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Insecticide Susceptibility And Resistance Detection In Phlebotomus Argentipes Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), Shawna M. Hennings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leishmaniasis is an understudied disease found predominantly in high heat and humidity areas. The disease is transmitted by sandflies which are blood-feeding, biting insects. There is currently no known vaccine for any form of leishmaniasis and treatment imposes a significant economic impact on already poor and marginalized populations, as well as severe, lingering side effects for afflicted individuals. Annually, there are millions of people around the world afflicted with a form of Leishmaniasis that is transmitted by species of sandflies. The primary sandfly population control method for over half a century has been indoor residual spraying using insecticides. The selective …

Immunological Tradeoffs And The Impacts Of Urbanization On The Reproductive Ecology And Physiology Of The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Emily E. Virgin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investing resources into reproduction can limit energy available to other competing demands, such as fighting off an infection; yet, both processes are necessary for organisms to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation. These strategies often follow patterns associated with lifespan, such that shorter-lived animals are more likely to invest more resources into reproduction over survival, and vice versa in long-lived animals. However, environmental change caused by urbanization can disrupt these relationships, and the within- and transgenerational costs of urbanization on females and offspring are unknown. I address these uncertainties in three research chapters to better understand …

Assessing Post-Fire Revegetation Efforts In Box Elder County, Utah, Using The Rangeland Analysis Platform, Rayce Bryan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

After fires occur in western rangelands, land management agencies commonly perform vegetation treatments and reseeding projects. The West Box Elder Coordinated Resource Management Group expressed concern regarding the difficult process of determining outcomes from the many post-fire revegetation projects undertaken on rangeland of Box Elder County, Utah. This research attempted to compile and clarify the fire and treatment history of the county and produce an assessment of the outcomes from each unique post-fire treatment in West Box Elder County. Also produced was a database of post-fire revegetation outcomes in published literature.

Unique treatment polygons were identified and then subset according …

Normative Evaluations Of Resource Conditions: The Influence Of Visitor Characteristics And Implications For Recreation Management In Urban-Proximate Parks, Jordan E. Nesbitt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Urban-proximate parks and protected areas provide a unique recreation landscape to individuals living in and near urban centers. They have been shown to provide similar recreation experiences to traditionally studied parks and protected areas such as National Parks, National Forests and Wilderness areas. This study takes place in a set of four urban-proximate parks in Orange County, California, USA. These parks are designated as urban-proximate because they are located within 100 miles of an urban center with 1 million or more people. Using norm theory, a well vetted social science theory, this work sought to identify thresholds of acceptability for …

Treason Town: Cities As Traitors During The U.S.-Mexican War, Kelsey Foster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-48) the U.S. army invaded Mexico from several fronts. The Mexican Army was unable to prevent U.S. troops marching into and occupying Mexico City, resulting in the transfer of a vast swath of territory from Mexico to the United States. Historians offer several explanations for Mexico's inability to repel this invasion, and one of them is the disunity of the Mexican nation. Evidence of this disunity can be seen in the response of some local leaders when they were confronted with the invading army: instead of fighting, they elected to surrender, allowing U.S. troops to occupy …

Characterizing Karst Mountain Watersheds Through Streamflow Response To Snowmelt, Daniel Meade Thurber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The climate in many parts of the Western US is characterized by cold, wet winters preceding long, dry summers. In the absence of precipitation, water supplies in these regions are sustained by melting snow and mountain groundwater. Changes in regional climate can reduce snow accumulation, accelerate melt, and prolong dry periods, all increasing the importance of groundwater on summertime water availability. In mountainous regions with limestone and dolomite geology, bedrock formations can host significant karst aquifers comprising dissolution-enhanced karst conduits which play an outsized and variable role in how precipitation is translated into streamflow. In this study, we considered an …

Examining Geographic Variations In Disaster Preparedness Across The United States And Puerto Rico, Forest Kane Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Disaster events, such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes increasingly cause damage to livelihoods, the economy, and the environment. Preparing for these events to occur is an important part of increasing resilience, however studies have found that households are generally not prepared for these events to happen. When it comes to identifying where these households are, there is typically no related tool or series of maps that can indicate location. In order to fill this gap, we use public survey data from FEMA to create estimates of household preparedness across a number of actions, such as developing an evacuation plan or …

