Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Experimental Alterations In Excess Weight On Vertical Jump Performance, Bobbi Becker

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of experimental alterations in relatively small amounts of excess weight on vertical jump height. The objective was to use the consequences of changes in body weight on vertical jump performance. The subjects were 19 Division I college volleyball players from the University of Northern Iowa. The mean value for age was 20.04 years, the mean height was 176.2 cm, the mean weight was 71.58 kg, and the mean percentage of body fat was 22.60% for all subjects. Each subject was tested under six weight conditions: (a) normal body weight, (b) …

Factors Influencing A Battered Woman's Perception Of Controllability In Violent Intimate Relationships, Patricia Ann Chin Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Despite the fact that domestic violence has been the focus of empirical investigation for more than twenty years, little is known about the phenomenon. While the available body of knowledge provides a sketchy picture of the abused woman and her abuser, and helps to dispel many of the myths surrounding spousal abuse, it provides very little insight into the dynamics of wife abuse. This study, based upon a foundation of the Reformulated Learned Helplessness Theory, was designed to explore the nature of the relationships among concepts that have been identified within the context of battering, and that were thought to …

The Relationship Between Episiotomy And Perineal Lacerations And Perineal Pain Following Childbirth, Christine J. White

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

One of the major contributions that midwives can make to the comfort and well-being of child-bearing women is the skilful care of the perineum during delivery. This study investigated the short and long-term effects of perineal trauma in order to provide a basis for decision-making in the midwives' perineal management at delivery and client self-care. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between the extent of perineal trauma and the intensity and duration of perineal pain during the first three months following a vaginal birth; and compared discomfort among mothers whose perineal trauma was the result of an episiotomy, perineal, vaginal …

A Suffering Odyssey: A Phenomenological-Interpretive Analysis, William M. Scott

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The purpose of this study is to explicate how suffering is experienced and interpreted by sufferers. Nursing and medical literature, until quite recently, has been visibly bereft on the topic of human suffering. The subject is made even more confusing because of a lack of a standardized definition: By its very essence, suffering is a relative experience, highly personalized and intimately interpreted. In the past, it has been related to mental anguish, injury, loss, stress, and pain.

Five individuals from contextually different regions of the world were asked to share their suffering stories. Two lived in the southern coastal area …

The Effect Of Dosage Regimen On Medication Compliance, Ernest William Keich

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

According to recent data, between 25% and 50% of patients are noncompliant in their therapy regimen in some manner. The fourth report of the Joint National Committee on the Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (Neal, 1989) states that noncompliance is the major problem in hypertension control.

It was hypothesized there would be a difference in the compliance of hypertensive patients whose medication regimen consisted of single daily dosing as opposed to those patients whose regimen consisted of two or more times a day dosing.

Potential subjects for the study were hypertensive patients selected from a rural, southeastern …

Dental Patients' Knowledge, Beliefs, And Perceptions About Dentistry And Aids, Sara S. Plaspohl

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The majority of Americans view AIDS as the most important health problem faced today. Despite efforts to educate the public, the literature suggests that misperceptions exist concerning HIV transmission. The documented case of a Florida dentist who transmitted the HIV virus to five dental patients focused the public's attention on its perceived vulnerability to contracting HIV during a dental visit. The purpose' of this descriptive study was to identify the dental patient's perceived risk of acquiring the AIDS virus during a dental visit and to then determine whether the perceived risk was related to the patient's level of oral hygiene. …

Anaerobic Power Gains Through Plyometrics: Comparison Of College Basketball Players Performing Drills At The Beginning Versus The End Of Practice, Benton Adam Miller

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of plyometric training performed either before or after practice on selected power measurements for NCAA Division I male basketball players.

Sixteen subjects were split into two groups of eight players each. The groups were split up by a matched pairs method, based on preseason estimates of playing time for each player by the coaching staff. All subjects were pretested (Week 0) on four selected measures of power. Each subject was measured on vertical jump, with a no-step and a two-step approach, standing long jump, and the 30-yard (27.3 m) dash. …

The Relative Effectiveness Of Programmed Instruction Versus The Lecture And Discussion Method On The Assessment Skills And Reporting Patterns Of Child Abuse And Neglect Among Undergraduate Nursing Students, Pamela Valleria Wilson Hammond

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The problem studied in this investigation was whether different instructional methods could increase the assessment skills and affect reporting patterns of child abuse and neglect among undergraduate students majoring in nursing.

