Digital Commons Network^™

Opioid Prescription And Use After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, Valynn Christina Haslam

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Opioid abuse has become a serious public health issue. While adequate pain management is an ethical responsibility for health care providers, responsible stewardship of controlled substances is of equal concern. Opioids are often prescribed for treatment of acute pain post-operatively. The purpose of this study is to examine opioid prescription practices and use of opioids after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: A convenience sample of 42 patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were enrolled in the study. Using a descriptive study design, patients were interviewed by phone 6-10 days post-operatively using a scripted questionnaire. The average number of excess prescribed opioid medication …

Parents Advising Parents: Raising A Child With Type 1 Diabetes, Becky Jean Rasmuson

Theses and Dissertations

Background and Purpose: Children diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes face significant challenges in the day to day management of their disease. Parents play an important role in supporting children at every stage of their lives and helping them transition to independence in the management of T1D. The purpose of this study was to learn from parents who have raised their children with T1D to adulthood and identify strategies for parents who are currently raising a child with T1D. Methods: Using a biographical method, a qualitative design, two in-depth interviews with open-ended prompts were completed with purposively selected parents of children …

Quality Education In Idaho: A Case Study Of Academic Achievement In Three High-Poverty Rural Schools, Christine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is bridging the achievement gap for students living in poverty through quality education. Such a study is important because the percentage of students affected by poverty is increasing and the persistent gap in achievement evidences that the right to quality education for students in poverty is not being met. This is mixed-methods study of three high-poverty elementary schools in Idaho. Both quantitative (achievement test scores) and qualitative data (interviews of seventeen teachers and principals) are compared and contrasted. The findings provide evidence that quality education for students in poverty requires relatable curriculum, teachers who are …

Exploring Concerns Of K-12 Online Educators, Tadd Spencer Farmer

Theses and Dissertations

Although a relatively small number of K-12 students are currently enrolled in online classes, the dramatic growth in online enrollments in recent years suggests that online education will play a significant role in the future landscape of public education. While our understanding of online teaching and learning continues to grow, relatively little is known about the experiences of teachers as they engage in online teaching. In particular, very little is known about the concerns of teachers as they navigate their teaching roles and responsibilities in an online teaching environment. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, this qualitative study explored the …

Transition From Cardiovascular Disease To Cancer As The Leading Cause Of Death In Us States, 1999-2014, Michael C. Harding, Evan Thacker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 1900 the three leading causes of death in the United States were pneumonia and influenza; tuberculosis; and gastritis, enteritis, and colitis.¹ However, through a combination of improved sanitation, the discovery of antibiotics, and the advent of vaccination programs, deaths from infectious diseases subsided and soon gave way to chronic diseases.² Shortly after the turn of the century, diseases of the heart became of the number one cause of death, and in the 1940s, cancer began consistently appearing at number two. Since then, heart disease and cancer have remained firmly entrenched as the number one and two causes …

National Parks And The Threats They Face: A World Survey, Jared Meek, Brigham Daniels

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The earth is experiencing profound changes in its ecological health and rate of biodiversity loss across the globe. For example, birds, insects, and mammals of Europe are migrating northwards and uphill in response to observed climate changes1, and these changes are affecting the rate of European plant development2. According to one author, “It is estimated that one-third of all reef-building corals […] a third of sharks and rays, a quarter of all mammals, a fifth of all reptiles, and a sixth of all birds are headed toward oblivion. The losses are occurring all over: in the South Pacific and in …

Making Old Stories New In The Anthropocene: Reading, Creating, And The Cosmological Imagination In Darren Aronofsky's Noah, Kellianne Houston Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Darren Aronofsky's 2014 film Noah as a pattern for metafictionalizing narratives into thinking stories as we confront the uncertainty and challenges of the Anthropocene. While Ecocriticism has sought for the development and promotion of nature writing and environmentally oriented poetry and fiction- "new stories" that will shape a stronger environmental ethic"”it has placed too much responsibility for the environmental imagination on what we read rather than on the more important question of how we read. My argument addresses the readerly responsibilities that, if met, have the power to transform old stories and old habits of mind into …

A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Association Of Therapeutic Alliance, Therapist Empathy, Client Attachment Style, And Client Expectations With Client Outcome, Alberto Soto

