Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Anxiety And Self-Efficacy Related To Learning Neuroanatomy In An Integrated Medical Curriculum., Jessica S. Bergden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical student anxiety towards learning neuroanatomy — neurophobia, a key obstacle in medical education, is influencing medical student success and potentially swaying medical students away from neurology careers. This is particularly concerning with condensed neuroanatomy instructional hours from curriculum integration and the concurrent shortage of neurologists, combined with the rising prevalence of neurological disease, and medical students choosing neurological specialties at lower rates. Neuroanatomy education is one factor described in the literature as contributing toneurophobia, yet specific ways in which neuroanatomy education could be improved have not yet been explained. In this present work, we demonstrate four specific domains, namely …

Genetic And Functional Analysis Of Rat Mammary Cancer Susceptibility., Emily L Duderstadt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer genetic susceptibility is modulated by high to low penetrance risk alleles. Population frequencies of high and moderate penetrant predisposing mutations are rare and responsible for a small percentage of population cases. Most genetic variation in breast cancer susceptibility is low penetrance common variants where causal genes and risk-associated mechanisms are largely unknown. Comparative genetics uses animal models to isolate and mechanistically evaluate genetic susceptibility to human disease. Rat strains have different susceptibility phenotypes to chemical-induced carcinogenesis. Selective breeding and genetic linkage analysis using a 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) rat mammary carcinogenesis model have identified Mammary carcinoma susceptibilityquantitative trait loci …

The Importance Of Noncapped Viral Genomic Rna To Alphaviral Infection And Pathogenesis., Autumn Lapointe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alphaviruses are mosquito-borne arboviruses that have a positive sense, single-stranded RNA genome, which are capable of causing severe disease and thus pose a significant burden to public health. During alphaviral replication, significant quantities of viral genomic RNAs that lack the canonical alphaviral 5’ cap structure are produced and packaged into viral particles, despite the fact that these noncapped genomes cannot be translated and are essentially noninfectious. The production and packaging of the noncapped genomes has been found to be true for infections across multiple vertebrate and invertebrate cell lines and alphavirus species, although the proportion of ncgRNA produced differs. Despite …

A Novel Role For Dyrk1a In Kidney Development, Alexandria Blackburn

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are a leading cause of pediatric kidney failure and encompass a wide range of structural malformations resulting from defects in morphogenesis. CAKUT occur in ∼1/500 live births and with an average wait time of 3-5 years for a kidney transplant, the need is high for the development of new strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of CAKUT and preserving renal function. Approximately 14% of CAKUT cases have a known genetic component. This low causality suggests that CAKUT is complex and that there are underlying genes and mechanisms which lead to CAKUT …

Precision Targeting Of The Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Mechanism Increases Efficacy Of Fibrinolytic Therapy In Empyema, Galina Florova, René A. Girard, Ali O. Azghani, Krishna Sarva, Ann Buchanan, Sophia Karandashova, Christian J. Devera, Danna Morris, Mignote Chamiso, Kathleen Koenig, Douglas B. Cines, Steven Idell, Andrey A. Komissarov

School of Medical and Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is an endogenous irreversible inhibitor of tissue-type (tPA) and urokinase (uPA) plasminogen activators. PAI-1- targeted fibrinolytic therapy (PAI-1- TFT) is designed to decrease the therapeutic dose of tPA and uPA, attenuating the risk of bleeding and other complications. Docking site peptide (DSP) mimics the part of the PAI-1 reactive center loop that interacts with plasminogen activators, thereby affecting the PAI-1 mechanism. We used DSP for PAI-1- TFT in two rabbit models: chemically induced pleural injury and Streptococcus pneumoniae induced empyema. These models feature different levels of inflammation and PAI-1 expression. PAI-1- TFT with DSP (2.0 mg/kg) …

Exploring How Maternal Phosphorus Status Affects Calf Growth And Performance, Elizabeth Lafferty

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study will focus on how maternal phosphorus status of beef heifers affects the growth and performance of their calves. Heifers have been offered free-choice mineral with either 0 or 4% supplemental phosphorus from 30 days after weaning until calving. A study by H. Hilfiker, a University of Arkansas honors student, investigated the effects of these treatments from 30 days after weaning until 60 days after the breeding season when heifers were confirmed to be bred or open. For this developing heifer project 64 crossbred Angus heifers were assigned randomly into 8 groups (8 heifers/ group) before assigning each group …

The Dangers Posed By Open-Flame Cooking: The Case Of Chiapas, Mexico., Holly Renee Zoeller

