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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Nutritional Knowledge And Behaviors Of Undergraduate Students, Victoria Inghram
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
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 …
Modification Of Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitor Pharmacophore To Assess Anti-Malarial Properties, Margaret Ann Street
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
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
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 …
Auditory Verbal Hallucinations In Schizophrenia, Katherine Joiner
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 …
Predator Diet Affects Perceived Oviposition Site Quality For Mosquitoes, Brandon Mcdaniel
Predator Diet Affects Perceived Oviposition Site Quality For Mosquitoes, Brandon Mcdaniel
Honors Theses
Ovipositing freshwater organisms rely primarily on cues to determine site quality (Silberbush and Blaustein 2008) and to select an ideal habitat for their offspring (Resetarits 2014). Characteristics of high quality oviposition sites that yield the greatest fitness for offspring include the absence of predators and high resource availability that allows for optimal growth and development (Kershenbaum et al. 2012). It has been shown that predator presence is a large deterrent of oviposition due to threats of offspring survival, however, there is a little information about the predatory cues mosquitoes experience before ovipositing (Angelon and Petranka 2002). One hypothesis is that …
The Protective Role Of Estrogen On Hiv-1 Mediated Neurotoxicity, Macklin Licamied
The Protective Role Of Estrogen On Hiv-1 Mediated Neurotoxicity, Macklin Licamied
Honors Theses
The prevalence of HIV among men have been in a steady inclination over the last several decades, yet the accelerated infection rate among older women is considerably concerning. Not only does the HIV virus affect the immune system but it also affects the central nervous system. One of its viral proteins, Tat, acts as an excitotoxin and disrupts the cell’s membrane potential by increasing the concentration of Ca2+ inside the cell. This influx of calcium ions leads to apoptosis and secretion of the cell’s contents into the surrounding area. Macrophages, along with other innate immune components, gather and induce the …
Evaluation Of School Wellness Policies Implementation As Measured By The Organizational Readiness To Change Theory, Elizabeth B. Quirk
Evaluation Of School Wellness Policies Implementation As Measured By The Organizational Readiness To Change Theory, Elizabeth B. Quirk
Honors Theses
BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity trends have been increasing drastically for the past twenty years. School wellness policies have been put into place to help decrease overweight and obesity prevalence. Analyzing a school’s organizational readiness to change for full implementation of wellness policies could identify areas that are contributing or hindering successful implementation of federal regulation of policies and policy outcomes. METHODS: This pilot study included 21 participants, all of whom served as a school wellness coordinator, either at the district or school level in Mississippi. Each participant completed a six-part questionnaire addressing school wellness policy implementation. Survey item development was …
State And Regional Comparisons Of Breastfeeding Policies And Rates: A National Study, Erin Johnson
State And Regional Comparisons Of Breastfeeding Policies And Rates: A National Study, Erin Johnson
Honors Theses
State legislation focused on promoting and supporting breastfeeding is relatively new, beginning in the 1990s. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is an association between state breastfeeding rates and state breastfeeding legislation and other institutional policies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases breastfeeding report cards with the most up-to-date state breastfeeding rates. These reports are used to examine the relationship between state breastfeeding rates and number of breastfeeding policies passed by a state. Government initiatives, such as Healthy People Initiative, and organizational practices, such as Baby-Friendly USA Inc., are also studied to determine their …
Geographical Variability In Antibacterial Chemical Defenses Of The Caribbean Sponge Xestospongia Muta, Coleman Sisson
Geographical Variability In Antibacterial Chemical Defenses Of The Caribbean Sponge Xestospongia Muta, Coleman Sisson
Honors Theses
Coral reefs are important and diverse marine ecosystems, and sponges represent the majority of species in Caribbean reefs. Xestospongia muta is a giant barrel sponge that is one of the most abundant and visible sponges on Caribbean reefs, and has been the subject of many studies. Xestospongia muta produces a diversity of secondary metabolites that have various ecological functions including allelopathy, anti-fouling, predation deterrence, and antibacterial activity. The chemical defenses produced by a sponge can change in response to various biotic and abiotic stressors, including water temperature, sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and predation. This study compared the antibacterial activity of X. …
Interactions Between Contextual And Phonetic Information In Children’S And Adults’ Perception Of Non-Native Speech, Alexis P. Zosel
Interactions Between Contextual And Phonetic Information In Children’S And Adults’ Perception Of Non-Native Speech, Alexis P. Zosel
Honors Theses
Phoneme categorization (i.e., the ability to differentiate between different speech sounds) is not an easy task, as individuals must integrate multiple sources of information, including both acoustic and contextual information. When a talker has a foreign accent, the listener may place more weight on sentential context because of the ambiguity of the acoustic/phonetic information. For example, listeners are more likely to classify a word that is phonetically ambiguous between goat and coat as goat if the sentential context is “The boy milked the ___,” and this is especially the case when listening to a non-native (compared to native) talker (Schertz …