Theses and Dissertations

The therapeutic alliance has consistently been associated with improved client outcomes across numerous psychotherapy outcome studies. Previous systematic reviews have, however, evaluated the univariate association of the alliance with client outcome. The present meta-analytic review examines the association of the alliance with improved client outcomes after accounting for the presence of therapist empathy, client attachment styles, and client expectations. Across 23 independent studies, the alliance, adjusted for the presence of the other variables, remained as the most robust predictor of improved outcomes r = .258 (SE = .01, p < .001), with a 95% confidence interval of r = .18 to r = .33. After accounting for …

Correlation Of Spme-Gc-Ms Volatile Compounds With Descriptive Sensory Odor Analysis Of Whole Wheat And Quinoa Flours In Accelerated Storage, Sarah Snow Turner

Theses and Dissertations

The acceptability of whole grain flours during storage varies widely, as does the estimated shelf life of such flours, in part because acceptability is typically determined using subjective human sensory testing. Research is needed to establish more objective measures of acceptability. This study correlated the quantitative results of a descriptive odor sensory panel with volatile compounds determined by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). Whole wheat flour and quinoa flour were held at 40°C for up to 24 weeks to accelerate changes occurring during storage. Samples were collected every 4 weeks and placed in frozen storage. Thawed samples were then evaluated …

The Living River: Ritual And Reconciliation In The Famished Road, Marissa Deane Compton

Theses and Dissertations

In Ben Okri's The Famished Road, rituals such as baptism are easily lost in the dense symbolism. The novel is, in the words of Douglas McCabe, a "ramshackle and untidy affair, a hodge-podge of social ideologies, narrative forms, effusive enthusiasms, and precision-jeweled prose poems" (McCabe 17). This complex untidiness can be discouraging for readers and critics alike, and yet "there is something contagious about the digressive, meandering aesthetic of The Famished Road" that makes the novel difficult to consign to confusion (Omhovere 59). Commonly considered post-colonial, post-modern, and magical-realist, The Famished Road deals with, among other things, spiritualism, …

The Association Between Locus Of Control And Marital Satisfaction Throughout Adulthood, Matthew Elias Kahler

Theses and Dissertations

The correlation between locus of control and marital satisfaction is examined as part of a longitudinal study spanning 44 years and 3 time points. It is predicted that as locus of control has more of an external orientation marital satisfaction will be lower. Participants include high school juniors and seniors in the state of Washington from 1966 with follow-up surveys in 1980 and 2010. Using ordinary least squares regressions, marital satisfaction scores in 1980 or 2010 are predicted by locus of control scores from either 1966 or 1980 with control variables that include gender, income, educational attainment, occupational prestige, and …

Knowledge, Perception, And Use Of Medications During Pregnancy In Hispanic Women In Utah County, Ut, Jessica Martinez, Gene Cole

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to research, primarily, how Hispanic view and respond to prescription drugs during pregnancy. The study’s population was Hispanic women in Utah County who are/were pregnant and their adherence to prescription drugs versus home remedies. We conducted our research at the Mountainlands Community Health Center in Provo, Utah. We sought to understand the opinions and perceptions Hispanic women have towards use of prescription and alternative medicine during pregnancy.

The Role Of Pas Kinase And Cbf1 In Cellular Metabolism, Jenny Adele Pattison, Julianne H. Grose

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The most recent National Institute of Health report concludes that 68.8% of American adults are considered to be overweight or obese1. With this trend in obesity, metabolic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are on the rise. The critical yet basic function of cellular homeostasis is a central component in controlling these diseases. Sensory protein kinases are essential in the phosphorylation of many protein substrates, allowing them to control several metabolic functions and appropriately allocate glucose, maintaining homeostasis in cells. PAS kinase is a sensory protein kinase that is highly conserved and plays a crucial role in …

Splice Site Predictor, Mark Wadsworth, Dr. Perry G. Ridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the advent of nextgeneration sequencing, one of the unintended consequences is the sheer number of genomic variations requiring interpretation. Mutations in splice sites have been shown to contribute to the development of cancer [1], and dementia [2] among other potentially deadly disorders. Roughly 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year [3], and roughly 7 million with dementia [4]. Since these diseases cause an incredible amount of suffering, scientists in all fields are driven to search for ways to identify and treat them. These have been particularly difficult to interpret and have been largely ignored by the bioinformatics …

