Digital Commons Network^™

Medication Noncompliance In Patients Over The Age Of 65: Risk Factors, Problems, And Potential Solutions, Rachel N. Cook

Honors Program Theses

Medication noncompliance is linked with a complex medication regimen, poor drug knowledge, physical limitations, psychosocial characteristics, and poor communication. As important as this problem is to patients’ health especially those over the age of 65, there really is no solution to this problem or even steps to a solution. After interviewing eight care providers, I have come up with a few steps to begin solving this problem. These steps include a medication dispenser, communication between care providers, and education provided to patients by all care providers. In the end, there is no solution that will solve every case of medication …

Sustainability Of Sustainability: Exploring Alternatives In Alternative Energy, Corey C. Cooling

Honors Program Theses

In light of a gap in the literature of what makes or breaks student biodiesel conversion programs, this thesis will give a review and analysis of select existing biodiesel conversion programs and suggest a model reflecting the characteristics of successful student programs.

The study’s research questions are:

1. What are the common themes or factors successful programs exhibit?

2. What institutional factors create a productive environment for biodiesel programs?

3. Can the tactics of successful programs be generalized?

Firstly, I define successful programs as programs that are financially feasible, develop student skills, lower the environmental impact of universities and foster …

Minority Stress And Daily Affect Among Gay And Bisexual Men, Adam Ismail Eldahan

Public Health Theses

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to examine the possible time-variant relationship between daily minority stress and same-day affect among gay and bisexual men. Additionally, this study sought to determine whether a lagged association exists between daily minority stress and next-day affect. Lastly, this study examined trajectories of minority stress and affect during the course of the study period. Methods: 371 gay and bisexual men in New York City completed a 30-day daily diary, recording daily experiences of minority stress and daily measures of positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and anxious arousal (AA) (n = 8,415 diary …

Association Between Parenting Processes And Child Behavior Outcomes: The Moderating And Mediating Role Of Child Characteristics, Taylor Elizabeth Ann Goetzinger

Honors Program Theses

Past research demonstrates the importance parents have in determining the outcomes in their children’s lives. Of these outcomes, child academic achievement is extremely important. In investigating past research on parenting practices and styles, factors such as parental monitoring and involvement as well as styles of authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting were examined to determine an association with academic achievement in middle school children. Learning disabilities, mental disorders, child personality characteristics and child academic characteristics were other measures explored as buffers in the parenting to academic achievement relationship. Mediating effects were also examined. The current study sampled 179 middle school students …

The Influence Of Perceived Control On Breast Cancer Screening In Hispanic/Latino Women, Lianne Epstein

Public Health Theses

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality for Hispanic/Latino (H/L) women in the United States. Although incidence rates are lower among H/L women than among white women and other minorities, H/L women are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer and to have lower 5-year relative survival compared with non-Hispanic white women. H/L women are less likely than white and African American women to receive screening mammography according to recommended guidelines. This study examines the relationship between perceived control over three health outcome domains: 1.) remaining healthy, 2.) being diagnosed with cancer, and 3.) the …

Household Food Insecurity And Iron Deficiency Anemia In Mexican Women Of Reproductive Age, Nils Clement Fischer

Public Health Theses

Objective: To investigate the association of household food insecurity (HFI) with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in a nationally representative cross-sectional sample from Mexico of women of reproductive age (12-49 years old).

Material and Methods: We tested the association between HFI and IDA among 16,944 women of reproductive age using multiple logistic regression. HFI was measured using the Latin America and the Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA). IDA was measured with capillary hemoglobin using HemoCue photometer and defined using the WHO standards.

