Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Preventive Healthcare In A High-Risk Vulnerable Population, Trisha L Amboree, Jane R Montealegre, Kayo Fujimoto, Osaro Mgbere, Charles Darkoh, Paige Padgett Wermuth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study describes preventive care behaviors and explores opportunities to deliver preventive sexual healthcare to a high-risk vulnerable population. Data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system high-risk heterosexuals (HET) cycle (2019) in Houston, Texas, was used to describe preventive care utilization and assess the relationship between healthcare utilization and sociodemographic characteristics. More than 47% reported having no usual source of healthcare, and 94.6% reported receiving no non-HIV STI testing in the past 12 months. Additionally, many sociodemographic factors were associated with healthcare utilization and having a usual source of healthcare. Future efforts should be targeted at increasing preventive …

Perioperative Experience Of Adolescents, Janean Carter Monahan

Dissertations

Research has shown that preoperative stress is associated with poorer health outcomes in adults and young children, but there is little in the literature about the stress experienced by adolescents. Clinical experience, however, has shown that adolescents behave differently throughout the perioperative experience than either adults or children. For example, common behaviors of adolescent's emerging from anesthesia include combativeness, thrashing, and crying. To promote adolescent health and to provide adolescents with appropriate interventions that will support a positive surgical outcome, research is needed to discover the perceptions and meanings adolescents attribute to the perioperative experience.

The purpose of this hermeneutic …

Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors In The Early Adolescent Period, Julia A. Greenawalt

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe patterns and relationships among the modifiable cardiovascular risk factors of smoking behavior, overweight, physical inactivity and poor dietary behaviors within a ninth grade population. Four modifiable cardiovascular risk factors; smoking behavior, overweight, physical inactivity and poor dietary behavior were analyzed from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) to explore associations in early adolescents, a critical developmental time frame. The specific aims of this study were to: 1) conduct a factor analysis of questions selected from the 2003 YRBS to represent the constructs of smoking behavior, physical inactivity and poor dietary …

Meta-Analysis Of Genome-Wide Association Studies Identifies Ancestry-Specific Associations Underlying Circulating Total Tau Levels, Chloé Sarnowski, Mohsen Ghanbari, Joshua C Bis, Mark Logue, Myriam Fornage, Aniket Mishra, Shahzad Ahmad, Alexa S Beiser, Eric Boerwinkle, Vincent Bouteloup, Vincent Chouraki, L Adrienne Cupples, Vincent Damotte, Charles S Decarli, Anita L Destefano, Luc Djoussé, Alison E Fohner, Carol E Franz, Tiffany F Kautz, Jean-Charles Lambert, Michael J Lyons, Thomas H Mosley, Kenneth J Mukamal, Matthew P Pase, Eliana C Portilla Fernandez, Robert A Rissman, Claudia L Satizabal, Ramachandran S Vasan, Amber Yaqub, Stephanie Debette, Carole Dufouil, Lenore J Launer, William S Kremen, William T Longstreth, M Arfan Ikram, Sudha Seshadri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Circulating total-tau levels can be used as an endophenotype to identify genetic risk factors for tauopathies and related neurological disorders. Here, we confirmed and better characterized the association of the 17q21 MAPT locus with circulating total-tau in 14,721 European participants and identified three novel loci in 953 African American participants (4q31, 5p13, and 6q25) at P < 5 × 10-8. We additionally detected 14 novel loci at P < 5 × 10-7, specific to either Europeans or African Americans. Using whole-exome sequence data in 2,279 European participants, we identified ten genes associated with circulating total-tau when aggregating rare variants. Our genetic study sheds light on genes reported to be associated with neurological diseases including stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's (F5, MAP1B, and BCAS3), with Alzheimer's pathological hallmarks (ADAMTS12, IL15, and FHIT), or with an important function in the brain (PARD3, ELFN2, UBASH3B, SLIT3, and NSD3), and suggests that the genetic architecture of circulating total-tau may differ according to ancestry.

