Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Make Your Wishes Known: Understanding The Challenges And Barriers For Providing Effective Ethics Consults To Low-Income African American Men, Ruth Nwefo

Symposium of Student Scholars

The distrust of the U.S. health care system is prevalent, especially within the African American (AA) community. This distrust is largely based on infamous cases such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and experiments conducted by James Marion Sims on slave women without anesthesia. While these experiments along with many others further advanced medicine, they severed trust between health care institutions and the African American community, bringing upon repercussions still felt today. Although many steps have been taken to rebuild trust in the health care system by establishing effective ethical guidelines, more needs to be done in terms of rebuilding the …

Effects Of Dynamic Fatigue On Rate Of Velocity And Torque Development In Males And Females, Anna G. Conroy

Symposium of Student Scholars

EFFECTS OF DYNAMIC FATIGUE ON RATE OF VELOCITY AND TORQUE DEVELOPMENT IN MALES AND FEMALES

Anna G. Conroy, Phuong L. Ha, Benjamin E. Dalton, Michaela G. Alesi, Tyler M. Smith, Trisha A. VanDusseldorp, Yuri Feito, Garrett M. Hester. Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144

Time-dependent measures such as rate of velocity (RVD; Δvelocity/Δtime) and torque (RTD; Δtorque/Δtime) development are important contributors to peak power during a dynamic muscle contraction. However, sex differences in the fatigability of these parameters remain relatively unexplored. Purpose: To determine sex differences for RVD and RTD of the plantar flexors (PFs) during a dynamic fatiguing task. …

Inhibition Of Glutathione Peroxidase, Tosin Masha, Carol Chrestensen, Daniela Tapu, Meleye Mel, Madison Jaames

Symposium of Student Scholars

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is an intracellular antioxidant enzyme that mediates the amount of hydrogen peroxide present in cells. Through this activity, GPx aids in the regulation of cellular processes that use hydrogen peroxide, including growth and proliferation. It may be desirable to inhibit GPx in certain diseased states, e.g. cancer, where GPx is over expressed. The Tapu lab is making N-heterocyclic compounds that have shown efficiency inhibiting thioredoxin reductase, which is another selenocysteine containing enzyme. Our aim is to test similar compounds to see if they have the ability to inhibit GPx. In order to test these compounds, we have …

The Relationship Between Adiponectin And Dietary Iron In Non-Diabetic Young Women, Calah Coleman

Symposium of Student Scholars

Introduction: Adiponectin is a protein-based hormone that is secreted by adipocytes and assists in several metabolic processes including glucose regulation and fatty acid oxidation. Low adiponectin levels have been linked to metabolic conditions such as increased insulin resistance and obesity. Previous studies have shown that circulating iron has an inverse relationship with adiponectin levels. It is unknown whether dietary iron has the same association with adiponectin levels.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between dietary iron intake and adiponectin levels.

Methods: This study examined 42 non-diabetic women (Age: 20.7 ±2.8 years; BMI 27.6 ±3.6). The …

Fatigue-Induced Sex Differences For Explosive Neuromuscular Characteristics Of The Plantar Flexors, Ben Dalton

Symposium of Student Scholars

Previous research on fatigue using isometric contractions suggests that females are more fatigue resistant than males, but less is clear regarding fatigue induced by dynamic contractions. PURPOSE: To determine sex differences for explosive voluntary neuromuscular characteristics of the plantar flexors (PFs) during a dynamic fatiguing task. METHODS: Recreationally active males (n=14; 22.4±2.2 yrs) and females (n=15; 20.9±2.5 yrs) performed a fatiguing task of the PFs consisting of 60 maximal isotonic contractions at 30% of their maximal isometric strength using a dynamometer. Peak power (PP), optimal velocity (OV), and optimal torque (OT) were calculated from the first five contractions of the …

Two Models For Assessment Of Body Composition During Pregnancy And Their Associations With Insulin Resistance, Ami Eho, Calah Coleman

Symposium of Student Scholars

Two Models for Assessment of Body Composition during Pregnancy and Their Associations with Insulin Resistance

Ami Eho, Calah Coleman, Janeen Amason, Katherine H. Ingram (mentor)

Introduction: High levels of body fat are associated with cardiometabolic conditions, like insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. It is challenging to study these associations in pregnancy because body water levels fluctuate widely. The best known formula—the four-compartment model (4CM)— is unsuitable to use during pregnancy because it requires bone mineral content (BMC) from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), which can only be used postpartum because of radiation exposure.

