Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

Comparative Efficacy Of Foaming And Non-Foaming Handsoap In Reduction Of Microorganisms In Handwashing, Danielle Marie Conover

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Handwashing (HW) is a long established method to prevent disease transmission. Ensuring effectiveness of current HW methods is essential for optimal HW and enhanced disease prevention. The objectives of this research were to 1) conduct a survey of soap type and volume in food service establishments in Washington County, Arkansas; 2) investigate how soap type impacts HW behavior; and 3) determine the difference in microbial reduction between foaming (F) and liquid (L) handsoap. For Objective 1, food service establishments in Washington County, AR were selected based on exclusion criteria and random number generations, and handsoap samples were collected to determine …

Educated Birth: Beliefs Vs. Outcomes, Lauren Presley

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

“Our infant mortality rate is a national embarrassment.”¹ The words seem shocking and harsh across the headline of a 2014 Washington Post article. The thought of America not only not being the best at something, but falling upsettingly behind, is a foreign concept to many who view America as a nation inferior to none. However, the statistics on infant mortality rate tell the stark truth that of 26 “wealthy” countries, the U.S. ranks last, with a sobering 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live infant births.²

Part of the Healthy People 2020 Objectives is to reduce the rate of infant …

Socially Constructing Drug Addicts From The Poor: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Kalynn Susan Amundson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Welfare drug testing was authorized by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, and has subsequently garnered extensive legislative interest in numerous states. This policy raises several questions, which are the subjects of the two journal articles and one manuscript included in this dissertation.

The first article addresses the question of a possible confluence of War on Drugs and Welfare Reform policies as evidenced through welfare drug testing policy, and indicated by continuity in policymakers’ rhetoric. This study examines federal-level policymakers’ debate discourse in these two policy streams. The analysis finds themes of the Social pathology, …

A Wellness Profile Of Student-Veterans At 4-Year Higher Education Institutions: The Role Of Gender, Combat Tours, And Deployment, William Monroe Heath

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Afghanistan and Iraq war student-veterans have increased in population on college campuses in the United States (U.S.) as a result of using the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Healthy Campus 2020 (American College Health Association, 2012) highlighted the importance of college student wellbeing, health promotion and disease prevention, while the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has called for an approach to services that is strength based (United States Department of Veteran Affairs, 2008). To date, however, wellness studies conducted on Iraq and Afghanistan student-veterans using an evidenced-based model of holistic wellness have not been conducted. This study was designed to address …

Large-Scale Solution Approaches For Healthcare And Supply Chain Scheduling, Ridvan Gedik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research proposes novel solution techniques for two real world problems. We first consider a patient scheduling problem in a proton therapy facility with deterministic patient arrivals. In order to assess the impacts of several operational constraints, we propose single and multi-criteria linear programming models. In addition, we ensure that the strategic patient mix restrictions predetermined by the decision makers are also enforced within the planning horizon. We study the mathematical structures of the single criteria model with strict patient mix restrictions and derive analytical equations for the optimal solutions under several operational restrictions. These efforts lead to a set …

Presence Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes From Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent In Northwest Arkansas, Ryan Macleod, Mary Savin

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among bacterial populations are causing increasing concern with medical and agricultural implications. While the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is treated with a variety of antimicrobial methods, bacteria and the genetic material that is able to pass on antibiotic resistance to environmental populations are not completely destroyed. Ampicillin (amp), tetracycline (tet), and sulfonamide (sul) antibiotics have been detected in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) streams, and IncP plasmids—which are especially notorious for containing antibiotic resistance genes and have been detected after disinfection in NWA WWTPs—are known to carry ARGs for those antibiotics. The objective of this inquiry …

Alteration Of Host Cell Ubiquitination By The Intracellular Bacterial Pathogen Coxiella Burnetii, Lindsay Pritchett, Daniel E. Voth

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The intracellular bacterial agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii, replicates within a phagolysosomelike parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in human macrophages and delivers effector proteins to the host cytosol via a Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS). The T4SS effectors are critical for PV formation and prevention of host cell death that allows sufficient time for bacterial replication. Recruitment of ubiquitin-related components to the C. burnetii PV is also predicted to be involved in PV formation and bacterial replication and is likely controlled by effector proteins. In this study, we assessed the role of the Dot/Icm T4SS in regulating ubiquitination by comparing …

Fathers And Their Views On Discussing Sex And Sexuality With Their Daughters, Kindann M. Stone

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to identify characteristics and perceptions of fathers associated with discussions about sex and sexuality with their daughters. Parental communication, education, and value sharing reduces the risk of STD's and teen pregnancy. Participants were fathers (N=108) who were recruited by their daughters who were attending a Southeastern University. Demographics were utilized and researcher developed modified scales used in previous studies (citation). The newly developed scales were the Sexual Knowledge Inventory (SKI), Value of Self-Efficacy of Sexuality Communication (VSESC), Safe Sex of Self Efficacy of Sexuality Communication (SSSESC), Father's Role as Sex Educators Outcome Expectancy …

A Computational Model For Analysis Of Uncoupled No Synthase On Nitric Oxide And Superoxide Interaction In Microcirculation, William Richardson, Mahendra Kavdia

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial cells is a key component for blood-vessel dilation. Dilation is achieved through smooth muscle relaxation as a response to NO transport. Inhibition of this process occurs through the inactivation of NO by reactive oxygen species, especially superoxide (O2 -). NO and superoxide react quickly, forming peroxynitrite (ONOO-). Both superoxide and peroxynitrite apply oxidative stress on vascular tissue. Experimental studies investigating NO interactions are difficult since these reactions occur rapidly and over small distances. This study presents a computational model to describe the interactions of NO, superoxide, and peroxynitrite across an arteriole/venule pair. Based on …

Computer Model For Predicting Aids Among Intravenous Drug Users, Daniel Berleant, R. Ron Goforth, Jun Yuan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) is an important cause of HIV transmission. Computer simulation is one way to understand and predict the spread of HIV infection among IVDAs. We design and simulate HIV infection among IVDAs and the impact of AIDS on this community, and thereby predict future IVDA population, HIV levels, AIDS levels, and AIDS deaths in this group. The HIV to AIDS, and AIDS to Death latencies are described by probability density functions (PDFs) in this model. Factors such as the recruit, quit, and normal death rate of IVDAs, are considered, as well as the infection and removal rates …