Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of The Gut Microbiome In Autoimmune Disorders, Sierra Baxter

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), it is estimated that over 24 million Americans are diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, and the cases are increasing (2005). A significant risk factor that has been linked to the formation of these diseases is the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome of the adult plays a vital role in the efficacy of the immune system. The purpose of this research and systematic literature review is to determine how the gut microbiome can influence autoimmune disorders. In this review, five databases were searched including PubMed, DynaMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Clinical Key. A variety …

Treatment Of Mosh And The Effects On Fertility, Julie Harmon

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Male obesity-related secondary hypogonadism (MOSH) is often underdiagnosed in the young male population.

The current standard of care for hypogonadism in the older male population typically includes testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).

• The purpose of this study is to highlight available treatment options for MOSH in the younger population and the various effects on fertility.

• The method utilized was a systematic review of the current literature that targeted studies of obese males below the age of 65 treated for secondary hypogonadism.

• This review highlights some of the current recommendations, including lifestyle changes, and compares the use of TRT …

Childhood Obesity: Adding Metformin To Lifestyle Modification For Weight Reduction, Kelli Strege

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

One of the most challenging health conditions primary care providers face is combating the ever-rising incidence of obesity, especially among children. The objective of this literature review is to determine the effects of metformin implemented in addition to lifestyle modification for the treatment of childhood obesity. Efficacy, to include change in weight, BMI, insulin resistance, and overall safety of metformin was studied. The online databases searched in this review were PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and CINAHL. Literature chosen for review included randomized control trials, meta-analysis, and systematic reviews published between 2015 and 2020. Much of the studied research indicates positive …

An Evaluation Of Ci Asteroid Regolith As A Plant Growth Medium For Space Crop Production, Steven Jon Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Asteroids are small, undifferentiated bodies that materialized during the formation epoch of the solar system. With a concerted effort to establish a long-term presence in space, crewed missions to asteroids should not be ignored. A critical aspect of human missions is self-sustainability, primarily growing crops via in-situ resource utilization. CI carbonaceous asteroids are a primitive type of asteroid that retain elements found during that early solar system formation. More importantly, the regolith on these asteroids contains soluble elemental nutrients, such as phosphorous and potassium, that crops can use for growth and development. This thesis focuses on the ability of CI …

“Sometimes Education Will Help You Lead The Life That You Really Want To Lead”: Factors Influencing Undergraduate Women’S Motivation To Pursue A Bachelor’S Degree, Debra Lynne Radi

Theses and Dissertations

As a collective, women’s experience in higher education has been disparate and differential to some men’s experience over the last two centuries, fundamentally based on the societal influences of the time. In the formative years of higher education women attended higher education institutions for social stratification reasons or for marital choice opportunities and to a lesser degree for college outcomes. This study’s purpose was to explore the current motivations of freshmen individuals who identified as female undergraduate students in their first year of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in higher education. This study used a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews …

Criterion-Referenced Cut-Points For Handgrip Strength To Detect Metabolic Syndrome In U.S. Adults, Wyatt Wutz

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To establish gender- and age-group specific criterion-referenced cut-points for handgrip strength (HGS) associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in United States (U.S.) adults. Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the 2011–12 and 2013–14 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was performed on U.S. adults aged 20 years and older. HGS was measured using handheld dynamometry. MetS was measured as the presence of three or more cardiometabolic risk factors according to the American Heart Association criteria. Crude and fully adjusted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify gender- and age group-specific cut-points for HGS associated …

Broadening The Role Of Occupational Therapists Within The Icu Setting: An Occupation-Based Toolkit, Roxana Chirinos, Carly Derouin

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to create a quick intervention toolkit for occupational therapists treating clients in the intensive care unit (ICU) in order to increase occupation-based services, quality of care, and improve client outcomes. Additionally, this project hopes to enlighten occupational therapists who may experience burnout while providing services within such an intensive setting.

