Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of The Built Environment On The Physical Activity Levels Of Older Adults In A Rural Community, Kalyn T. Yeager

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Objective: To determine the relationship between perceived neighborhood characteristics and physical activity habits of older adults in a rural community. Methods: Twenty-seven participants completed a face-to-face interview about their perception of their neighborhood. An accelerometer was worn for seven days to estimate energy expenditure. Statistical Analysis: A multiple regression was used to identify the environmental influence on energy expenditure. An independent T-test followed to determine differences between older adults residing in a home versus an apartment. Results: Older adults ( 69 .9 ± 8.3 years) expended 1,510 ± 724 kilocalories per week. General neighborhood satisfaction and safety from traffic were …

Fa2h Dependent Fatty Acid 2-Hydroxylation In The Mammalian Nervous System, Nathan Lance Alderson

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Myelin is formed by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. This unique membrane is comprised of approximately 70% lipid and 30% protein. The high lipid content is thought to be vital for its insulatory function. Galactosylceramide (GaICer) and sulfatide make up approximately 30% of total myelin lipids, with more than half of these galactolipids containing fatty acids hydroxylated at the C[subscript 2] position (2-hydroxy fatty acids). Despite their high abundance, very little is know about the biosynthesis of these 2-hydroxy galactolipids, and specific functions of the 2-hydroxyl group in myelin galactolipids remain …

Rehabilitation Following Pinning Of An Ulnar Fracture With Radial Head Dislocation, Sandra R. Jungwirth

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Study design: Case report.

Background and Purpose: Although upper extremity injuries and fractures are common in children, fractures of the ulna with dislocation of the radial head represent a small portion of the upper extremity fractures. The purpose of this case report is to describe the physical therapy intervention of such a fracture-dislocation in a child.

Case Description: The patient was a 6-year-old girl diagnosed with a fracture of the ulna with dislocation of the radial head. She had a pinning of the ulnar fracture. Six and one half weeks after injury, physical therapy was initiated, consisting of 6 visits …

Rehabilitation Of A 49 Year-Old Male Who Underwent A Right Knee Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With Moderate To Severe Degenerative Joint Disease Of The Left Knee, Roy W. Osborn

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background/purpose: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is reported to be one of the most common and most serious injuries among physically active individuals, There are a multitude of articles addressing rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction, but there is no clear "best method' identified in the evidence, Subjects with a combination of ACL rupture and degenerative joint disease are less frequent in occurrence, and also lack evidence to identify the most appropriate rehabilitation method.

Description: This case study provides the details of the first 8 weeks of rehabilitation for a 49 year old male subject who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of …

Hip Adductor Or Iliopsoas Tendonitis In An Adolescent Athlete: A Physical Therapy Case Report, Julie Berry

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Groin pain can be caused by many different entities from a "pulled adductor muscle" to something as serious as a femoral neck stress fracture. Other possible diagnoses include slipped capital epiphysis, avulsion fractures, osteitis pubis, osteoarthritis, labral tem adductor tendonitis and hernia, Iliopsoas tendonitis is all under diagnosed clinical problem, This injury affects millions of athletes every year and is often misdiagnosed and not properly treated, Potential implications to function include a decrease in the ability to perform activities of daily living (dressing, transferring into and out of bed/car/chair, and climbing stairs), inability to control inflammation which could progress to …

A Work Injury Prevention Program For A Rural Manufacturing Company, Pete Angell, Tara Copenhaver, Dustin Martinson, Heather Martinson

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Purpose: This article discusses how a group of four physical therapy students built upon traditional ergonomic and biomechanical programs and applied it to a rural manufacturing company of 160 employees.

Methods: Meetings were held with the corporation's Safety Specialist and upper management. Based on research supported by evidence and suggestions from the company's administration, the students constructed an injury prevention program consisting of two presentations for office and production workers, exercise programs, a lifting and posture DVD and assessment, and a modified office assessment.

Results: Seventy-one employees attended the production lecture. Thirty-six workers took part in the office presentation. Sixty-four …

Electromyographic Analysis Of Lower Extremity Muscle Activity During Wall Squats With An Adduction Contraction In Varied Foot Positions, Jill Eken, Ashlee Jesperson, Heather Sletten

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if an isometric hip adduction contraction and varied foot positions during a wall squat results in increased muscle recruitment of the lower extremity.

Subjects: Eleven healthy female adult volunteers without a prior history of knee pathology participated.

