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  BEST PRACTICES IN NEONATAL MICROBIOME DEVELOPMENT

  Hicks, Trysha Kaden (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  This thesis proposes best practice recommendations for healthcare professionals to encourage optimal microbiome development in full-term neonates through a variety of elective influences. Newborn care practices immediately following delivery are dependent on the setting, maternal decisions, prior education, and risks specific to each family. The effects of proper microbiome are important not only for a full-term infant’s health, but also for the child’s longterm growth. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Articles were narrowed to those published from 2007 to 2017. A total of 16 articles were reviewed in this thesis. The proposed best practice model for postnatal practice include vaginal birth when not medically contraindicated, exclusive breastfeeding, delayed bathing for up to 24 hours, use of skin-to-skin contact immediately following delivery, and limiting antibiotic exposure to the infant. Through education to both the nursing staff and the expecting families, hospitals will be able to implement these practices when it is safe to do so. Educating the healthcare professionals through a protocol recommendation is pivotal to implementing this change, as they have a responsibility to inform the expectant parents on the evidence supporting these interventions.
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  The Experience of Male Nursing Students in Professional Entry-Level Programs

  Harvison, Brandon Michael (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The topic of this thesis is the male nursing experience. It was chosen due to the knowledge that the United States has a rapidly changing population that will eventually require the most diverse nursing population possible. This means that priority should be given to retaining male nursing students, as the majority of males in nursing identify with minority groups rather than as white or Caucasian. To do this, nursing programs must address the level of belongingness that their male students feel. The research study in this thesis was meant measure the level of belongingness of male student nurses in a College of Nursing compared to their female counterparts. This was completed through a survey with a questionnaire. It answered: Do male and female nursing students feel a sense of belonging within their nursing program?, Do male and female nursing students have a difference in experience in reference to their feelings of belonging?, and Do nursing students feel that male nursing students in professional entry-level programs at the College of Nursing are treated differently? Data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics and concluded that although male nursing students scored lower levels of belonging, it was not statistically significant.
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  EVIDENCE INFORMED STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE USE AND EXPERIENCE OF HEALTHCARE BY HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS

  Oh, Jessica Hyunjung (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The purpose of this thesis was to provide evidence informed strategies through online modules and in-class testimonial for healthcare providers treating the homeless individuals. There has been an increase of 0.7% of homeless population in the last year in America (“Homelessness in America: Overview of Data and Causes”, 2018). Additionally, the individuals facing homelessness have greater risks for morbidities and mortalities due to the lack of safe environment. Many individuals find it difficult to obtain medical attention from lack of intimate care in the hospital and lack of resources, such as transportation and insurance. The health care providers, too, feel that they do not know enough about homelessness to educate the individuals on further treatment. Implementing online training programs for nurses working in the emergency department to utilize resources and referrals and to educate on background of homelessness would provide nurses with necessary evidence-based information needed to guide them in providing care to homeless individuals.
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  PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY THROUGH HEALTH PROMOTION: A BEST PRACTICE APPROACH

  Merchant, Samantha Zepeda (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The purpose of this thesis was to create a primary prevention program based on best-practice recommendations for addressing childhood obesity in school age children. In the United States that are currently 12.7 million children and adolescents who are considered to be obese based on standard BMI measurements (CDC, 2017a). This has continued to increase over time. Obesity in childhood has also been shown to continue into adulthood, so preventing obesity in children may help to reduce obesity across the life span (CDC, 2017b). There are current educational materials and programs to prevent childhood obesity, but each have varying results. There are identified strengths and weaknesses to these programs that limit their full potential. Synthesizing the strengths from current childhood obesity prevention programs for school-age children will result in a best practice primary prevention program. The theoretical implementation of this program aims to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity by educating children on nutrition and physical exercise, and forming healthy habits.
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  EXPERIENCES OF FATHERS DURING CHILDBIRTH: KEY ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