Shame-Proneness And Sexual Satisfaction Among Conservatively Religious Sexual Minorities, Sydney A. Sorrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined how various aspects of religiousness and sexuality were related to sexual satisfaction among conservatively religious sexual minorities and explored whether dispositional proneness to feeling shame changed these relationships. Analysis of survey data from 315 current and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revealed numerous factors that were related to sexual satisfaction. Sexual minorities who attended more religious services and who were more religiously committed were less sexually satisfied. This may be a result of the conflict a religious sexual minority individual experiences when engaging in same-sex sexual behavior due to stigmatizing religious …

The Latter-Day Saint Home As A Site Of Religious Transition, 1890–1930, Cathy Gilmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examines religion as practiced in the Latter-day Saint home during a period of religious transition between 1890 and 1930. Using the family of June A. Bushman and Hyrum Smith as subjects, we examine how families managed the religious reforms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during this period. As individuals who came of age at the turn of the twentieth century, June and Hyrum’s lives intersected with their church’s transition from an isolated religion to a modern, American church.
Administrative modernization, priesthood reforms, reimagined family relationships, and other ecclesiastical changes came into tension with the …

Approaches To Supplementing Silicon In Soilless Media And The Value Of Silicon In The Mitigation Of Drought Stress, Mackenzie Grace Dey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Silicon (Si) is not considered an essential element for plants to complete their lifecycle, but is known to be beneficial for plants under environmental stress such as drought. Unlike natural soils, Si is minimally bioavailable in soilless media. With indoor agriculture and greenhouse production increasing, the benefits of Si have been seen and Si should be supplemented. This work aimed to characterize and quantify the dissolution of Si from media substrates and additives to achieve a steady-state release of Si in soilless media. Typical media components such as coconut coir, peat moss, perlite, rock wool, sand, and vermiculite minimally released …

Bipartisn Bills From Caucus Collaboration: Solutions To Polarized Or Non-Polarized Issues?, Kaitlin Holden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper investigates whether caucus members pursue bipartisan collaboration on bills related to polarized or non-polarized policy issues. The aim is to determine whether caucuses may be used to pursue bipartisan solutions to major policy issues in an increasingly polarized political environment. I model the effect that the presence of a women’s caucus has on bipartisan collaboration in increasingly polarized legislatures, depending on whether a bill’s title contains words related to polarized issues and its overall sentiment. Findings indicate that bipartisan women may be more likely to collaborate on polarized bills then non-polarized bills in legislatures with a women’s caucus …

Neural Network Detection Of Pacemakers For Mri Safety, M Thurston, H Wit, D Kim

Peninsula Medical School

Flagging the presence of cardiac devices such as pacemakers before an MRI scan is essential to allow appropriate safety checks. We assess the accuracy with which a machine learning model can classify the presence or absence of a pacemaker on pre-existing chest radiographs. A total of 7973 chest radiographs were collected, 3996 with pacemakers visible and 3977 without. Images were identified from information available on the radiology information system (RIS) and correlated with report text. Manual review of images by two board certified radiologists was performed to ensure correct labeling. The data set was divided into training, validation, and a …

Protocol Implementation For Standardized Handoff From Emergency Department, Marina Conaway

Symposium of Student Scholars

In the healthcare field, report given between nurses during handoff when transferring and admitting patients is considered one of the most important components to quality patient care as well as ensuring patient safety. When report is not given effectively or at all during handoff, there are many problems that can occur during the nursing care process. According to research, lack of including necessary patient information or having incomplete medical records are some of the main problems that can lead to things directly affecting patient safety and quality of care, such as medication errors. Research supports that continuity of care is …

Human Trafficking Victims And The Ed, Sami Johnson

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: Human trafficking victims have restricted contact with others, leaving emergency department healthcare workers as their only links to the outside world. These healthcare workers must be educated, and screenings need to be utilized to identify and care for these victims. Objective: This study was created to discover what the best training and actions are for emergency department healthcare workers when identifying and treating human trafficking victims. Method: Research was conducted through PubMed, CINAHL, and MEDLINE. The frequently used phrases to find journals include "human trafficking" and "emergency department". Articles were excluded if they were not written in the English …

Comparison Of Vaginal Misoprostol And Oral Misoprostol For Promoting Cervical Ripening And Inducing Labor, Aurelle Ndongo, Julie Vu, Abby Smith, Alice Han, Callie Greathouse

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: Labor induction is the stimulation of the uterus to contract before labor begins to have a vaginal birth through the use of medications. Labor induction in the later stages of pregnancy is used to prevent complications when the mother or baby is at risk. Medications such as misoprostol (Cytotec) are used in inductions for cervical ripening to allow smoother dilation. Ripening the cervix is a method used to help soften and thin out the cervix to facilitate childbirth. The benefit of using misoprostol is that it can be administered several routes including oral, vaginal, sublingual and buccal. Induction of …

