Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Eye Protection Methods Used In General Anesthesia, Larry W. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi experimental, clinical study was to determine whether taping of the eye or applying ophthalmic ointment along with taping of the eye yields a difference in occurrence and symptoms of corneal epithelial defects in surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory provided the theoretical framework for this study.

Fifty subjects were randomly selected from a convenience sample of surgical patients in two 300 bed hospitals located in a Midwestern state. The subjects ranged from 18 to 60 years of age. The subjects had no history of previous eye surgery or glaucoma, and were not …

An Object-Oriented Approach To The Modeling And Visualization Of Breast Cancer Tumors, Bruce C. Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

Great strides have been made in controlling the progression of breast cancer, but medical professionals continue to rely primarily upon traditional mammography for early detection. Enhancing breast cancer detection capabilities - and thus reducing tumor detection time - should result in a reduction in mortality rates. The detection capabilities of mammography may be enhanced through improved modeling and visualization techniques. This thesis is an extension of initial research conducted at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Previous efforts focused on developing a mathematical model for simulating the growth of cancer within unconstrained 3-dimensional space. The research also explored the behavior …

Kinetics And Mechanisms Of Macromolecular Disposition In The Rat Lung, Masahiro Sakagami

Theses and Dissertations

The kinetics and mechanisms of macromclecular absorption from the airways of the rat lung were studied in vivo and in vitro, following identical solute administration methods. The isolated perfused rat lung (IPRL) was used as an in vitro model, and the disposition of 7.4 and 4.3 kDa fluorophore-labeled polyhydroxyethylaspartamide (F-PHEA) and other small and macromolecular reference solutes was investigated across doses and in the presence of a variety of biochemical inhibitors.

Absorption profiles of F-PHEA, and the solute's lung distribution at different times after administration, were statistically identical in vivo and in vitro, showing that the IPRL possessed a viable …

Study Of P53 Gain Of Function Mutations In P53-Null Astrocytes, Sang H. Choi

Theses and Dissertations

A number of recent studies suggest that expression of mutant p53 with mutations in certain codons show a gain of function and some of the characteristics of an oncoprotein. In order to study gain of function mutation and eliminate the potential of a dominant negative interaction with endogenous wild type p53 protein, p53 knockout mouse astrocytes were used. A retrovirus system was used to introduce mutant p53 genes into these p53-null astrocytes. Immunohistochemical staining and western blot experiments showed the expression of mutant p53 protein in these cells after infection with the mutant p53 retroviruses. Cell growth experiment did not …

Outcomes Of Pregnancy In Women With Cystic Fibrosis, Bethany Jean Geldmaker

Theses and Dissertations

Medical advances in disease management has improved quality of life for women with cystic fibrosis (CF) and now enables them to consider pregnancy. The purpose of the study was to examine women's perceptions of how the demands of having CF influenced their ability to care for their children and continue to meet their own health needs. The study design was grounded theory methodology with a complementarity research technique to incorporate qualitative and quantitative data collection. Participants were 12 women recruited over the Internet and through an adult CF newsletter who completed questionnaires for demands of illness (DOlI) and self care …

Excisional Wound Healing And The Role Of Homeobox Genes, David Allen Lanning

Theses and Dissertations

The biochemical and physiologic mechanisms responsible for excisional wound contraction have been extensively studied but are not completely understood. Furthermore, the genes that regulate these processes are unknown. As a result, there are limited treatment options available for patients with diseases or conditions characterized by abnormal tissue contraction. In an attempt to improve our understanding of these mechanisms and identify some of the putative regulatory genes, we studied excisional wound healing in the mid-gestational fetal rabbit. These wounds normally do not contract nor are they associated with inflammation, fibrosis, or scar formation. However, we have been able to induce contraction, …

The Determinants Of Post-Discharge Healthcare Utilization And Outcomes For Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Social Ecological Perspective, Shyuemeng Luu

Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a persistent nature: PTSD troubles patients

even decades after the occurrence of traumatic events. The “health behavioral model” is

adopted to examine the effects of external environmental, predisposing, enabling, and

need for care factors on the use of VA post-discharge ambulatory care and readmissions.

Data were obtained from the Patient Treatment File (PTF) and the Outpatient Care File

(OPT), the Area Resource File (ARF), American Hospital Association data sets (AHA), and the Uniform Crime Report (UCR).

The use of VA post-discharge ambulatory care is analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM). The readmission to VAMCs …

Lds Life Tables: A Comparison Of Long-Lived Populations, Christopher R. Layton

Theses and Dissertations

This research estimates the life expectancy of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Utah. We create gender-specific life tables for four groups: total Utah, active LDS, less-active LDS, and non-LDS. Male life tables are based on data from 1991-1995; female life tables are based on data from 1994-1998. Life expectancy at birth is 75 years for all utah males, 79.8 years for active LDS Utah males, 71.6 years for less active LDS Utah males, and 71.5 years for non-LDS Utah males. Female life expectancy at birth is 80.4 years for all Utah females, 83.9 …

Relationship Between Intestinal Parasitosis With The Basic Services, And The Nutritional State Of Children Under The Age Of Five Of Black, Native, And Mestizo Ethnicities In The Rural Area Of The Province Of Imbabura 1998-1999, Carlos Rosero

Theses and Dissertations

The parasitosis in the tropical countries like Ecuador, are found in the different population groups of all ages, sexes, social conditions, ethnic groups, especially in those without hygienic conditions, pertaining to different geographic zones and the prevalence varies in agreement with the ecology, the human factors and the social economic characteristics. The fecal contamination on land and water where an adequate disposition of excretes, the surrounding conditions, the deficient living conditions, the rural life, the absence of bathrooms, the custom to not use shoes and to have contact with the water. The deficiency of hygienic education, contamination of foods and …

Application Of Dietary Guidelines For Guatemala In Three Rural Communities Of Chiquimula, Sandra Liseth Salazar Donis

Theses and Dissertations

In Guatemala, nutritional problems are directly related to the difficulty to purchase food fit for human consumption due to low family incomes as well as low nutritional education. This situation motivated the realization of the present study whose main objective was to apply the dietary guidelines for Guatemala in three rural communities of Chiquimula. All three communities were previously aided by Benson Institute efforts to promote changes in eating behavior. The sample was comprised of mothers from the El Pinalito, El Guayabo, and Maraxco communities of the department of Chiquimula. There were eight mothers, four literate and four illiterate, from …

Relation Between Internal Parasites With Basic Services And The Nutritional Status Of Children Five Years Of Age In The Indigenous, Black And Mestizo Communities Of The Rural Area, Imbabura Province, R. Patricio Paguay Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations

Various studies have been done to determine the prevalence of anemia in our country, but these studies don't reflect the true magnitude of this sickness, considered in Ecuador a problem of public health since these investigations correspond to urban sectors and margins and not to rural places where the care is very deficient and in certain cases useless, mainly because of the difficult access and the lack of economic resources of the government institutions. The current work was realized in coordination with the school of Nutrition and Dietetics and with the help of the Benson Agriculture and Food Institute was …