Two hundred and nineteen nursing students were selected for inclusion in the study from two urban universities located in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The sample was predominantly female (91.3%), African-American (79.9%) and mostly under 25 years of age (67.1%).

A programmed instruction manual, Child Abuse and Neglect, a pretest booklet, and a posttest booklet were developed specifically for this research. The pretest booklets and posttest booklets contained vignettes and questions …

Expression And Function Of Zebra: The Epstein-Barr Viral Replication Activator, Naomi Taylor

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encodes a protein, ZEBRA, which enables the virus to switch from a latent to a lytic life cycle. ZEBRA expression was studied in lymphoid cells harboring either standard virus or a mixture of standard and defective viruses. ZEBRA protein could not be detected in cells latently infected with standard EBV but was constitutively expressed in cells containing both defective and standard EBV genomes. Experiments indicated that regulation of transcription of the ZEBRA gene (BZLF1) is a pivotal event in the control of EBV replication. ZEBRA specific BZLF1 transcripts were spontaneously expressed in cells harboring defective virus but …

Acoustic And Perceptual Correlates Of Breathy Vocal Quality, Ronald Allen Cleveland

Masters Theses

Recordings were made of seven normal female and eight normal male talkers producing sustained vowels under normal, moderately breathy, and very breathy conditions. Twenty listeners judged the recorded vowel tokens for degree of breathiness using a direct magnitude estimation procedure. A Cronbach coefficient alpha revealed strong intrasubject agreement.

Several acoustic analyses were evaluated by measuring their correlations with the mean of the listeners' breathiness ratings. Measures of cepstral peak prominence in band limited signals were most strongly correlated with perceived breathiness. The height of the autocorrelation peak in highpass filtered signals and the relative amplitude of the first harmonic were …

The Effects Of Two Types Of Hypnotic Suggestions On Analgesic Responding In Moderately Hypnotizable Subjects, Gloria M. Haddad

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of two hypnotic suggestions on hypnotic performance in medium hypnotizable subjects. Subjects were exposed at separate intervals to either an hypnotic suggestion patter containing specific imagery or alternatively to a suggestion patter that provided only general problem-solving direction. Hypnotic performance was assessed using tolerance and threshold measures on a cold-pressor test.

The problem-solving suggestions were shown to increase both threshhold and tolerance of noxious stimulation. The imagery suggestions proved to be effective only for the threshhold measure.

These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of hypnosis with subjects who do …

An Expert System Advisor For Medical Evaluation Boards, Jerry S. G. Harrington

Theses and Dissertations

Expert system technology has proven itself to be able to improve productivity and decision making in a variety of fields of endeavor. The purpose of this study was to determine if an expert system for medical evaluation boards (MEBs) could improve upon the processing of medical evaluation board cases. Research was conducted to develop an expert system and measure the capabilities of the system, both in terms of accuracy and timeliness of case completion of the medical evaluation administrators/clerks who were assisted by the system. The research methodology involved a three - phase approach. The objective of phase one was …

A Comparative Study Of Dod And Civilian Hospital Inventory Management Systems, Karen A. Lemay

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if one method of inventory management would standardize procedures and minimize costs for Department of Defense and civilian hospitals. This was accomplished by conducting a comparative analysis of inventory management systems, used at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio; Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, Ohio; and Evans US Army Community Hospital, Ft. Carson, Colorado. The literature review examined various inventory management methods used for both general and hospital specific inventories. The thesis concluded that, although different automated systems were used at the three hospitals studied, the basis of each inventory …

Nurse Manager Role Stress, Rosemarie Mohn

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of decision-making style, and right and left brain function on nurse manager role stress. Data were collected from 48 nurse managers employed at four acute care facilities along the Atlantic seaboard. A nonexperimental correlation descriptive design was utilized to determine if any positive or negative correlation existed between study variables and levels of stress. Findings suggested that nurse managers experienced moderate amounts of role stress, including role conflict and role ambiguity. One significant statistical correlation existed between role ambiguity and the decision making dimension of intuition. Recommendations for future research …

Preliminary Epidemiological Interpretation Of The Intrinsic And Extrinsic Factors Contributing To The Coverage And Participation Rates Of The Vaccination Program In Arssi, Ethiopia, Muchie Kidanu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many immunization programs in developing countries arr now undergoing a period of rapid utilization. Innovative strategies, such as immunization holidays, are being tried. Political commitment and enthusiasm are high. There is a strong desire by health professionals to protect the lives of many children from the untimely death and/or disability resulting from infectious diseases preventable by vaccination.