A Group-Protocol: Returning To Life Post Breast Cancer Treatment, Janice Finley, Ashley Timm

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this project was to design a group protocol to assist breast cancer survivors living in the community to address unmet physical, cognitive, and psychosocial needs. There are more than 3.5 million breast cancer survivors within the United States today (American Cancer Society, n.d.). A cancer survivor's performance in meaningful occupations and roles need to be addressed as they learn to live with the long-term physical and psychosocial effects of treatments such as self-confidence and pain management (Burg et al., 2015; Kim, Kim, & Han, 2020). There is a lack of occupational therapy services for individuals diagnosed with …

Occupational Therapy And Primary Care: The Tools For Referral, Alexandra Grosser, Kelsey Tadman

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Individuals with chronic conditions receive the most primary care services and account for the highest annual healthcare spending with the poorest outcomes (Leland, Fogelberg, Halle, & Mroz, 2017). Primary care providers (PCP) often address acute symptom management due to inadequate time to explore underlying problems related to diagnoses due to time limitations and a shortage of PCPs. (Dahl-Popolizio, Manson, Muir & Rogers, 2016). It has been recommended that other disciplines are incorporated into primary care to increase holistic, client-centered care and to improve health outcomes. Occupational therapy has been identified as one discipline that is well suited to contribute to …

A Practitioner's Guide: Using The Cognitive Performance Test To Increase Independent Living Skills For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Alycia Peacock, Grace Spanos

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Problem: Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have the desire to live as independently as possible (Gragoudas, 2014). There are a number of barriers that impact living independently including the ability to complete self-care tasks, money management, home management, and health management (Bond & Hurst, 2010). Other barriers reported for individuals with ID include relationships with caregivers, living alone, and vulnerability (Bond & Hurst, 2010). Research identifies that it is difficult to determine the amount of support needed to promote independence in individuals with ID (Francis & Reed, 2019). Occupational therapists (OTs) possess a unique skillset to assist clients with ID …

Occupational Therapy Joining Bariatric Care Teams: A Web-Based Resource, Annabelle Tarnowski, Rylee Skyberg

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose

Despite the overall positive physical and mental health results patients obtain following bariatric surgery, some individuals still experience significant negative health challenges postoperatively. Researchers have asserted that the psychosocial concerns of patients that undergo bariatric surgery are not being properly addressed prior to surgery; therefore, patients are not appropriately equipped with strategies or follow-up care to promote continued weight loss and increase quality of life post-operatively (Kalarchian & Marcus, 2019). Patients who undergo bariatric surgery have experienced maladaptive eating, substance abuse, suicide and self-harm at an increased rate (Kalarchian & Marcus, 2019; Sarwer & Heinberg, 2020). Additionally, occupational therapy …

Empowering Grand-Families Through Occupation: An Occupational Therapy Intervention Program For Grandchildren And Custodial Grandparents, Macie Romsdal, Gabrielle Wavra

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this scholarly project was to create a program for occupational therapists to use with custodial grandparents and their grandchildren. The number of grandparents becoming primary caregivers to grandchildren continues to increase, and more than 5.7 million grandchildren in the United States were living with and being provided for by grandparents in 2014 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Although there are benefits to being placed in grandparent care, there are also challenges. Some of the challenges custodial grandparents face are health concerns, financial resources, and changes in social supports and occupational roles (Marken & Howard, 2014). Grandchildren may have …

Evidence For The Use Of Health Promotion Programs In Schools, Anna Burggraf, Kathryn College, Taylor White

Critically Appraised Topics

Health promotion is defined as “a process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health” (Scaffa, 2019, p. 442). Promotion of health is a common goal that is shared by numerous disciplines (Reitz & Graham, 2019). Health promotion directed towards occupational therapy is the “client-centered use of occupations, adaptations to context, or alteration of context to maximize individuals’, families’, communities’, and groups’ pursuit of health and quality of life” (Reitz & Graham, 2019). Health promotion is essential for all age groups, especially for young children who are completing their beginning years of school. Children’s thoughts, behaviors, …

Effect Of Adolescent Sleep Quality On Appetite, Dietary Intake, And Body Mass Index, Janell Faye Juelich

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose and Background: Several factors have been associated with excess weight gain in adolescents, including loss of sleep. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sleep quality, quantity, latency, and hygiene on appetite, dietary intake, and body mass indices (BMI) of adolescents.

Theoretical Framework: Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory guided this study to examine the relationship of adolescents’ sleep effects on their appetite, dietary intake, and BMI.

