Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Weaving Charlotte's Web: An In-Depth Guide To Cannabidiol, Lauren Pitts

Honors Theses

Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, first gathered national spotlight after Charlotte Figi and her mother Paige were able to find two physicians willing to prescribe CBD to treat Charlotte’s seizures. Charlotte suffered from Dravet Syndrome, but was able to find relief from CBD, which decreased the number and severity of her seizures. This sparked national interest and was the catalyst that lead to research and changes surrounding CBD uses and legality. Cannabidiol is a single cannabinoid that is found within the Cannabis sativa plant family—the same family that includes marijuana. This cannabinoid differs from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and does not provide …

Organized Caudal Photoreceptors In The Medicinal Leech, Baylee Bancroft

Honors Theses

Visual systems are essential to an organism’s survival. There are a wide range of photosensory organs across the animal kingdom, varying by means of structure, complexity, and the way in which they transduce information. Regardless of variation, visual systems provide the organism with information regarding external stimuli based on how light interacts with surrounding matter. The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is one of the many important model organisms of neurobiology as this segmented annelid possesses a relatively simple nervous system and a rudimentary visual system. The leech also exhibits a restricted range of quantifiable overt behaviors and is capable of …

The Impact Of Vaccine Coverage And Exemptions On The Resurgence Of Vaccine Preventable Disease: A Review Of The Literature, Kara Costantino

Honors Theses

Vaccinations are a safe and effective way to prevent the spread of disease. In recent years, vaccine coverage rates have declined while nonmedical exemption rates have increased. These changes have contributed to increased prevalence of vaccine preventable diseases. Declining vaccine coverage and increasing nonmedical exemptions are a threat to public health and the relationship between these factors needs to be understood. Clusters and outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases have occurred as a result of more people declining vaccination. Factors that may incline someone to refuse vaccination include safety concerns, lack of trust, freedom of choice, decreased understanding for the need, …

Biological Evaluation Of Fda-Approved Drugs As Mirna-31 Inhibitors Using Real Time Qrt-Pcr And A Luciferase Assay, Nicholas Sienkiewicz

Honors Theses

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of post-transcriptional, negative regulators of gene expression, consisting of ~19-24 nucleotides. Since their discovery in 1993, miRNAs have been found to be involved in a diverse amount of cellular and disease pathways, including certain types of cancer. Overexpression of certain oncogenic miRNAs, including miRNA-31, have been shown to play a role in cancer cell development. Recent findings have suggested that miRNAs play a significant role in every stage of colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation, progression, and development, as well as induce resistance to chemotherapy drugs like 5-FU. In particular, research has shown that increased levels of …

Understanding Stem Instructors’ Experiences With And Perceptions Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students: The First Step Towards Increasing Access And Inclusivity, Makayla Long

Honors Theses

Through an anonymous survey we analyzed Western Michigan University (WMU) STEM instructors’ experience with and understanding of teaching and interacting with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) students. The goal of this study was to capture the experiences of WMU STEM instructors and the resources available to them given their direct impact on Deaf/HoH students’ ability to succeed and receive a post-secondary education. The findings of this study support the claim that instructors are not well supported or aware of the needs of Deaf/HoH students, and do not have access to adequate resources to resolve the issue.

The first steps …

Self-Disclosure Of Stuttering To Various Social Referent Groups And Its Relationships With Psychological Distress, Katrina Rourke

Honors Theses

Purpose: Research has shown that there are benefits associated with verbal disclosure of stuttering. However, most of the existing literature on stuttering disclosure has focused on how it affects listener perceptions of people who stutter, and little is known about speaker-focused outcomes of verbal stuttering disclosure. The purpose of the current study was to investigate who people who stutter verbally disclose to (e.g. friends, co-workers, neighbors) and if relationships between extent of disclosure and distress vary depending on the confidant’s social referent group. The seven social referent groups of focus were family, friends, romantic partners, people in the workplace, healthcare …

Gender And Socioeconomic Disparities In Iatrogenic In-Hospital Torsades De Points, Bradley Reinoehl

