Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Sensory Processing, And Related Correlates In Autistic Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mollie Bradley

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty and anxiety for most and was especially disruptive to autistic people and their families. Autistic children were particularly vulnerable due to their intolerance for increased uncertainty and disruption to their school and therapy support. This study aimed to investigate the effect that increased uncertainty had on autistic children, specifically their sensory behaviors and stress levels and on the stress levels of their primary caregivers. Parents and guardians of 47 autistic children completed an online survey consisting of questions investigating background and demographic information, their experiences during the first six months of the pandemic, information about …

A Comparative Study On The Expository Writing Abilities Of Kindergarten Students With And Without Developmental Language Disorder, Kristine Michelle Dayley Andrus

Theses and Dissertations

State standards require kindergarten students to produce expository writing, but little research has been done regarding their abilities in this area. This study describes expository writing samples of 47 typically developing (TD) kindergarteners and 43 kindergarteners with developmental language disorder (DLD). The Expository Language Measures (ELM) Flow Chart and the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software were used to detail the language complexity and text structure features the children in the sample produced. When comparing TD and DLD children's expository written samples, no significant differences in the language and text structure measures were found. It is important to continue …

The Impact Of Background Noise On The Communicative Experience Of People With Mild To Moderate Aphasia: A Qualitative Study, Riley Robertson Hegewald

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how retelling stories with a variety different background noise conditions affected the communicative experiences of people with aphasia (PWA). Participants included 11 adults with mild to moderate aphasia and 11 age- and gender-matched controls. Participants participated in a semi-structured interview immediately following the experimental measure where they were asked open-ended questions regarding their experience retelling stories and how those experiences related to their everyday lives. Results revealed three themes related to how participants responded to communicating in noise: (a) cognitive reactions, (b) emotional reactions, and (c) social reactions. The findings suggest that PWA exert more effort when …

The Analysis Of Omission And Substitution Errors In Various Language Tasks In Bilingual Children, Macy Whiting

Theses and Dissertations

As the population of Spanish-English bilingual children in the United States steadily grows, the importance of accurately assessing and diagnosing developmental language disorder (DLD) has also grown. Understanding a child's underlying language learning system is critical in this process. Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of nonword repetition (NWR) tasks in bilingual children across a wide range of development, however there is little information regarding guidelines for interpretation of NWR performance or analyzing error patterns. This study was conducted to address these gaps in the research. A sample of 26 Spanish-English bilingual school aged children (6;0-9;4) were administered English and …

Enhancing Vanadium Redox Battery Performance Using Tungsten-Bismuth-Based Oxide Nanostructures As Electrode Modifiers, Taher Al Najjar

Theses and Dissertations

Renewable energy power plants require high efficiency conversion and storage systems that can store high amounts of energy and can be integrated with the electrical grid. Vanadium redox flow batteries are very promising for this application. However, one major drawback of VRFBs is their low power density which means that right now they cannot replace non-renewable energy sources. Different carbon materials are used as electrodes in VRFBs and each carbon material affects the battery’s performance in a different way. Modification of these electrodes can increase the power density of the battery. Some metal oxides like tungsten oxide can enhance vanadium …

Examining The Preliminary Validity Of A Dynamic Assessment Of Narrative Language In Mandarin Chinese, Lok Yee Sarah Cheung

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the preliminary validity of a newly developed dynamic assessment of narrative language in Mandarin Chinese. Two studies are reported in this thesis. Study 1 included 31 second grade participants and Study 2 included 43 first grade participants. All participants were enrolled in a Chinese immersion program in an elementary school in Utah. A dynamic assessment of narrative language was administered to each participant in Mandarin Chinese. A teacher rating was also included in Study 1. Results indicated that the dynamic assessment investigated in this thesis demonstrated some similar characteristics with other valid …

Medication Therapy Management Implementation In Conjunction With A Rural Health Clinic In Minnesota: A Cqi Impact On Diabetes Metrics, Abigail Sirek Pharmd

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this continuous quality improvement project was to implement a pharmacist-led Medication Therapy Management (MTM) clinic in rural, central Minnesota and assess the impact on patients’ healthcare over a six-month period. Patients were identified through the clinic’s diabetes registry, which included patients 18 through 75 years old with a diagnosis of diabetes not meeting all five D5 goals, as recommended by the Minnesota Community Measurements, independently referred by the provider, or be identified by their insurance company as a patient that would benefit from an MTM visit. The D5 focuses on blood pressure and blood sugar control, appropriate …