Specific Aims: 1. To analyze demographics, sleep quality, sleep quantity, sleep latency, and sleep hygiene of adolescents and determine the levels of appetite, dietary intake, and BMI levels of adolescents. …

Building Active Intersectional Allyship In Middle School Youth, Maura Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how an understanding of concepts of the framework of intersectionality may build resilience and increase ability for middle schoolers to learn to be active, effective allies for one another. Allyship is discussed as a necessary skill to learn and not a label one can self-select. A literature review is presented with a specific focus on intersectionality; trauma, resilience, and long-term impact of childhood trauma; and active allyship. These concepts are then framed through a social work lens, focusing on micro, mezzo, and macro levels. As human connection is critical for psychosocial health, this thesis then presents a …

An Assessment Of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Training Methods And Measures, Zachary Waller

Theses and Dissertations

The collegiate aviation programs of higher education are seeking to adapt their capabilities and expertise toward educating a generation of airmen who will operate Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The collection of studies presented in this dissertation address this interest as higher education programs investigate the value of modalities and pedagogies, tune the application of instructional aids, and assess novel measurements for how students interact with their training. Three studies were completed in building this program of research. Study I, Waller et al. (2016), was published in a peer-reviewed journal and is adapted for reprint with permission. Study I established the …

Criterion-Referenced Cut-Points In Cardiorespiratory Fitness Associated With Metabolic Syndrome In Adult Americans, Nicholas Gabriel Kavadas

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To identify criterion-referenced cut-points in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a nationally-representative sample of young- and middle-aged American adults. Methods: The analytic sample comprised 3302 Americans aged 20–49 years who participated in the 1999–2000, 2001–2002, and 2003–2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. CRF was assessed by a submaximal run/walk test on a treadmill. MetS was determined using American Heart Association criteria, measured as the presence of three or more risk factors (high waist circumference, high blood pressure, high fasting triglycerides, high fasting glucose, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Receiver operating characteristic …

Eating Disorder Symptoms On Female Collegiate-Level Athletes And Non-Athletes, Kennedy Victoria Kidd

Theses and Dissertations

In previous research, it found that the risk of developing an eating disorder (ED) is much higher in females compared to males (Dunca, Ziobrowski & Nicol, 2017; Raevuori, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hoek, 2014; Lewinsohn, Seeley, Moerk, & Striegel-Moore, 2002). Similarly, research has shown that the prevalence of EDs is much higher in female athletes compared to male athletes (Johnson, Powers, & Dick, 1999). Despite the risk of developing an ED being higher in females, research has not provided a strong understanding of the prevalence of EDs comparing female student-athletes and female student non-athletes. There is research that shows that athletes may …

Giving Birth On Foreign Soil: A Phenomenological Study Of Somali Women Giving Birth In North Dakota And Minnesota, Tracy Jo Enger

Theses and Dissertations

Health disparities continue to exist in minority populations in the United States. People ofcolor have a higher incidence of negative birth outcomes; and view their experiences with less satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to explore what Somali Muslim have women have experienced during their labor and delivery in Minnesota and North Dakota. This research was conducted to improve our understanding of the needs of Somali women during labor and delivery in order to provide nursing care that is culturally sensitive. Phenomenological data was collected from personal interviews with Somali women who had given birth in North Dakota and …

Developing Computer Aided Algorithms For Automatic Assessment Of Psoriasis Disease Severity Using Digital Images, Intisar Rizwan I Haque

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the research work was to develop image processing algorithms for automatic and objective assessment of psoriasis to aid in more effective management and treatment of patient symptoms. For this purpose, multiple classical machine learning-based unsupervised approaches are proposed which achieve a maximum average accuracy of ~94% on a dataset of 45 images of various resolutions. This accuracy improves performance by 14% in comparison to existing approaches reported in the literature on the same dataset of images. An alternative deep learning neural network-based approach was proposed that achieves an average accuracy of ~87% for the same set of …

Community Needs Assessment Of Somali Refugees’ Mental Health Needs, Sheila Stadstad

Social Work Independent Study Projects (ISP)

Within the Somali immigrant and refugee community there are severe stigma and negative associations regarding both experiencing mental health problems and pursuing services for those problems. According to research, both process and content adaptation must be made in providing mental health supports to Somali immigrants and refugees. Understanding the experiences and prominent needs of Somali refugees will assist social workers in offering mental health services that are culturally responsive and help social workers promote social justice through examining and addressing health disparity issues. This independent study project reviews the literature on the mental health needs of immigrants and refugees and …

Winter Commencement: December 18, 2020, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Winter Commencement program from December 18, 2020.