Honors Theses

It has been well established for decades that women are at increased risk for torsades de pointes (TdP). Additionally, it has been well documented that patients of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have inferior health outcomes compared to other patient populations. In this study we investigate the incidence of iatrogenic in-hospital TdP among these two demographic groups. Iatrogenic in-hospital TdP is a complex combination of medical issues and including danger from QT prolonging medications. In theory, a combination of identifiable, demographic risk factors coupled with specific clinical settings could be used to identify patients at high risk for iatrogenic …

Mental Health Inpatient Hospitalization: What Nursing Can Learn From "Sensory Rooms.", Haley Wilson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this undergraduate thesis is to explore the use of sensory rooms in the psychiatric inpatient care setting. Mental illness is a serious issue, affecting millions each year. In 2018 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that one in five, or 19.6% of U.S. adults experienced some form of mental illness. Inpatient hospitalization is limited to those individuals posing a risk for serious harm to themselves or others. A census conducted by SAMHSA on April 30th, 2018, indicated 129,115 patients in the U.S. were receiving mental health care treatment in the inpatient setting. An …

Effects Of Maternal Chemotherapy On Fetal And Childhood Development, Payton May

Honors Theses

The diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy is uncommon. It is estimated that only 3,500 cases of cancer during pregnancy are diagnosed each year, which correlates to one case per 1,000 pregnancies (Pavlidis, 2000). The management of cancer during pregnancy is complex since it involves both the expecting mother and the fetus. Although there are several treatment options available, they are commonly aggressive. The diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy can create dilemmas for patients and health care providers. Pregnant women may be hesitant to receive cancer treatment due to the potential effects it may have on their developing fetus. On the …

Prevalence Of Sexual Harassment Among Nursing Students, Emily M. Johnson

Honors Theses

Objective

The purpose of this presentation is to exhibit the synthesis of research on the prevalence of sexual harassment against nursing students in clinical and academic settings. This presentation will also address research findings on to the effectiveness of programs to combat this problem.

Data Sources

Gather data from the databases CINAHL, ClinicalKey, PubMed, OVID and Scopus using the search terms “sexual harassment in nurs*”, “patient initiated sexual harassment”, “sexual harassment healthcare workers”, and “sexual harassment healthcare environment”.

Data Extraction

Inclusion criteria: published between the years 2009 -2019, primary research, nursing students as participants, sexual harassment experiences, harassment occurrences inside …

Parent Knowledge Regarding The Relationship Between Literacy And Language Development, Emily Pankiewicz

Honors Theses

Countless research articles support the connection between literacy and language development. This project explores the knowledge parents have about this connection. The paper first summarizes key findings and provides background information about the relationship between literacy and language development. Then, it discusses the results of a survey performed by the researcher. The first section of the survey collected demographic information and the second section contained 16 statements about the relationship between literacy and language development. Survey participants indicated the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each statement, based on their previous knowledge.

Three main questions were addressed in …

The Effects Of Communication Disorders In Individuals With Down Syndrome And How To Help Them Succeed, Shelby Louise Bradley

Honors Theses

According to recent studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in every 700 babies born is diagnosed with Down syndrome, resulting in almost 6,000 babies diagnosed in the U.S. every year. Down syndrome, also referred to as DS, comes with some physical and mental differences. Because of these differences, individuals with Down syndrome and their families face many challenges when communicating, and these challenges affect all aspects of life. An increased awareness and knowledge could hopefully and effectively address some of these communication challenges for patients with whom the speech-language pathology profession may work with …

The Healing Potential Of Online, Art-Dbt: Developing A Program For Rumination And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Reduction, Lesley Howard

Honors Theses

I developed and tested the effectiveness of an online, 6-week art-DBT (combination of Art Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) program aimed at reducing rumination and, if present, non-suicidal self-injury.

Village Saints And A Little Black Magic: The Benefits Of A Mission Trip Opportunity For Natural Science Students In Culturally Diverse Southern Mexico, Brooke Sanderford-Bester

Honors Theses

My thesis project shares my personal experiences of a Summer 2019 medical mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. An Honors travel grant allowed me to walk the dirt roads and streets to learn the fascinating history of these people, to visit their shrines and churches to better understand their religious beliefs, and to travel mountainous, hand paved roads to a remote village that welcomed me with coffee sweetened with cane sugar and fresh bread baked in outdoor ovens. The groundwork has been laid for future Natural Sciences students to serve through an annual medical mission trip to Oaxaca.