The Contribution Of Environmental Education To Dismantling An Increasingly Dysfunctional Environmental Attitude, Jenna Patricia Santacroce

Honors Theses

In part one, this thesis explains how a widespread environmental attitude, which is that it is permissible for humans to dominate the Earth, originated in early human history and remains prevalent today. This “domination attitude” is accompanied by American physical and social structures, otherwise referred to as provisioning systems, which largely constitute a current, prominent paradigm. This paradigm is leading to irreversible environmental degradation which adversely impacts all life on Earth. In part two, this thesis claims that this trajectory can be effectively diverted through a paradigm shift, one where the domination attitude is abandoned, humans pursue a more harmonious …

Exploiting 4–1bb Immune Checkpoint To Enhance The Efficacy Of Oncolytic Virotherapy For Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas, Virginia Laspidea, Montserrat Puigdelloses, Sara Labiano, Lucía Marrodán, Marc Garcia-Moure, Marta Zalacain, Marisol Gonzalez-Huarriz, Naiara Martínez-Vélez, Iker Ausejo-Mauleon, Daniel De La Nava, Guillermo Herrador-Cañete, Javier Marco-Sanz, Elisabeth Guruceaga, Carlos E De Andrea, María Villalba, Oren Becher, Massimo Squatrito, Verónica Matía, Jaime Gállego Pérez-Larraya, Ana Patiño-García, Sumit Gupta, Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, Juan Fueyo, Marta M Alonso

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are aggressive pediatric brain tumors, and patient survival has not changed despite many therapeutic efforts, emphasizing the urgent need for effective treatments. Here, we evaluated the anti-DIPG effect of the oncolytic adenovirus Delta-24-ACT, which was engineered to express the costimulatory ligand 4-1BBL to potentiate the antitumor immune response of the virus. Delta-24-ACT induced the expression of functional 4-1BBL on the membranes of infected DIPG cells, which enhanced the costimulation of CD8+ T lymphocytes. In vivo, Delta-24-ACT treatment of murine DIPG orthotopic tumors significantly improved the survival of treated mice, leading to long-term survivors that developed …

“Researcher-As-Instrument” In Qualitative Research: The Complexities Of The Educational Researcher’S Identities, Bogum Yoon Dr., Christine Uliassi

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to reexamine the principle of researcher-as-instrument to provide insights on methodological ways of engaging critically and reflexively. There are few published pieces that have given attention to the complexities of the educational researcher’s identities through the method of critical self-analysis. The researcher’s nine published case studies were critically reanalyzed by using the criteria of excellent qualitative research such as rich rigor to examine the relationship between the researcher’s identities and the quality of qualitative research. The findings suggest that the researcher’s published studies lack sincerity most among other criteria. The layered identities of the …

A Choral Conductor's Study, Rehearsal, And Performance Guide To Selected Pieces By Brahms, Josquin, Källman, Mozart, Nystedt, And Purcell, Amanda Massengill

Research Papers

This document is an overview of the research and rehearsal considerations made in preparation for works programmed on a choral conducting recital. The pieces on the program are: Josquin’s El Grillo, Purcell’s “Man That Is Born of a Woman,” Mozart’s Te Deum Laudamus, Brahms’ “Sehnsucht,” Källman’s Peze Kafé, and Nystedt’s “Peace I Leave With You.” The program is ultimately a chronology spanning from the Baroque era into the Modern era. When selecting these pieces, it was of high importance to locate works that both showcased the nuances of each major musical time period and combined to form …

Connectomic Profiling And Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes Study (Connectivos): A Prospective Observational Protocol To Identify Biomarkers Of Seizure Response In Children And Youth, Lauren Siegel, Matthew D Smyth, Et Al

Open Access Publications

INTRODUCTION: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation therapy that can reduce the seizure burden of children with medically intractable epilepsy. Despite the widespread use of VNS to treat epilepsy, there are currently no means to preoperatively identify patients who will benefit from treatment. The objective of the present study is to determine clinical and neural network-based correlates of treatment outcome to better identify candidates for VNS therapy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this multi-institutional North American study, children undergoing VNS and their caregivers will be prospectively recruited. All patients will have documentation of clinical history, physical and neurological examination and …

Targeting Fatty Acid Β-Oxidation Impairs Monocyte Differentiation And Prolongs Heart Allograft Survival, Yuehui Zhu, Hao Dun, Li Ye, Yuriko Terada, Leah P. Shriver, Gary J. Patti, Daniel Kreisel, Andrew E. Gelman, Brian W. Wong

