Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Impact Of Contact Tracing With An Agent-Based Model For Simulating The Spread Of Covid-19: The Irish Experience, Elizabeth Hunter, Sudipta Saha, Jwenish Kumawat, Ciara Carroll, John Kelleher, Claire Buckley, Conor Mcaloon, Patricia Kearney, Michelle Gilbert, Greg Martin

Articles

Contact tracing is an important tool in managing infectious disease outbreaks and Ireland used a comprehensive contact tracing program to slow the spread of COVID-19. Although the benefits of contact tracing seem obvious, it is difficult to estimate the actual impact contact tracing has on an outbreak because it is hard to separate the effects of contact tracing from other behavioural changes or interventions. To understand the impact contact tracing had in Ireland, we used an agent-based model that is designed to simulate the spread of COVID-19 through Ireland. The model uses real contact tracing data from the first year …

Enhancing The Prediction For Shunt‑Dependent Hydrocephalus After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Using A Machine Learning Approach, Dietmar Frey, Adam Hilbert, Anton Früh, Vince Istvan Madai, Tabea Kossen, Julia Kiewitz, Jenny Sommerfeld, Peter Vajkoczy, Meike Unteroberdörster, Esra Zihni, Sophie Charlotte Brune, Stefan Wolf, Nora Franziska Dengler

Articles

Early and reliable prediction of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (SDHC) after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorhage (a SAH) may decrease the duration of in-hospital stay and reduce the risk of catheter-associated meningitis. Machine learning (ML) may improve predictions of SDHC in comparison to traditional non-ML methods. ML models were trained for CHESS and SDASH and two combined individual feature sets with clinical, radiographic, and laboratory variables. Seven different algorithms were used including three types of generalized linear models (GLM) as well as a tree boosting (Cat Boost) algorithm, a Nave Bayes (NB) classifier, and a multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural net. The discrimination of …

The Potential And Limitations Of Conversational Agents For Chronic Conditions And Well-Being, Ekaterina Uetova, Lucy Hederman, Robert J. Ross, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

Conversational agents are becoming more common in the health and wellness domains in part due to assumptions regarding potential improvements in individuals’ outcomes. This paper presents initial findings from a review of conversational agent use in healthcare for chronic conditions and well-being. A search of the literature was performed on electronic databases PubMed, ACM Digital Library, Scopus and IEEE Xplore. Studies were included if they were focused on chronic disorder management, disease prevention or lifestyle change and if systems were tested on target user groups. This paper investigates the health domains, the user profiles and reasons why conversational agents may …

Enhancing Health Data Representation For Older Adults: Unlocking Opportunities, Peterson Jean

Academic Posters Collection

The prevalence of off-the-shelf wearable devices increases the monitoring and measurement of critical physiological parameters like activity, sleep, heart rate, and blood pressure. However, the accessibility of health data representations poses challenges for older adults, who often struggle to understand the criticality of their own health data without assistance. This poster highlights the challenges older adults face in accessing their health data from wearable technologies, specifically focusing on data representations.

To address these challenges, it proposes a methodology that involves a heuristic evaluation of existing data representations with experts and accessibility studies with older adults using a mixed methods approach …

Statistical Methods For Gwas And The Impact Of Diabetic Medication Adherence On Healthcare Costs, Meida Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation includes three Chapters. In Chapter One, we develop a computationally efficient clustering linear combination approach to jointly analyze multiple phenotypes for GWAS. In this paper, based on the existing CLC method and ACAT strategy, we develop the ceCLC method to test association between multiple phenotypes and a genetic variant. In Chapter Two, we develop a novel method called sCLC for association studies of multiple phenotypes and a genetic variant based on GWAS summary statistics. Simulation results show that sCLC can control Type I error rates well and has the highest power in most scenarios. In Chapter Three, we …

Knowledge Discovery On The Integrative Analysis Of Electrical And Mechanical Dyssynchrony To Improve Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, Zhuo He

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a standard method of treating heart failure by coordinating the function of the left and right ventricles. However, up to 40% of CRT recipients do not experience clinical symptoms or cardiac function improvements. The main reasons for CRT non-response include: (1) suboptimal patient selection based on electrical dyssynchrony measured by electrocardiogram (ECG) in current guidelines; (2) mechanical dyssynchrony has been shown to be effective but has not been fully explored; and (3) inappropriate placement of the CRT left ventricular (LV) lead in a significant number of patients.