  Tran, Connie Tunhi (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The aim of this paper is to develop evidence-informed best practices for improving the experiences of fathers present during childbirth. Historically, fathers were sometimes not present during the births of their children for several reasons. Fear of infection, detraction from physician autonomy, and the strong female support system during childbirth are all reasons why husbands were not traditionally involved in the child-birthing process. With the movement of childbirth into hospitals and the medicalization of childbirth, partners of pregnant women eventually were included during the labor and delivery of their children, which was found to promote better health outcomes for the mother, as well as neonatal growth and development (Brandao & Figueiredo, 2012; Leavitt, 2010; Poh, Lin Koh, Seow, & He, 2014). Unfortunately, many fathers report feeling out of place, uninvolved, uninformed, and without a clearly defined role (Brandao & Figueiredo, 2012; Inglis, Sharman, & Reed, 2016; Longworth & Kingdon, 2011). Thus, best practice recommendations for the inclusion of fathers in the child-birthing process should include male oriented antenatal education, labor and delivery staff support and encouragement, information provided to fathers about birth progress and complications, and the maintenance of the family unit.
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  THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME ON MYOPIA PREVALENCE

  Song, Julie Feifei (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  While the impact of cell phone screens on myopia over time is still unknown, there has been literature that might suggest a possible connection. This thesis examines the idea that increased screen time over the last few decades has had an impact on the prevalence and increased myopia over time. It first investigates how different parts of the visual pathway work and how myopia plays a role in disrupting the typical visual pathway. It then assesses the current literature available regarding studies that may lend some similarities to the relationship between cell phone usage and myopia. The thesis finds that while there are studies that suggest a possible linkage between cell phone screen time and myopia, there is still no concrete evidence that there is a link between the two. More research still needs to be done to verity that there is a positive correlation between the prevalence of myopia and the amount of daily screen time experienced.
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  MODELING THE EFFECTS OF ARSENIC INHALATION EXPOSURE ON APICAL BRONCHIAL EPITHELIAL BARRIER FUNCTION

  Bertram, Sara (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  This thesis is a research-based approach to determining an experimental model that accurately mimics inhalation of environmentally relevant concentrations of arsenic. The model will be established by using an immortalized human bronchial cell line seeded on filters that allow access to the apical and basolateral surfaces of the upper respiratory epithelium. Further, this model will be used to understand how inhalatory arsenic exposure affects the upper airway epithelial barrier function via tight junction proteins and subsequently contributes to respiratory disease.
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  ADDRESSING ADVERSE ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY FOR CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT

  Karcher, Christiana Barbara (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  This thesis explores attitudes toward complementary therapies, attitudes which may adversely affect the integration of creative therapies into traditional medical practice for chronic pain management. Through multiple forms of research, a distinct pattern becomes prevalent: attitudes are specific to each stakeholder's role in experiencing, managing, or responding to pain. In turn, they end up shaping stakeholder perspective on efficacy, feasibility, or worth, and as such they carry the potential of becoming impediments to creative pain management, particularly when they are adverse. More discussion between stakeholders would perhaps bring about a better understanding and reception of complementary therapies. A diverse yet representative panel discussion provides opportunity for community insight towards complementary therapies, whilst reducing barriers brought up by attitude, by essentially allowing for open communication and the reevaluation of preconceptions. Such an event was hosted; it included 3 unique panelists and attracted an audience of 51 people. Discussion focused on complementary therapy as seen by each panelist, along with its potential for being integrated further into medicine within the community. It was generally successful, indicating that small efforts of cooperation among stakeholders have the potential to positively influence attitudes toward complementary therapy for pain management.
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  UDL: A TOOL FOR INCREASING ACCESS TO LEARNING