Results: Multivariate analyses showed that adjusted odds for IDA were 33% and 36% higher among living in moderately and …

Dengue Epidemiology In An Urban Slum Community In Salvador, Brazil, Kristine Gauthier

Public Health Theses

Brazil has experienced a major increase in the incidence of dengue fever and severe dengue since the mid-1990s. Due to incomplete vector-control and transmission prevention efforts, all four serotypes of the dengue virus now circulate in Brazil. Communities such as Pau da Lima, an urban slum in the city of Salvador, Brazil, face a high burden of disease. Beginning in 2009 enhanced surveillance for dengue fever and other acute febrile illnesses has been conducted at the São Marcos Emergency Center (CESM), the only public urgent care health center in Pau da Lima. This sentinel surveillance site serves as a model …

The Association Of Masculinity Themes In Social Network Images And Sexual Risk Behavior, Elizabeth Nicole Genter

Public Health Theses

In spite of the high prevalence of active users on social networking sites (SNSs), research examining the ways in which online social network interactions are associated with health have been limited (Morgan, et al., 2010). The primary aim of this study was to understand the context in which emerging adult men post masculine themed images and videos on their SNS's and its relationship to sexual risk behavior (e.g. number of sexual partners, concurrency, and condom use) and offline communication about sex with friends (e.g. talking about sex, HIV/STDs, and relationships), by examining the relationship between 902 images and videos posted …

Post-Diagnosis Changes In Dietary Patterns And Body Weight Among Breast Cancer Survivors, Elizabeth George

Public Health Theses

Background

Weight gain is common after a breast cancer diagnosis and is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer recurrence and mortality independent of weight and BMI at diagnosis. Determining the factors associated with post-diagnosis weight gain will provide insight into improving weight management and ultimately improving breast cancer outcomes.

Purpose

This study examined dietary patterns of breast cancer survivors and whether weight gain after a diagnosis of breast cancer was associated with post-diagnosis dietary changes among breast cancer survivors.

Methods

The study sample consisted of 100 breast cancer survivors diagnosed an average of 3.3 ± 2.1 years …

Analysis Of The Gut-Specific Microbiome Of Field-Captured Tsetse Flies, And Its Potential Relevance To Host Trypanosome Vector Competence, Bridget Catherine Hamilton Griffith

Public Health Theses

The tsetse fly (Glossinasp.) gut is colonized by maternally transmitted and environmentally acquired bacteria. Maternally transmitted symbionts are well characterized, but little is known about the origin and function of environmentally acquired bacteria inhabiting the tsetse midgut. To address this shortcoming, culture dependent and independent methods were used to characterize and quantify bacterial communities that reside within the midgut of tsetse flies collected at five geographically isolated locations in Kenya and Uganda. Bacteria were isolated from 83.33% of flies using culture dependent methods. In total, 38 strains were isolated. To increase the depth of this analysis, Illumina-based deep-sequencing of the …

Comparison Of Capillary And Venous Parasitemia Measurements In Clinical Studies Of Malaria In Ugandan Children, Adults, And Pregnant Women (Cpcv), Musleehat Hamadu

Public Health Theses

Malaria is mesoendemic in Uganda; with an entomological inoculation rate (EIR) estimated at 562 infective bites per person year (PPY), Tororo, a rural district located in Eastern Uganda, is one of the highest transmission sites. This study leveraged participants enrolled in two NIH funded trails at the Tororo District Hospital in Tororo, Uganda in order to determine whether there is a difference in parasitemia levels and the strain dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum between simultaneously collected venous and capillary blood samples over the course of 42 days of follow-up. Parasitemia levels were examined on-site via microscopy of thick and thin blood …

Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution In Middle School Aged Children: The Early Effects Of An Emotional Literacy Intervention (Ruler), Monique Haynes

Public Health Theses

Emotional literacy interventions have been successful in increasing classroom organization and emotional climate. However, little has been reported on the effects of these interventions on conflict resolution and their implications for youth violence and aggression. The aim of this thesis is to determine the early effects of an emotional literacy intervention (RULER) on conflict resolution skills in middle school aged children by examining the link between RULER and conflict resolution, including emotion regulation as a mediator. This was done using a multi-method, multi-level approach. Data from 57 sixth-grade classrooms (N=754) were analyzed and included conflict resolution scores and emotion regulation …

Assessing Solvent Exposure In Connecticut Auto Body Shops, Amy Linnea Wan He

Public Health Theses

Objective The objectives of this paper are to characterize solvent exposure on an individual basis by auto body shop tasks, establish if solvent concentrations fall below current regulatory standards, and to determine predictive factors for solvent exposure levels. Predictive factors being analyzed are: indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, indoor relative humidity, outdoor relative humidity, booth type, ventilation (bay door use and general exhaust use), paint type, and specific task.

