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The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) are highly valid depressive testing tools used to measure the symptom profile of depression globally and in South Asia, respectively (Steer et al., 1998; Kroenke et al, 2001). Even though the South Asian population comprises only

The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) are highly valid depressive testing tools used to measure the symptom profile of depression globally and in South Asia, respectively (Steer et al., 1998; Kroenke et al, 2001). Even though the South Asian population comprises only 23% of the world’s population, it represents one-fifth of the world’s mental health disorders (Ogbo et al., 2018). Although this population is highly affected by mental disorders, there is a lack of culturally relevant research on specific subsections of the South Asian population.<br/><br/>As such, the goal of this study is to investigate the differences in the symptom profile of depression in native and immigrant South Asian populations. We investigated the role of collective self-esteem and perceived discrimination on mental health. <br/><br/>For the purpose of this study, participants were asked a series of questions about their depressive symptoms, self-esteem and perceived discrimination using various depressive screening measures, a self-esteem scale, and a perceived discrimination scale.<br/><br/>We found that immigrants demonstrated higher depressive symptoms than Native South Asians as immigration was viewed as a stressor. First-generation and second-generation South Asian immigrants identified equally with somatic and psychological symptoms. These symptoms were positively correlated with perceived discrimination, and collective self-esteem was shown to increase the likelihood of these symptoms.<br/><br/>This being said, the results from this study may be generalized only to South Asian immigrants who come from highly educated and high-income households. Since seeking professional help and being aware of one’s mental health is vital for wellbeing, the results from this study may spark the interest in an open communication about mental health within the South Asian immigrant community as well as aid in the restructuring of a highly reliable and valid measurement to be specific to a culture.

ContributorsMurthy, Nithara (Co-author) / Swaminathan, Manasa (Co-author) / Vogel, Joanne (Thesis director) / Kwan, Sau (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description
Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by many chronic and acute conditions. With the prevalence and cost quickly increasing, we seek to improve on the current standard of care and create a rapid, label free sensor for glycated albumin (GA) index using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The antibody, anti-HA, was

Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by many chronic and acute conditions. With the prevalence and cost quickly increasing, we seek to improve on the current standard of care and create a rapid, label free sensor for glycated albumin (GA) index using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The antibody, anti-HA, was fixed to gold electrodes and a sine wave of sweeping frequencies was induced with a range of HA, GA, and GA with HA concentrations. Each frequency in the impedance sweep was analyzed for highest response and R-squared value. The frequency with both factors optimized is specific for both the antibody-antigen binding interactions with HA and GA and was determined to be 1476 Hz and 1.18 Hz respectively in purified solutions. The correlation slope between the impedance response and concentration for albumin (0 \u2014 5400 mg/dL of albumin) was determined to be 72.28 ohm/ln(mg/dL) with an R-square value of 0.89 with a 2.27 lower limit of detection. The correlation slope between the impedance response and concentration for glycated albumin (0 \u2014 108 mg/dL) was determined to be -876.96 ohm/ln(mg/dL) with an R-squared value of 0.70 with a 0.92 mg/dL lower limit of detection (LLD). The above data confirms that EIS offers a new method of GA detection by providing unique correlation with albumin as well as glycated albumin. The unique frequency response of GA and HA allows for modulation of alternating current signals so that several other markers important in the management of diabetes could be measured with a single sensor. Future work will be necessary to establish multimarker sensing on one electrode.
ContributorsEusebio, Francis Ang (Author) / LaBelle, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Pizziconi, Vincent (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Diabetes is a growing epidemic in developing countries, specifically in rural Kenya. In addition to the high cost of glucose testing, many diabetics in Kenya do not understand the importance of testing their blood glucose, let alone the nature of the disease. This project addresses the insufficiency of educational materials

Diabetes is a growing epidemic in developing countries, specifically in rural Kenya. In addition to the high cost of glucose testing, many diabetics in Kenya do not understand the importance of testing their blood glucose, let alone the nature of the disease. This project addresses the insufficiency of educational materials regarding diabetes in rural Kenya. The resulting documents can easily be adjusted for use in other developing countries.
ContributorsBuchak, Jacqueline (Author) / Caplan, Michael (Thesis director) / Snyder, Jan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Currently, the management of diabetes mellitus (DM) involves the monitoring of only blood glucose using self-monitoring blood glucose devices (SMBGs) followed by taking interventional steps, if needed. To increase the amount of information that diabetics can have to base DM care decisions off of, the development of an insulin biosensor