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Open-flame cooking, the central cooking approach used by some three billion individuals across the globe, primarily in developing countries, poses serious health and environmental risks. While some countries have begun to transition to cleaner stoves, this effort has confronted widespread resistance. People who have been using this ancient cooking method and whose culinary traditions rely on this cooking approach have remained recalcitrant in their efforts to continue cooking the traditional way. This study focuses on Chiapas, the southernmost and the poorest state in Mexico, which skirts the Guatemalan border. This study provides ample evidence of the health risks associated with …

The Relationship Between Mothers’ Negative Emotional Symptoms And Mother-Infant Interactions During The Covid-19 Pandemic., Kolbie A Vincent

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between mothers' negative emotional symptoms (depression, anxiety, and stress) and mother-infant interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the early months of the pandemic, when daycares were closed, through an online survey of parents and infants. Participants included 54 mothers of infants 3-34 months of age living in Kentucky. Well-being was measured with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale – 21 (DASS 21). Questions related to parent-infant interactions included time spent interacting with the infants by reading, singing, playing freely with no set goal, engaging in a meaningful …

The Effects Of Dexmedetomidine On Preventing/Decreasing Severity Of Delirium When Given To Surgical Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Control Trials, Lindsey Hettish

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this systematic review was to integrate research evidence from studies published from 2010 to 2020 on the relationship between administration of dexmedetomidine and severity/prevalence of postprocedural delirium in patients in the surgical intensive care unit. In this review, clinical trial studies were recovered by searching the MEDLINE Complete and PubMed databases and utilizing MeSH terminology search. The MeSH terms utilized to search for applicable articles on PubMed included: “intensive care units” or “critical care” or “critical care nursing”, and “delirium”, “dexmedetomidine”, and “surgical procedures, operative”. On MEDLINE Complete, the search terms utilized were “ICU or intensive care …

Understanding The Role Of Hospice Care: Reflections From A Service-Learning Project, Avery Mccutcheon

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is little known about the part end-of-life care plays in patient care. This paper examines the role of end-of-life care in the care of a dying patient and consists of findings from a service-learning project with Circle of Life hospice. To be able to effectively care for those in the end stages of life, healthcare professionals must turn away from the curative aspects of medicine, to treating symptoms and improving quality of whatever life remains for the patient. In order to normalize EOL Care and consequently make it more accessible, we must educate our healthcare practitioners regarding the benefits …

The Effects Of Chemotherapeutic Agents On Cognitive Function: A Literature Review, Corinne Menz

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With increasing cancer diagnoses and an increase of chemotherapy treatment, many patients complain of cognitive decline during the duration of treatment as well as once treatment has been completed. The purpose of this review is to compile relevant research regarding chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and its implications for the care of cancer patients. Peer-reviewed articles and studies focusing on the impact of chemotherapy on cognitive function were evaluated, resulting in a total of 12 studies utilized in this review. Overall, it has been found that a large percentage of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment report a subjective decline in cognitive functioning, but …

The Changing Face In The Workplace: The Arrival Of The Millennial Generation, Sarah Clonch

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The entrance of the Millennial generation into the nursing workforce signifies a bright future for the nursing profession and the nursing workforce. This study began with a current review of available research that identified the Millennial generation and their views toward job satisfaction and work engagement, as compared with Baby Boomer and Generation X nurses.

PubMed, CINAHL Complete, and Google Scholar databases were employed to find 15 peer-reviewed articles for evaluation. The research findings suggest that Millennial nurses have lower rates of job satisfaction and work engagement, compared to nurses of older generations. Overall, the extracted data results were significant …

Tiny Tusks Internship: The Relationship Between Skin-To-Skin Contact And Breastfeeding Success And Duration, Katlin Daniel

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breastfeeding is known to be beneficial to infants, children, and mothers. It is recommended that infants should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months with continued breastfeeding in addition to other appropriate foods for up to 2 years of age. However, the U.S is ranked low among other countries regarding breastfeeding rates and duration. This sheds light on the need for further interventions in order to increase the number of infants who are breastfed initially and continued to be breastfed for at least 6 months. Researching and implementing evidence-based care that assists mothers in successful and maintained breastfeeding is …

Tiny Tusks Internship: Barriers To Breastfeeding, Cameron Watson

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tiny Tusks Breastfeeding and Infant Support Internship allows students to gain insight on breastfeeding practices through volunteering at University of Arkansas sporting events. Therefore, I chose to review prevalent barriers to breastfeeding that mothers in the United States face. These mothers were at least one of these: Hispanic, Marshallese, African American, disabled, employed, a veteran, living in a rural area, or a woman of the general American population. This topic is relevant because of the many benefits that breastfeeding provides for both the baby and the mother.