Methods Data for this paper was obtained from The SPRAY (Survey of Painters and Repairers of Autobodies by Yale) study. All statistical analysis was performed in SAS. A log transformation was first …

An Assessment Of Hookworm Infection And Albendazole Treatment Failure Among Children Ages 7-12 In Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana, Erin Leah Jaske

Public Health Theses

Background

Hookworm is a soil-transmitted nematode (STN) infection associated with rural poverty that infects 576-740 million people worldwide, 200 million of which reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2001, the WHO passed a resolution that recommended annual deworming for school-aged children where the prevalence of STNs is higher than 20%. Since this time, albendazole has been widely used across sub-Saharan Africa to treat hookworm infection. Given the widespread use of albendazole as a treatment for hookworms and other STNs in humans, it becomes pertinent to ensure that resistance is monitored at the local level, and detected as it emerges. Previous research …

Measuring Performance Of Physicians In The Diagnosis Of Endometriosis Using An Expectation-Maximization Algorithm, Susan Jin

Public Health Theses

The quality of clinical studies rests on the reliability of the disease diagnosis, and it is important to assess various factors associated with the ability of a physician to provide an accurate diagnosis. Endometriosis is a gynecological disorder in women, which has typically been difficult to diagnose and assess accurately. We focus on the analysis of data collected in the Physician Reliability Study of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), on the agreement between physicians in obstetrics and gynecology in the diagnosis of endometriosis. The objective of our …

Household Food Insecurity And Sleep Patterns Among Mexican Adults: Results From Ensanut-2012, Monica Jordan

Public Health Theses

Objective: To examine the independent association of household food insecurity (HFI) with sleep duration and quality in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of adults in Mexico.

Methods: We analyzed data from ENSANUT-2012. We assessed the association between HFI and self-reported sleep duration and quality among 11,356 adults using weighted multinomial and binomial logistic regression. The Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) was used to categorize food security level as secure (25.5%), mild HFI (43.7%), moderate HFI (19.0%), or severe HFI (11.8%).

Results: Overall, 20.8% of individuals reported getting less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep/night, 20.4% reported …

Cost Effectiveness Of Non-Laboratory Cvd Screening In Uzbekistan, Shefali Kumar

Public Health Theses

Background-- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores that require laboratory testing (e.g., cholesterol testing) are often used to identify high- and low-risk individuals for primary CVD prevention interventions, such as statin treatment. However, laboratory testing can be expensive and difficult to conduct in resource-limited settings. The aim of this study was to compare CVD risk characterization and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of non-laboratory based and laboratory-based CVD risk scores for adults in Tashkent City, Uzbekistan.

Methods--CVD risk for 853 adults (376 men, 477 women) from Tashkent City, Uzbekistan was assessed using laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based scores calculated from 2002 Uzbekistan Health Examination Survey …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Their Influence On Social Connectedness, Tammie Kwong

Public Health Theses

Emerging evidence suggests that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are prevalent within the population and are linked to various negative long-term health and social consequences. The effect childhood maltreatment has on an individual's ability to maintain social connectedness may be a potential pathway as to how early adversity increases the likelihood of future negative health consequences. Using the 2011/12 National Survey of Children's Health, this thesis will explore the influence ACEs has on three areas of social connectedness: bonding, bridging, and linking. Results from the multivariate logistic regression model show that there was a significant association between ACEs and bonding as …

Detecting Knowledge Of Incidentally Acquired, Real-World Memories Using A P300-Based Concealed-Information Test, John B. Meixner Jr., J. Peter Rosenfeld