Comparing Relative And Absolute Reliability Of Short Versus Long Narrative Retells, Jenna Hollis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine and compare relative and absolute reliability estimates between brief, linguistically compact narrative retells and longer, more linguistically diffuse narrative retells. The participants included 190 school-age children in firstsixth grade from Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Participants completed two brief narrative retells using the Narrative Language Measures (NLM) Listening subtest of the CUBED assessment and one longer narrative retell using the wordless picture book Frog, Where Are You? (FWAY). These language samples were then analyzed for language productivity, complexity, and story grammar elements using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts software program and …

Supplier Performance Scorecard Utilization In The Medical Device Manufacturing Healthcare Supply Chain, Justin Cardisco

Theses and Dissertations

The medical device manufacturing industry has a deficiency in determining how to improve supplier performance for the components and systems they purchase. Many complex medical devices require components from superb suppliers. But how does a medical device manufacturer (MDM) impartially assess supplier performance to know which suppliers to continuing with (or even boost purchase volumes) and which suppliers they should exit? This study describes which supplier-specific metrics are most important to medical device manufacturers (MDMs) so they can utilize this supplier performance scorecard backed by real-world inputs. This research will focus on five categories to measure MDM supplier performance (Quality, …

Identification Of Pneumococcal Membrane Proteins Involved In Colonization/Biofilm Formation And Cognate Host Cellular Receptors, Yoonsung Hu

Theses and Dissertations

Colonization is prerequisite for infection and transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Currently available pneumococcal conjugate and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines can provide protection against a limited number of capsular serotypes. Implementation of vaccines has decreased the frequency of invasive pneumococcal disease and their colonization rates, but only in a serotype-dependent manner. This has led to serotype replacement in pneumococcal ecology and increased invasive disease caused by non-vaccine serotypes. Development of conserved protein-based vaccine that can provide protection against all pneumococcal serotypes is needed. Numerous surface proteins are conserved in all serotypes, and some are known to be involved in …

Comparison Of Abdominal Computed Tomography To Ultrasound In The Diagnosis Of Canine Biliary Disease Manifesting As Acute Abdominal Signs, Shanna Christine Marroquin

Theses and Dissertations

Biliary diseases are uncommon, potentially fatal causes of acute abdomen in dogs. Little information is present comparing the performance of computed tomography (CT) to ultrasound in identifying canine biliary pathology. Thirty-five client-owned dogs presenting for acute abdomen signs received an abdominal ultrasound and contrast-enhanced abdominal CT. Two authors reviewed the randomized, anonymized CT and ultrasound studies. Twenty-eight dogs had biliary pathology and seven dogs serving as controls had no evidence of biliary disease. The final diagnoses of patients with biliary pathology included cholelithiasis, gallbladder mucoceles, cholangiohepatitis/cholangitis, extrahepatic biliary obstruction, gallbladder wall edema, gallbladder wall mass, and cystic mucosal hyperplasia. Computed …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Neuroantibody Levels, Prevalence, And Environmental Factors In Patients With Neurological Dysfunction, Jihan Azar

Theses and Dissertations

Nervous system damage comprises a large proportion of diseases worldwide. It is also the most difficult to diagnose. Biomarkers for nervous system damage are needed in order to diagnose these diseases early enough to allow for intervention. In this study, we recruited patients from two Egyptian hospitals with MCI, ET and NMS and health references. Serum autoantibody levels against neural proteins and heavy metals were analyzed and compared. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against neurofilament H (NFH), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) and alpha synuclein (a-SYN) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody against neurofilament light (NFL) were among …

The Effect Of Two Rate Change Approaches On Speech Movement Patterns, Noelle Marie Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of different rate change approaches on speech movement patterns, including increasing and decreasing speaking rate volitionally, as well as with delayed auditory feedback (DAF). There were 10 participants, five male and five female, with a mean age of 25 years. All were typical speakers. Participants spoke the sentence “Don’t fight or pout over a toy car” under slow, fast and DAF speaking conditions. A total of 5 sensors were glued to each participant’s tongue, teeth, and lips. NDI Wave electromagnetic articulography recorded the articulatory movements from these sensors as the participants spoke. Metrics for …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of The Lived Experience Of Parental Caregivers For Children With Severe Epidermolysis Bullosa, Michael J. Valentine

Theses and Dissertations

Providing care to child with a chronic, rare diseases has been identified as a major life stressor with a myriad of negative physical and mental health consequences. These stresses have previously been found to create burden that may impair caregiving efforts and increase the risk of mortality for both the caregiver and affected child. Many rare diseases affect children. It is not known how caregiver burden and the source of stress varies by disease. Qualitative methods have been used to understand caregiver experience with the rare disease, epidermolysis bullosa (EB), but no such studies have occurred in the United States. …

Bodyverse, Colin B. Stilwell

Theses and Dissertations

This paper supports the MFA dance thesis film BodyVerse. Exploring the intertwining relationship of body systems with the natural world, it brings somatic principles such as Body Mind Centering and dance improvisation together with film legacies and digital platforms.

