Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Feature Selection From Clinical Surveys Using Semantic Textual Similarity, Benjamin Warner

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Survey data collected from human subjects can contain a high number of features while having a comparatively low quantity of examples. Machine learning models that attempt to predict outcomes from survey data under these conditions can overfit and result in poor generalizability. One remedy to this issue is feature selection, which attempts to select an optimal subset of features to learn upon. A relatively unexplored source of information in the feature selection process is the usage of textual names of features, which may be semantically indicative of which features are relevant to a target outcome. The relationships between feature names …

Expanding Accessibility For Guests With Autism-Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Who Visit The Jacksonville Zoo And Gardens In Jacksonville, Fl, Lauren Schermerhorn, Thais Petrocelli

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Problem: Due to public events being commonly characterized by crowded spaces, loud volumes, and unpredictable changes, attractions such as the Jacksonville Zoo can be challenging for those with ASD without proper accommodations (Kimura et al., 2020)

Purpose: The purpose of this capstone project was to advocate for updated evidence-based sensory accommodations at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens for those with an ASD diagnosis with the intention of creating a more inclusive zoo experience.

Role Of Midkine In Cancer Drug Resistance: Regulators Of Its Expression And Its Molecular Targeting, Minakshi Saikia, Nathan Cheung, Abhay Kumar Singh, Vaishali Kapoor

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Molecules involved in drug resistance can be targeted for better therapeutic efficacies. Research on midkine (MDK) has escalated in the last few decades, which affirms a positive correlation between disease progression and MDK expression in most cancers and indicates its association with multi-drug resistance in cancer. MDK, a secretory cytokine found in blood, can be exploited as a potent biomarker for the non-invasive detection of drug resistance expressed in various cancers and, thereby, can be targeted. We summarize the current information on the involvement of MDK in drug resistance, and transcriptional regulators of its expression and highlight its potential as …

Diffusion Of Ionic Liquid-Modified Polymer Nanoparticles Through Nasal Mucus, Mary Vanlandingham

Honors Theses

Mucosal barriers are a natural defense system for preventing the entry of foreign objects into the body; however, they pose as obstacles for effective drug delivery. Coated polymer nanoparticles have been proven to possess improved rates of diffusion across mucus compared to their uncoated, or bare, counterparts. When choline-based ionic liquids (ILs) are introduced to an aqueous system, their dissociation leads to an increase in solution conductivity which ultimately reduces the viscosity of mucus without significantly affecting its structure. Additionally, ILs are highly tunable, so they work well in a range of pHs and conductivities, making ILs an ideal choice …

Sleep Duration Is Associated With Caudate Volume And Executive Function, Nicole Jones

Honors Theses

The ineligible role of the caudate nucleus in sleep has been implicated throughout multiple scientific studies. Previous literature has shown that greater caudate volume is associated with longer habitual sleep duration in older adults- ranging from 55 years of age and up. However, the association between sleep duration and caudate volume remains unknown in the younger population. In this study, we examined the caudate volume in youth to older adults (10 to 85 years old) with a greater sample size (N=464) to increase statistical power. The volumetric size of the caudate nucleus showed significantly positive association with habitual sleep duration, …

Observations On The Present And The Future Of Hip Surgery, Alberto Di Martino

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Medical Marijuana In Mississippi: A Journalistic View Of Physician Opinions And Patient Education, Michael Pitts

Honors Theses

Medical Marijuana in Mississippi: A Journalistic View of Physician Opinions and Patient Education is an in-depth investigative journalism project examining aspects of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program. Specific areas of interest were Mississippi physician opinions on the use medical marijuana and their views on the application of the state’s program as well as an examination into how patients are receiving education on medical marijuana. This project involved interviews of healthcare providers, dispensary staff, and patients, in addition to background research that was used to formulate interview questions, determine areas of interest and add necessary context. This project occurred during the …

Development Of An Immunoblot Assay To Detect Antibodies To Sars-Cov-2 Spike And Nucleocapsid Antigens In Serum Of Covid-19 Patients, Christian Hollis

Honors Theses

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created one of the most world-halting events in recent world history. Its effects have reached every corner of the globe and manifested problems within each country’s healthcare and social systems. During the pandemic, many researchers have searched to develop a more robust understanding of the novel virus’s genetic and structural material. In year three since the emergence of COVID-19, these researchers hope to implement new advancements in testing and detection for the presence of the virus.