Currently, the management of diabetes mellitus (DM) involves the monitoring of only blood glucose using self-monitoring blood glucose devices (SMBGs) followed by taking interventional steps, if needed. To increase the amount of information that diabetics can have to base DM care decisions off of, the development of an insulin biosensor is explored. Such a biosensor incorporates electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to ensure an extremely sensitive platform. Additionally, anti-insulin antibody was immobilized onto the surface of a gold disk working electrode to ensure a highly specific sensing platform as well. EIS measurements were completed with a 5mV sine wave that was swept through the frequency spectrum of 100 kHz to 1 Hz on concentrations of insulin ranging from 0 pM to 100 μM. The frequency at which the interaction between insulin and its antibody was optimized was determined by finding out at which frequency the R2 and slope of the impedance-concentration plot were best. This frequency, otherwise known as the optimal binding frequency, was determined to be 459 Hz. Three separate electrodes were developed and the impedance data for each concentration measured at 459 Hz was averaged and plotted against the LOG (pM insulin) to construct the calibration curve. The response was calculated to be 263.64 ohms/LOG(pM insulin) with an R2 value of 0.89. Additionally, the average RSD was determined to be 19.24% and the LLD was calculated to be 8.47 pM, which is well below the physiological normal range. These results highlight the potential success of developing commercial point-of-care insulin biosensors or multi-marker devices operating with integrated insulin detection.
ContributorsDecke, Zachary William (Author) / LaBelle, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Pizziconi, Vincent (Committee member) / Cook, Curtiss (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
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Description
The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of two modes of exercise on depression in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Twelve participants randomly completed one of two exercise interventions. The interventions were: 1) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate 2) Assisted

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of two modes of exercise on depression in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Twelve participants randomly completed one of two exercise interventions. The interventions were: 1) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate 2) Assisted Cycling (AC), in which the participants' voluntary pedaling rates were augmented with a motor to ensure the maintenance of 80 rpms. In each intervention, the participant completed three cycling sessions each week for a total of eight weeks. Depression scores did decrease or improved after both AC and VC, but not significantly. There was a greater mean improvement for participants in the AC group than VC when analyzing total score and t-score. Future research will include a greater sample size and control group to reach significant results as well as try and reveal the mechanisms involved in these mental health improvements found after an acute bout of assisted cycling in adolescents with DS.
ContributorsTeslevich, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-12
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Description

The purpose of this study, which was done in conjunction with the Arizona Heart Foundation, was to evaluate whether pyridoxine accelerates ulcer wound healing in diabetic patients with ulcers in the lower extremities. In this study, 100 mg of pyridoxine per day was given to patients in the experimental grou

The purpose of this study, which was done in conjunction with the Arizona Heart Foundation, was to evaluate whether pyridoxine accelerates ulcer wound healing in diabetic patients with ulcers in the lower extremities. In this study, 100 mg of pyridoxine per day was given to patients in the experimental group (while they receive normal wound treatment) while patients in the control group received normal treatment of wounds without the pyridoxine. Over time, wound healing was evaluated by photographing and then measuring the size of patients' ulcer wounds on the photographs. Results from the experimental group were compared with those of the control group to evaluate the efficacy of the pyridoxine treatment. In addition, comparisons of the healing rates were made with respect to whether the patients smoked, had hypertension or hypotension, and the patients' body mass indexes. It has been found that there was no statistically significant difference in the mean healing rates between the control groups and experimental groups. In addition, it has been found that smoking, BMI and blood pressure did not have a statistically appreciable effect on the difference in mean healing rates between the control and experimental groups. This is evidence that pyridoxine did not have a statistically significant effect on wound healing rates.

ContributorsHaupt, Shawn Anthony (Author) / Caplan, Michael (Thesis director) / Pauken, Christine (Committee member) / Pagan, Pedro (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
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Description
This project aims to address the current protocol regarding the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in medical industries around the world. Although there are various methods used to qualitatively determine if TBI has occurred to a patient, this study attempts to aid in the creation of a

