Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Himmelfarb Headlines - May/June 2014, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Headlines (2009 - present)

News and information about Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library of interest to users. Includes articles on active learning, the Himmelfarb Art Show, and profiles of Marie Miller and Margaret Plack.

Do Culture And Biological Sex Influence People Who Engage In Non-Suicidal Self-Injury?, Rachel Berger

Graduate Theses

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) refers to behaviors in which a person intentionally harms and causes tissue damage to oneself, without the desire to end his or her life. There have been contradictory findings with regard to differences in NSSI by biological sex and culture. In this study, I sought to examine if adults with independent cultural self- construals would report more occurrences of NSSI in comparison to those with interdependent cultural self-construals. Furthermore, I was interested in whether females would report more instances of NSSI in comparison to males in independent based cultures, and I examined whether the methods and reasons …

"Can’T Touch This": Empowering Children With Severe Food Allergy In The Residential Camp Setting 2014, Alexsandra Dubin

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to create an empowerment program for children with severe food allergy (SFA) in a residential camp setting. Despite recent advancements in research, there is no cure for SFA, thus there is a need for programs to help children manage their allergies and cope with the ramifications of their condition. Quality of life is a major concern for children with SFA, as the constant fear of exposure to an allergen can lead to high levels of anxiety. This is particularly noteworthy because, barring exposure to an allergen, these children are otherwise healthy and symptom free. …

Factors Affecting The Coefficient Of Friction Of Soccer Goalie Gloves 2014, Candice Hofmann

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the coefficients of static friction of five different pairs of soccer goalie gloves with one soccer ball and to compare the effects of four different glove conditions on the coefficients of static friction. Specifically, the coefficients of static friction were determined and compared for one size 5 soccer ball (Select) with five different pairs of goalie gloves (Nike Vapor Grip 3, Select 88, Uhlsport Aqua, Uhlsport Soft and Uhlsport Hard) and four different glove conditions (new, wet, saliva and dirty). Surrogate wooden fingers were inserted into each glove and the glove was …

Progression Magazine, 2014 Spring, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Maximizing Doctor-Patient Communication Of A Positive Hiv/Aids Test Result: A Best Practices Approach, Vikki Yashandra Spann

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine healthcare practitioner (HCP) communication of a positive human immodeficiency syndrome/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) test result in an effort to find best practices. The population of this study included healthcare practitioners who had to disclose a positive HIV/AIDS status to a patient. Data from specific accounts recalled by the healthcare practitioners were analyzed using grounded theory approach. The first research question was concerned with the strategies used by healthcare practitioners. The results indicated that there are two primary strategies used in HIV/AIDS disclosure: strategic interactive facilitation and strategic interactive force. The second and …

Haptic And Exoskeleton Devices For Neurorehabilitation Of Upper Limb Paralysis: A State Of Art And A Night Landing Task, Samantha Renee Wagner

All NMU Master's Theses

Rehabilitation is an important training phase for those suffering from upper limb paralysis as a result of brain injury. When successfully completed, the re-trained limb should be able to successfully complete daily life activities. An alternative to traditional therapy is the usage of effective rehabilitation by using haptic devices in a virtual environment. The type of haptic device and task are crucial for the success of the therapy training sessions. After presenting a state-of-art literature review of several haptic devices that has been used in research and clinical facilities, we thought to use the black hole illusion (BHI), a night …

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - May 2014, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Political Determinants Of Health: Lessons For Pakistan, Rashid Jooma, Guido Sabatinelli

Section of Neurosurgery

There is much concern about the capacity of the health system of Pakistan to meet its goals and obligations. Historically, the political thrust has been absent from the health policy formulation and this is reflected in the low and stagnant public allocations to health. Successive political leaderships have averred from considering healthcare is a common good rather than a market commodity and health has not been recognized as a constitutional right. Over 120 of world's nation states have accepted health as a constitutional right but the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan does not mandate health or education as a fundamental right …

Big Pharma And Big Medicine In The Global Environment, Anne E. Figert, Susan E. Bell