Rapid Digitalization Of A Psychiatry Department, Katherine B. Martin Md, Rory L. Marraccini Md, Edward R. Norris Md, Fapa, Fapm

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

Developing Program Infrastructure For Relationship-Building Between Native Communities And Premedical Students In South Dakota, Andrew J. Nerland

Honors Thesis

Rural health disparities are an ongoing issue in the state of South Dakota (SD), specifically within rural and Native American communities. An explicit goal of the Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM) is to improve health care for the citizens of the state with an emphasis on rural and Native communities. Many initiatives have been undertaken by SSOM to address these disparities; however, few opportunities exist for undergraduate premedical students to contribute. A well-designed cultural immersion program has the potential to influence the career paths of pre-professional students. The ultimate goal of the program is to facilitate relationship-building between medical pre-professionals …

Relationship Between Global Cognition And Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Alexia Sebghati

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is currently affecting the lives of 5.8 million Americans and is expected to double within the next 30 years. With an aging populace of baby boomers, this will place great economic strain on the U.S. creating a burden of almost $1 trillion in healthcare costs. Currently, there is no cure for AD. However, studies report that many individuals with AD experience changes in the brain up to 10-15 years before the disease’s onset. It is imperative to detect future risk of developing AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) before significant cognitive changes arise. Many of the risk …

Behavioral Economic Modeling Of The Effects Of Symptom, Severity, And Cost On Seeking Medical Care, Mark J. Rzeszutek

Dissertations

While the United States has some of the highest healthcare spending in the world, it has some of the worst health outcomes. For example, maternal mortality in the United States is almost five times as high as in other similarly wealthy countries. It also has the highest rates of avoidable deaths. One of the reasons for this may be the cost of accessing healthcare due to privatized insurance. For example, Americans may avoid important preventive medical visits and other health screeners due to cost. While lack of health insurance has been correlated with decreased health utilization, a precise understanding of …

Evaluation Of Telehealth Training To Teach The Stimulus Identification Questionnaire And Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement, Andrea Perez

Dissertations

The field of behavioral gerontology has seen a paucity in literature within the past 15 years focused on updating training technology and teaching best practice skills to staff. Specifically, there is a need to expand the breadth of training research focus areas could more broadly the elderly population (e.g., increasing engagement), to ensure that trainings are designed to equip caregivers with the skills to be independent, and finally, given the frequent staffing challenges experienced by aging settings (Harrington et al., 2020), to explore effective and efficient training techniques that are alternatives to lengthy, in-person training modalities. Given the personnel challenges, …

The Relationships Of Perceived Parental Social Support To Vigilance And Resilience Among Lgbtq And Straight Cisgender Adults, Brady Dodds

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of parental support to resilience and vigilance in LGBTQ and straight, cisgender adults as the majority of research has examined these relationships in LGBTQ and straight, cisgender children and teens. It was hypothesized that greater parental support would be correlated with higher resilience and lower vigilance. Also, it was hypothesized that the relationships would be stronger for LGBTQ participants than for straight, cisgender participants. Participants who were recruited via Prolific Academic completed an online questionnaire that included measures of maternal and paternal support, resilience, and vigilance. Results indicated that participants …

The Value Of Family Support At The End Of Life, Hannah Butler

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is little research about the role of the family when a patient is dying. This paper examines the role of family support in end-of-life care. This paper consists of the findings from a service learning project with Circle of Life hospice. Patients with family support are more likely to have a DNR, chaplain visit, die at home, and other indicators of quality care. Patients with family support are more likely to receive higher quality care.

Tiny Tusks Internship: The Effect Of Health Care Providers' Education And Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding On The Mother's Decision To Breastfeed, Jocelyn Clark

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is a stigma surrounding breastfeeding in the public community, places of employment, and health care facilities. This paper focuses on the impact health care workers have on the mother's decision to breastfeed her infant, and her ability to continue breastfeeding as the primary source of infant nutrition. This paper includes experiences from an internship with Tiny Tusks, which provides breastfeeding support to mothers in the Northwest Arkansas area. Tiny Tusks allows for a better understanding of the community's breastfeeding needs and provides support to breastfeeding mothers in order to reduce the stigma associated with breastfeeding. In health care environments, …

Access To Healthcare For The Hispanic/Latino Population, Rebecca Loritz

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: The U.S. Hispanic/Latino population faces significant barriers to accessing healthcare. The most common barriers Latinos face are language barriers, cost barriers, immigration statuses, insurance coverage barriers, transportation barriers, health literacy and education barriers, as well as lack of access to healthcare providers. These barriers impact not only their ability to access healthcare but also the quality of healthcare they receive.