Teachers' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Children Who Stutter, Kathryn Knight

Honors Theses

A teacher's knowledge about stuttering and perceptions of children who stutter increases positivity with years of teaching experience and the number of hours of special needs-in-service.

The Effects Of Renal Cold Storage And Transplantation On Immunoproteasome And The Complement System, Savannah Stacks

Honors Theses

Renal transplantation is the preferred method of treatment for end stage kidney disease. The majority of donor kidneys come from deceased donors and have to be stored in cold storage solution (CS) until the recipient is identified. However, prolonged CS is associated with poor long-term outcome. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of CS-related damage are largely unknown. Our laboratory recently reported that the proteasome and renal function were significantly decreased in rat kidney transplants that involved CS combined with transplantation (CS/Tx), as opposed to those that did not undergo CS (auto-transplantation/ATx). The long-term goal is to improve the transplant outcome by identifying …

Assay Development For Isolation And Characterization Of Anticancer Properties Of Marine Fungi, Kyra Ricci

Honors Theses

Metabolites from fungi have potential use in the drug discovery process and have been used in the past to develop therapeutic agents for human use. Initial characterization of potential therapeutic properties of fungi is thus an important first step in identifying novel therapeutic compounds. In the present study, marine fungi were isolated from Myrtle Beach and assayed for anticancer properties using the soft agar colony formation assay in a 3D in vitro cellular environment. Many species were isolated from environmental samples, displaying unique morphologies and growth patterns. To optimize the soft agar assay in a six-well cell culture plate for …

The Experimental Effects Of Acute Exercise Intensity On Retrieval-Induced Forgetting, Joshua Franklin

Honors Theses

Accumulating research has shown that acute exercise can enhance memory function. Although counterintuitive, acute exercise may also facilitate aspects of forgetting. Specifically, retrieving a subset of items from memory can facilitate the retention of retrieved items (retrieval practice; RP) and inhibit the subsequent retrieval of non-retrieved items (retrieval-induced forgetting; RIF). Given that acute exercise has been shown to enhance cognition-related inhibition, acute exercise may facilitate RIF. A sample of 225 young adults completed either a control (N=75), moderate-intensity acute exercise (N=75), or vigorous-intensity acute exercise session (N=75). Both acute exercise sessions lasted 20 minutes. Participants then completed a standard retrieval-induced …

Developmental Care In The Nicu: Best Practices For Preterm Infants, Expectations Of Healthcare Providers, And Impact On Parents And Families, Alicia Burrows

Honors Theses

Infants born prematurely experience a variety of medical complications, which can impair their growth and development. These complications can result in permanent disabilities and medical conditions that could necessitate a lifetime of medical treatment. Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) offer specialty units for infants born prematurely to receive excellent medical care to help them survive after being delivered at as soon as 23 weeks of gestation. A complementary form of care offered in some NICUs is developmental care, which focuses specifically on modifying the neonate’s physical environment to ensure proper growth and development. As developmental care is a relatively new …

The Biochemical Characterization Of Cellular Retinoic Acid Binding Protein Type 1 (Crabp1), Emma Magna

Honors Theses

The goal of this research was to express and purify Cellular Retinoic Acid Binding Protein Type 1 (CRABP1). CRABP1 binds to retinoic acid in the cell and shuttles the retinoic acid from one area in the cell to another. The overproduction of CRABP1 appears to be problematic because it can sequester the retinoic acid and prevent it from regulating gene expression. Previous studies have shown that increased levels of CRABP1 can result in tumor-promoting activity and disruption of lipid biology in the cell. Our objective was to express this protein in an inducible bacterial system, so that we could purify …

Identifying Metabolites As Markers Of Fatigue In Athletes, Christopher D. George

Honors Theses

Fatigue in athletes caused by inadequate rest and other stressors can be severely detrimental to their health, and yet there is no reliable way to measure and track fatigue. Many classical measures of fatigue like body mass and resting heart rate are not reliable ways to track the physical fatigue of an athlete because they can change with many factors. In addition, it is not known how academic stress on top of physical stress affects fatigue. Metabolomics is a relatively new area of study and tracking metabolites offers the possibility to produce biomarkers to assess fatigue. This study collected saliva …

Politiques Pronatalistes Au Vietnam : Le Fardeau De La Colonisation Française, Tessa D. Schrupp

Honors Theses

French Colonialism shaped Vietnam in profound and enduring ways. In particular, policies of the colonial government influenced the landscape of maternity and altered cultural perceptions of what it means to be a mother. Pronatalism, the promotion of female fecundity, was a central tenet of the “mission civilisatrice” promulgated by French medical professionals and government officials alike. This project seeks to examine the myriad reasons for the idealization of motherhood, the diverse responses of Vietnamese people to intervention, and the way colonial policies continue to affect modern day reproduction.