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In previous work we argued that sociologists need to expand our thinking about pharmaceuticalization, the process of understanding and/or treating social, behavioral, or bodily conditions with pharmaceuticals. The majority of sociological scholarship has investigated pharmaceuticalization as a primarily Western process and conceptualized it in modern terms (Bell and Figert 2010, 2012a, 2012b). In our view, the work of anthropologists and science and technology studies (STS) scholars who decenter the West as the starting point for research opens up new avenues for understanding the global dynamics of pharmaceuticalization. We have also argued in favor of adopting a postmodern theoretical lens which …

Effects Of Jump Training On Bone Mineral Density In Young Adult Females, Battogtokh Zagdsuren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Physical activity is critical to bone health. However, not all physical activity has optimum effect on bone health and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a short term progressive jumping protocol on bone mineral density in college age Asian females. Sixteen participants aged18-28 years enrolled in the study. Participants were assigned to exercise (n=9) and control (n=8) groups. The exercise group completed a two-legged depth jump from an approximate 20cm stepbench followed immediately by a maximum vertical jump using arm swings for five days per week for two weeks. Each depth jump and vertical …

An Evaluation Of The East Indianapolis Food Desert, Angelina Qin

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The Indy East Food Desert (IEFD) appears to suffer from many common conditions noted by various scholars as food desert identifiers. Yet, its situation still remains unique. Though there is a prevalence of minority populations, low-income households, and low-education attainment levels, there are also factors of low-access, poor food options (within the limited food outlets in the neighborhoods), and poor eating habits which shape the situation of the community. In an attempt to alleviate the food desert problems, the Indy East Food Desert Coalition (IEFDC) was formed. IEFDC partnered with Butler University's Center for Urban Ecology in order to assess …

Successful Aging In The United States And China : A Theoretical Basis To Guide Nursing Research, Practice, And Policy., Valerie Lander Mccarthy, Hong Ji, Jiying Ling

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Successful aging is an idea gaining increasing attention given the exponential growth in the older adult population. Criteria and definitions within multiple disciplines vary greatly in Western literature, with no consensus on its meaning. Moreover, sociocultural, economic and political differences between the Western view of successful aging and its use in China – with the world’s largest older adult population – add to the confusion. Similarities and differences in the meaning of successful aging in the United States and China are examined and the potential for a common definition that is useful to nursing in both countries is explored. Using …

Media Framing Of Yusuf Islam’S An Other Cup: Music, Religion, And Narrative Construction, Joshua Hamburg

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Underrepresented Minorities In Medical School Admissions, Margaret A. Hadinger Edd, Ms

Department of Education

No abstract provided.

Mobile Interactive Fitness Technologies And The Recreational Experience Of Bicycling: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Strava Community, William Smith

All Theses

Technology is now embedded in many aspects of daily life. Over the past few years, fitness related smartphone applications have steadily grown in popularity. Despite the prevalence of technology in recreation and leisure experiences, the topic remains to be thoroughly examined from a qualitative interpretive viewpoint. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe how cyclists use and experience Strava--a GPS enabled smartphone application that tracks bicycle rides and uploads the data to an online community of other users. Particular attention was given to user motivations, affordances of the technology, and notions of community. After participant observation …

Paper Soldiers: A Clinical Case Study Exploring Papermaking As An Art Therapy Intervention To Increase Posttraumatic Growth In Military Sexual Trauma Survivors, Yonsenia White

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Through a six-week qualitative, single subject clinical case study, the effect of papermaking and other paper based art therapy directives showed potential in increasing posttraumatic growth in a veteran with military sexual trauma (MST) related PTSD. Pre and Post-Test Questionnaires and the AT-PIA were administered to assess the client’s current level of mental health functioning, feelings about the MST experience, and to develop a treatment goal and art directives for the study, as well as check in and check out words, and Self-Work Assignments for personal reflection. Papermaking was chosen as the main art intervention because it carries within itself …

Proposal For An Art Therapy Clinical Program Within The U.S. Department Of Veterans Health Administration, Darshini Walton

