Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Molecular Detection Of Aspergillus Flavus In Georgia Peanut, Variety Tifguard., Carolle Zolome

Symposium of Student Scholars

Peanuts provide a good source of protein, minerals, and vitamins to consumers. The US peanut industry suffers great losses of nearly $26 million annually due to contamination by Aspergillus species. In spite of strict control measures against Aspergillus species, the industry is still facing economic loss due to contamination by this mold. Poor storage of peanuts in commercial outlets can lead to infection by the mold, releasing aflatoxin which is carcinogenic. A number of DNA based techniques are currently available for identification of the fungal population. This research aims at identifying if peanut, the variety Tifguard which is highly recommended …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Health Disparities In The United States - A Preliminary Study, Alina Panjwani

Symposium of Student Scholars

Health disparities are the differences in health outcomes and health status among people belonging to different groups. This means that people with low socioeconomic status, old age, racial and ethnic minorities, who are often those with limited access to healthcare may often face a higher disease burden and experience worse health outcomes. The current pandemic of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, provides a painful reminder of why inequities harm all of us as the devastating impact of the pandemic is apparent. This paper examines the differences in and possible cause of the rates of COVID infections, …

A Study Of Covid Tweet: Text Mining And Sentiment Analysis., Tiffany Agiri

Symposium of Student Scholars

A Study of COVID Tweet: Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis.

Tiffany Agiri, BSIT

Advisor: Dr. Chi Zhang, Associate Professor of Information Technology

Abstract

How do the tweets of two polarizing news outlets differ regarding COVID-19, and what can we draw from this data? CNN and Fox News are the two opposing news sources whose tweets we used to conduct our research, with the objective to analyze the tweet most frequently discussed terms on Covid-19 using Natural Language Processing and learn what kind of sentiments the terms are conveying, in each news source’s tweets. Through the use of the Python library …

Age-Related Differences In Absolute And Relative Maximal Strength At Different Velocities, Michael Cooper

Symposium of Student Scholars

Introduction: Examining peak torque (PT) relative to muscle size provides insight on qualitative factors (e.g., fiber type composition, muscle activation) that are influential for maximal strength, yet data is scarcer for higher velocity contractions. Acceleration (ACC) has been proposed to be influenced by similar physiological factors. Purpose: To examine absolute and relative PT, as well as ACC at different velocities in young (YM) and older (OM) males. Methods: Healthy, YM (n=15, age=20.7±2.2 yrs) and OM (n=15, age=71.6±3.9 yrs) performed maximal voluntary contractions at 0°⋅s^-1 (isometric), 60°⋅s^-1, and 180°⋅s^-1 using a dynamometer. Ultrasonography was used to obtain …

Effects Of Neem Oil On Growth And Development Of Aspergillus Flavus In Peanuts, Onachukwu Nwolisa

Symposium of Student Scholars

Effects of Neem Oil On Growth And Development Of Aspergillus flavus in peanuts**

Ona Nwolisa and Premila N Achar¹

¹Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.

Aspergillus flavus is known to contaminate peanuts and produce aflatoxin which are carcinogenic metabolites. According to the USDA, more than $1 billion is spent on infection and prevention. Currently there is no single method known to eradicate Aspergillus spp. in peanuts and the industry continue to face the aflatoxin problem. There has been an increased interest in use of plant based antifungal products which are environmentally friendly and …

Plant-Based Vs. Animal-Based Diet And Their Association With Metabolic Function, Gwyneth Johnson, Mara Bryan, Andreana Henry, Grace Alexander

Symposium of Student Scholars

Diet is a lifestyle factor that influences metabolic health. Recent studies indicate that substituting red or processed meat with whole grains may reduce risk for type 2 diabetes. PURPOSE: To investigate whether metabolic health, assessed by insulin sensitivity and abdominal adiposity, is associated with a higher animal-based and lower plant-based diet. METHODS: Intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) was measured via ultrasound in 31 normo-glycemic women (ages 20.9 ±2.4 years, BMI 28.1 ±3.5) who completed ASA24 diet recall and food frequency questionnaire. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using Matsuda Index from a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. A diet scoring system was created …