Cholangiocarcinoma And The Nutrition Care Process, Shelby Herman

Nutrition & Dietetics Student Publications

This paper examines the nutrition care process in patients with cholangiocarcinoma. The importance of a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) is highlighted through the story of my uncle's battle with liver cancer.

December 3, 2020: Agenda, University Of North Dakota

University Senate Meeting Minutes

Agenda for the December 3, 2020, meeting of the University Senate. 49 pages

Temporal Trends In The Handgrip Strength Of 2,592,714 Adults From 14 Countries Between 1960 And 2017: A Systematic Analysis, Trevor J. Dufner, John S. Fitzgerald, Justin J. Lang, Grant R. Tomkinson

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Background: Handgrip strength (HGS) is an excellent marker of functional capability and health in adults, although little is known about temporal trends in adult HGS.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to systematically analyze national (country-level) temporal trends in adult HGS, and to examine relationships between national trends in adult HGS and national trends in health-related and socioeconomic/demographic indicators.

Methods: Data were obtained from a systematic search of studies reporting temporal trends in HGS for adults (aged ≥20 years) and by examining national fitness datasets. Trends in mean HGS were estimated at the country-sex-age group level by best-fitting …

Testing Validity Of Fitnessgram In Two Samples Of Us Adolescents (12–15 Years), Eun-Young Lee, Joel D. Barnes, Justin J. Lang, Diego A. S. Silva, Grant R. Tomkinson, Mark S. Tremblay

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Background

This study examined the validity of the FitnessGram® criterion-reference cut-points for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) based on two samples of US adolescents (aged 12–15 years). This study also established the CRF cut-points for metabolically healthy weight status based on a recent national fitness survey for the purposes of cross-validating with pre-existing cut-points including FitnessGram.

Methods

Two cross-sectional data from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (n = 378) and 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) (n = 451) were used. CRF (estimated V˙" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 16.2px; …

Summer Commencement: August 7, 2020, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Summer Commencement program from August 7, 2020.

Reliability Of The Styku 3d Whole Body Scanner For The Assessment Of Body Size In Athletes, Joe D. Derouchey, Grant R. Tomkinson, Jesse L. Rhoades, John S. Fitzgerald

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Anthropometry is important for predicting sport performance. While 3-dimensional (3D) body scanners increase the feasibility of anthropometric assessment, reliability data on athletes are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of a portable, single-camera 3D body scanning system (Styku S100) to assess circumferences, and whole-body and segmental surface areas and volumes of athletes. Forty-nine (19 male) athletes were scanned six times (two sessions of three scans). The Styku scanner demonstrated nearly perfect reliability. Systematic errors were negligible (mean standardized bias [95%CI]: scan 1 vs. 4, 0.04 [0.02, 0.06]), random errors were negligible (mean standardized typical …

Plasticity Of Least Tern And Piping Plover Nesting Behaviors In Response To Sand Temperature, Alicia K. Andes, Mark H. Sherfy, Terry L. Shaffer, Susan N. Ellis-Felege

Biology Faculty Publications

Birds that nest on the ground in open areas, such as Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) and Interior Least Terns (Sternula antillarum athalassos), are exposed to high temperatures in thermally stressful environments. As a result, some ground-nesting avian species have adapted behavioral strategies to maintain thermal regulation of eggs and themselves. We assessed the impact of sand temperature on shorebird nesting behaviors by installing video cameras and thermocouples at 52 Least Tern and 55 Piping Plover nests on the Missouri River in North Dakota during the 2014–2015 breeding seasons. Daily duration and frequency of shading behaviors exhibited …

Temporal Trends In Handgrip Strength For Older Japanese Adults Between 1998 And 2017, Grant R. Tomkinson, Tetsuhiro Kidokoro, Trevor Dufner, Shingo Noi, John S. Fitzgerald, Ryan P. Mcgrath

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Objective: To estimate temporal trends in handgrip strength (HGS) for older Japanese adults between 1998 and 2017.

Design and Methods: Adults aged 60–79 years were included. Annual nationally representative HGS data (n=176,449) for the 19-year study period were obtained from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Temporal trends in mean HGS were estimated by sample-weighted regression models relating the year of testing to mean HGS. National trends in absolute, percent and standardized HGS were estimated by a post-stratified population-weighting procedure. Temporal trends in variability were estimated as the ratio of coefficients of variation (CVs).

Results: Collectively, …