Open Access Publications

Monocytes play an important role in the regulation of alloimmune responses after heart transplantation (HTx). Recent studies have highlighted the importance of immunometabolism in the differentiation and function of myeloid cells. While the importance of glucose metabolism in monocyte differentiation and function has been reported, a role for fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) has not been explored. Heterotopic HTx was performed using hearts from BALB/c donor mice implanted into C57BL/6 recipient mice and treated with etomoxir (eto), an irreversible inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Cpt1), a rate-limiting step of FAO, or vehicle control. FAO inhibition prolonged HTx survival, reduced early T …

Sexual Orientation Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace: A Qualitative Study Of Lgb Inclusion In A Uk Public Sector Organisation, Ashley Williams, Neill Thompson, Binna Kandola

The Qualitative Report

Inclusion has been identified as a key component of successful approaches to organisational diversity management. To date, the inclusion literature has predominantly used quantitative methodology to study visible forms of diversity such as gender and ethnicity. Invisible forms of diversity, such as sexual orientation diversity, have received limited research attention, despite Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) employees facing significantly higher rates of bullying and discrimination in the workplace than their heterosexual colleagues. The current study uses semi-structured interviews and template analysis to investigate LGB employees’ experiences of workplace inclusion within a UK public sector organisation. Findings demonstrate that LGBs share …

Policy Solutions To Maximize The Economic Potential Of The Casino Industry Clusters In Tunica County, Mississippi, John Furla

Honors Theses

Tunica County has come a long way over the past 30 years. From being named “America’s Ethiopia” in 1989 to leading the state in many aspects of economic development today, Tunica County has completely transformed their economy all on the back of the casino industry. Grounded in agglomeration theory, this research serves to confirm the quantitative data that claim that the casino clusters in Tunica County serve as the central driver of economic development for the area through the process of spillover. Through six qualitative interviews with officials from Tunica County government and economic development agencies, the collection of descriptive …

In-Depth Analysis Of Sars-Cov-2-Specific T Cells Reveals Diverse Differentiation Hierarchies In Vaccinated Individuals, Li Li, Muharrem Muftuoglu, Shaoheng Liang, Mahesh Basyal, Jiangxing Lv, Mehmet Emin Akdogan, Ken Chen, Michael Andreeff, Christopher R Flowers, Simrit Parmar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines pose as the most effective approach for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. High-degree efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in clinical trials indicates that vaccination invariably induces an adaptive immune response. However, the emergence of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals suggests that the breadth and magnitude of vaccine-induced adaptive immune response may vary. We assessed vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 T cell response in 21 vaccinated individuals and found that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells, which were mainly CD4+ T cells, were invariably detected in all individuals but the response was varied. We then investigated differentiation states and cytokine profiles to identify immune features associated with …

Lymphocyte Depletion Rate As A Biomarker Of Radiation Dose To Circulating Lymphocytes During Fractionated Partial-Body Radiation Therapy, Susannah G Ellsworth, Anirudh Yalamanchali, Tim Lautenschlaeger, Stuart A Grossman, Clemens Grassberger, Steven H Lin, Radhe Mohan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Radiation causes exponential depletion of circulating lymphocyte populations; in turn, radiation-induced lymphopenia is associated with worse survival for many solid tumors, possibly owing to attenuated antitumor immune responses. Identifying reliable and reproducible methods of calculating the radiation dose to circulating immune cells may facilitate development of techniques to reduce the risk and severity of radiation-induced toxic effects to circulating lymphocytes.

Methods and materials: Patient-specific lymphocyte loss rates were derived from a clinical data set including 684 adult patients with solid tumors. Multivariable linear regression was used to model the relationship between the lymphocyte loss rate and physical parameters of …

The Third Mission Of Universities On The African Continent: Conceptualisation And Operationalisation, Lazarus Nabaho, Wilberforce Turyasingura, Ivan Twinomuhwezi, Margaret Nabukenya

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore the conceptualization of the third mission in African higher education and the activities that universities are required to engage in and/or are engaging in to fulfil the third role.

Method: The interpretive lens underpinned the study. Data were collected from the documents of the African Union Commission (AUC), in which the third mission is both implicit and explicit. We used content analysis as a data analysis technique.