Methods: Surface electromyography (EMG) data were collected from the adductor longus (AL), vastus medialis oblique (VMO), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), gastrocnemius (GN) and anterior tibialis (AT) muscles of the dominant leg for each individual during six wall squats with different treatment conditions. Experimental trials included three different rotation positions with or without …

A Day In The Life Of A Clinical Speech-Language Pathologist, Mackenzie Steger

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Approval Of New Drugs By The U. S. Food And Drug Administration: Problems With The Process And Access To Unapproved Drugs, Christine M. Hoeft-Loyer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Today, the vast majority of drugs available for patient use have gone through a rigorous system of human clinical trials supervised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to ensure the drugs are safe and efficacious. There are now citizen advocacy groups that seek use of drugs not yet approved by the FDA, to be administered to terminally ill patients who have exhausted all other available means of therapy. The FDA has programs for terminal patients, under the supervision of their physicians, to use unapproved drugs; however, the advocacy groups seek access to drugs in much earlier phases than is …

Parent Food Purchases As A Measure Of Exposure And Its Effects On Preschool-Aged Children's Willingness To Identify And Taste Fruit And Vegetables, Deborah Brzys Busick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Symptom Domains In Ulcerative Colitis That Occur Frequently During Flares And Are Responsive To Changes In Disease Activity, Tahira M. Khan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to determine which symptom domains in ulcerative colitis (UC) are important in the evaluation of disease activity. An important symptom is that which 1) occurs during flares, 2) improves during effective therapy, and 3) resolves during remission. Twenty eight symptom domains were evaluated. Sixty subjects were surveyed, rating each symptom on three criteria with a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Important symptoms were defined a priori as those whose median VAS rating for all 3 criteria was significantly greater than 50. Thirteen of the 28 symptom domains proved to be both frequent in …

Development Of A Needs Assessment For Youth Violence Prevention Programs In A Large Midwestern City, Laura Lynn Savel

Masters Theses

This research project was designed to examine the relationship between the needs for violence prevention programs and the qualities of occupational therapists. A needs assessment relevant to violence prevention program could not be located. One was therefore created based on the literature available as well as professional input. A pilot study was conducted, revisions were made and the needs assessment was distributed when approval was granted. The assessment was distributed to elementary, middle and high school principals, assistant principals, occupational therapists, guidance counselors/psychologists, and support staff from two western Michigan school systems. A model program was created based on the …

Rawls And Health Care, Elizabeth H. Coogan

Honors Theses

John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice (1971), his first major work articulating his theory of justice as fairness, was immediately recognized as a fundamental contribution to political philosophy in the twentieth century. Working within the tradition established by previous philosophers such as Kant and Locke, Rawls employed the contract theory approach. Taking it to a higher order of abstraction, he sought to determine not what the structure of social organization would be, but what the principles which governed social institutions would be under a hypothetical contracting situation. Rawls uses this contract theory approach to construct a society in which the …

The Effectiveness Of Support Groups In A Community Diabetes Prevention Program, Traci Worby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a support group in a community Diabetes Prevention Program. The research questions to be answered were: (1) did participation in the intervention group result in better outcomes compared to the participants in the control group, (2) did the participants in the intervention group and the control group feel that the Diabetes Prevention Program's exercise program helped them make positive changes in their life and taught them the importance of continued exercise to help reduce the risk of diabetes according to statements answered on the survey, (3) did the participants …

The Influence Of Physical Activity, Eating Habits, And Social Physique Anxiety On Obesity In Adolescent Females, Rachel Marie Hardesty

Masters Theses

Childhood obesity is becoming a more serious problem as time goes by. A large part of the problem is adolescent children are less active, have poor eating habits, and have negative feelings regarding their body shape. PURPOSE: In order to identify those factors most closely associated with obesity. This study compared the eating patterns, activity patterns, and social physique anxiety in non-obese to over weight and obese adolescent females. Also, this study investigated the relationships between eating patterns, activity patterns, and social physique anxiety to body mass index in adolescent females in order to identify those factors most closely associated …

Assessing Effectiveness Of The Differential Assessment Of Autism And Other Developmental Disorders (Daadd) As A Diagnostic Screening Instrument, Caroline Dahlstrom

Masters Theses

Children with developmental disorders were thought to be more similar than different in the past (Greenspan & Wieder, 1998). Many developmental disorders are a result of neurological differences and/or delays in a child's acquisition of general skills and can present similarly at a young age (Richard & Calvert, 2003). Therefore, there has recently been an emphasis on the need for developmental disorders to be differentiated because of the differences being noted. Many assessment tools, including specialized checklists, interview formats, and standardized tests used to assist in the diagnosis of developmental disorders are available. The Differential Assessment of Autism and other …