Parents’ Perspectives On Early Intervention For Children With Speech And Language Delays, Alissa Ann Williams
Parents’ Perspectives On Early Intervention For Children With Speech And Language Delays, Alissa Ann Williams
Honors Theses
Parents play an important role in the success of a child’s language development. Further, research on early intervention has documented that parents can successfully learn and implement at-home therapy that results in positive language development of children with developmental disabilities. While the effectiveness of early intervention has been well-documented, there is little research exploring parents’ perspectives on early intervention and their involvement in therapy at home. The purpose of this study is to fill that gap by examining: 1) how informed and involved parents report feeling regarding their child’s therapy, 2) how parents perceive their relationship with their child’s speech-language …
Staff Perceptions Of Healthy Eating Opportunities And Choices On A Southern University Campus, Rebecca Gwendolyn Miller
Staff Perceptions Of Healthy Eating Opportunities And Choices On A Southern University Campus, Rebecca Gwendolyn Miller
Honors Theses
Maintaining a healthy workforce can help an employer to save money in the long run, due to factors such as fewer health-related absences and higher employee productivity. Obesity, a disease with many factors, is accompanied by many comorbidities. Food and beverage choices can play a strong role in the development of obesity. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that influence staff eating behavior in a large university in the Southeastern United States, using a qualitative research design. Additionally, staff members provided possible solutions to improve the eating environment on the University’s main campus. Using a structured question …
Descriptive Study Of Reading Comprehension Skills In Individuals With Down Syndrome, Katherine Hubbard
Descriptive Study Of Reading Comprehension Skills In Individuals With Down Syndrome, Katherine Hubbard
Honors Theses
Problem Statement: Previous research has documented that individuals with Down syndrome are able to read and have identified strengths and weakness demonstrated within the reading domain, but research on their reading comprehension abilities is scarce. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze strengths and weaknesses of reading comprehension in individuals with Down syndrome, including within the word identification and language comprehension subdomains. Methods: Reading comprehension, word identification, phonological decoding, language comprehension, vocabulary, and syntax were the dependent variables in this study. Nine standardized assessments/subtests were used to measure these variables in 11 adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. …
The Effect Of Familiarity On Joint Attention In Children With Asd, Rachel Jenkins
The Effect Of Familiarity On Joint Attention In Children With Asd, Rachel Jenkins
Honors Theses
Joint attention is the ability to share focus on an object with a conversational partner and the awareness that this attention is shared (Moore, Dunham, & Dunham, 2014). Joint attention is an important building block for learning, language, and social development (Mundy & Newell, 2007; Thurm, Lord, Lee, & Newschaffer, 2007). However, previous research has documented that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have significant deficits and delays in the acquisition of joint attention when compared to typically developing peers of similar chronological ages (Mundy, Sigman, & Kasari, 1994; Osterling & Dawson, 1994; Chiang, Soong, Lin, & Rogers, 2008). …
Influence Of Multidisciplinary Educational Experiences On Engineering And Nutrition Student Perceptions On Collaboration And Soft Skill Development, Caroline Kay Crosby
Influence Of Multidisciplinary Educational Experiences On Engineering And Nutrition Student Perceptions On Collaboration And Soft Skill Development, Caroline Kay Crosby
Honors Theses
Solutions to most real-world challenges require collaborative efforts by multidisciplinary teams to provide the breadth of perspective and expertise needed to create effective solutions. Interprofessional education is a pedagogical practice used to provide students with opportunities to broaden their professional perspective by encouraging students to work as a part of a diverse team to solve complex problems. This process strengthens discipline-specific skill development, problem-solving skills, and appreciation for other disciplines while providing experiences that are attractive to potential employers. Many students are interested in food science, but no food science courses are offered at the university where this study took …
A New Consultation Service For Community Pharmacies? An Investigation Of Pharmacists' Perspective On Implementing A Weight Management Program, Shelby N. Strength
A New Consultation Service For Community Pharmacies? An Investigation Of Pharmacists' Perspective On Implementing A Weight Management Program, Shelby N. Strength
Honors Theses
Pharmacists are capable and interested in providing a targeted weight management intervention addressing the high rates, and associated risk, of obesity. A series of in-depth phone interviews with Mississippi community pharmacists were used to gain their perspective on a systematic approach for delivering a weight and obesity management service to patients. Using qualitative content analysis, three themes were identified and analyzed. These themes included: pharmacist’s perceptions of patient’s needs, program structural components, and pharmacist’s implementational needs. These findings can be used to expand the role of pharmacists, serve as a model for the development of other consultation services, improve health …