Results: The AUC conceptualizes the third mission as a role of universities, as a social role, as forging partnerships, and as being mutually beneficial …

The Association Of Adolescent E-Cigarette Harm Perception To Advertising Exposure And Marketing Type, Man Hung, Andrew Spencer, Clarissa Goh, Eric S. Hon, Val Joseph Cheever, Frank W. Licari, Ryan Moffat, Ben Raymond, Martin S. Lipsky

Institute on Aging Publications

Background: Despite controversy over their possible health consequences, manufacturers of e-cigarettes employ a variety of marketing media to increase their popularity among adolescents. This study analyzed the relationship between adolescent e-cigarette harm perception and five types of e-cigarette advertising exposures: social media, radio, billboard, newspaper, and television.

Methods: This study used data from Wave 4.5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (PATH). PATH collects demographic data and interview individuals about issues pertaining to tobacco use, health outcomes, attitudes, and behaviors. This study applied factor analysis to three individual PATH harm perception items to develop a …

Social Media's Effect On Our Mental Health, Ell Sarah Mortensen

Student Research Symposium

This research project presents information on how social media effects our mental health. Key topics include how social media correlates with depression, anxiety and other forms of mental health issues.

The Importance Of Sleep, Julio Arronte

Student Research Symposium

Many people nowadays struggle with sleep. Research has shown that 22% of people struggle with sleepand out of those, 66% have a sleep disorder. This shows how complicated the sleep process is for the vast majority of people. My research was organized in many stages, first I wrote down what I already knew about sleep (which was nothing compared to the amount of things I found after my research). Secondly, I started looking at a lot of research projects led by the best scientists and organizations about sleep. I found that sleep is divided into many sections and what happens …

Preparation And Characterization Of Highly Insulating Granular Samples For Electron Yield Measurement, Heather Allen

Student Research Symposium

This experiment focuses primarily on the preparation and characterization of granular samples for the eventual purpose of electron yield measurements. Highly insulating granular samples are notoriously difficult to prepare and present a myriad ofcomplications from both experimental and practical frameworks. A famous example of this was during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission when electrostatically adhered lunar dust damaged the equipment and astronauts suits and led to purported health effects. The electrical properties of this dust for charging and discharge is essential to preventing these effects. In this study, particles of varying size, shape, and composition are used to create multilayered …

Short Term Stability Of The Electrical Stapedial Reflex, Emilee Harris

Student Research Symposium

Electrical stapedial reflex threshold (eSRT) is an objective measurement of the stapedial reflex triggering in response to loud electrical stimulation through the CI electrode. eSRT has been a valuable clinical tool in mapping the Cochlear Implant (CI) electrodes upper limits. The main objective of this study is to validate the changes in the eSRT within and across CI patients over one year post activation. In this study retrospective clinical data were analyzed from 44 patients ranging in age from 1-88 years, with a total of 29 left ear devices and 31 right ear devices activated in the years 2013-2020 with …

Effects Of Life-Extension Biotechnology On Global Society, David Suisse

Student Research Symposium

For much of human history, diseases and disorders ranging from tuberculosis and the flu to cancer and Alzheimer’s have appeared inevitable and unstoppable. Yet modern medicine offers remedies to many illnesses that used to be fatal and continues to make astounding steps against other disorders that experts now understand to be treatable. In the last 10 years, scientists have made remarkable progress regarding the causes of aging itself, and current trends in technological, medical, and genetic research indicate that groundbreaking lifespan-extending and vitality-extending biotechnologies will soon be developed and may be implemented within decades. Some experts suggest that “curing” aging …

Designing For Adhd: Home For The Neurodiverse, Makenna Murray

Student Research Symposium

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition that is marked by differences in the brain associated with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. There are key differences between people with ADHD and people without ADHD. These differences include brain structure, brain function, and brain development. People with ADHD have unique challenges. A personalized and strategic approach is required to manage ADHD. Modern residential interiors may work for much of the population; however, they can make life difficult for people with ADHD. A few of concepts that may have a negative impact on people with ADHD include open floor plans, multiuse …

Esports Course Design: Balancing Multiplayer Gameplay Within Structured Curriculum, Daelynn Hunter