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, the military veteran population has increased due to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This increase is congruent with the escalation of a Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnoses among military war veterans. Currently, the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) PTSD treatment utilizes various pharmacologic and/or psychotherapeutic interventions ranging from Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in residential and outpatient settings. In the event a veteran has a “complicated medical case” or comorbidity that does not respond to conventional medical treatment, the veteran may be referred to an art therapist, …

The Reversal Effects Of Curcumin, An Herbal Remedy, On The Impairments Induced By Vmat-2 Inhibitor Tetrabenazine, Emily Qian, Samantha E. Yohn

Honors Scholar Theses

Substantial evidence has shown that dopamine (DA), particularly in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), is involved in behavioral activation and effort-related processes, such as overcoming work related response costs. Interference with accumbens DA transmission through administration of the vesicular monoamine transportor-2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor tetrabenazine (TBZ) produces an alteration of response allocation in the concurrent FR5/chow choice procedure, biasing animals toward the lower effort alternative. It has been suggested that these drug-induced shifts in effort-related choice behavior seen in rodents are analogous to symptoms such as psychomotor retardation, anergia, and fatigue, which can be observed in people with depression and other related …

Antioxidant Gene Therapy Against Neuronal Cell Death, Juliana Navarro-Yepes, Laura Zavala-Flores, Anandhan Annadurai, Fang Wang, Maciej Skotak, Namas Chandra, Ming Li, Aglaia Pappa, Daniel Martinez-Fong, Luz Maria Del Razo, Betzabet Quintanilla-Vega, Rodrigo Franco

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Oxidative stress is a common hallmark of neuronal cell death associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, as well as brain stroke/ischemia and traumatic brain injury. Increased accumulation of reactive species of both oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) has been implicated inmitochondrial dysfunction, energy impairment, alterations in metal homeostasis and accumulation of aggregated proteins observed in neurodegenerative disorders, which lead to the activation/modulation of cell death mechanisms that include apoptotic, necrotic and autophagic pathways. Thus, the design of novel antioxidant strategies to selectively target oxidative stress and redox imbalance might represent important therapeutic approaches against neurological disorders. …

Evaluation Of Video Modeling To Teach Children Diagnosed With Asd To Avoid Poison Hazards, Shannon Eileen King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accidental poisonings are one of the leading safety threats for young children, so it is important to teach children to avoid ingesting poisonous substances. Research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective in teaching children safety skills to prevent gun play, abduction, and poison ingestion. However, little research on safety skills has been conducted with children with autism. Video modeling has been shown to be effective in teaching abduction prevention skills to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling to …

Lean Body Mass May Explain Apparent Racial Differences In Carotid Intima-Media Thickness In Obese Children., Shahryar M. Chowdhury, Melissa H. Henshaw, Brad Friedman, J Philip Saul, Girish S. Shirali, Janet Carter, Bryana M. Levitan, Tom Hulsey

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: Racial differences in carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) have been suggested to be associated with the disproportionally high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in black adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the racial differences seen in cIMT in obese children.

Methods: Obese subjects aged 4 to 21 years were recruited prospectively. Height, weight, blood pressure, fasting insulin, glucose, lipid panel, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were obtained. B-mode carotid imaging was analyzed by a single blinded physician.

Results: A total of 120 subjects (46 white, 74 …

Art Therapy And Cognitive Processing Therapy For Combat Ptsd: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Melissa Campbell

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Five veterans were recruited for this randomized controlled trial examining the effects of art therapy in conjunction with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for veterans with combat PTSD. The results of this study supported our hypothesis that art therapy in combination with CPT would be more effective, and indicated that art therapy is a powerful form of treatment for this population and needs to be explored further. Other goals of this study were to gain a basic understanding of the benefits of art therapy for combat veterans with PTSD and if it should be included as a standard treatment for this …

Global Malnutrition: Challenges Associated With Current Intervention Strategies And Prevention Initiatives, Duncan Stiller