Methodological Variables For Eliciting Maximum Phonational Frequency Range In Adults, K. Lenee Moseley

Masters Theses

The current study employed an experimental research design to compare the effect of elicitation tasks (glissando versus discrete-steps) and the integration of visual feedback (auditory-only model versus visual feedback with an auditory model) on obtaining an individual's maximum phonational frequency range (MFPR). Participants included forty normal speaking males and females. A one-way ANOVA indicated the glissando elicitation task yielded a significantly higher MPFR than the discrete-steps elicitation task. [F (1,159) = 34.39; p < .01]. A one-way ANOVA approached but did not reach statistical significance [F (1,159) = 3.104, p = .08] for the difference between the auditory-only model and the auditory model with visual feedback. However, the frequency means depicted a larger MPFR when visual feedback was included within each of the elicitation tasks.

The Effects Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication On The Communication Attempts And Disruptive Behavior Of A Child With Autism, Natalie Arp

Masters Theses

This study evaluated the use of augmentative and alternative communication as a means to decrease disruptive behavior for a child in the autism spectrum. A case study with a training and treatment period was implemented. The dependent variables were the disruptive behaviors and the increased communication that occurred during a speech therapy treatment session. The independent variable was the implementation of augmentative and alternative communication, specifically, a modified Picture Exchange Communication System, (PECS) (Bondy & Frost, 1998) in combination with a VOCA (Twin Talk). The participant was a 3 1/2 year old female diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder at …

The Effect Of Objective Data In Narrative Observation Notes On Changing Supervisee Behavior, Rudyard C. Watson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research study was to determine if two different types of narrative observation notes impacted supervisee clinical behaviors. Narrative observation notes alone and narrative observation notes coupled with objective data were used as the independent variables. Sixteen supervisees and 5 supervisors participated in the study. The supervisees were divided into two numerically even groups of eight and provided with one of the independent variables.

The study consisted of eleven total therapy sessions, with the first three sessions providing baseline data and the following eight involved administration of the independent variables. Group one received narrative observation notes alone …

A Comparison Of School-Aged Children Who Stutter And Do Not Stutter In Difficult Phonological Tasks, Christopher Lading

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the phonology skills of school-aged children who stutter using tasks that task the speech system. Participants included 11 children who stuttered and 10 normally fluent children. The results suggested that no differences exist in the phonology of children who stutter and children who are normally fluent when presented with complex phonological tasks.

Gene Expression Patterns In Patients With High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema: A Gene Microarray Analysis, Lauren Kendall Krause

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Multiple modulating genes and environmental factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). However, at the present time, there exists an incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms and pathways which underlie constitutional susceptibility. Genome-wide measurements of gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were performed using microarray technology. Comparison of gene expression profiles of HAPE-susceptible and resistant individuals resulted in the identification of several previously undescribed candidate genes. RhoA and Rho-kinase (ROCK), regulators of vascular smooth muscle contraction, were differentially regulated in the HAPE-susceptible cohort, as compared to both HAPE-resistant patients with acute mountain sickness …

The Founding Of The National Medical Association, Karen Morris

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

In 1869, a mere four years after the end of the Civil War and during a time when Southern sentiment ran high in Washington, D.C., three African-American physicians applied for membership into the all-white Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC). Though meeting all eligibility requirements, they were denied admission into this society based solely on their race. Amidst much publicity in the local newspapers, the three physicians and their supporters sought remedy of the exclusionary practices of the MSDC on the floor of Congress and at the American Medical Associations (AMA) Annual Meeting. However, those opposed to integrating …

Significance Of "Atypia" Found On Needle Biopsy Of The Breast: Correlation With Surgical Outcome, Anika Nina Watson

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Although core needle biopsy has been shown to be effective in diagnosing both benign and malignant mammographically detected lesions in the breast, it has also been shown to underestimate cancer most likely due to sampling error. Since a diagnosis of atypical hyperplasia versus malignancy is based on quantitative factors (which could be affected by an error in sampling), the current recommendation is surgical excision for atypical hyperplasia diagnosed on core biopsy. The purpose of the study was to determine if a subset of patients with atypia diagnosed by core biopsy fit the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data Systems (BI-RADS) Category …

Clinical Characteristics And Treatment Response To Radiotherapy Of Optic Nerve Sheath Meningiomas, Silas Wang