Objective: This study compares the associations between …

Sex Differences In Plantar Flexor Strength And Contractile Properties After Isometric And Dynamic Fatigue, Phuong Ha, Benjamin E. Dalton, Michaela G. Alesi, Tyler M. Smith, Trisha A. Vandusseldorp, Yuri Feito, Anna G. Conroy, Garrett M. Hester

Symposium of Student Scholars

Purpose: To determine sex differences in strength and contractile properties after isometric and dynamic fatiguing exercise of the plantar flexors. Methods: Recreationally active males (n=13, age=22.4±2.2 yrs) and females (n=15, age=20.9±2.4 yrs) performed a maximal isometric (2 min) and isotonic (120 reps at 30% peak torque) fatigue task on 2 separate visits. Before and after each fatigue task, participants performed a 3 sec maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) with tibial nerve stimulation being delivered during and immediately after the MVIC. Peak torque (PT; highest 250 ms) was obtained during the voluntary phase of the MVIC. Peak twitch torque …

Gestational Diabetes: What About Your Exercise?, Andreana Henry

Symposium of Student Scholars

Previous research on exercise as a form of preventative care to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes has produced conflicting views. When and why exercise is the most beneficial during pregnancy has been widely debated, as well as which trimester exercise is the most effective to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. It has been argued that if a woman has not previously incorporated exercise into her lifestyle, during pregnancy is not the ideal time to start. Conversely, light to moderate exercise is encouraged to decrease the chances of gestational diabetes, but which gestation period exercise will have the greatest …

Anti-Vaxxers: Parents Fighting Science, Katie West

Symposium of Student Scholars

Immunizing children helps protect the health of our community, especially those people who cannot be immunized. Yet, since 1996 after a study was released that linked autism to vaccinations, there has been a trend of parents refusing to vaccinate their children. What are the demographics of the parents who believe their children are better off without vaccines? By knowing where these parents live and what decisions they make for their children’s education, counties and medical professionals can provide education and address their concerns.

My research involves data on 116,141 kindergarten classes from 2000-2015 in California. The two vaccine exemption options …

Opioid Abuse: Are Doctors Creating The Problem?, Nguyen Tran

Symposium of Student Scholars

Opioid abuse and overdose are serious health problems in the United States. Current research has concentrated on the treatment and prevention of opioid abuse. Using data from the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for California zip codes, my research focuses on the causes of opioid overdose by considering the relationships between the following variables within each zip code: population size, average number of prescriptions per doctor, percentage of people who receive opioid prescriptions, percentage of people receiving the same prescription drug from 3 or more doctors, average number of opioid pills per prescription and number of people …

Food Deserts: Hungry For Answers, Lawren Cumberbatch

Symposium of Student Scholars

In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million people in the United States live in food deserts. As defined by the USDA, a “food desert” is a neighborhood that lacks healthy food sources. This can be measured by distance to a store, number of stores in an area, individual-level resources such as family income or vehicle availability, and neighborhood-level resources such as availability of public transportation. Past research provides evidence that food deserts are especially likely to occur in communities heavily populated by minorities. As a Black Indian pre-med student aiming to join the world …

Accidental Overdoses: Insights To Aid In Prevention, Annabel Nganga

Symposium of Student Scholars

Having lost a friend six years ago to an accidental cocaine overdose, I am very passionate about spreading awareness of accidental drug overdoses that have affected thousands of families countrywide. According to past research, deaths resulting from opiates specifically have been on the rise, and a significant number of deaths in the United States for those below fifty years are caused by drug overdoses. Data exists indicating which states have more overdoses. The data set I will be using includes variables on race, sex, age, drug with which person overdosed, location of the overdose, ultimate cause of death and year …