Student Research Symposium

There is a noticeably large interest growing across the globe for Esports expansion. Esports has grown to become an affinity space for competitive ambition/growth and a discipline of enormously varied learning techniques. Techniques to build esports into education often follow a 3 credit format, where esports can be studied in various areas (e.g., business, psychology, media/production). However, there’s been an absence in courses that are focused solely in gameplay. Traditionally, gaming has been observed to be a distraction over opportunity for growth. The course is currently centered to target said assumptions by utilizing student discipline techniques. Assignments are centered around …

Digital Beauty: Social Media And Body Image, Dulce Tena

Student Research Symposium

Social media has created unrealistic standards of what a woman should look like through posts, videos, or ads. Research has shown that social media influences body image and poor self-esteem. Social media is known for being a platform where you can share posts that can include photos of yourself. The problem: Since women are affected by body image because of social media, they don’t feel confident in being able to share photos of themselves. Instead, they resort to long periods of scrolling through other posts and fall victim to social comparison. This project seeks to answer the question as to …

Youth And Psychological Disorders, Charles Dvorak

Student Research Symposium

Youth under the age of 16 are underrepresented when it comes to psychological disorders and treatment. Adults tend to associate their problems with just factors of life and/puberty, and this can lead to even more problems. Recently I noticed my own mental health taking a toll from my childhood, as well as since I moved away from college, I am now an outsider to my friends who are still in high school. The problem is not that the youth do suffer from psychological disorders, it’s that people do not accept that fact and therefore, don’t give them the time of …

Working Memory Capactiy And Speech Perception With Hearing Aids, Ethan Watson

Student Research Symposium

This presentation covers an ongoing literature review that is asessing the relationship between working memory capcity and speech percpetion with hearing aids. It will provide a brief overview of the ELU model and how hearing aids create mismatch in our neural coding process of speech. Current results of what hearing aid signal stratgies relate to WMC will be provided.

Social Media's Impact On Mental Health In Teenagers: Evaluating How Different Groups Are Affected, Maren Jacobsen

Student Research Symposium

There are patterns of discrimination and comparison on social media that contribute to minority groups and females having worse mental health. These teenagers are experiencing depressive symptoms and anxiety as well as body image issues and decreased self-worth. This project aims to evaluate which groups of teenagers have more severe mental health problems because of social media. Research was conducted using library and online databases and evaluating primary and secondary sources. I paid close attention to studies connecting mental health issues with social media use among different groups of teenagers. Through my research, I found that females, LGBTQ+ teens, teenagers …

Public Education V. Deaf Children: The Benefits And Downsides Of Public Education For Deaf Children, Esther Christensen

Student Research Symposium

My research was focused on the benefits and downsides of public education on deaf children. This research aims to find the best solution for the education of deaf children in American society, and inform others of the results. I used a library database to find primary and secondary sources from the Deaf community and other communities that are influenced by this topic. Through my research I found that it is possible for deaf children to succeed in public schools, they are far better off in schools for the deaf. The results that I found indicate that there are some benefits …

Can Superoxide-Responsive Co Delivery Molecules Be Developed?, Taylor Dittmar

Student Research Symposium

Although known for its toxicity, carbon monoxide (CO) has now been identified as producing beneficial health effects when present at low concentrations. CO is generated in the human body during the breakdown of heme. It is known for its anti-cancer, cardioprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects. To enhance these therapeutic effects, CO delivery molecules have been developed. Fluorescent flavonol-based CO delivery molecules are gaining broad interest due to their triggerable, trackable, and targetable properties. Flavonols can also be used as dual functioning molecules, with additional capabilities such as the detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) being possible to incorporate in addition to …

Women's Postpartum And Postnatal Clinic, Savannah Fellows

Student Research Symposium

A Women’s Postpartum and Postnatal Inpatient Clinic in Logan, Ut is carefully designed to promote comfort, healing, and nurturing. Mental health effects of labor and delivery aren’t always immediately apparent to nurses or doctors. Some include baby blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis. Government resources are often unknown to low-income and homeless societies. The clinic takes care of them after labor and delivery to properly heal, bond with their baby, and feel safe. Aftercare the patients will leave with knowledge of resources and references that’ll help them find the help they need.