  Emmert, Clare Ann (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  As the student population on University campuses continues to diversify, there is an increasing need for course curriculum that models the core values of access, equity, and inclusion. Universal Design for Learning, a theoretical framework that expects diversity, can be used in the design and implementation of course curriculum that facilitates effective learning for all students. Using the UDL Guidelines Checklist, two courses in the department of Family Studies and Human Development were evaluated for their alignment with UDL principles. Results indicate that UDL alignment is poor across both course curriculums, emphasizing the need for further research that explores the barriers to UDL implementation. Introduction For many, the experience of going to college is invaluable, as it brings both exciting and challenging opportunities to learn. While universities enroll individuals from vastly different backgrounds, including some who have already held a career and others who have yet to decide which major fits their interests, there is one theme that unites the student body: the years spent on a college campus can be transformative. As individuals take classes, live on their own, and make more choices independently, they develop lifelong friendships, greater responsibility, and a career interest. Undeniably, the university experience serves as a conduit for personal growth for many who participate. For people with intellectual disabilities, this life-changing experience is not typically accessible. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an evidence-based theoretical framework that targets this gap, as it aims to create course curricula that are accessible to not only students with diverse learning needs, but to all learners. This project serves as a starting point for evaluation of UDL implementation on the University of Arizona campus by assessing two Family Studies and Human Development (FSHD) course curricula.
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  REMOVAL OF ARSENIC FROM GROUNDWATER IN BLACK CANYON CITY

  Kaplan, Leah Rose (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The report presents a design for a plant that treats groundwater in the Black Canyon City area by reducing the amount of arsenic in the water to meet the MCL standard, as determined by the EPA. The EPA guidelines state that the amount of arsenic present in groundwater must be under 10 ppb. Long term exposure to arsenic has been linked to several health issues including cancer and Blackfoot disease. There are many different ways to remove arsenic from water. The designed process for this project includes four major unit operations -- chlorination, adsorption, desorption, and arsenic precipitation. Post-treatment, the arsenic level in the water will be below the MCL, making it safe for human consumption.
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  EXAMINING THE RISKS OF INSECURE PUBLIC WI-FI NETWORKS

  Bushell, Kelsey Elizabeth (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  One of the most globally-accepted and experienced technological upgrades today is wireless Internet connections facilitated by Wi-Fi. However, like nearly any technological feature of the 21st century, there are significant security issues that must be addressed in terms of privacy and protection of data distributed over a Wi-Fi network, especially when that network is public and lacks a legitimate, secure connection. The vast majority of Internet users are unaware of the risks they face when using an insecure public Wi-Fi connection. One common breach of information occurs when malicious individuals who create “evil twin” networks to mislead users to divulge information. These attacks occur over a network that users believe is secured by legitimate sources, like their neighborhood Starbucks or the airports and hotels they visit. Evil Twin attacks can be used to obtain all of the information shared over a network by a user, such as login credentials on websites. This project is intended to study Evil Twin attacks, the behaviors and decisions that increase an individual’s risk of being the target of an attack, and the subsequent dangers a victim is vulnerable to once they fall prey to the attack.
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  THE OCCURRENCE OF VIOLENCE VIA LIVE STREAM TECHNOLOGY

  Wood, Emma Jane (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Live streaming seems to be taking the tech world by storm. Content delivered to the palm of one’s hand at the exact moment it is occurring somewhere else in the world. It adds another dimension to the user experience and it allows us to feel connected to the event or the occurrence. It is a raw video feed that transports users to the exact moment and location in which something is happening. As of right now, it is the closet technology to teleportation. No longer do we as consumers have to wait for the news feed to come out after the matter. We can watch it immediately, in real time. This type of raw video has power. It is completely unfiltered; however, there are cases in which that video should be. With this, there have been far too many times in which violent acts are completed over live stream. This paper looks to answer the question: if the increase in popularity and use of live stream technologies has also increased violence?
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  CQA INVESTMENT CHALLENGE: APPLIED KNOWLEDGE