In terms of mechanical dyssynchrony, we utilize an …

Relationships Harm, Relationships Heal: Exploring Larger Bodied People's Experiences Of Weight Stigma And Eating Disorders In The Context Of Family Relationships, Rebecca Erin Belinsky

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Eating Disorders are the second deadliest mental illness, after opioid addiction, and affect a significant amount of the population, with some studies estimating that almost one in ten people will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime and that many more will suffer from subclinical eating disorder symptoms like disordered eating (Deloitte Access Economics, 2020). The majority of people struggling with an eating disorder are not medically underweight, and traditionally eating disorder research and treatment has failed to address eating disorders in people in larger bodies (Galmiche et al., 2019). To better understand the needs and experiences related to …

The Impact Of Exercise On Mental Health: The Use Of Exercise As Prevention And Treatment For Mental Health Disorders, Abigail Stivers

Honors Program Theses

Mental health is one of the most crucial dimensions of well-being that is necessary for human wellness. However, it is also one of the most neglected aspects of individuals’ health, often resulting in the development of mental health disorders. There are multiple methods of treatment that can be used to support and improve mental health, one of which is exercise. While exercise is commonly prescribed as a form of prevention and treatment for physical ailments, such as hypertension and heart disease, it is often overlooked as being applicable to illnesses related to mental health. Furthermore, medications and therapy are more …

Physical Activity And Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction As Medicine During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond, Isaac J. Wedig

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity levels have decreased and sitting time has increased. This is a major concern as physical inactivity increases the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes. Evidence also indicates that COVID-19 survivors can experience reduced physical function (i.e., ability to complete daily living activities) long after acute illness. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines for recovering physical function following COVID-19 infection. Exercise with blood flow restriction (BFR) presents a promising rehabilitation strategy as the benefits of traditional exercise can be achieved using lower intensities. However, several barriers such as cost, access to equipment, and lack of standardized …

Accelerated Forgetting In People With Epilepsy: Pathologic Memory Loss, Its Neural Basis, And Potential Therapies, Sarah Ashley Steimel Phd

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

While forgetting is vital to human functioning, delineating between normative and disordered forgetting can become incredibly complex. This thesis characterizes a pathologic form of forgetting in epilepsy, identifies a neural basis, and investigates the potential of stimulation as a therapeutic tool. Chapter 2 presents a behavioral characterization of the time course of Accelerated Long-Term Forgetting (ALF) in people with epilepsy (PWE). This chapter shows evidence of ALF on a shorter time scale than previous studies, with a differential impact on recall and recognition. Chapter 3 builds upon the work in Chapter 2 by extending ALF time points and investigating the …

Exposure, Adaptation And Expectations: How They Affect Perception Of Foreign Accented Speech, Isabella Huddleston

Honors Program Theses

Understanding accented speech is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. The world is connected through technology allowing us to reach further than we ever have before. One challenge this presents is the necessity to communicate across languages. Even if an individual has learned another language proficiently, the speech they produce is influenced by their native language resulting in foreign accented speech (FAS). There now exists the need for understanding how FAS affects speech perception and uncovering ways to improve communication situations between native and nonnative communication partners.

Language Development And Poverty: Considerations And Applications For Speech-Language Pathologists, Samantha Lynn Ehler

Honors Program Theses

Economics is one vital variable that can support or hinder the successful development and acquisition of language. A large body of research has shown that conditions of poverty often negatively impact a child’s language learning environment and brain development, resulting in poor language development and a high risk of speech and language disorders. Language development is a dynamic process that begins during the first years of life and is contingent on social interactions and safe predictable routines. A thorough examination of the relationship between familial financial standing and language development is the foundation for developing interventions that will minimize the …

Workplace Accident Analysis In The Algerian Oil And Gas Industry, Hamza Zerrouki

Articles

A total of 42,032 workplace accidents were reported in 2021 by the Algerian National Social Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers in Algeria, of which 38,225 were accidents within the workplace and 3807 were related to traffic accidents or other reasons. Most of these accidents were recorded in the building and construction field, followed by the oil and gas company exploration and drilling, which comes at the forefront of the Sonatrach company. This study aims to analyze accidents in the workplace using quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the corresponding causes. Our study was carried out in collaboration with Sonatrach in …