Scholarly Works

Autobiographical memory for events experienced during normal daily life has been studied at the group level, but no studies have yet examined the ability to detect recognition of incidentally acquired memories among individual subjects. We present the first such study here, which employed a concealed-information test in which subjects were shown words associated with activities they had experienced the previous day. Subjects wore a video-recording device for 4 hr on Day 1 and then returned to the laboratory on Day 2, where they were shown words relating to events recorded with the camera (probe items) and words of the same …

Fluid Flow Shear Stress Over Podocytes Is Increased In The Solitary Kidney., Tarak Srivastava, Gianni E. Celsi, Mukut Sharma, Hongying Dai, Ellen T. Mccarthy, Melanie Ruiz, Patricia A. Cudmore, Uri S. Alon, Ram Sharma, Virginia A. Savin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Glomerular hyperfiltration is emerging as the key risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Podocytes are exposed to fluid flow shear stress (FFSS) caused by the flow of ultrafiltrate within Bowman's space. The mechanism of hyperfiltration-induced podocyte injury is not clear. We postulated that glomerular hyperfiltration in solitary kidney increases FFSS over podocytes.

METHODS: Infant Sprague-Dawley rats at 5 days of age and C57BL/6J 14-week-old adult mice underwent unilateral nephrectomy. Micropuncture and morphological studies were then performed on 20- and 60-day-old rats. FFSS over podocytes in uninephrectomized rats and mice was calculated using the recently published equation …

Patient Preference For Physician Prayer In Medical Situations, Blaine Mahlon Schlawin

Honors Program Theses

As medical issues present themselves in an individual’s life, some may resort to religion and spirituality. Because health care providers care for the individual, these practitioners need to be aware of the connections that occur within the realm of spirituality and medicine. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of physician use of prayer during medical visits in a sample of adults. Specifically, four research questions were examined: Overall, do patients want their physicians praying for them? Overall, do patients prefer a certain type of physician prayer (i.e., active, silent or physician distant intercessory prayer)? Does …

Latitude And Environmental Pressure: Their Impact On Carapace Morphology In Three Species Of Fiddler Crabs (Genus Uca) Across The Atlantic Ocean, Katherine Susannah Mary Thomas

Honors Program Theses

Among semi-terrestrial fiddler crabs, three species from the subgenus Uca (sensu stricto) appear to be basal in the phylogeny of the genus: Uca major (Herbst 1782-1804), Uca maracoani (Latreille 1802-1803) and Uca tangeri (Eydoux 1835). These species evolved vicariantly as tectonic plates separated to form the Atlantic Ocean. Currently, the three species, found in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean, exhibit a high affinity for their respective tectonic plates. Inter- and intra-specific variation in carapace shape was assessed using geometric morphometrics to analyze 12 surface landmarks in the three species. In 314 female specimens, surficial coordinates were superimposed, standardized, and …

Excavation And Stratigraphic Analysis Of A Late Nineteenth Century Boiler House, Ariel Marie Williams

Honors Program Theses

An archaeological excavation was carried out in November of 2013 on the block of 13th and Tremont Streets in the city of Cedar Falls, Blackhawk County, Iowa. The site examined was home to a late nineteenth century boiler house that powered several greenhouses on the property. Greenhouses occupy a distinctive industrial niche and have rarely been studied using an archaeological approach. The goals in excavating at the boiler house site were to determine what formation processes led to the creation of the stratigraphy as initially observed by the property owner, and what the layers and artifacts recovered from them tell …

Color Vision Variation As Evidenced By Hybrid L/M Opsin Genes In Wild Populations Of Trichromatic Alouatta New World Monkeys, Barbara Welker, Yuka Matsushita, Hiroki Oota, Mary S. Pavelka, Shoji Kawamura

Anthropology

Platyrrhine (New World) monkeys possess highly polymorphic color vision owing to allelic variation of the single-locus L/M opsin gene on the X chromosome. Most species consist of female trichromats and female and male dichromats. Howlers (genus Alouatta) are an exception; they are considered to be routinely trichromatic with L and M opsin genes juxtaposed on the X chromosome, as seen in catarrhine primates (Old World monkeys, apes, and humans). Yet it is not known whether trichromacy is invariable in howlers. We examined L/M opsin variation in wild howler populations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua (Alouatta palliata) and …