Senior Honors Projects

Few, if any, tribulations in the field of public health have managed to transcend the epidemiological transition from acute to chronic disease as malnutrition has. Officially, malnutrition is a category of diseases that includes micronutrient deficiency, under-nutrition (calories/protein), as well as excessive nutrition. The World Food Program estimates that 842 million people worldwide do not have access to enough food, approximately 146 million of which are children. The most serious types of hunger are known as Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), with 20 million and 35 million respective cases each year occurring in children less than …

Neuromodulation Therapy Mitigates Heart Failure Induced Hippocampal Damage, Timothy P. Diperi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly half of the people diagnosed with heart failure (HF) die within 5 years of diagnosis. Brain abnormalities secondary to CVD have been observed in many discrete regions, including the hippocampus. Nearly 25% of patients with CVD also have major depressive disorder (MDD), and hippocampal dysfunction is a characteristic of both diseases. In this study, the hippocampus and an area of the hippocampal formation, the dentate gyrus (DG), were studied in a canine model of HF. Using this canine HF model previously, we have determined that myocardial …

Strategic Planning In The Non Profit Sector: Creating A Strategic Plan For Affinity 2014-2017, Emilee Taplin-Lacey

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The purpose of engaging in the creation of a strategic plan for Affinity is to integrate knowledge acquired through participation in the Public Policy and Nonprofit Management Master’s Degree program at the Muskie School of Public Service. In addition, my facilitation of a strategic planning process for Affinity is meant to meet the requirements of graduation and represents my capstone project in this regard.

An Assessment Of The Health Needs Of Maine Veterans And Their Access To Veterans Administration Health Care Services, Kristin Brawn

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

On a state level, only a few assessments have been conducted, which indicate that Maine veterans are also experiencing similar mental and physical health issues; however, it does not appear that the adequacy of Maine’s VHA services to meet the needs of Maine’s veterans has been comprehensively evaluated. It is unknown whether the physical and mental health needs of Maine’s veterans are currently being met. Therefore, this project proposes to determine if there is a similar problem among Maine’s veterans in regard to health issues and lack of access to VHA health services, as has been reported at the national …

An Animal Model Of The Motivational Symptoms Of Depression: Testing The Antidepressant Desipramine On An Effort-Related Choice Task, Samantha L. Collins

Honors Scholar Theses

Patients with depression, schizophrenia, and other related disorders often show effort-related motivational symptoms such as anergia, psychomotor slowing, lassitude, and fatigue. Several studies have indicated that dopamine (DA) within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is involved in the regulation of effort-related behavior. Interference with NAc DA alters response allocation in effort related choice procedures, biasing animals towards the alterative that can be obtained with minimal effort. Previous studies have shown that administration of the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor tetrabenazine (TBZ) shifts behavior in rats responding on the FR5/chow choice procedure causing a decrease in lever pressing and a compensatory increase …

Ethics And The Use Of Coercion In The Treatment Of Psychiatric Patients, Jen Rushforth

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Involuntary psychiatric treatment occurs under such conditions as the medicating or placing in treatment facilities of patients without their consent. Such involuntary treatment has been litigated in the Supreme Court; however, the Court’s rulings have been applied to incarcerated persons, with the notable exception of the 1975 ruling in O’Connor v. Donaldson, a case argued as a civil rights violation. Using O’Connor v. Donaldson as a framework, this paper argues that forcing non- violent psychiatric patients to take medication, or be otherwise treated against their will, is an unethical practice and must be discontinued. This practice of forcible treatment violates …

A Study Of The Thematic Content And Formal Elements Of A Free Choice Drawing Created By Older Adults Diagnosed With Alzheimer’S Disease: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Kelly Rose Spessard

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the themes in the Free Choice Drawings (FCD) created by13 older adults with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Mini-Cog was used as the instrument to identify cognitive impairment in the participants. All participants were scored as positive for cognitive impairment according to the scoring instructions for the Mini-Cog. The FCD followed the Mini-Cog. Of the 13 participants, eight attempted the FCD and five left their paper blank. The FCD was rated using a modified version of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS). Scales included, Prominence of Color, Color …