Extraction Yield And Biological Activity Of Phycobiliproteins From Porphyridium Purpureum Using Atmospheric Cold Plasma Discharge And Jet Systems, Shaba Noore, Brijesh K. Tiwari, Anet R. Jambrak, Josipa Dukic, Janith Wanigasekara, James Curtin, Claudio Fuentes-Grunewald, Colm P. O’Donnell

Articles

Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) extracted from Porphyridium purpureum (P.p) have bioactive properties and are widely used as ingredients in nutraceutical and food applications. This study investigated the use of two cold plasma systems, namely cold plasma discharge system (CPDS) and cold plasma jet system (CPJS), for the aqueous extraction of PBPs from P. p. Three types of PBPs, namely phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC) and allophycocyanin (APC) were identified in the crude extracts obtained. The highest PBPs extraction yield (11.31 ± 1.02 mg/g DW P. p) was obtained from CPDS treated samples at 25 kV using N2 for 9 min. CPDS treatments were …

Bioactive Secondary Metabolites In Cave Dwelling Fungi, Jade Nuehring

Honors Program Theses

Water samples were collected in May 2022 from WTH lake and silent lake located in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. From the water samples collected, 8 pure fungal colonies were isolated. All samples underwent chemical extraction, growth inhibition testing, proton-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1H NMR), and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Three pure colonies also underwent DNA extraction, and sequencing of the ITS region for genus level identification. These samples were able to be identified to the genus level, and for these three samples were: Talaromyces, sp., Linnemannia, sp., and Gliomatsix, sp. The secondary metabolite that showed antimicrobial activity …

An Online Intervention To Improve The Health And Well-Being Of Informal Caregivers Of Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study, Yujun Liu, M. Courtney Hughes, Abby Baumbach, Lily Derain

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Objective: Describe an intervention to improve the health and well-being of informal caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and present pilot program findings.

Methods: Participants (N = 31, mean age = 45.7) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an online synchronous didactic lesson and peer support session series or an asynchronous didactic only session series. Outcome variables included physical health, nutrition intake, and stress. One-way ANOVA was conducted to examine the effects of the intervention. The least significant difference (LSD) post hoc test was used to analyze the difference pattern between means.

Results: Participants in both conditions …

Marineepi: A Gui-Based Matlab Toolbox To Simulate Marine Pathogen Transmission, Gorka Bidegain, Tal Ben-Horin, Eric N. Powell, John M. Klinck, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

The Graphical User Interface (GUI) MarineEpi is presented as a Matlab toolbox for easily (i) constructing disease transmission models for different marine host-pathogen systems, (ii) running simulations by specifying initial conditions and model parameters, and (iii) interpreting the resulting time series of the host and pathogen population dynamics. MarineEpi users can generate models for systems in which pathogen transmission occurs through contact with infected individuals (SI), contact with dead infected individuals (SID), contact with environmental pathogens released by infected individuals (SIP), and contact with environmental pathogens released by dead infected individuals (SIPD). MarineEpi is a freely available GUI that provides …

The Burden And Characteristics Of Hiv Infected Covid-19 Patients At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Sub-Saharan Africa, Alok Iyer

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Background: Since the first case of COVID-19, which was caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, was identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the infection has rapidly spread throughout the world. By March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. On March 12, 2020, Kenya announced its first COVID-19 infection case. Since then, the number of cases has risen steadily, reaching 5190 cases and 144 fatalities (as of June 30, 2020), endangering the nation's healthcare system. In Kenya, where the prevalence of HIV is 4.9%, 1.38 million adults and 105,000 children are estimated to be HIV …

Factors Associated With Non-Uptake Of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (Icd) Among Eligible Patients At A Tertiary Hospital In Kenya, Emmanuel Benge Aluoch

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Background: Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is a major cause of mortality among patients with cardiovascular disease accounting for about 50% of deaths. Several studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) implantation in both primary and secondary prevention of SCD in at-risk populations. Despite well-publicized guidelines, ICD implantation rates remain low particularly in Africa with a paucity of data regarding factors associated with non-uptake and reasons for implant refusal. The study aimed to characterize these factors and identify reasons for ICD refusal. Understanding these factors and reasons for non-implantation will provide an opportunity to optimize ICD uptake …