Lowering Utis In Sci, Jennifer Walter

Symposium of Student Scholars

Lowering UTI Rates In SCI

Addressing UTI in spinal cord injury patients is significant because the high occurrence of UTIs adversely affects both the patient and health care organizations. Studies show that neurogenic bladder is common in SCI patients which results in increased retention of urine and rates of bacteria. This calls for continuous intermittent catheterizations, increasing risk of infection and compromising health of the patient. Studies found UTIs lead to greater hospitalization lengths, costs, and waste. The purpose of this project is to lower UTI rates by identifying bacteria in urine daily, thus treating UTI sooner. Urine cultures are …

The Effect Of Patient To Nurse Ratios On Nurse Burn Out, Resignation, And The Quality Of Patient Care, Alyssa Bedenbaugh

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is facing a nursing shortage and experiencing increasing amounts of nurse burn out and resignation. Current practice on many medical surgical floors in hospitals is to assign six patients to one nurse. Nurses struggle to complete patient care during their shift for all patients leading to rapid burn out in nursing followed by early resignation and a decrease in patient care, satisfaction, and safety. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect patient to nurse ratios has on nurse burn out, nurse resignation, and the quality of patient …

Alarm Fatigue, Angela Hyman

Symposium of Student Scholars

Usage of medical equipment and technology to monitor patient conditions in acute care units has expanded in recent years. Although intended to be beneficial, the various simultaneous alarms have now posed a risk to patient safety. The prevalence of the alarm sounds has caused desensitization in nurses whereas the alerts are being ignored, silenced, or disabled. Commonly known as alarm fatigue, this phenomenon has created a barrier to patient care because nurses fail to act urgently, resulting in the risk of adverse patient outcomes. Research conducted by Casey et. al. (2018) has shown the average response rate to patients to …

Does The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol Decrease Length Of Stay In Cardiac Valvular Patients?, Justyse Williams

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac valvular surgery have an extensive recovery process that can result in an average hospital stay of 7 days and maximum stay of 10 days. Valvular surgical patients also could face complications like heart block, pericardial tamponade, and atrial fibrillation. The purpose of this project is to implement change within the recovery process to help improve patient outcomes by decreasing the length of stay for patients undergoing cardiac valve replacements. Literature Review: The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol is a multimodal process implemented before, during, and after surgery to achieve early recovery and discharge. This process …

Repositioning Patients To Prevent Pressure Ulcers, Janeth Covarrubias

Symposium of Student Scholars

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate whether alternating between the nurse and certified nurse aid (CNA) to reposition immobilized patient’s every two hours, as opposed to being repositioned solely by one person, will reduce pressure ulcer development.

Background: Nurses and CNAs work together to turn patient’s every 2 hours, but some patients have stated that they have not been turned all day; consequently, they’ve developed new pressure ulcers or are not healing from previous ones. Without interventions, patients are at risk for developing severe infections, lengthening their hospitalization, and increased pain levels.

Literature review: Like the registered …

The Effects Of Prenatal Patient Education Regarding Epidural Anesthesia, Auburn Merritt

Symposium of Student Scholars

This project is important because there is a lack of education for prenatal women regarding epidural anesthesia which causes misunderstanding, confusion, a deficit of knowledge, and a lack of support. The purpose of this project is to analyze and suggest the importance of proper education regarding epidural anesthesia. Proper prenatal education causes resolution of misconceptions as well as causes patients to be more satisfied with their pain management during labor. Evidence that I found suggested that after proper education more pregnant women planned to receive epidural anesthesia (Cutajar, 2018). Women preferred detailed education to increase knowledge of the risks and …

The Impact Of Ethnic Groups On National Security, Seham Fawzi

Future Journal of Social Science

Ethnic diversity in and of itself does not negatively affect national security. The threat it imposes to national security is a result of many factors combined with political opportunity that fundamental changes occurring in the political system exploited by ethnic and sectarian groups trying to change the political system to their advantage. Many factors such as political, historical, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and psychological factors may lead ethnic groups to rebel and impose threats to the national states of any country especially developing countries.