  LeDuc, Joseph Russell III (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The CQA Investment Challenge primarily explored the realm of portfolio management, offering a chance to learn and apply equity analysis and selection in a simulated hedge fund experience. This endeavor drove me to apply the knowledge I have gained about finance and the financial markets throughout my time at the University, serving as an ideal culmination of my experiences from the past four years. In a group of four other Honors students, we were responsible for managing money, describing our investment process, and reviewing the performance of our portfolio, while competing against approximately fifty other teams from various colleges across the country. We placed in the top thirty, realizing nearly flat returns, while employing a factor-based strategy based on our predication of an imminent flat-to-down market. The range of returns between all teams ranged from -9.49% to +9.25%. Ultimately, we prevented significant losses in a market that did not perform according to our forecast.
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  A MEASURE OF THE IMPACT OF BCOM314 CLASSES ON THE TUCSON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

  Scibilia, Natalie (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The purpose of this thesis is to quantify the impact of Eller BCOM314 student groups on The Tucson Jewish Community Center (The J), where the groups offer strategic plans for various program and operational improvements at The J, as requested by management. I created a logarithmic regression model to test how membership level was impacted by each of the recommendations upon implementation. The overall impact of the implementation of BCOM314 groups’ recommendations was estimated to be positive. This was due to the implied positive effect of the recommendations on new membership and lack of effect on cancellations. Because this study was observational, the regression model could not distill the effect of each recommendation and the small sample size caused large standard errors, both of which mitigate the conclusiveness of the results. However, this methodology can be applied to other Eller initiatives to measure their impact in the community.
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  STRESS, HAPPINESS AND DISHONEST BEHAVIOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

  Medai, Evelyn Maria (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Dishonesty in the workplace is nothing new. For years, researchers in economics, business management, and psychology have sought to understand what causes people to act dishonestly. Our experiment aims to find out if emotions have an effect on honesty. Using a simple dierolling task created by Fischbacher and Föllmi-Heusi (2013) to detect levels of dishonesty, we tested the effects of induced Happiness, Anxiety, and Neutrality on students at the University of Arizona. The experiment is designed in such a way that dishonesty cannot be detected on an individual level, and instead is measured by analyzing the aggregate data of a certain group of subjects. This gives subjects an incentive to behave dishonestly and maximize their payoff without fear of repercussion. This also allows us to measure levels of dishonesty and compare moderate lying to severe lying. Through our analysis, we found that people do indeed behave more honestly in a state of Happiness than they do in a state of Neutrality or Stress.
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  SHARED INTENTIONALITY BETWEEN HUMANS AND CANINES

  Wambold, Tegan (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  It is argued by some that humans are set apart from all other species by their social abilities, most notably their ability to exhibit shared intentionality, which refers to the shared psychological states of two (or more) individuals working together toward a common goal, achieved through a joint effort and coordinated roles. By age 2, human toddlers outperform non-human primates on sociocognitive tasks, despite performing similarly on tasks involving physical reasoning. Previous studies have suggested that domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, could potentially have the ability to also exhibit shared intentionality with humans, as they have similar underlying social cognitive abilities (MacLean, Herrmann, Suchindran, & Hare, 2017). We tested 25 dogs in a newly developed canine shared intentionality test to examine if individual dogs would preferentially reengage a cooperating human over a non-cooperating human, when presented with an unsolvable task. We found no evidence in this study to indicate that dogs exhibit shared intentionality with humans by preferentially reengaging a cooperative human over a non-cooperative human in a triadic food acquisition task. Other recent studies, however, indicate that dogs will gaze at humans when presented with insoluble tasks, and outperform socialized wolves when following human cues (Miklosi, Kubinyi, Topal, Gascsi, Virani, Csanyi, 2003). Future studies are needed to determine if the similar underlying social cognitive structures between humans and domestic dogs allow for shared intentionality between the two species.
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  THE PREVALENCE OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM SPP. IN PRE- AND POST- WEANED CALVES