This thesis intends to produce evidence for the reliability of COVID-19 antibody tests using immunoblot assay detection. These tests …

Predictors Of Future Physician Practice Location, Allegra Latimer

Honors Theses

Healthcare disparities exist throughout the United States. While Mississippi does not stand alone in the maldistribution of physicians and medical practices across the state, it does exist as a state that has been historically medically underserved. According to data collected by The County Health Rankings Model developed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, in 2019, the ratio of population to primary care physicians in Mississippi was 1860:1. This is nearly 30% higher in disparity than the national average. It is also important to note that of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 79.3% are considered rural with the majority of physicians …

Botulinum Toxin For Abductor Type Spasmodic Dysphonia: A Systematic Review, Keyona Sutton

Honors Theses

A systematic review was conducted to show that BTX (Botulinum Toxin) is the most effective treatment for Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia (ABSD). There were a total of 117 records screened for inclusion in this review. After the initial screening, there were seven successive rounds of screening for eligibility. This process produced a total of three eligible records that met the following conditions: patients presented with spastic abduction, electromyography BTX type A injection into the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle, and measurement of results with acoustic dimensions. After surveying all eligible studies, it was concluded that BTX is an effective treatment for ABSD. Every …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Telehealth For Health Equity In Pediatric And Women's Health Care: Promise Vs Reality, Sharanya Chandu

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Telehealth interventions can transform the healthcare system to improve accessibility, quality of care, and outcomes for women’s obstetric health.

Objective: This literature review seeks to summarize current research to understand the effect of telehealth on women’s obstetrics and gynecology outcomes.

Methods: A literature review was conducted following the PRISMA methodology to identify a set of papers containing information related to obstetrics and maternal health. The search terms used identified telehealth or telemedicine interventions used for obstetric, maternal, or prenatal care from the period 2013-2023. 19 articles were identified and reviewed.

Results: The literature review considered three primary aspects from …

Aging An Ancient Maya Population From Actuncan, Belize Using Dental X-Rays, Kaitlyn Nicole Cash

Honors Theses

My goal is to determine an accurate age at death estimation of an ancient Maya population from the archaeological site of Actuncan, Belize. This was done by measuring the lengths of the coronal pulp cavities in the individuals’ teeth. I used X-Ray images to measure the coronal pulp cavities of the teeth and estimated age using multiple regression formulae for premolars, molars, and incisors to make age estimations. The formulae came from two studies, Ikeda et al. (1985) and Drusini (2008), that form the basis of my research. Ikeda et al. (1985) was the first to use this aging method, …

Women In Dentistry At The University Of Mississippi: Increasing The Confidence And Skills Of Future Women Dentists, Lakin Cramer

Honors Theses

Women in Dentistry became a registered student organization in February 2022. The purpose of the organization is to encourage and promote the professional and personal success of women in dentistry on the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. The historical and current literature of Women in Dentistry serve to provide a framework for the importance of uplifting women as they prepare for a career in dentistry. During my time as Founder and President of Women in Dentistry, my goal was to establish the organization, provide mentorship to prospective female dental school applicants, and increase the confidence and skills of future women …

The Associations Between Adolescent Motives For Social Media Use With Body Dysmorphia, Eating Disorder, And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Kaylan Melvin

Honors Theses

Adolescents spend a large amount of time on social media sites. This is notable, as adolescence is a crucial time for body image development. Additionally, recent findings suggest that using image-oriented social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, is associated with more body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Among previous studies, certain social media motivations have been found to have an association with poor body satisfaction and well-being in adolescents. To our knowledge, no studies have directly examined the association between social media motivations and eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents. The current study …

Dextromethorphan/Quinidine For The Pseudobulbar Affect In Neurological Disorders And Injuries: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Magnolia Livingston

Honors Theses

AVP-923, commonly known as Nuedexta or Zenvia, is a drug that has recently been suggested as a potential treatment for Pseudobulbar Affect in patients affected by different neurological disorders and injuries. Studies have been done to examine the effectiveness of AVP-923 on PBA, but the results of these studies don’t seem to be comparable. The goal of this meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy and safety of AVP-923. 781 individuals from six trials were included in the analysis. The analysis's findings revealed that AVP-923 considerably lowered the Center for Neurological Study Lability Scale (CNS-LS) scores and the frequency and severity …

Identification And Assessment Of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets In Human And Anatomy Physiology Undergraduate Students, Jayanti Shukla