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Among Hypertensive Patients At A Tertiary Hospital In Kenya, Salim Abdallah Salim

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a type of breathing problem during sleep caused by the blockage of the upper airway, which can cause a reduction or complete cessation of airflow. Warning signs of OSA include snoring, night sweats, and high blood pressure. However, there is limited research on the prevalence of OSA in hypertensive patients in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study purposed to elucidate the likelihood and clinical characteristics of OSA among hypertensive patients at a tertiary hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study occurred at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. A total of …

Speech And Language Assessment Of Internationally Adopted Children, Lindsey Clifford

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This paper consists of three distinct articles, all related to the speech and language assessment of internationally adopted children. The first article, “Speech and Language Assessment of Internationally Adopted Children,” is a qualitative study that explored how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) would conduct a speech and language assessment of internationally adopted children. The assessment of this population of children can be challenging for many reasons, and there is limited knowledge of what methods SLPs are currently using. In-depth interviews were conducted with five SLPs who had at least two years of experience working in a public school setting to learn how …

The Complicated Existence Of Psychedelic Drugs, Corinne Stonebraker

Quill & Scope

No abstract provided.

Prediction Of Mortality And Major Adverse Kidney Events In Critically Ill Patients With Acute Kidney Injury, Javier A. Neyra, Victor M. Ortiz-Soriano, Lucas J. Liu, Taylor D. Smith, Xilong Li, Donglu Xie, Beverly Adams-Huet, Orson W. Moe, Robert D. Toto, Jin Chen

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Rationale & Objective: Risk prediction tools for assisting acute kidney injury (AKI) management have focused on AKI onset but have infrequently addressed kidney recovery. We developed clinical models for risk stratification of mortality and major adverse kidney events (MAKE) in critically ill patients with incident AKI.

Study Design: Multicenter cohort study.

Setting & Participants: 9,587 adult patients admitted to heterogeneous intensive care units (ICUs; March 2009 to February 2017) who experienced AKI within the first 3 days of their ICU stays.

Predictors: Multimodal clinical data consisting of 71 features collected in the first 3 days of ICU stay.

Outcomes: (1) …

The Relationship Between Perceived Stress And Academic Self-Efficacy To The Academic Performance Of Undergraduate Nursing Students, Ashley J. Pierre

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

When nursing students fail and are required to repeat a course in a pre-licensure nursing program, they are at risk for attrition. While nursing student attrition is a problem with recognized consequences to the student, school, and profession, the incidence of students who fail a required course and need to repeat it has had little attention. Despite research addressing students' experiences with course failure, little describes strategies and interventions to support the retention and success of these students. The first manuscript, Student Repeaters in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs: A Concept Analysis, provided a foundation that enhanced the conceptual understanding of nursing …

Improving Diagnostic Outcomes For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders Within The Hispanic Community In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bethany Waddey

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Despite the importance of early identification and intervention of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Hispanic children are significantly under-diagnosed with ASD in comparison to non-Hispanic, white children due to barriers to ASD identification in this population. The purpose of this research is to determine the levels of ASD knowledge in the Hispanic community in Bowling Green, the barriers that may contribute to why ASD is underdiagnosed in Hispanic children, and how to mitigate these barriers. This research analyzes the results of a survey, called the “Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale- General Population Version”, administered to 51 participants from the Hispanic population of …

Nsu College Of Psychology Graduate Student Catalog 2023–2024, Nova Southeastern University

College of Psychological Services / College of Psychology Postgraduate Student and Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Redlining And Opioid Overdose Outcomes: Do Historical Housing Policies Still Impact Health Today?, Sahana Paravantavida

Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between historical housing policies and current health outcomes, specifically the impact of redlining on opioid overdose rates. Using data collected from the state of New Jersey, neighborhoods with a history of redlining have higher rates of opioid overdose deaths. My findings suggest that historical housing policies, which systematically excluded certain populations from accessing affordable housing and resources, continue to impact health outcomes today.