Evaluation of an immunization program can benefit other elements of the health system, particularly those that are not amenable to objective evaluation as immunization. In this case, immunization can serve as an indicator of the overall performance of the health system. The problems …

The Relationships Between Marital Adjustment, Family Functioning, Task Management And Family Relationship Concerns In Couples Incorporating A Second Child, Amy Diguiseppe Bade

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among variables identified as potentially significant during the transition to second time parenthood. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the Circumplex Model of family systems (Olson, Sprenkle & Russell, 1979; Olson, Russell & Sprenkle, 1983), and a five domain structural model of marital and family adaptation (Cowan & Cowan, 1988).

The convenience sample consisted of 49 Caucasian middle class couples all expecting their second child. This was a one group pretest-posttest design with the birth of the second child functioning as the independent variable. The dependent variables …

Reliability Of Assessment Of Postural Control In The Sitting Position In The Hemiplegic Subjects By Use Of A Functional Reach Task, Karen Dreher Carter

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

No single standardized and reliable method exists for measuring postural control in sitting in the stroke patient population. Postural control in sitting is often a portion of the total physical therapy assessment of the hemiplegic patient. The purpose of this research was to investigate the reliability of a functional reach test as a measure of postural control in sitting in the adult hemiplegic population. The measurement method was performed on 23 adult hemiplegic subjects, ages 62-88 years (mean= 73.6 + 7.9 years). Two physical therapists scored the subjects on the functional reach task. once the functional reach measure was obtained …

A Comparison Of On-Court Performance Aggression And Off-Court General Aggression In Women Basketball Players, Lee-Ann Toler O'Neal

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Lee-Ann Toler O'Neal on November 18, 1991.

The Effect Of Otitis Media On Articulation In Expressive Language-Delayed Children, Marla Lohr-Flanders

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have long been concerned with the effects of otitis media on speech and language acquisition because of the high correlation of a mild to moderate hearing loss during the time period that fluid (effusion) may be in the middle ear. Middle-ear effusion would prevent many of the auditory messages from accurately reaching the nervous system (Zinkus, 1986). Deprived of the ability to discern the subtle acoustic differences that provide information for phonetic contrasts, a child's speech acquisition may differ from children who do not experience such losses.

The present study examined the relationship between an early history of otitis …

Effects Of Encouraging, Discouraging, And Neutral Instructions On Naming By Aphasic Subjects, Denise Marie Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of three instructional conditions (encouraging, discouraging, and neutral) on eighteen aphasic adults' performance on a naming task. Each subject listened to each audiotaped instructional condition followed by a 20 picture naming task presented with a slide projector for a total of three tasks and 60 pictures. Subjects' mean scores were combined and averaged to derive a grand mean score for each instructional condition. A repeated measures analysis of variance was applied to determine if the differences were significant at the .01 level. No significant differences were found.

Instrumentation And Control For A Microprocessor-Based Coronary Perfusion System, Daniel L. Priester

Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus

No abstract provided.

Transplantation Of The Mammalian Pineal Gland: Studies Of Survival, Revascularization, Reinnervation And Recovery Of Function, Wutian Wu

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The survival, revascularization, reinnervation, and recovery of function of transplanted newborn rat pineal glands were studied following grafting into four different locations in pinealectomized rats. These locations were the third cerebral ventricle, in situ (where the pineal gland is normally located), the renal capsule, and the anterior chamber of the eye.

Pinealocytes in the grafts maintained high metabolic activity as evidenced by the presence of euchromatic nuclei, prominent nucleoli, infolded nuclear envelopes, numerous mitochondria and Golgi apparati, and relatively abundant endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes. In addition, morphological correlates of two putative secretory processes were observed in the grafts. The first …

Faculty Standardization Of Dental Hygiene Instrumentation Skill Evaluation: A Calibration Exercise, Diane-Marie Smela

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Faculty must be standardized so that student skills are assessed in an unbiased, equal fashion. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of calibration on dental hygiene faculty standardization. Examples of correct and incorrect instrumentation skill performance were demonstrated and discussed during the calibration exercise. Groups simultaneously viewed instrumentation skills while assessing correct or incorrect performance. Group standardization was determined through analysis of answer key agreement, intra-rater reliability, and inter-rater reliability. Data were statistically analyzed through the use of a z-test for both answer key agreement and inter-rater reliability, and chi-square (x²) for inter-rater reliability …

