Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Facile Fabrication Of Superhydrophobic And Superolephilic Materials For Effective Oil Absorbtion And Oil-Water Separation, Ali Tawfeeq Abdulhussein

Theses and Dissertations

Surfaces that have a water contact angle (WCA) above 150° and a negligible difference between the receding and advancing contact angles are superhydrophobic, meaning that a simple, minimal tilt will cause water droplets to roll off the surfaces. Superhydrophobic surfaces are found in nature and can possess several fascinating properties, including the ability to self-clean. A typical superhydrophobic surface has micro/nanostructure roughness and low surface energy, which combine to give it its unusual anti-wetting properties. Because of their unique capabilities, superhydrophobic surfaces have interested scientists in research and industry fields for years. In recent decades, researchers have developed a number …

Investigations Of Novel Strategies To Treat Bacterial Infection And Development Of New Reaction Methodology, Shane Philippi

Theses and Dissertations

Quorum Sensing (QS), a form of bacteria communication mediated through chemical signaling, was investigated in the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. QS has the ability to regulate when a bacterial pathogen is infective or benign. LasR is the main regulator in this system and is also the receptor targeted for inhibition. A Structure Activity Relationship was produced for the system along with the binding pocket being explored.

A new reaction methodology was developed inspired by the Haloform reaction. The reaction was optimized based on solvent, stoichiometry, and conditions. Changing the initial electrophile and the reagent nucleophile created the scope of the …

Beyond The Sentimental Cliche: How Local Communities Impact Residents And Shape Public Opinion, Kate Brunk

Theses and Dissertations

The Trump administration has recently established a rule that will prohibit abortion services providers from receiving Title X funds for the non-abortion family planning services they provide. Little public opinion research has focused on family planning and reproductive health topics outside of abortion. I find statistically significant experimental evidence that increasing perceptions of local need for a local reproductive health clinic caused subjects to be more supportive of federal reproductive health funding for local clinics. I did not find statistically significant correlational evidence that objective measures of poor reproductive health at the county level influence public opinion on federal reproductive …

Exploring Turnover Among Nurse Managers, Directors, And Executives In Acute Care Hospitals, Deborah Hughes Warden

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The strength and quality of the nursing leader workforce is associated with staff nurse retention and patient outcomes. While leadership turnover is not always negative, there is still uncertainty, loss of program continuity, power shifts within an organization, and significant expense for the organization in recruiting and integrating a new leader.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore intent to leave and turnover experiences of acute care nurse managers, directors, and executives.

Methods: For this nationwide survey, recruitment was done via snowball sampling through state hospital associations and professional organizations across the US with a resulting sample …

The Ability Of Children With Developmental Language Disorder (Dld) To Infer Emotions From Pictures: Where's The Breakdown?, Mary Rebekah Forbes

Theses and Dissertations

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) often have difficulties with social and emotional learning, including emotion understanding and inferencing. Five children with DLD, ages 6;4 to 11;9, identified emotions depicted in pictured scenarios over a period of 10 weeks. Emotion categories included happy, sad, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. Each child's responses were analyzed and plotted on a confusion matrix. In a few cases, children did not interpret the scenario accurately. Even when they interpreted the scenario accurately, all of the children misapplied, overgeneralized, or confused emotion labels in some cases. These errors represented limitations in social and emotional learning …

The Distinction Between Lingua-Palatal Contact Patterns Of English Light And Dark [Ɫ]: A Precursor To Using Electropalatography In Second Language Instruction, Kallie Lynne Chaves

Theses and Dissertations

Electropalatography (EPG) is a system designed to provide visual feedback of lingua-palatal contact via electrodes and computer software in real-time. Traditionally, EPG technology has been effective in the treatment of both developmental and acquired speech disorders. Little research, however, has been done to show the effectiveness of EPG feedback in second language instruction and foreign accent reduction. The present thesis is part of a larger project examining the utility of EPG technology as a potential tool for teaching English speakers learning German as a second language (L2). A common error that English speakers make in German pronunciation is the incorrect …

Modeling Subglottic Stenosis Effects On Phonation Threshold Pressure In The Porcine Larynx, Jessica Maryn Murphey

Theses and Dissertations

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) is a narrowing of the airway below the vocal folds and above the trachea. This narrowing may be idiopathic or caused by scarring in the airway due to prolonged endotracheal intubation, radiation therapy, trauma, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. People who present with SGS often experience respiratory difficulty both at rest and during exertion. Breathing difficulty increases with stenosis severity. SGS is also associated with voice problems. Research has identified relationships among stenosis severity, voice function and certain types of surgical management; however, many aspects of these relationships are not fully understood due to the complexities of studying …

Expanding Immediate Postpartum Contraceptive Options: South Carolina’S Medicaid Policy, Amy Mattison-Faye