Honors Theses

Fixed mindsets and growth mindsets are present in individual’s attitudes, affecting their motivations to complete responsibilities or overcome challenges. In this study, we aim to identify and assess the mindsets of undergraduate students partaking in the Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) undergraduate course at the University of Mississippi, the gateway course being well-known for its difficulty and being described as “daunting” to many allied-health majors. By utilizing Carol Dweck’s growth mindset model, we are interested in determining whether students possess a “fixed” mindset versus a “growth” mindset, in conjunction to assessing their classroom performance correlating with that demonstrated mindset. An …

It Is What It Is... Enduring The Never-Ending: The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Adult Children With Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities, Siri Gurunam Kaur Khalsa

Nursing ETDs

The parental home is the principal place of residence for adults with developmental disabilities/ intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) (Heller et al., 2007). More than 75% of the adult population with DD/ID living in the U.S. continue to have their basic needs provided by their parents (Williamson & Perkins, 2014). This is based on the estimated statistic that 1.0 to 1.58% of the U.S. adult population has a developmental disability (Anderson et al., 2019; Fox et al., 2015). About 2.9 million adults with DD/ID live with a parent of 55 years (Byun et al., 2006), with more than 25% of these parents …

Dynamic Assessment Of Aac Verb Symbols For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Valerie Prieto, Cindy Gevarter, Cathy Binger, Mary Hartley

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

This study used dynamic assessment (DA) with graduated prompting to evaluate whether preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrated learning potential with verb-based augmentative alternative communication (AAC) symbols. Four participants completed DA sessions across three instructional conditions: (a) requesting actions embedded in play, (b) labeling actions embedded in play, and (c) labeling actions presented via video. Performance across these conditions along with a control condition was compared using an adapted multielement single-case design. Three participants demonstrated learning in at least two instructional conditions, and only one showed progress in the control condition. Overall, participants initially required less cueing to …

Clinical Procedure Training For Physician Assistants: An Evaluation Of Reported Exposure And Perception Of Comfort To Perform, Allison Martin

Anatomical Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine physician assistant (PA) students’ perceptions of clinical procedure training following completion of didactic and clinical phases within a single program based in eastern Tennessee. The cross-sectional study design utilized two survey instruments to record responses from PA students. Responses were gathered from one cohort following the clinical rotation training phase of their program and from a consecutive cohort prior to beginning rotation training.

Evidence among medical student populations suggest that exposure to common clinical procedures is declining and reports from students indicate lower confidence to perform common procedures. The PA profession has …

Optimizing Tumor Xenograft Experiments Using Bayesian Linear And Nonlinear Mixed Modelling And Reinforcement Learning, Mary Lena Bleile

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

Tumor xenograft experiments are a popular tool of cancer biology research. In a typical such experiment, one implants a set of animals with an aliquot of the human tumor of interest, applies various treatments of interest, and observes the subsequent response. Efficient analysis of the data from these experiments is therefore of utmost importance. This dissertation proposes three methods for optimizing cancer treatment and data analysis in the tumor xenograft context. The first of these is applicable to tumor xenograft experiments in general, and the second two seek to optimize the combination of radiotherapy with immunotherapy in the tumor xenograft …

Investigating The Relationship Between Ses And Fear Of Covid-19 In A Sample Of Adults With And Without Asthma, Margot Salsman

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

While health challenges introduced by the coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the general population, individuals living with both asthma and low socioeconomic status (SES) may have been particularly vulnerable to health-related stress. For example, the CDC announced that a diagnosis of asthma increased one's risk of severe COVID- 19, emergency room closures restricted access to reliable disease management resources, and many lost health insurance after losing employment. Further, many essential or blue-collar workers could not protect themselves from disease by isolating themselves or quarantining at home. For these individuals, the pandemic may have introduced or exacerbated feelings of being "out …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Strategies To Manage And Prevent Lower Back Pain In College Students, Onique Bryson

Honors Capstones

Many young adults who are in college often struggle with maintaining their physical well-being and thus encounter severe-moderate lower back pain (LBP). In this project, a research development plan was created that will test the effectiveness of utilizing physical therapy (PT) to treat and or prevent LBP. The scope includes using standard PT techniques to evaluate students who may be struggling with LBP and teach them different measures to help themselves. The limit of the project is that the hypothesis will only be tested on Northern Illinois University (NIU) students, so results may vary for larger populations. A survey will …