Examining The Relationship Between African-Americans And Their Physicians, Genesis Weever

Symposium of Student Scholars

For years, there has been a bad history amongst the relationship between African-Americans and their fellow medical institutions. Many African-Americans do not believe that medical professionals have their best interest at heart. Oftentimes, their white counterparts may receive better care, even when they have the same condition. Many African-Americans may even face barriers that their white counterparts will not experience, and will be denied access to healthcare. This results in more deaths and critical illnesses of African-Americans. In order to discover the underlying problem and a possible solution, a review of the literature was initiated. Using a literature matrix and …

R-Lstm: Time Series Forecasting For Covid-19 Confirmed Cases With Lstm-Based Framework, Mohammad Masum

Symposium of Student Scholars

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a pandemic outbreak affecting 213 nations worldwide. Global policymakers are imposing many measures to slow and reduce the rapid growth of infections. On the other hand, the healthcare system is encountering significant challenges for a massive number of COVID-19 confirmed or suspected individuals seeking treatment. Therefore, estimating the number of confirmed cases is necessary to provide valuable insights into the growth of the outbreak and facilitate the policy-making process. In this study, we apply ARIMA models as well as LSTM-based recurrent neural networks to forecast the daily cumulative confirmed cases. The LSTM architecture generates …

A Systematic Review: The Impacts Of Non-Pharmacological Therapy Interventions, Such As Exercise, On Postpartum Depressive Symptoms In Postpartum Women?, Jennifer Rafala, Amanda Kozlowski, Kristin Simons, Madison Rhoad, Courtney Greene

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Title: A Systematic Review: The impacts of non-pharmacological therapy interventions, such as exercise, on postpartum depressive symptoms in postpartum women?

Background: Postpartum depression is a psychological condition most often seen within six weeks after birth. Often confused with short-term “baby blues”, postpartum depression can be debilitating including excessive crying, insomnia, fatigue, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and other disruptive symptoms that can impede the new mother’s ability to care for herself and her baby. Postpartum depression often goes unrecognized by new mothers; however, when diagnosed, treatment regimens frequently include pharmacological interventions.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to determine the …

How Various Exercise Modalities Impact Quality Of Life, Physical Activity, And Program Adherence In Patients With Copd, Hannah Brookshire, Sarah Barnes, Natalie Cagle, Nancy Starnes, Elia Schaefer

Symposium of Student Scholars

How Various Exercise Modalities Impact Quality of Life, Physical Activity, and Program Adherence in Patients with COPD

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of diseases that causes breathing difficulty due to airway obstruction. Adherence to physical activity recommendations for those with COPD is often problematic and leads to worsening dyspnea and quality of life. Due to the prevalence of COPD, it is important to understand how different exercise modalities impact quality of life and adherence to physical activity.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine if patients with COPD have a better quality of …

Creating A Protein Chimera To Study Regulation Of Muscle Diversity, Shannon Scarboro

Symposium of Student Scholars

Creating a protein chimera to study regulation of muscle diversity.

Body muscles are made of many individual super-cells, called muscle fibers, that have distinct properties and determine every individual’s strength and endurance. Initially all muscle fibers have identical characteristics, but become differentiated into specific types in adults. The mechanism of such transition is not well understood, despite its obvious importance for shaping human physicality.

Remarkable conservation of the muscle tissue enables us to use fruit flies to study the mechanisms of muscle fiber diversity. We hypothesized that the transcription factor Mef2 acts as a molecular switch that activates structural genes …

A Systematic Review: The Impact Of Social Support Programs On Caregiver Burnout For Caregivers Of Children With Cancer, Vanessa Otamendi, Jalaya Graves, Autumn Whitley, Joanna Juarez, Helena Walker

Symposium of Student Scholars

Title: A Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Support Programs on Caregiver Burnout for Caregivers of Children with Cancer

Background: In addition to children diagnosed with cancer, their caregivers may also experience hardship. While caregivers handle their own personal responsibilities, they also provide emotional, physical, and financial support to their children. In addition to the likely stress that occurs from caring for a child with a long-term illness, lack of social support, educational resources, or support programs may lead to caregiver burnout.