Purpose: To synthesize the existing literature evaluating that identifies barriers to healthcare.

Methods: CINAHL and PubMed were systematically searched, along with a manual internet search for journal articles that studied access to care issues for the Latino population in …

Tiny Tusks Internship: The Importance Of Breastfeeding Education In The Workplace, Gianna Hogan

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breastfeeding education in public, especially in the workplace, is a concept that has a multitude of different perspectives. Research has shown that breastfeeding has many positive effects on mother and baby, that can be lessened due to the lack of breastfeeding support in various organizations. In this literature review, barriers to breastfeeding in the workplace were analyzed in order to understand the effects these barriers have on breastfeeding duration. In addition, this review helped emphasize the need for policies to be enacted in the workplace to better support breastfeeding mothers, and the impact these policies have on employee retention rates …

The Effects Of Engaging In Yoga Practice On Reducing Blood Pressure, Benjamin Marples

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to collect and synthesize evidence from studies examining the relationship between yoga practice and reduction of blood pressure in individuals with hypertension. The PubMed and CINAHL databases were searched using limiters which included humans, English language, peer-reviewed journal articles, full text available, and time restraints from 2010-2020. Eight studies were selected for review. Following yoga intervention, the average decrease is systolic blood pressure among these studies was 4.91 mmHg, a 3.6 percent decrease from the baseline systolic blood pressure measurements conducted before the introduction of yoga. Diastolic blood pressure was also recorded and a …

Prenatal Dietary Education, Using The Midwifery Model, In Ireland Vs The United States, Allison Erby

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Prenatal dietary education is a very important component of care in healthy pregnancies, but more than that, dietary education can be an indicator of the value a healthcare provider places on holistic care or preventive medicine. The United States and Ireland are compared in this study because they represent high intervention vs. low intervention approaches, respectively, to obstetric care. Healthcare professionals from the United States and Ireland perceive the most important nutrients and method of receiving those differently. Maybe the most telling contrast, healthcare professionals in Ireland perceive food as the way pregnant women should receive vital nutrients, but healthcare …

U.S. Military Veterans’ Attitudes And Perceptions Of Mental Healthcare, Bridget Milam Wells

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research project is to measure whether U.S. military veterans experience any stigma related to mental healthcare and if this is associated with age, length of service, and military branch. U.S. military veterans are a high-risk group for developing mental illnesses. It is believed social stigma and personal attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of mental healthcare may influence whether a veteran will pursue mental healthcare. This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey via Qualtrics resulting in 75 total responses. 21 responses were excluded from the analysis due to incompletion or failure to pass the consciousness-awareness test …

How The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Affected Physical Activity, Sleep And Mental Health In University Students, Faculty And Staff And To Examine The Relationship Between These Variables, Zachary Parisi

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Increased physical activity has been shown to be beneficial in decreasing stress. This project will expand on this knowledge while also studying college students, a demographic that has been less studied. This study will also examine the impact of COVID-19 on these variables. COVID-19 changed many peoples’ activities of daily life, and possibly physically activity levels, due to public health measures such as lockdowns and remote learning. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected physical activity, sleep, and mental health in university students, faculty and staff and to examine the relationship …

Hpv Vaccine Hesitancy, Ellen Fountain

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus spread through close contact, often sexual contact. Those infected will be at high risk of developing HPV-related cancers later in life. In 2006, the HPV vaccine was approved for use in the United States, but many were, and continue to be, hesitant to vaccinate their children. While other factors come into play, many times there are misconceptions contributing to hesitancy and ultimate refusal of the vaccine. The goal of this analysis is to review these factors and misconceptions and explore education-based interventions designed to minimize HPV vaccine hesitancy.

Breastfeeding In Public: Knowledge And Perceptions On A University Campus, Jessica Tracy Weiss

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research has shown that exclusive breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for most infants and offers numerous physical and psychosocial benefits for the newborn and mother. Returning to work or attending university courses and maintaining exclusive breastfeeding is a challenge due to barriers such as time, private space, and public perception of breastfeeding in public. The aim of our study is to provide data, identify barriers and assess education needs to support breastfeeding mothers on a university campus. This study utilizes an adapted version of the Breastfeeding Behavior Questionnaire (BBQ), the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS), and knowledge …