Theses and Dissertations

Offering contraceptives is essential to allow women the opportunity to plan for pregnancy and help prevent mistimed or unintended pregnancy. Intrauterine devices and implants, also known as long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), are the most effective methods of contraception. South Carolina Medicaid in 2012 launched an innovative policy expanding contraceptive access and coverage for women delivering in hospitals to have the option to receive a LARC immediately postpartum. However, in order for this policy to be successful, it relies on the capacity of hospitals and providers to adopt and implement without assistance. Identifying the provisions necessary in order for successful policy …

Three-Dimensional Plasma Cell Survival Microniche In Multiple Myeloma, Katrina A. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable malignancy characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of long-lived plasma cells (PCs) in the bone marrow (BM), which constitute at least 10% of BM cellularity. Normally, long-lived plasma cells make up less than 1% of BM cells. Plasma cells become neoplastic when a clonal PC population produces a monoclonal immunoglobulin protein. A diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is made when there is an increase in monoclonal PCs within the BM, but less than 10%, and the patient does not present with end-organ damage, which is associated with active MM. Though not considered …

Identifying Predictors Of Racial Disparity In Treatment And Mortality Among Patients Diagnosed With Breast Cancer In South Carolina, Oluwole Adeyemi Babatunde

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Despite a lower incidence of breast cancer (BrCA) among Black women in the U.S. compared to White women, Black women experience consistently higher mortality rates. The aims of this study were 1) to assess the relationship between race and diagnosis-to-treatment times 2) to assess racial disparity in mortality among Black and White BrCA patients in SC and 3) assessment of the validity of the Mortality-to- incidence ration (MIR) as a proxy for survival and geospatial investigation of racial disparity among breast cancer (BrCA) patients.

Methods: Breast cancer cases diagnosed between 2002-2010 were obtained retrospectively from the SC Central Cancer …

Developmental Language Disorders And Reticence In Childhood, Aimee Diehl

Theses and Dissertations

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) struggle in a variety of social contexts. These children display different forms of social withdrawal, the most prevalent being shyness which is behaviorally manifested as reticence. The goal of the current study was to further explore the relationship between DLD and reticence in children using a revised set of items from the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS). A total of 220 children participated in the study. A univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if there were significant differences related to group, age, and gender on reticence. Findings revealed a significant difference …

Behavioral And Neurophysiological Correlates Of Sensorimotor Impairment In Aphasia, Lorelei Phillip Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Developing a clearer understanding of the basic impairments which underlie the behavioral characteristics of aphasia is essential for informing the development of targeted and effective treatment techniques. Impairments in sensorimotor integration have already been implicated in the repetition deficits common to individuals with aphasia, but much less is known about the extent to which these integrative deficits occur outside of conduction aphasia and how this manifests behaviorally in areas other than speech repetition. The goal of the present study was to examine these issues further by addressing the following aims: 1) To examine the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of sensorimotor …

Effect Of Severe Economic Recession On The Psychological Distress: Evidence Of Modifying Effect Of Risky Behaviors And Insurance Status, Lumi Bakos

Theses and Dissertations

The investigation identified the effect of the 2007-2009 economic recession on the level of psychological distress (PD) as modified by engaging in risky behaviors and insurance status. The objective was to determine if engaging in risky behaviors and insurance status had an impact upon the level of psychological distress experienced during a recession; the timeframe for the study is 2007 representing pre-recession to beginning of recession year, to 2009 representing the recession year, to 2012-2013 representing post-recession years. The study involved the use of a nationwide non- institutionalized adult population, the Mental Health and Stigma optional module found in the …

Factors Associated With Advance Care Plans And End-Of-Life Care Choices Among Elderly Americans: An Analysis Of Health And Retirement Study Data, Agha Ajmal

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction

Advance care plans (ACP) allow people to plan for their end-of-life care before they become incompetent to make their treatment decisions. The umbrella term Advance Care Plans (ACP) includes the three most commonly used end-of-life care plans: Advance Care Planning Discussions (ACP discussions) and two advanced directives: living will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPAHC). The ACP discussions are the verbal discussions about end-of-life plans, whereas the advance directives are written documents.

ACPs are distinct nuances of end-of-life care planning. ACP discussions address a wide array of end-of-life care issues, including terminal care, funeral, burial and …

Adverse Birth Outcomes Among Women With Physical Disabilities: A Retrospective Cohort Study In South Carolina, Iffat Nahar

Theses and Dissertations

Motherhood is precious in women’s lives. Among women, ages 21-64, 12.5% are living with a disabling condition, according to the Disability Status report: SC 2008. Although childbearing among women with disabilities is increasing, there are limited publications about the pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study is to document the adverse neonatal outcomes of the pregnancies and to evaluate if early prenatal care is a protective factor for low birthweight and prematurity among the women with physical disabilities. This study used a retrospective cohort study design, with data from linked hospital discharge records and vital records (birth certificates) for all …