Objective: The purpose of the systematic review was to review published research focused on caregiver burnout for caregivers …

A Systematic Review: The Effect Of Social Support On Emotional Burden Of Alzheimer’S Caregivers, Jessica Monahan, Julia Samuel, Guadalupe Perez, Cristiana Seixas, Adanech Jones

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative form of dementia that affects not only patients but also their caregivers. Various social support interventions have been shown to benefit caregivers by decreasing stress, depression, anxiety, and other physical and psychological issues.

Objective: The purpose of the systematic review was to determine the effect of social support on emotional burden for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods: Research was conducted using the databases PubMed and CINAHL to identify eligible studies. Specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were used when screening studies. After evaluation and assessment of the studies, a total of eight …

An Investigation On Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces: Emotiv Epoc+ Neuroheadset And Its Effectiveness, Md Jobair Hossain Faruk

Symposium of Student Scholars

Neurotechnology describes as one of the focal points of today’s research around the domain of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). The primary attempts of BCI research are to decoding human speech from brain signals and controlling neuro-psychological patterns that would benefit people suffering from neurological disorders. In this study, we illustrate the progress of BCI research and present scores of unveiled contemporary approaches. First, we explore a decoding natural speech approach that is designed to decode human speech directly from the human brain onto a digital screen introduced by Facebook Reality Laband University of California San Francisco. Then, we study a recently …

Efficiency Of Pharmaceutical Production, Sammy King

Symposium of Student Scholars

Efficiency of Pharmaceutical Production

Sammantha King

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, 30144

Medicine is an integral part of our daily lives. Drugs are necessary to help humans, and animals maintain health as well as prevent diseases, injury and relieve us of pain. The production of pharmaceuticals requires a substantial amount of research to create new drugs safely. However, the industry can be slow to put out data and new medicines due to slow investigation into target diseases and manufacturing difficulties. The following presentation will show how advances in science and technology improve the research and …

Cardiovascular Health (Cvh) Status Among Ksu Students: Implications For Campus-Wide Cvh Promotion, Tyler Robertson

Symposium of Student Scholars

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been the leading causes of death in the US and include coronary heart disease, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, rheumatic heart disease, to name a few. Most CVD cases occur in individuals with various levels of risk factors. In order to cut down on the risk of CVD and improve cardiovascular health (CVH), the American Heart Association (AHA) proposed seven metrics. Each of these metrics has recommended levels of each which help maintain CVH, and to aid those with prior conditions to achieve longer healthier lives.

KSU has collected data on the priority health behaviors from students …

Recovery Of Peak Torque After Fatiguing Explosive And Slow Maximal Muscle Contractions: Preliminary Findings, Michael Cooper

Symposium of Student Scholars

The unique neuromuscular strategies for explosive and slow muscle contractions may result in differing rates of recovery for peak muscle torque (PT) upon cessation of fatiguing exercise involving these contraction types. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the recovery of PT after explosive and slow fatiguing muscle contractions. METHODS: Following a familiarization visit, recreationally active males (n=4, age=23.3±2.2 years) were randomly assigned to perform fatiguing exercise consisting of either explosive (RAPID) or slow (RAMP) maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) on separate visits. Each protocol consisted of repeated 5 s MVICs of the quadriceps, with an explosive intent …

The Effect Of Alternative And Personalized Therapy In The Treatment Of Depression In Older Adults Living In Long-Term Care Facilities, Amber Davis, Olivia Gilbert, Kayla Kelley, Mitch Elliot, Deanna Hebert

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Title: The effect of alternative and personalized therapy in the treatment of depression in older adults living in long-term care facilities

Background: In older adults, depression can lead to changes in memory, physical pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and even suicidal ideations. Due to the shortage of healthcare workers in long-term care facilities, older adults have a difficult time receiving treatment. Therefore, alternative treatment methods and personalized therapy are becoming more important when treating patients in long-term care facilities.

