses, the absence of extensive proofreading mechanisms in RNA viruses makes HIV latency a major obstacle in the discovery of long-term, effective treatments. Moreover, the importance of exploring novel therapeutic targets and designing complimentary inhibitory molecules remains steadfast in HIV research3 Recently, HIV-1 Integrase (IN) multimerization, the core enzyme used for integration of the viral DNA into an invaded host chromosome, has been …

Acting Hysterical: Analyzing The Construction, Diagnosis And Portrayal Of Historical And Modern Hysterical Women, Gillian Singer

Honors Theses

Hysterical women’s stories from the 19th and 20th centuries have all too often been ignored and furthermore, invalidated through the capitalization and spectacularization of hysterical women’s experiences. “Acting Hysterical: Analyzing the Construction, Diagnosis and Portrayal of Historical and Modern ‘Hysterical’ Women” aims to acknowledge hysterical women’s narratives by studying the visual documentation of hysterical women. Visual documentation of hysteria began with the photographing of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot’s “hysterical” female patients and extends to modern cinematic representations from the last two decades of historical and modern hysterical women.

Medical Muses, a book based in years of research by Asti Hustvedt served …

When Saliva Is A Crime: Reforming Mississippi’S Hiv Criminalization Law Utilizing The Center For Disease Control And Prevention’S Policy Analytical Framework, Anastasia Walrod

Honors Theses

Mississippi is currently experiencing an HIV/AIDS crisis. The state is ranked in the top 10 for diagnoses of HIV infection, with Jackson, Mississippi ranked sixth in the nation for HIV diagnoses and fourth in the nation for AIDS diagnoses. Despite antiretroviral treatment allowing for persons with HIV to lead healthy lives, Mississippians continue to die from AIDS in large part because of stigma, misinformation, and lack of resources. This is furthered by Mississippi’s HIV criminalization law. HIV criminalization laws are used to penalize HIV exposure, but HIV-specific criminal laws are considered largely ineffective public health policies because these statutes further …

The Effects Of Meditation In Lowering Blood Pressure And Reducing Symptoms Of Stress In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Isabella Fleming

Honors Theses

Hypertension and stress are two conditions that have the capability to cause extensive and long-term damage to both mental and physical health. Baccalaureate nursing students report high levels of stress while in the process of obtaining a degree. This population is at risk for consistently high stress levels; therefore, they are also at risk for physiologic complications of stress such as hypertension.

In this study, all participants were asked to complete two short surveys: one assessed their stress, and one survey assessed their perceptions of meditation. The blood pressure (BP) of all participants was measured as well. Once the surveys …

Effectiveness Of Adaptive Utensils On Hand And Finger Range Of Motion In Individuals With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lauren Yeager

Honors Theses

Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) often experience functional deficits that impair range of motion (ROM) in their hands and fingers. Daily tasks like opening jars and eating become more difficult and painful for individuals with RA because they lack the grip strength and adequate ROM to perform these activities. Because of this, efforts have been made to accommodate decreasing functionality due to decreased ROM. Adaptive utensils are currently being explored as a potential aid for hand and finger functional deficits. This study sought to quantify the ROM needed for individuals with RA to grip the handles of adaptive utensils of …

“Evaluating Knowledge And Perspectives Of Behavior Analytic Language Strategies In The Clinical Practice Of Speech-Language Pathology”, Mackenzie Sturman

Honors Theses

Research shows that principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) may be beneficial to language acquisition. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have the responsibility of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for individuals with various speech and language impairments, and work directly with language instruction. However, there is limited knowledge of the degree to which SLPs use concepts of behavior analytic language interventions in clinical practice for individuals of varying language and communication disorders. This study investigated the extent to which practicing SLPs use language strategies from ABA in their clinical practice. A qualitative approach was utilized by conducting individual semi-structured interviews with four practicing …

Effects Of Stuttering Frequency, Speaking Rate And Treatment On Speech Naturalness In Adults Who Stutter, Emily Hausman

Honors Theses

Purpose: Individuals who stutter can often exhibit speech patterns that sound unnatural compared to individuals who do not stutter. Unnaturalness can be due to several underlying factors including the presence of stuttering itself and the unintended consequences of treatment approaches that alter speech motor patterns. Understanding factors that impact speech naturalness within the stuttering population can help improve the clinical management of the disorder. The current study investigates the relationship between pause duration, speech rate and stuttering frequency, and listener ratings of speech naturalness in a group of adults who stutter (AWS) before and after participation in a stuttering treatment …

Facing Addiction In College: The Effects On Alcohol, Drugs, And Academics, Alexis Frazier

Honors Theses

The goal of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of collegiate recovery communities (CRCs) and collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) across the U.S for high risk students that suffer from alcohol and drug abuse. After finding the effectiveness of these programs and assessing the students’ needs in college, this research makes a recommendation for Western Michigan University to create a collegiate recovery program. A collegiate recovery program (CRP) is a college or university that provides a supportive environment within the campus culture that reinforces the decision to engage in a lifestyle of recovery from substance use (ARHE, 2019). This …