An International Real-World Analysis Of Relapsed/Refractory Lymphoma Occurring During Pregnancy, Faheem Farooq, Justin S. Brandt, Elyce Cardonick, Evgeniya Polushkina, Julie M. Vose, Sairah Ahmed, Praveen Ramakrishnan Geethakumari, Adam J. Olszewski, Hesham Yasin, Umar Farooq, Nada Hamad, Yong Lin, Charlotte Maggen, Robert Fruscio, Mina Mhallem Gziri, Karina Dahl Steffensen, Frédéric Amant, Andrew M. Evens

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

No abstract provided.

High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma, Not Otherwise Specified: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study, Adam S. Zayac, Daniel J. Landsburg, Mitchell E. Hughes, Allison M. Bock, Grzegorz S. Nowakowski, Emily C. Ayers, Mark Girton, Marie Hu, Amy K. Beckman, Shaoying Li, L Jeffrey Medeiros, Julie E. Chang, Adam Stepanovic, Habibe Kurt, Jose Sandoval-Sus, M Ali Ansari-Lari, Shalin K. Kothari, Anna Kress, Mina L. Xu, Pallawi Torka, Suchitra Sundaram, Stephen D. Smith, Kikkeri N. Naresh, Yasmin H. Karimi, Narendranath Epperla, David A. Bond, Umar Farooq, Mahak Saad, Andrew M. Evens, Karan Pandya, Seema G. Naik, Manali Kamdar, Bradley Haverkos, Reem Karmali, Timothy S. Oh, Julie M. Vose, Heather Nutsch, Paul G. Rubinstein, Amina Chaudhry, Adam J. Olszewski

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

In this multi-institutional retrospective study, we examined the characteristics and outcomes of 160 patients with high-grade B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (HGBL-NOS)-a rare category defined by high-grade morphologic features and lack of MYC rearrangements with BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements ("double hit"). Our results show that HGBL-NOS tumors are heterogeneous: 83% of patients had a germinal center B-cell immunophenotype, 37% a dual-expressor immunophenotype (MYC and BCL2 expression), 28% MYC rearrangement, 13% BCL2 rearrangement, and 11% BCL6 rearrangement. Most patients presented with stage IV disease, a high serum lactate dehydrogenase, and other high-risk clinical factors. Most frequent first-line regimens included dose-adjusted cyclophosphamide, …

Integrative Analysis Of Clinicopathological Features Defines Novel Prognostic Models For Mantle Cell Lymphoma In The Immunochemotherapy Era: A Report From The North American Mantle Cell Lymphoma Consortium, Julie M. Vose, Kai Fu, Lu Wang, Adnan Mansoor, Douglas Stewart, Hongxia Cheng, Lynette M. Smith, Ji Yuan, Hina Naushad Qureishi, Brian K. Link, Melissa H. Cessna, Paul M. Barr, Brad S. Kahl, Matthew S. Mckinney, Nadia Khan, Ranjana H. Advani, Peter Martin, Andre H. Goy, Tycel J. Phillips, Amitkumar Mehta, Manali Kamdar, Michael Crump, Barbara Pro, Christopher R. Flowers, Caron A. Jacobson, Sonali M. Smith, Deborah M. Stephens, Veronika Bachanova, Zhaohui Jin, Shishou Wu, Francisco Hernandez-Ilizaliturri, Pallawi Torka, Andrea Anampa-Guzmán, Farshid Kashef, Xing Li, Sunandini Sharma, Timothy Greiner, James O. Armitage, Matthew A. Lunning, Dennis D. Weisenburger, Gregory Bociek, Javeed Iqbal, Guohua Yu, Chengfeng Bi, North American Mantle Cell Lymphoma Consortium

Journal Articles: Oncology and Hematology

BACKGROUND: Patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) exhibit a wide variation in clinical presentation and outcome. However, the commonly used prognostic models are outdated and inadequate to address the needs of the current multidisciplinary management of this disease. This study aims to investigate the clinical and pathological features of MCL in the immunochemotherapy era and improve the prognostic models for a more accurate prediction of patient outcomes.

METHODS: The North American Mantle Cell Lymphoma Project is a multi-institutional collaboration of 23 institutions across North America to evaluate and refine prognosticators for front-line therapy. A total of 586 MCL cases diagnosed …