Role Of Resources For Care In Improving Care Behaviors, Children’S Nutritional Status And Early Childhood Development In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sulochana Basnet

Theses and Dissertations

Poor child growth and suboptimal early childhood development are global health problems. Provision of appropriate care may help to achieve optimum child growth and development. Maternal resources for care such as education, knowledge, health, autonomy, reasonable workload, and social support may be needed to provide appropriate care behaviors, and improve children’s nutritional status, and early childhood development. The overall goal of this research was to understand the role of resources for care in improving care behaviors, child nutritional status, and early childhood development. The baseline Alive & Thrive household surveys from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia were used. We examined the …

Parenting And Child Self-Regulation As Mechanisms For The Relationship Of Household Food Insecurity With Child Dietary Behavior, Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Food insecurity is both a nutritional problem and a stressful life experience of adults and children in households dealing with food shortage. Potential mechanisms of the associations between food insecurity and adverse outcomes in children’s health and development are through parenting and child self-regulation.

Objectives: We investigated parenting and child self-regulation as potential mechanisms for the relationship of food insecurity with child dietary behaviors with two specific aims. Specific aim 1 was to understand how food insecurity and its change over time relate to parenting in early childhood. Specific aim 2 was to understand the relationship of parenting in …

The Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Fatigue During The Progression Of Cancer Cachexia, Brandon N. Vanderveen

Theses and Dissertations

Cachexia is the unintentional loss of body weight secondary to chronic disease and is prevalent is roughly 50% of cancer patients. The loss of body weight and skeletal muscle mass is reduced functional capacity associated with reduced life quality. The etiology of cachexia is multimodal and complex; however, cachexia has been linked to several systemic (e.g. chronic inflammation, hypogonadism, anemia, insulin resistance) and behavioral (e.g. anorexia, inactivity) changes that can compound to accelerate muscle mass and body weight loss. While several inflammatory cytokines are associated with cachexia’s disease progression, our laboratory has established that Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a key regulator …

The Prescribing Patterns Of Gabapentin And Pregabalin In A Medicaid Population Amid The Opioid Epidemic, Sarah Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: Drug overdoses continue to be the leading cause of accidental death in the United States resulting in a nationwide crisis. Opioids, many of them prescription, are now the primary cause of drug overdose related deaths. Gabapentinoids are being promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a safer alternative to opioids and have steadily been rising in prescribing rates. However, growing concern is mounting on the potential for gabapentinoid misuse. The goal of this dissertation was to deepen the knowledge and understanding of how gabapentinoids are currently being prescribed, with an emphasis on their co-prescribing with an …

Examining Caregiver Vigilance For Child Sexual Abuse, Kate K. Chappell

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects approximately one in four US children through adolescence. As an adverse childhood experience (ACE) implicated in long-term health and wellbeing, CSA is a pervasive safety concern. The influence of caregivers and healthcare providers is under-realized in CSA prevention. Examining the thinking processes preceding CSA vigilance response has been limited in research. Understanding the complexities in healthcare related to addressing CSA will facilitate caregiver-focused intervention in primary care. Guided by social ecology and protection motivation theories (PMT), the goals of this two-phase study were to explore caregiver cognitive processes towards vigilance for CSA and the challenges …

Psychometric Evaluation Of Lung Cancer Stigma Among Lung Cancer Survivors In South Carolina, Lisa A. Webb

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Despite the improved screening and treatment modalities, lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer and accounts for 27% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Survivors of lung cancer experience physical, social, and particularly psychological challenges. Lung cancer stigma is a formidable challenge for survivors of lung cancer that complicates their physical, psychological and social well-being.

The Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale is the first instrument adapted to measure lung cancer stigma. This instrument was adapted from Berger’s HIV Stigma Scale. HIV stigma and lung cancer stigma share similarities. These health-related stigmas reflect behaviors that …

The Accuracy Of A Spanish Dynamic Assessment Of Narrative Language In Identifying Language Disorder: A Cross Validation Study, Mariah Forbush Romero

Theses and Dissertations

This cross-validation study investigated the extent that a Spanish narrative language dynamic assessment accurately identified students with and without language disorder across three separate samples of bilingual and monolingual Spanish-speaking students from Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. Students with language disorder and students with typically developing language were administered a narrative dynamic assessment in Spanish. A test-teach-retest format of dynamic assessment was followed and student modifiability, or learning ability, was rated directly following the teaching phase of the assessment. Results indicated that the most predictive dynamic assessment variables for the Guatemalan sample were posttest scores combined with two separate modifiability …