Are There Predictors Of A Running Back’S Success?, Joshua Price

Symposium of Student Scholars

People who analyze football have concentrated in the past on a running back’s 40-yard dash, shuffle, broad jump, vertical jump, and bench press measures. My research will test if the following variables can predict a running back’s success in the NFL: height, weight, conference, offensive line ranking for their team, the running back’s total yards for the season, their average yards for each attempt, the number of times the running back has entered the end zone for a touchdown that season, the running back’s time average time behind the line of scrimmage (TLOS), the percentage of times the running back …

Exploring Telemedicine And Self-Management Practices Of Transitioning Adults With Sickle Cell Disease, Jacqueline Easter

Symposium of Student Scholars

Exploring Telemedicine and Self-Management Practices of Transitioning Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Globally over 300,000 are born with sickle cell disease (SCD), over 100,000 children are in the US. SCD is an inherited blood disease that is associated with morbidity and early death. Despite the research to date on self-management practices for young adults, little is known how telemedicine can impact the quality of life of young adults with SCD.

Objective: The aim is to evaluate the most recent evidence in the literature to determine how young adults with SCD use telemedicine as part of self-management to increase their …

Pulmon-C: A Real-Time Monitoring Framework Of Pulmonary Function, Md Saiful Islam, Maria Valero, Shahriar Hossain

Symposium of Student Scholars

This project will develop PulMon-C, a real-time monitoring framework of pulmonary function to diagnose COVID-19 patients who are being self-quarantined at home. The tool will identify anomalies in breathe rate and predict pulmonary deterioration to raise alert for immediate actions. The uniqueness of the tool is using non-invasive sensors placed under-mattress that are able to communicate data about the respiratory signal. The customer segment of PulMon-C will be the diagnosed COVID-19 patients and healthcare providers. PulMon-C will assist with the remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients as an urgent need in the USA and will bring larger impact in delivering …

Cervical Cancer: Are There Ways To Reduce The Risks?, Madelyn Dorn

Symposium of Student Scholars

History has shown us that when caught early, cervical cancer is curable. Past research has found that the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), have been associated with cervical cancer. In contrast, my dataset on 859 women has many more STDs and lifestyle choices compiled on 36 variables. The diagnoses in the dataset are many: cervical condylomatosis, vaginal condylomatosis, vulvo-perineral condylomatosis, syphilis, pelvic inflammatory disease, genital herpes, molluscum contagiosum, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, HPV, and cervical cancer. In addition to the demographic variable on age, there are many lifestyle choice …

Who Is Next? Evaluating Factors That May Contribute To Heart Failure, Davon Broadwater

Symposium of Student Scholars

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one causes of death globally, and for African Americans those risks are even higher. As an African American university student studying Biology, I am passionate about researching the diseases that affect my race. Current research states that behavioral factors such as obesity, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and harmful use of alcohol should be avoided. I have chosen to research predictors of what helps patients survive if they already have heart failure. Heart failure develops gradually, where the heart becomes weaker over time and has trouble pumping blood to nourish the cells in the body. Data …

Oral Minimal Model For Gestational Diabetes, Sarah Peters

Symposium of Student Scholars

Gestational diabetes is one of the most common issues that a pregnant woman encounters that could result in harm to both the woman and child. Due to this issue, the woman’s glucose and insulin levels should be carefully monitored throughout her pregnancy to assess the need for prescribed diabetic medication to help regulate those levels. In this research, the objectives is to develop a MATLAB computer program of the Oral Minimal Model, which is a model that can be used to estimate a person’s insulin sensitivity from an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) where plasma glucose and insulin levels are …

Molecular Detection Of Aspergillus Flavus In Georgia Peanut, Variety Tifguard., Carolle Zolome