  Solinsky, Miriam Elizabeth (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Cryptosporidium is a gastrointestinal parasite that affects multiple species of animals and humans. Its prevalence is of particular interest to the veterinary community as cattle are commonly infected, leading to lower production of milk and meat, causing monetary losses to cattle ranchers, and a subsequent increase in food prices. The three main species of Cryptosporidium that infect cattle are C. parvum, C. andersoni, and C. bovis. While related, each affects cattle very differently both in the age when infected and the symptomology. C. parvum is the most frequently found in newborn and pre-weaned calves, and triggers symptoms of diarrhea, fever, dehydration, and anorexia. In contrast, C. andersoni and C. bovis infect cattle post-weaning, with increased prevalence in age up to two years. While C. bovis is largely asymptomatic, C. andersoni elicits only subclinical symptoms of weight loss and reduced milk production. Currently there are no approved prevention/treatment regimens in place for cryptosporidiosis, with care being provided on a symptomatic basis only. qPCR was utilized to test calves from six cattle operations for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp., and to determine the demographics of the cattle affected. The results from this research line up with prevalent knowledge of Cryptosporidium spp.
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  AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BLOOM PETIOLE TISSUE SAMPLE NITROGEN CONTENT AND YEAST ASSIMILABLE NITROGEN IN VITIS VINIFERA WINE GRAPES

  Kramer, Preston Howard (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen plays an extremely important role in the fermentation of grape juice into wine. Suboptimal or superoptimal levels of YAN in must can lead to sluggish and stuck fermentations as well as off aromas and tastes in the final wine. Application of nitrogen fertilizer in the vineyard pre-harvest can increase YAN content in grapes to optimal levels and is cheaper than post harvest YAN adjustments. This article explores the relationship between bloom petiole tissue sample nitrogen content and YAN at harvest do determine if bloom petiole tissue sample nitrogen content can be used as an early season indicator of the necessity of nitrogen fertilizer to raise YAN content in grapes. The relationship is explored by analyzing previously published articles that contain both YAN and bloom petiole tissue sample nitrogen content, compiling the data, and determining through linear regression if a linear relationship exists between the two data points. The article concludes that no linear relationship exists between the two data points and that bloom petiole tissue sample nitrogen content is not an appropriate early season predictor of nitrogen fertilizer need.
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  ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIC CORRELATES OF SPATIAL RELEASE FROM MASKING

  McFarlane, Kailyn Alyssa (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Speech is difficult to understand in the presence of background noise. When the speech signal and source(s) of the background noise are spatially separated, it becomes easier to detect the speech. This is known as spatial release from masking (SRM). Previous research using perceptual test methods has demonstrated that listeners with hearing loss have variable benefit from SRM. This study documented the benefits of SRM using the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) in response to speech tokens as noise level and location were varied. CAEPs from twenty normally hearing adults were recorded in response to consonant-vowel speech tokens in quiet, co-located noise and spatially separated noise. SRM benefit was measured by comparing the latency an amplitude of CAEP components P1, N1, and P2 in co-located and spatially separated conditions. Psychophysical tests of speech perception were completed in the same co-located and spatially separated noise conditions. Latencies and amplitudes of the CAEP components showed a systematic shift as a function of noise location, level, SNR, and stimulus. Co-located conditions across all stimuli, levels, and SNRs had longer latencies and smaller amplitudes than the spatially separated conditions, demonstrating an electrophysiologic analog of perceptual SRM. These results provide a baseline for investigation of SRM benefits in adults with hearing loss.
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  TALKER VARIABILITY AND WORD LEARNING IN NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

  Bruske, Christopher James (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Research has shown that presenting stimuli in high variability conditions can lead to an increase in word learning and association in children, and it is hypothesized that the same can occur in adults. This experiment aimed to investigate if talker variability can assist in the spelling of academic vocabulary in both native and non-native English speakers. College aged students were trained using a computer generated program to assess spelling and recognition of vocabulary words for which they had previously been unable to provide a correct or plausible orthographic production. From the limited number of participants run, a variable pattern in the improvement of spelling in the different conditions was shown, as some subjects improved on words in the high condition, while others did better in the low. Overall, participants did display an average 30% improvement in just five minutes of training. More subjects will be needed to determine if high variability phonological input can lead to improved spelling of academic vocabulary. Specifically more non-native English speakers will be needed to make conclusions about potential differences in auditory mapping.

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