Discovery And Characterization Of Honey Bee Larvae Gut Microbiota, Christopher Fajardo, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Honey bees are currently plagued by an infection known as American Foulbrood (AFB). This disease is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. It is carried by adult Honey bees and becomes an active infection once inside the digestive tract of a Honey bee larvae. Current treatment of this disease is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with negative effects on both the Honey bee and the environment. Research is currently being conducted with the hope to introduce a bacteriophage therapy to the market. This approach will be specific to Paenibacillus larvae without the worries of the current treatments. Our focus is to provide …

The Efficacy Of Tgfβ Inhibition Via Sgi-1252 In The Prevention And Reversal Of Diet-Induced Obesity And Diabetes, Blake Dallon, Benjamin Bikman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The growing worldwide incidence of obesity and its associated pathologies, like type 2 diabetes, has received much deserved attention. However, despite this attention and substantial research efforts, little meaningful progress has been made in slowing or reversing the growing cost and trends of obesity worldwide.

As of 2008, almost 10% of medical costs in the United States were incurred due to obesity or other obesity-related diseases¹, with a substantial amount of this cost stemming from the dramatically increased risk of diabetes with excess fat mass². According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more …

Activity Trackers: Are They The Answer, Connor Ogden, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Physical inactivity in young adults leads to a 40% greater chance of cancer mortality, 50% greater risk of dementia, 60% greater risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a number of other health related issues1. In our country in which sedentary jobs have increased by 83% since 1950, and 69%2 of all adults are obese or overweight, these health related factors due to inactivity become a real concern. Many companies have created these activity trackers as a solution to solving physical inactivity. The purpose of this project was to evaluate what aspects of the Microsoft Band that young adults …

Front Matter, Vol. 10

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Vol. 10

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

A Phenome Wide Association Study Of Multiple Sclerosis And Comorbidities, Scott Frodsham, Mary Davis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified relationships between many different genes and diseases. GWAS studies scan whole genomes of many individuals and then associate genetic variants with diseases that the individuals have. In contrast, a phenome wide association study (PheWAS), looks at the phenotypes of many individuals and associates those phenotypes with one or more genetic variants. Electronic medical records (EMRs) linked to DNA biobanks provide both clinical and genetic data of patients. This study utilizes one such EMRlinked DNA biobank called BioVU from Vanderbilt University.

The Effect Of Gut Microbiota On Cancer Metastasis In Model Organism D. Melanogaster: Establishing An Abnormal Genetic Line Of D. Melanogaster, Andrew Bratsman, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Metchnikoff proposed that putrefactive bacteria living in the digestive tracts of hosts contribute to various disease processes and that modification of microbiota composition through consumption of viable microbes might help to improve health and longevity. This theory of longevity was the basis for the relatively recent trend of probiotic foods, the idea being that “healthy” bacteria could be ingested to produce a positive phenotypic result. The probiotic approach to treatment has been limited to large processes such as digestion or correcting large deficiencies in humans, but as evidence continues to mount …

A Solution To The Problems Of Heart Transpantation, Jeremy Struk, Alonzo Cook

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ischemic Heart disease, according to the World Health Organization, is the leading cause of death in the USA and abroad.1 As a result of the high incidence of the disease and low transplant availability, the field of tissue engineering offers a promising solution. With the new developments in the field, many exciting treatments are available to help stem the tide of the disease, however; there is still a great need for more viable heart replacements to help patients with end stage heart failure. Tissue engineering offers the solution of creating hearts for patients in need that are constructed using the …

Nitrogen And Water Interactions In Drought Stressed Kentucky Bluegrass Conserving Our Vital Resource, Kerri Russell, Bryan G. Hopkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Turfgrass is the irrigated crop of greatest acreage in the United States. As urban and suburban developments are growing at an unprecedented rate, the demand for turfgrass is in high demand. Its ecosystem services are valuable and include groundwater protection, erosion control, soil health, and air purification. It also provides high utility to residential and public lands. Despite its environmental benefits, turfgrass has been brought under scrutiny due to natural resource consumption and pollution, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions of the western US. Turfgrass requires a significant amount of irrigation water, a resource that is scarce in the arid …