Objectives: This systematic review set out to determine whether personalized therapy and alternative treatment methods may significantly reduce the symptoms of …

Preeclampsia In African America Women, Breanna Shoultz, Qweita Eastman, Taylor Maynor, Konstanz Ewing

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: Every year in the U.S., there are 700 pregnancy related deaths that occur, with ⅔ of those deaths being preventable. African American women are 3-4% more likely to die of pregnancy related complications, mainly preeclampsia, than any other population. Preeclampsia is related to cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, which Black women are more at risk for. Objective: This systematic review will explore how preventative techniques such as the use of diuretics and physical activity during pregnancy will decrease the risk for preeclampsia in African American women compared to untreated preeclampsia complications that affect mortality rates upon delivery. …

Understanding The Impact Of Racism In Healthcare And How It Is Affecting African American Women (Part 2), Magdalene Boadu

Symposium of Student Scholars

Healthcare is the most sacred part of every person’s life and should be accessible. However, the experience for many is that “you either got it or you don’t”. A way to help “get it”[Healthcare] is through workplace insurance, however, this is not accessible to many. This is especially the case for minority communities who cannot afford insurance plans, if and when offered by their employers, or other alternatives for accessing affordable health care. The terms “affordable and health care” are a paradox, for African American women. This is because of a system that was built to benefit one race but …

Understanding How Temperature Influences European Starling’S Reproductive Success, Grace Fatoyinbo, Sarah Guindre-Parker

Symposium of Student Scholars

Many habitats face fluctuating temperatures year round. The animals that live there are typically able to adjust their behaviors to match these conditions. When temperatures become too extreme, however, it could potentially start having a negative effect on the animal’s reproductive success. In birds, for example, severe climate can affect their eggs and nestlings due to nestlings lacking the ability to thermoregulate. The parents then have to bear the responsibility of thermoregulation for their young, through a behavior called incubation or brooding. European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are a species of birds common across the United States where both …

Methods Leading To Best Outcomes For Elderly Patients Presenting With Chest Pain In Emergency Departments., Philip Choo, Seth Bristol, Jacob Sharer, Hannah Wilson

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Background: Hospitals today currently face many health disparities among patients. There are many factors that contribute to these health disparities such as the decision-making process. Objective: The goal of this systematic review was to identify how computerized risk prediction models compared to a set of decision rules influence health outcomes during emergency room stay of older adult patients with chest pain.

Method: We searched databases such as, CINAHL, EBSCOHost, and PubMed to identify barriers influencing health outcomes of older adults with chest pain in the emergency department.

Results: There were seven articles included in the review indicating the effectiveness …

Effects Of Insulin Delivery Pumps On Diabetic Adherence To Treatment In Children And Adolescents, Bailey Brott, Aubrey Crawford, Kynley Swain, Ally Williams, Virattana Phravorachit

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Effects of Insulin Delivery Pumps on Diabetic Adherence to Treatment in Children and Adolescents

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease characterized by the inability of the body to create and release its own insulin to lower blood sugar. Automatic insulin delivery pumps are a substitute for glucose finger sticks and multiple daily injections to treat DM. These pumps measure patients' glucose levels and administer insulin as needed which may lead to better overall treatment adherence for children and adolescents diagnosed with DM.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of insulin pumps on increased …

Reporting Of Eating Disorder Deaths, Katherine Mobley, Amy Hord

Symposium of Student Scholars

Those affected by eating disorders experience disturbances in eating behaviors which are often related to underlying psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (Parekh, 2017, Drieberg et al., 1998 p.53). The duplicitous nature of the disorder makes it difficult to diagnose, and the tole it takes on an individual’s physical health makes its mortality rate the second highest among psychiatric disorders (Guinhut et al., 2021 p.130). Even if the correct education and resources are accessible to certain individuals, negative stigmatization about the disorder can make sufferers unlikely to seek help (Becker et al., 2010). Findings from analysis of …