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Recent reports of success with conventional, conformal, and stereotactic radiotherapy in stabilizing or improving visual function in patients with primary optic nerve sheath meningiomas have reduced the controversy surrounding the optimal treatment of these rare tumors. To analyze trends in the clinical presentation and diagnosis of optic nerve sheath meningiomas and to evaluate the effectiveness and side-effect profile of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy versus other treatment modalities, a retrospective chart review was performed on patients with optic nerve sheath meningiomas treated at The Eye Care Group and at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, …

Long-Arm Splinting For Lateral Epicondylitis: A Case Study, Crystal Wolters

Masters Theses

Lateral epicondylitis is a debilitating condition that has a significantly negative effect on the occupational lives of many people. There appears to be no recognized ideal treatment method for the condition. Long-arm splinting for lateral epicondylitis has not been addressed in the literature. A case study was used to thoroughly describe one participant’s experience with long-arm splinting to treat her lateral epicondylitis. She was interviewed, observed, and measurements were taken of her affected arm’s range of motion and strength. The seven themes which were identified through these methods include a description of how her lateral epicondylitis developed, her description of …

The Association Between Insulin And Inflammation In African American And European American Children, Jessica A. Alvarez

All ETDs from UAB

Insulin has anti-inflammatory properties. Markers of inflammation (MOI) increase in the postprandial state. African Americans (AA) have higher post-challenge insulin concentrations compared to European Americans (EA). The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between insulin and MOI in both the fasting and postprandial state. We hypothesized that, after accounting for confounding factors, fasting and postprandial insulin would be inversely associated with MOI, and that AA would have a lower postprandial inflammatory response because of a higher insulin response. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL6), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (sTNF-R2), and insulin concentrations were assessed at …

Ca 2+ /Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Ii Regulates The Growth Of Human Osteosarcoma Cells In Vivo, Hyeran Choo

All ETDs from UAB

Osteosarcoma is the most predominant primary bone cancer among pediatric patients. The pathogenesis and mechanism of osteosarcoma, however, as yet remains unclear. This study investigated the hypothesis that Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II), activated by Ca2+ and its intracellular receptor, calmodulin, plays a critical role in the growth of human osteosarcoma cells. The inhibition of CaMK II with its pharmacologic antagonist KN-93 was used to investigate the role of CaMK II in the growth of human osteosarcoma cells because our preliminary data showed that =-CaMK II is expressed in several human osteosarcoma cell lines. To examine the in vivo …

Isolation And Characterization Of Human Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells, Isabel C. Gay

All ETDs from UAB

The periodontal ligament (PDL) is thought to include progenitor cells capable of forming fibroblasts, osteoblasts and cementoblasts. However, characterization of PDL stem cell populations (SC) remains undetermined due in part, to the diversity of cell types that conform to the periodontal apparatus. Objective: To isolate and characterize PDLSC and assess their pluripotent capabilities to differentiate into bone, cartilage and adipose cell types. Methods: PDL was scraped from human teeth, enzymatically digested, and cells stained for STRO- 1 (SC marker) using fluorescent immunohistochemistry. Positive cells were FACS sorted and expanded in culture. Human bone marrow SC (BMSC) served as a positive …

The Influence Of Insulin On Lipolysis In African American And Caucasian Prepubertal, Premenopausal, And Postmenopausal Females, Laura Lee T Goree

All ETDs from UAB

African Americans, compared to Caucasians, may have chronically suppressed free fatty acid (FFA) mobilization due to basal and postprandial hyperinsulinemia. The pur-pose of this study was to determine if lower FFA among African Americans are due to higher insulin concentration and if this ethnic difference in FFA, beta cell function, and insulin suppression of FFA declines with age. Subjects who qualified underwent a fre-quently-sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGT) for determination of insulin sensitivity (Si) and the acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg). Body composition and fat distribution were assessed with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and com-puted tomography (CT), respectively. …

A Case Series Study Of Vitapex Pulpectomy Treatment In Primary Teeth Ii, Hsin-Ju Hsieh

All ETDs from UAB

Purpose. The aim of this case series study was to conduct a long-term follow-up and review of subjects with previous Vitapex® pulpectomies, to evaluate outcomes clinically and radiographically, and to ascertain whether there was any interference with exfoliation of deciduous teeth or abnormal development of succedaneous teeth. Methods. This case series study was conducted by following target groups of pediatric patients who had received Vitapex® pulpectomies in their primary teeth. Data were collected by reviewing charts, identifying patients who met our criteria, and recalling them for follow-up appointments. After sufficient data were accumulated, survival analysis was applied and presented by …