Fast Food, Slow Brain: The Effect Of Diet On Brain Volume, Kayla Alder, Dr. Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The hippocampus is a brain structure in the medial temporal lobe that mediates the encoding of sensory information into long-term memory (Squire, Clark, & Stark, 2004). Studies have found a relationship between the volume of the hippocampus and behavioral memory tests; that is, the smaller the volume of the hippocampus, the less accurate the performance on memory tests (Rajah, Kromas, Han, & Jens, 2010). Previous research also demonstrates that a high fat and sugar (HFS) diet impairs the hippocampus and affects memory (Francis & Stevenson, 2011).

Re-Epithelialization Of Whole Porcine Kidney Scaffold, Evan M. Buckmiller, Alonzo D. Cook

Journal of Undergraduate Research

An estimated 20 million adults (approximately 10% of all individuals over the age of 18) in the United States suffer from some level of chronic kidney disease (CKD), making CKD the 9th leading cause of death in the United States (1). The only successful treatment for end-stage renal failure is transplantation from a donor with similar blood antigen makeup, while living the remainder of their lives receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Unfortunately, individuals awaiting a kidney transplant outnumber viable donations. Scientists have been tasked with discovering and developing methods to answer this growing need. One promising method is the decellularization of porcine …

Role Of Exercise And Stress In Memory And Learning Of The Hippocampus, Paul Baker, Jeff Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Some of the most devastating diseases today are diseases of the mind. Common side effects of Alzheimer’s disease are dementia and memory loss and more than 44 million people suffer from the disease worldwide [1]. Other mental diseases such as Parkinson’s also have a dramatic impact on the memory and learning pathways. Understanding the mechanism involved with memory and learning will bring science that much closer to finding a permanent cure to these devastating diseases.

The Effect Of The Nsf Grant On Future Academic And Career Outcomes, Tanner Eastmond, Dr. Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 with the stated mission “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare.” This institution supports scientific research in various scientific fields primarily by funding promising research and researchers. Our investigation focused on the NSF grant for prospective graduate students in the field of economics. Specifically, we examine those who won the award and those who received an ‘honorable mention’. The applicants who only received an ‘honorable mention’, have very similar qualifications to those who were offered the grant. The …

Domestic Violence And Marital Homogamy, Carly Landgrave, Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction: Domestic violence is one of the most pressing global human rights issues of the 21st century. It is estimated that roughly half of the women killed globally in 2012 were killed by intimate partners or family members (U.N. Facts and Figures, 2012). In 2014, three in ten women in Egypt reported that they had experienced domestic violence during their lifetime and almost onefifth reported that they were the target of an episode of spousal violence in the past twelve months. More than one third of these women experiencing spousal physical or sexual violence were injured as a result …

Hungry, Homeless, And Hopeless: The Injustices Of The China Hukou Registration System, Lauren Barden, Celeste Beesley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study analyzes the destructive social and economic consequences of the Chinese hukou registration system through quantitative analysis of the inequality gap between rural-urban migrants and urbanites in Chinese cities between 1995-2002. By performing statistical tests on individual-level survey data, this paper documents the economic gap between urban hukou holders and non-urban hukou holders in 1995. It also shows that rural-urban migrant inequality has not increased between 1995 and 2002, and that the costs of migrating to the cities under a rural hukou were less in 2002 than previously. However, results also confirmed that the hukou policy significantly restricted the …

How Well Can Machine-Learning Algorithms Predict Biomedical Outcomes Based On Gene-Expression Data?, Anna Guyer, Stephen Piccolo

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Biomedical data are increasing in size and complexity. To make sense of these data, biomedical researchers often use “machine-learning” algorithms, which are developed by the computer-science community. Our goal was to perform a systematic comparison of many of these algorithms across 100 data sets to identify which algorithms perform best for this type of data. To help meet this goal, we also planned to carefully curating data from the public domain for others to use in their own comparisons.

Unlike DNA, which changes little from cell to cell, gene-expression levels vary dramatically across different types of tissues and under different …