Using Geospatial Analysis To Evaluate Relationships Between Cancer Incidence And Social Factors In Brooklyn, Ny, Sheena Philogene

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the spatial distribution of cancer incidence in Brooklyn, NY. Using publicly available data, the relationships between cancer incidence and factors linked to cancer were investigated. Furthermore, the study explored the value of using large amounts of data with GIS techniques to quickly analyze geographic trends for cancer.

Emergency Preparedness: Perceptions Of People With Disabilities, Lidia Adamina Fonseca

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of emergencies and disasters has increased over the past decade which has caused cities, states and countries to routinely develop emergency preparedness and management plans (Turk, 2016). Although these demands have increased, individuals with disabilities have been less represented in the development of the plans (Timmons, 2017; Turk, 2016). According to The World Bank Disaster Risk Management Report (2020), disasters (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, hurricanes, earthquakes, industrial accidents.) and post-disaster consequences have increased over recent years.

Although individuals with disabilities have become more aware of emergency preparedness and its importance, researchers have noted that there …

Acoustic And Perceptual Effects Of Mask-Wearing On Voice And Communication In Healthcare Practitioners, Astrid C. Ortiz Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study aims to determine the perceptual and acoustic voice effects experienced by healthcare practitioners following prolonged use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 19 participants were recruited and divided into control and experimental groups. Of these 19, 10 were assigned to the experimental group (E) which required participants to engage in increasing their fluid intake by 1 liter per day, while the remaining 9 were part of the control group (C) and had no additional instructions.

To gather perceptual data, a survey was created and conducted via Qualtrics software, and addressed …

An Application Of Matrices To The Spread Of The Covid 19, Selena Suarez

Theses and Dissertations

We represented a restaurant seating arrangement using matrices by using 0 entry for someone without covid and 1 entry for someone with covid. Using the matrices we found the best seating arrangements to lessen the spread of covid. We also investigated if there was a factor needed to create a formula that could calculate the matrix that shows who would be affected with covid with each seating arrangement. However, there did not seem to be a clear pattern within the factors. Aside from covid applications, we also investigated the symmetries in seating arrangements and the possible combinations with these arrangements …

Parenthood Orientation Among Young Women: Is It Associated With Pregnancy Intention And Unprotected Intercourse?, Nakeisha Blades

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored relationships between parenthood orientation, pregnancy intention, and unprotected intercourse. Nulligravid, sexually active women aged 18-29 (N = 252) were surveyed on these topics in May 2019. There were significant differences in parenthood orientation by past and current pregnancy intention. Higher scores on parenthood orientation were associated with increased odds of past unprotected intercourse and expecting future unprotected intercourse. Only education and contraceptive self-efficacy retained significance in adjusted models. Study results are consistent with prior work on parenthood orientation and pregnancy intention and point to other factors as stronger correlates of contraceptive use.

Dating App Facilitated Sexual Assault: A Growing Phenomenon, Kristen Mella Hamblin

Theses and Dissertations

Dating App Facilitated Sexual Assault (DAppSA) is a new phenomenon and growing concern. Research on DAppSA is extremely limited. This study aimed to identify unique victim and assault characteristics associated with DAppSAs. A retrospective SAMFE chart review of patients (N = 3,413) from 2017 to 2020 was conducted. Sexual assault nurse examiners completed SAMFEs. Inclusion criteria for DAppSA cases included 1) victim was 14 years of age or older; 2) victim indicated they met the perpetrator on a dating website or app; 3) the SA occurred at the initial in-person meeting; 4) victim had a SAMFE with evidence collection. DAppSAs …

Frequency And Magnitude Of Obstacles And Helpful Behavior Items In End-Of-Life Care As Perceived By Nurses Working In Critical Access Hospitals, Shalyn C. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Twenty percent of Americans live in rural areas where most of their healthcare is provided in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). It is unknown how frequently obstacle and helpful behavior items occur in End-of-Life (EOL) care in CAHs. Objectives: To determine the frequency of occurrence scores of obstacle and helpful behavior items in providing EOL care in CAHs. To also determine which obstacles and helpful behaviors have the greatest or least impact on EOL care based on the magnitude scores. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to nurses working in 39 CAHs in the United States. Nurse participants were asked to …

A Vaccine Education Module For University Students: Vaccine Concerns And Knowledge Gained, Joslyn D. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purposes of this research are to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine education module (VEM) in 1) contributing to new vaccine knowledge of university freshmen; and 2) identifying common vaccine concerns of university freshmen before and after completing the VEM. Methods: A VEM, including information about vaccine-preventable diseases, benefits of vaccines, principles of community or herd immunity, and where to go to get vaccinated, was created for freshman students. Student vaccine concerns were identified using a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design using an online questionnaire before and after completing the VEM. After the VEM, participants were also asked to identify …