Symposium of Student Scholars

Peanuts provide a good source of protein, minerals, and vitamins to consumers. The US peanut industry suffers great losses of nearly $26 million annually due to contamination by Aspergillus species. In spite of strict control measures against Aspergillus species, the industry is still facing economic loss due to contamination by this mold. Poor storage of peanuts in commercial outlets can lead to infection by the mold, releasing aflatoxin which is carcinogenic. A number of DNA based techniques are currently available for identification of the fungal population. This research aims at identifying if peanut, the variety Tifguard which is highly recommended …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Health Disparities In The United States - A Preliminary Study, Alina Panjwani

Symposium of Student Scholars

Health disparities are the differences in health outcomes and health status among people belonging to different groups. This means that people with low socioeconomic status, old age, racial and ethnic minorities, who are often those with limited access to healthcare may often face a higher disease burden and experience worse health outcomes. The current pandemic of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, provides a painful reminder of why inequities harm all of us as the devastating impact of the pandemic is apparent. This paper examines the differences in and possible cause of the rates of COVID infections, …

A Study Of Covid Tweet: Text Mining And Sentiment Analysis., Tiffany Agiri

Symposium of Student Scholars

A Study of COVID Tweet: Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis.

Tiffany Agiri, BSIT

Advisor: Dr. Chi Zhang, Associate Professor of Information Technology

Abstract

How do the tweets of two polarizing news outlets differ regarding COVID-19, and what can we draw from this data? CNN and Fox News are the two opposing news sources whose tweets we used to conduct our research, with the objective to analyze the tweet most frequently discussed terms on Covid-19 using Natural Language Processing and learn what kind of sentiments the terms are conveying, in each news source’s tweets. Through the use of the Python library …

Age-Related Differences In Absolute And Relative Maximal Strength At Different Velocities, Michael Cooper

Symposium of Student Scholars

Introduction: Examining peak torque (PT) relative to muscle size provides insight on qualitative factors (e.g., fiber type composition, muscle activation) that are influential for maximal strength, yet data is scarcer for higher velocity contractions. Acceleration (ACC) has been proposed to be influenced by similar physiological factors. Purpose: To examine absolute and relative PT, as well as ACC at different velocities in young (YM) and older (OM) males. Methods: Healthy, YM (n=15, age=20.7±2.2 yrs) and OM (n=15, age=71.6±3.9 yrs) performed maximal voluntary contractions at 0°⋅s^-1 (isometric), 60°⋅s^-1, and 180°⋅s^-1 using a dynamometer. Ultrasonography was used to obtain …

Effects Of Neem Oil On Growth And Development Of Aspergillus Flavus In Peanuts, Onachukwu Nwolisa

Symposium of Student Scholars

Effects of Neem Oil On Growth And Development Of Aspergillus flavus in peanuts**

Ona Nwolisa and Premila N Achar¹

¹Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.

Aspergillus flavus is known to contaminate peanuts and produce aflatoxin which are carcinogenic metabolites. According to the USDA, more than $1 billion is spent on infection and prevention. Currently there is no single method known to eradicate Aspergillus spp. in peanuts and the industry continue to face the aflatoxin problem. There has been an increased interest in use of plant based antifungal products which are environmentally friendly and …

Plant-Based Vs. Animal-Based Diet And Their Association With Metabolic Function, Gwyneth Johnson, Mara Bryan, Andreana Henry, Grace Alexander

Symposium of Student Scholars

Diet is a lifestyle factor that influences metabolic health. Recent studies indicate that substituting red or processed meat with whole grains may reduce risk for type 2 diabetes. PURPOSE: To investigate whether metabolic health, assessed by insulin sensitivity and abdominal adiposity, is associated with a higher animal-based and lower plant-based diet. METHODS: Intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) was measured via ultrasound in 31 normo-glycemic women (ages 20.9 ±2.4 years, BMI 28.1 ±3.5) who completed ASA24 diet recall and food frequency questionnaire. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using Matsuda Index from a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. A diet scoring system was created …

Examining The Relationship Between African-Americans And Their Physicians, Genesis Weever