A Review Of Trauma In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Orsolina O'Neill

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Stem Cell Therapy As An Alternative For Osteoarthritis Of The Knee, Jessica Wornham

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I introduce the disease of osteoarthritis and the popular treatments in use for patients today. I will pay specific attention to the knee replacement because it is the most common treatment for end stage osteoarthritis. Finally, I will look at the up and coming stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee through an examination of case studies currently being run around the world. To conclude, I will suggest which treatment appears to be the best treatment for each specific patient.

An Investigation Into The History, Science, And Future Of Dental Filling Materials, Natalia Kaczor

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An American Crisis: An Analysis Of Maternal Mortality Across The U.S., Emily Fernandes

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing A Two-Hit Model Of Schizophrenia: Prenatal Choline Deficiency And Induced Hypofunction Of Nmda Receptors In Male And Female Long Evans Rats, Samuel Gray, Samuel W. Gray

Honors Theses

Choline is an essential dietary nutrient essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Prenatal choline deficiency alters hippocampal development as well as acetylcholine metabolism, leading to cognitive impairments and attentional and sensory processing deficits into adulthood. MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist frequently used in rodent models of neuropsychiatric conditions, particularly schizophrenia. Acutely and sub- chronically, it causes hyperlocomotion and social withdrawal. One primary goal of the present study were to investigate prenatal choline deficiency induces a biological vulnerability to the motor deficits, anhedonia, and social impairment precipitated by low-dose sub-chronic MK-801 administration in adulthood. Another …

Indigenous Healing In New Zealand: An Anthropological Analysis Of "Traditional" And "Modern" Approaches To Well-Being, Lillian T. Brice

Honors Theses

Drawing on contemporary anthropological approaches used by scholars of well-being and medical anthropology (i.e. Michael Jackson and Lisa Stevenson), I explore how indigenous healers in New Zealand blend “traditional” and “modern” elements to establish a creative and inclusive system. Specifically, I explore the use of herbal treatments, ritual chanting, and ceremonies that encapsulate Māori cultural values. I also explore the impact of biomedicine and New-Age wellness approaches on indigenous healing. I argue that Māori healing moves beyond the binary of “tradition” and “modern” as healers merge the past and present and combine the foreign and native. My research is based …

Evaluating A Culprit: A Review Of The Biochemical Mechanisms Of Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance, Callie Cinque

Honors Theses

Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance (NCGI) has evaded biological and chemical mechanisms since it was first reported in 1978. Celiac Disease, a multi-system immune mediated disorder has long served as the most similar counterpart to NCGI. Less cases of celiac disease are going undiagnosed reflecting an improvement on sensitive and decisive diagnostic tools. However, NCGI has been significantly growing as a diagnosis over the past decade with little match or similarity to the markers found in celiac disease patients. Critical evaluation of NCGI theories, experimentation, and existing hypotheses is necessary. This review seeks to synthesize multiple disciplines of gluten research and enhance …

Variability In Antibacterial Activity In The Caribbean Sponge Amphimedon Compressa, Mackenzie Reilly

Honors Theses

Coral reefs are essential ecosystems that provide an abundance of natural resources. Sponges, common reef inhabitants, produce a diversity of secondary metabolites that are known to serve as chemical defenses. Secondary metabolites often have ecological functions, such as antipredator and antibacterial activities. I studied the common Caribbean sponge species, Amphimedon compressa, which is known to be chemically defended. Samples were collected from three sites in Belize, two sites in Grand Cayman, and three sites in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. To determine whether antibacterial activity varied across broad or local geographic scales, sponge extracts were tested against four bacterial strains …