Technology Use In Schizotypy Utilizing The Domains Of Technology Use Survey (Dotus), Devin Massaro

Theses and Dissertations

The diathesis stress model for schizophrenia posits that genetics and prenatal factors confer vulnerability (diathesis) for mental illness which then may be activated through exposure to environmental stressors during life. One component of our contemporary environment involves technology use which has demonstrated risk and beneficial capabilities in regards to the schizophrenia spectrum. Using an online and in-person survey, this study aimed to elucidate the manner in which time spent on technology related to schizotypy, problematic technology use (PTU), and health behaviors in 227 undergraduate students (aged 18-30). We hypothesized that levels of schizotypy, as well as time spent on social …

Exploration Of The Role Of Neighborhood Residential Segregation By Race And Ethnicity In Obesity Risk Among School-Aged, Melissa L. Fair

Theses and Dissertations

Youth obesity prevalence remains high, despite decades of intervention. Grounded in the social ecological model, neighborhoods and schools are important settings in addressing the complex systems that influence obesity. Contributing to disparities, by race/ethnicity, Black and Hispanic youth are more likely to live in segregated neighborhoods and attend segregated schools, which are also more likely to have high rates of poverty and are less likely to have high quality nutrition and built environments. Leveraging data from local school district (district and state department of education) and national datasets (ACS, Childhood Opportunity Index 2.0), this study examined the associations between school …

Homestead Vegetable And Poultry Production And Related Practices: An Assessment In Nepal, Shiva Bhandari

Theses and Dissertations

Consumption of nutrients-rich foods like diverse vegetables, eggs, and meat throughout a year remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries due to poor availability, accessibility, and affordability. One important way to overcome the challenge is to promote households’ own production of these foods and encourage individuals to consume. Improving household production of the foods necessitates understanding whether active participation and performance of frontline workers in the communities and performing improved production-related practices can translate into improved production of nutrients-rich foods. This study had two specific aims. The first aim was to examine demographic, socio-economic, and programmatic determinants of active …

Testing Models Of Context-Dependent Outcome Encoding In Reinforcement Learning, William M. Hayes Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies of reinforcement learning (RL) have established that choice outcomes are encoded in a context-dependent fashion. Several computational models have been proposed to explain context-dependent encoding, including reference point centering and range adaptation models. The former assumes that outcomes are centered around a running estimate of the average reward in each choice context, while the latter assumes that outcomes are compared to the minimum reward and then scaled by an estimate of the range of outcomes in each choice context. However, there are other computational mechanisms that can explain context dependence in RL. In the present study, a frequency …

Discovery And Mechanistic Study Of Novel Pbd-Targeted Inhibitors Of Plk1 For Prostate Cancer Treatment, Danda Pani Chapagai

Theses and Dissertations

Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is a central player in regulating entry into and progression through mitosis. Inhibition of sub-cellular localization and kinase activity of PLK1 through the Polo-box domain (PBD) is emerging as a viable alternative to ATP binding site directed drugs for which the development of resistant mutants and inhibition of closely related members of the PLK family (tumor suppressor roles) are primary concerns. I describe related novel non-peptidic PBD binding inhibitors, termed abbapolins, identified through successful application of the REPLACE strategy and demonstrate their potent antiproliferative activity in prostate tumors and other cell lines. Furthermore, the abbapolins show …

Perspectives About Food Safety In Diverse Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sejla Isanovic

Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about unsafe food influence food choice, and consumption of unsafe foods increases morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Actions to ensure safety of food are dominated by mitigation of biological and chemical hazards through supply-side risk management, disregarding individuals’ experiences and perspectives of food safety. We aimed to identify and categorize perspectives about food safety in five countries. Five Drivers of Food Choice projects provided transcripts from 17 focus groups discussions and 303 interviews in Kenya, Ghana, India, Guinea, and Vietnam. We analyzed transcripts using a priori and emergent codes. Individuals constructed meaning about food safety …

Gonorrhea: Core Areas And State Policies, Jessica Purser

Theses and Dissertations

This research looked at gonorrhea rates both from a community perspective and at the state level. Using hot spot analysis, means differences, and quantile regression, we found that education, specifically the percent of people over the age of 25 with less than a high school education, was the dominant factor at the state level while core areas of gonorrhea exist in the PeeDee and western Lowcountry regions of South Carolina in 2017 and 2018. Risky sexual behaviors are well-defined in the literature for individual persons, but this shows that looking at societal and community factors is important.

This is a …