Symposium of Student Scholars

For years, there has been a bad history amongst the relationship between African-Americans and their fellow medical institutions. Many African-Americans do not believe that medical professionals have their best interest at heart. Oftentimes, their white counterparts may receive better care, even when they have the same condition. Many African-Americans may even face barriers that their white counterparts will not experience, and will be denied access to healthcare. This results in more deaths and critical illnesses of African-Americans. In order to discover the underlying problem and a possible solution, a review of the literature was initiated. Using a literature matrix and …

R-Lstm: Time Series Forecasting For Covid-19 Confirmed Cases With Lstm-Based Framework, Mohammad Masum

Symposium of Student Scholars

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a pandemic outbreak affecting 213 nations worldwide. Global policymakers are imposing many measures to slow and reduce the rapid growth of infections. On the other hand, the healthcare system is encountering significant challenges for a massive number of COVID-19 confirmed or suspected individuals seeking treatment. Therefore, estimating the number of confirmed cases is necessary to provide valuable insights into the growth of the outbreak and facilitate the policy-making process. In this study, we apply ARIMA models as well as LSTM-based recurrent neural networks to forecast the daily cumulative confirmed cases. The LSTM architecture generates …

Utilization Of Patient-Controlled Analgesia Reduces Length Of Stay Of Sickle Cell Crisis Hospitalizations, Brett M. Prestia, Talha Ramzan, Catherine Waldron, Ameer Malik, Robert M. Pallay, Candace R. Murbach, Mike Flynn, Eric Shaw Phd, Abdullah Kutlar, Daniel Lowe

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Sickle cell crisis hospitalizations are emotionally and financially burdensome to patients and healthcare systems, and processes to decrease the frequency or length of stay of these crises should be examined.

Methods

This is a multicenter retrospective hospital record review of sickle cell crisis hospitalizations as defined by ICD-10 codes (D57.1-4), from January 2016 through December 2019, examining inpatient medication administration records and length of stay among admitted adults aged 18–65 years. Patient controlled analgesia orders using morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl and/or merperidine at any point of an admission (n=188) were compared to admissions without any patient-controlled analgesia orders (n=2,159). The …

Medical Imaging Stewardship And Healthcare Savings: Utilization Of Age Adjusted D-Dimer To Rule Out Acute Pulmonary Embolism, Phillip Bloodworth, Casey Morris, Kenneth Cail, Brian L. Pando, Brian Helmly

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Introduction

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common diagnosis that can lead to death if left untreated. Computerized tomography pulmonary angiogram scan (CTPA) is the gold standard for diagnosis of PE. Utilization of CTPA is increasing in the emergency setting even when suspicion for PE is very low. While CTPA is helpful, radiation exposure, contrast reactions, and cost must be considered. D-dimer is a well-established, high sensitivity and low specificity laboratory test that can effectively rule out PE in low-risk patients when negative. The ADJUST-PE trial showed that there is a natural rise of D-dimer levels with age. This age …

Obesity, Race, And Covid-19 Mortality: Results From A Large Cohort Early In The Pandemic, Eric K. Shaw, Anyul Ferez-Pinzon, Micah Mabe, Mike Flynn, Christopher K. Senkowski

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Obesity has increased progressively in the United States and is a known risk factor for several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke and hypertension. Amid the current pandemic, concerns have been raised about obesity as a risk factor for COVID-19 positive patients. The primary goal of this study was to explore the association between obesity and hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Our secondary objective was to explore the relationship between obesity and race on hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis using data from 186 hospitals from across the United …

Car Ratings Take A Back Seat To Vehicle Type: Outcomes Of Suv Versus Passenger Car Crashes, Dietrich Jehle, Albert Arslan, Chirag Doshi, Clay O'Brien

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Car safety ratings are routinely utilized in making automobile purchase decisions. These 1- to 5-star ratings are based on crash test data comparing vehicles of similar type, size and weight.

Objectives

We hypothesized that car safety ratings are less important than vehicle factors such as vehicle type and weight in predicting outcomes of head-on crashes.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted on severe head-on motor vehicle crashes entered into the FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) database between 1995 and 2010. This database includes all US motor vehicle crashes that resulted in a death within 30 days of the accident. …