Secure Decentralized Blockchain Based Web Application For Medical Records, Sri Harshini Popuri, Liang Zhao

Symposium of Student Scholars

The online storage and sharing of electronic health records has undergone a paradigm shift in recent years. The introduction of a centralized cloud computing concept to streamline records transfer between patients and healthcare providers has been an easy task. As a result, the availability of electronically stored health records with minimal operational costs is made possible, but the primary concern is related to the privacy and security of records. How can we securely exchange medical documents online while maintaining strong security standards? This research suggests a framework that fuses online federated learning with blockchain technology. In particular, we develop a …

Back Injuries Among Nurses: An Intervention To Reduce Injury And Increase Patient Satisfaction, Grace E Farmer

Symposium of Student Scholars

Nurses have a very high susceptibility to back injuries due to the physical demands of the job. While there are safety measures in place, back injuries are still the number one cause of workplace injuries in this field (Ibrahim et al., 2020). This is an important problem to understand because workplace injuries in the nursing field affect more than just the injured nurse. When nurses and care partners are not in their best health, they are unable to treat the client with a high standard of care. Injuries can also lead to staffing shortages which in turn, leads to a …

The Effect Of Uninterrupted Breaks On Quality Of Care Delivered By Bedside Nurses, Bryce Farmer

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

The purpose of this evidence-based practice project is to evaluate the effects of ensuring an uninterrupted 30-minute break during each shift on the quality of care delivered by inpatient nurses working 12-hour long shifts. An uninterrupted break constitutes a complete absence of patient care including answering work-related calls and watching patient monitors. Nearly half of nurses report that they are not fully free of patient-care responsibilities when taking breaks at work [6] and continually miss meal breaks, often getting only a few minutes of break time each shift [1, 3, 5, 6]. Nurses physically exert themselves every shift by …

Psychiatric Medications: Does Education Affect Medication Prescriptions?, Surina M. Narine, Mary D. Ramos, Sarah Chu

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: There is a lack of research on racial challenges among underrepresented adolescents regarding prescription drug use for mental illnesses. Purpose: This study addressed the following question: In adolescent minorities, how does education about racial disparity and culture affect the stigma and number of prescriptions written for psychiatric medications? This evidence-based practice project aimed to identify if racial awareness directly impacts the amount of psychiatric medication prescribed for adolescent minorities. Methods: Literature reviews analyzed qualitative and quantitative data to provide correlating information on racial disparities and psychotropic medications. This study examined the following possible factors for decreased prescribed drugs within …

Are Basic Care Homeless Shelters Beneficial To The Homeless, Lucy Karanja

Symposium of Student Scholars

This research aims to analyze homeless shelters that only provide basic care, i.e., food and shelter, to individuals experiencing episodic or chronic homelessness. Evaluating the effectiveness of these shelters and their ability to help individuals overcome homelessness. Research in this area suggests that there are commonly seen factors that result in homelessness, and although there are noted gender differences, these factors include aspects such as mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, illness, disability, violence, and a lack of access to resources, i.e., education, income, affordable housing, social support. All of these are complex on their own to address and only grow …

Creating Presence In The State Of Absence With Students In The Georgia Department Of Juvenile Justice, Lance Brown

Symposium of Student Scholars

Within the juvenile justice system, it’s common for students in the system to have lots of artistic drive, but lack the confidence to express it. Without some sort of outlet this becomes a normal for these students incarcerated. The smallest amount of guidance and to be heard is what could be the turning point in their lives. My presentation goes into depth about what that process is like and the journey that happens, and not only from my perspective as a peer leader in the new connections collision project, but the impact it had on the students and everyone involved. …

Hate Crime, Rachael Kimani

Symposium of Student Scholars

The rate of hate crimes in the United States of America has been growing at an unprecedented rate. This rise in hate crimes results from the dislike towards a certain group, as crimes are committed based on the victim's actual or perceived ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, or physical or mental disability. These crimes cause hysteria in the community, breeding a stereotype that results in the segregation of the victimized group. The trends reveal that white males are more susceptible to perpetrating these offenses. Therefore, this research was done to clarify and comprehend who commits hate crimes and their …

Early Stage Or Curable Cancer Diagnoses In Minorities: A Journey Of Survivors, Lora Asberry

Symposium of Student Scholars

For some individuals, a routine checkup with the family physician may turn into a life-changing diagnosis. As of today, there are over 1,918,030 new estimated cancer cases that will be revealed in 2022. Due to significant technological advancements in the medical field, there have been increased amounts of screening measurements taken to improve the chances of catching cancer in its early stages. While various modes of cancer treatment should be accessible to individuals from all walks of life, previous studies have demonstrated that minorities, as well as other individuals from underrepresented communities, do not receive the same level of care …