Marine Fish May Be Biochemically Constrained From Inhabiting The Deepest Ocean Depths, Paul H. Yancey, Mackenzie E. Gerringer, Jeffrey C. Drazen, Ashley A. Rowden, Alan Jamieson

Biology

No fish have been found in the deepest 25% of the ocean (8,400-11,000 m). This apparent absence has been attributed to hydrostatic pressure, although direct evidence is wanting because of the lack of deepest-living species to study. The common osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) stabilizes proteins against pressure and increases with depth, going from 40 to 261 mmol/kg in teleost fishes from 0 to 4,850 m. TMAO accumulation with depth results in increasing internal osmolality (typically 350 mOsmol/kg in shallow species compared with seawater's 1,100 mOsmol/kg). Preliminary extrapolation of osmolalities of predicted isosmotic state at 8,000-8,500 m may indicate a possible …

The Earliest Colubroid-Dominated Snake Fauna From Africa: Perspectives From The Late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation Of Southwestern Tanzania, Jacob A. Mccartney, Nancy J. Stevens, Patrick M. O'Connor

Biology

The extant snake fauna has its roots in faunal upheaval occurring across the Paleogene - Neogene transition. On northern continents, this turnover is well established by the late early Miocene. However, this transition is poorly documented on southern landmasses, particularly on continental Africa, where no late Paleogene terrestrial snake assemblages are documented south of the equator. Here we describe a newly discovered snake fauna from the Late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation in the Rukwa Rift Basin of Tanzania. The fauna is small but diverse with eight identifiable morphotypes, comprised of three booids and five colubroids. This fauna includes Rukwanyoka holmani gen. …

Meiotic Drive Impacts Expression And Evolution Of X-Linked Genes In Stalk-Eyed Flies, Josephine A. Reinhardt, Cara L. Brand, Kimberly A. Paczolt, Philip M. Johns, Richard H. Baker, Gerald S. Wilkinson

Biology

Although sex chromosome meiotic drive has been observed in a variety of species for over 50 years, the genes causing drive are only known in a few cases, and none of these cases cause distorted sex-ratios in nature. In stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni), driving X chromosomes are commonly found at frequencies approaching 30% in the wild, but the genetic basis of drive has remained elusive due to reduced recombination between driving and non-driving X chromosomes. Here, we used RNAseq to identify transcripts that are differentially expressed between males carrying either a driving X (X SR ) or a standard X …

Sporulation In Bacteria: Beyond The Standard Model, Elizabeth Hutchison

Biology

Endospore formation follows a complex, highly regulated developmental pathway that occurs in a broad range of Firmicutes. Although Bacillus subtilis has served as a powerful model system to study the morphological, biochemical, and genetic determinants of sporulation, fundamental aspects of the program remain mysterious for other genera. For example, it is entirely unknown how most lineages within the Firmicutes regulate entry into sporulation. Additionally, little is known about how the sporulation pathway has evolved novel spore forms and reproductive schemes. Here, we describe endospore and internal offspring development in diverse Firmicutes and outline progress in characterizing these programs. Moreover, …

Landscape, Demographic And Climatic Associations With Human West Nile Virus Occurrence Regionally In 2012 In The United States Of America, John P. Degroote, Ramanathan Sugumaran, Mark Ecker

Faculty Work

After several years of low West Nile virus (WNV) occurrence in the United States of America (USA), 2012 witnessed large outbreaks in several parts of the country. In order to understand the outbreak dynamics, spatial clustering and landscape, demographic and climatic associations with WNV occurrence were investigated at a regional level in the USA. Previous research has demonstrated that there are a handful of prominent WNV mosquito vectors with varying ecological requirements responsible for WNV transmission in the USA. Published range maps of these important vectors were georeferenced and used to define eight functional ecological regions in the coterminous USA. …

Voter Identification Laws: It’S All In The Implementation, Adam Kuegler

Holster Scholar Projects

No abstract provided.