High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Separation Of Different Types Of Collagen, Yongjoo Chung

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research was to develop a method for the separation of different types of collagen using a large pore size (100 nm) reversed-phase C-8 column. Three different types of collagen (type I, III, and V) were sufficiently separated on the column using a mobile phase containing water-acetonitrile-trifluoroacetic acid. Collagens found in each HPLC peak were identified using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to assay the column effluents.

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was used as an ion pair reagent. This compound improved the chromatographic profile for these proteins on a reversed-phase column. It was observed that with …

Food Handling Practices Among Independent-Living Elderly, Judith Dianne Mcdonough

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Food has long been recognized as a vehicle of disease transmission; there are more reported illness associated with the consumption of food than all other environmental factors combined. The handling and storage of food are potentially dangerous and demanding chores for those who may have the sensory losses associated with advancing age, fragile health, and limited resources.

Group-administered questionnaires on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of food handling were given to 276 seniors, aged 55 to 90, from ten mobile home parks randomly selected from San Bernardino and Riverside counties. As an indicator of possible foodborne illness, the questionnaire asked …

Osteoinductivity Of Demineralized Bone: A Quantitative In Vitro Assessment, Yihong Zheng

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Acid demineralized bone (DMB) implanted in extraosseous sites induces bone formation. In vivo studies have shown that DMB stimulates the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into osteogenic cells. In this study an in vitro system was developed to demonstrate the osteoinductivity of DMB quantitatively. This in vitro working system was used to assess the osteoinductivity of variously processed DMB products as a means to evaluate their processing protocols. A human dermal fibroblastic (HDF) cell line was initiated from tissue explants as a working model, along with a human periosteal (HPO) cell line as a control. Ground DMB processed by LifeNet Transplant …

The Role Of Gaba In Reproductive Neuroendocrine Systems, Robert Carter Mcree

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Local gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) neurons in the hypothalamus can modulate the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) pulse generating system.

Two animal models (intact and ovariectomized rats) were used to determine the nature of modulation of LHRH release by GABA. The experiment determined the release of LHRH, serotonin (5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) during two hormonal states with each model. In the intact rat the proestrus and estrus states were examined, and in the ovariectomized rat in-vitro release was determined with (OVX₂) and without (OVX) estradiol treatment.

In-vivo experiments studied the effect of stimulation of GABA receptors …

Body-Image Attitudes And Perceptions Among African-Americans And Whites As A Function Of Socioeconomic Class, Christopher Eugene Huffine

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While many facets of body image have been extensively researched, relatively few studies have examined racial and social class differences in body image. The present paper consists of two studies examining racial and class differences in body image among males and females. Study 1 utilized a national sample of respondents to a 1985 Psychology Today survey to examine racial (Black and White) and educational differences in body image among men and women. Study 2 utilized a smaller sample of Black subjects, half drawn from several Southeastern universities and the other half from non-academic locations in the Tidewater area of Virginia …

Heuristics For Hospital Inventory Management, Thomas G. Hibson

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the reasoning strategies used by hospital logistics management experts and was conducted at the Wright-Patterson AFB (WPAFB) Medical Center. An expert system was developed to verify the captured strategies. The particular area of interest of this study was the reasoning strategies involved in the reconciliation of the Monthly Stock Status Report within the Medical Logistics Branch. A literature review revealed there were few guidelines as to when and what action to pursue when reconciling the Monthly Stock Status Report. Though there were no references in the literature on expert systems that dealt with this particular report, there …

Dysfunctional Attitudes, Life Stress And Coping Processes, Deborah Desalliers

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The findings of recent investigations earmarked chronic daily stressors as being highly related to stress levels. In addition, researchers are promoting a more integrative model of stress. The stress response is no longer thought of in strictly linear terms, i.e. an event causes stress. Rather, cognitive factors, existing within the human mind itself, strongly influence our coping processes and the chronic stress we experience.

Canonical correlation analysis was used to study how dysfunctional attitudes, a negative cognitive factor, were related to individuals' daily hassles and coping processes. An increase in dysfunctional attitudes was found to correspond to an increase in …