A Global Federated Real-World Data And Analytics Platform For Research, Matvey B. Palchuk, Jack W. London, David Perez-Rey, Zuzanna J. Drebert, Jessamine P. Winer-Jones, Courtney N. Thompson, John Esposito, Brecht Claerhout

Kimmel Cancer Center Papers, Presentations, and Grand Rounds

Objective

This article describes a scalable, performant, sustainable global network of electronic health record data for biomedical and clinical research. Materials and Methods

TriNetX has created a technology platform characterized by a conservative security and governance model that facilitates collaboration and cooperation between industry participants, such as pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations, and academic and community-based healthcare organizations (HCOs). HCOs participate on the network in return for access to a suite of analytics capabilities, large networks of de-identified data, and more sponsored trial opportunities. Industry participants provide the financial resources to support, expand, and improve the technology platform in …

Neuroinflammatory And Metabolomic Temporal Dynamics From Inhaled Wildfire Smoke With Attenuation Via Pharmacological Intervention, David Scieszka

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Wildfire smoke is a global issue affecting nearly all humans on the surface of this Earth. Smoke dispersion from wildfires can span continents and cross oceans with amazing ease. Furthermore, total acres of land burned per year in the United States has roughly doubled since 1980, meaning this issue will persist for an indeterminate amount of time. Exposure to wildfire smoke is hazardous and promotes aging-associated events in the cardiopulmonary systems. Yet long- and short-term effects on the brain remain relatively unknown. From these, it is critically important to understand the neurological impacts from wildfire smoke exposure; to compare these …

Mental Health In College Athletes: An Ot Perspective, Olivia Sarik, Lakeisa Boykin, Susan Didino

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Problem: There is often increased stigma surrounding college athletes in the spotlight, thus preventing them from seeking help with their mental health (Kaier et al., 2015). There are currently no known programs that offer resources specifically for college athletes (Sudano & Miles, 2016). It is important for occupational therapists to advocate for mental health resources for student-athletes to create healthy habits and routines within the athletic environment.

Purpose: The purpose of this capstone was to increase awareness of mental health resources that are available to student-athletes and coaching staff at Baldwin Wallace University to improve mental health in athletics and …

Telepractice-Based Language Intervention Training For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sarah Bryan

Honors Theses

This study closely examined the progression and fidelity of strategy implementation of parents undergoing an ASD language intervention training program. This instructional, interactive program was designed for parents of children with autism, thus catering to the needs of participants involved. This study assessed the use of parent comments and redirects, two kinds of parent strategies, during each parent-child interaction to provide more information about the impact of training sessions. The researchers hypothesized that by the end of training, parent participants would increase their fidelity of strategy implementation, increase their use of comments rather than redirects, and employ more open-ended questions …

At The End Of Life: Conceptualizing Human Dignity And Assisted Suicide Debates In Contemporary Germany, Edith-Marie Green

Honors Theses

As medicine improves and breakthroughs on cures for illnesses formerly thought deadly continue to develop, the global population continues to age. This has introduced new concerns about aging and end-of-life health care. One proposed end-of-life healthcare solution is assisted suicide, although the practice is not without its controversies. The case of assisted suicide in Germany is of particular interest for a variety of reasons, and the practice has not had an easy path there. A series of debates in 2015 led to the practice being banned, but that ban was overturned in 2020 by Germany’s Constitutional Court. While assisted suicide …

An Examination Of The Research Addressing Evidence-Based Communication Approaches For Students With Autism, Sydni Kaye Mcatee

Honors Theses

The meta-analysis examines scholarly articles regarding research on evidence-based communication for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. More specifically, this research involves different forms of Alternative and Augmentative Communication. This form of communication is used without a voice. A variety of interventions for Manual Signing (MS), Speech Generating Devices (SGD), and Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) are reviewed within the research study. The purpose of this research is to define which evidence-based Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) interventions are most effective for children with Autism. More specifically, determining which form of communication can help lead children to more expressive language and …

Comparing Calculated And Perceived Energy Needs In Collegiate Student-Athletes, Lyndsey T. Reed

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate NCAA student-athletes' level of knowledge related to their energy needs. The participants were 75—42 male and 33 female—NCAA Division I student-athletes enrolled at the University of Mississippi (UM) from a variety of sports. In-person data collection took place at UM Athletics facilities by sports registered dietitians during team talks. The names of the athletes were used to find their pre-existing calculated energy, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and total energy expenditure (TEE) using the Nelson equation and the appropriate activity factor. Questionnaire and RMR/TEE data were analyzed and compared to assess knowledge related …