Modeling Subglottic Stenosis Effects On Phonation Threshold Flow In The Porcine Larynx, Robin Michelle Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) is an abnormal narrowing of the airway at the level of the cricoid cartilage, above the first tracheal ring and immediately beneath the vocal folds. Individuals with SGS experience a reduction in their ability to breathe as well as adverse effects on voice function. SGS can result from a variety of causes with the type of treatment depending on stenosis severity. Surgical techniques such as laryngotracheal and cricotracheal reconstruction are beneficial for airway maintenance; however, these procedures have resulted in negative effects on voice production. On the other hand, there are patients with SGS who do not …

Phonological Processing In Children With Dyslexia: Analyzing Nonword Repetition Error Types, Camille Christine Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes quantitative and qualitative differences in errors made during a nonword repetition task between children with dyslexia (n = 75) and their typically developing (TD) peers (n = 75). Participants were auditorily presented with 16 nonwords based on a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern; nonwords varied from two to five syllables in length. Verbal responses were recorded, transcribed, and consonant phonemes were analyzed according to the following error types: substitutions, omissions, insertions, and transpositions. Analyses found that children with dyslexia perform more poorly on nonword repetition as compared to their TD peers. Specifically, during this nonword repetition task children with …

A Large-Scale Clustered Randomized Control Trial Examining The Effects Of A Multi-Tiered Oral Narrative Language Intervention On Kindergarten Oral And Written Narratives And Oral Expository Language, Mollie Paige Brough

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of a multi-tiered oral narrative language intervention on kindergarteners’ oral and written narrative and oral expository skills. The participants included 686 kindergarten students from four school districts in the upper Midwest. They were randomly assigned at the classroom level to a treatment or control condition. The treatment group received large group (tier-1) oral narrative language instruction led by classroom teachers and followed the Story Champs procedures. Students whose oral narrative retell skills did not improve after one month of large group instruction were placed in small groups and received …

A Discourse Analysis Of Clinician-Child Interactions Within A Meaning-Based Phonological Intervention, Brittany Appleby Long

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study analyzed interactions between clinicians and a male child, aged 5 years 9 months old, with significant phonological as well as language deficits within a meaning-based phonological intervention implemented over a nine-month period. Play-based intervention strategies were presented in activities that varied in communicative complexity. The clinician, along with graduate-student assistants, frequently modeled and elicited target word productions as they interacted with the child in routines and scripted play contexts. Transcriptions of interactions were analyzed using a conversational analysis that explored engagement and participation, turn taking, and linguistic complexity of utterances produced in adjacent turns. The analyses illustrated …

A Social Communication Intervention To Facilitate Emotion Word Learning In School-Age Children With Developmental Language Disorders, Sara Elise Avila

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, social communication approaches to intervention for children with developmental language disorders (DLD) have been limited. However, several recent studies have shown that these interventions can produce positive changes in children with DLD. One weakness that children with DLD demonstrate is the production of words to express emotion. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of a story-based social communication intervention to increase the production of emotion words in three elementary school-age children diagnosed with DLD. Data were collected and analyzed in pre-treatment baseline sessions, throughout the intervention, and in post-treatment follow-up data for the seven target emotion word categories of happiness, …

Articulatory Kinematic Compensation For A Bite Block During Diphthong Production, Michelle Olson Richins

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the effects of bite blocks on articulatory kinematics when producing diphthongs /ɑɪ/ and /É‘ÊŠ/ within a phrase. Participants consisted of 20 young adults (10 males, 10 females) with no speech, language or hearing disorders. Participants produced the diphthongs in the carrier phrase Im an owl that hoots. A Northern Digital Instruments Wave electromagnetic articulograph measured the articulatory movements while the speaker produced the stimuli in two conditions (pre bite block insertion and post bite block insertion). Bilateral bite blocks were made using Express dental putty, which is a silicone impression material, in order to create a …

A Methodology For Rapid Deployment Of Shared Cohort Discovery System With Integrated Ehr To Enable Federated Health Data Governance, Muhammad Asim Khan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an effort to address the Information Quality (IQ) issues in the federated healthcare networks. As the Electronic health records (EHR) systems technology evolves, the importance of data sharing in federated research has increased. However time consuming and technical difficulties in deploying federated data networks, along with the issue of disparate EHR systems in use of data federating entities aggravate the IQ challenges. Healthcare data mapping across federated database schemas and consistent clinical criteria for phenotype identification requires better data governance in the federated data networks. This research provides the methodology for the rapid deployment of Federated Healthcare …

The Validity Of Microblogs As A Source For Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patient-Reported Outcomes, Kim Tran

Theses and Dissertations

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease which affects an estimated five million patients worldwide. Characterized by progressive respiratory failure and a median patient survival time of three to five years, this disease affects 150,000 patients in the United States (US) and results in 40,000 deaths annually. While the US mortality rate for IPF is similar to breast cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis remains characterized as a rare disease. Lack of awareness and information for lesser known diseases such as IPF can affect factors ranging from proper diagnosis to the advancement of the drug development pipeline. One platform which …