This project aims to address the current protocol regarding the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in medical industries around the world. Although there are various methods used to qualitatively determine if TBI has occurred to a patient, this study attempts to aid in the creation of a system for quantitative measurement of TBI and its relative magnitude. Through a method of artificial evolution/selection called phage display, an antibody that binds highly specifically to a post-TBI upregulated brain chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan called neurocan has been identified. As TG1 Escheria Coli bacteria were infected with KM13 helper phage and M13 filamentous phage in conjunction, monovalent display of antibody fragments (ScFv) was performed. The ScFv bind directly to the neurocan and from screening, phage that produced ScFv's with higher affinity and specificity to neurocan were separated and purified. Future research aims to improve the ScFv characteristics through increased screening toward neurocan. The identification of a highly specific antibody could lead to improved targeting of neurocan post-TBI in-vivo, aiding researchers in quantitatively defining TBI by visualizing its magnitude.
ContributorsSeelig, Timothy Scott (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects over 300 million people worldwide, with the hippocampus showing decreased volume and activity in patients with MDD. The current study investigated whether a novel preclinical model of depression, unpredictable intermittent restraint (UIR), would decrease hippocampal neuronal dendritic complexity. Adult Sprague Dawley rats (24 male, 24

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects over 300 million people worldwide, with the hippocampus showing decreased volume and activity in patients with MDD. The current study investigated whether a novel preclinical model of depression, unpredictable intermittent restraint (UIR), would decrease hippocampal neuronal dendritic complexity. Adult Sprague Dawley rats (24 male, 24 female) were equally divided into 4 groups: control males (CON-M), UIR males (UIR-M), control females (CON-F) and UIR females (UIR-F). UIR groups received restraint and shaking on an orbital shaker on a randomized schedule for 30 or 60 minutes/day for two to six days in a row for 26 days (21 total UIR days) before behavioral testing commenced. UIR continued and was interspersed between behavioral test days. At the end of behavioral testing, brains were processed. The behavior is published and not part of my honor’s thesis; my contribution involved quantifying and analyzing neurons in the hippocampus. Several neuronal types are found in the CA3 subregion of the hippocampus and I focused on short shaft (SS) neurons, which show different sensitivities to stress than the more common long shaft (LS) variety. Brains sections were mounted to slides and Golgi stained. SS neurons were drawn using a microscope with camera lucida attachment and quantified using the number of bifurcations and dendritic intersections as metrics for dendritic complexity in the apical and basal areas separately. The hypothesis that SS neurons in the CA3 region of the hippocampus would exhibit apical dendritic simplification in both sexes after UIR was not supported by our findings. In contrast, following UIR, SS apical dendrites were more complex in both sexes compared to controls. Although unexpected, we believe that the UIR paradigm was an effective stressor, robust enough to illicit neuronal adaptations. It appears that the time from the end of UIR to when the brain tissue was collected, or the post-stress recovery period, and/or repeated behavioral testing may have played a role in the observed increased neuronal complexity. Future studies are needed to parse out these potential effects.
ContributorsAcuna, Amanda Marie (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Olive, M. Foster (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
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Prior research suggests that African American adults are more likely than White adults to experience negative alcohol use outcomes such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) despite reporting lower rates of alcohol consumption. Research also shows that African Americans experience higher rates of depression, which can increase risk for alcohol consumption

Prior research suggests that African American adults are more likely than White adults to experience negative alcohol use outcomes such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) despite reporting lower rates of alcohol consumption. Research also shows that African Americans experience higher rates of depression, which can increase risk for alcohol consumption and AUD through drinking to cope. The current study examined the role of depressive symptoms and drinking to cope in alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms among White and Black/African American college students. Participants completed an online survey during the fall (T1) and spring semester (T2) of their first year of college (N = 2,168, 62.8% female, 75.8% White). Path analyses were conducted to examine whether depressive symptoms and drinking to cope mediated the association between race/ethnicity and alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms, as well as whether race/ethnicity moderated the associations between depressive symptoms, drinking to cope, and alcohol use outcomes. Results indicated that White participants had higher levels of depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption than African American participants. Drinking to cope at T1 was also associated with more depressive symptoms at T1, higher levels of alcohol consumption at T2, and higher levels of AUD symptoms at T2. Also, there was an indirect effect of depressive symptoms on AUD symptoms via drinking to cope. Results from multigroup path analyses suggested that depressive symptoms were more strongly associated with drinking to cope for White students than African American students. There were no significant racial/ethnic differences in the associations between depressive symptoms or drinking to cope and alcohol use outcomes. Future research should examine the roles of race, depression, and drinking to cope in alcohol use outcomes for college students.
ContributorsTaylor, Nicole (Author) / Su, Jinni (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Chassin, Laurie (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
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Sophia’s Stuffed Friends is a book written for children of divorce, aged five to eight years. The story deals with anxiety, depression, and misappropriated guilt in the form of character traits in Sophia’s stuffed animals. The story takes place in a dream world after the stuffed animals are thrown into

Sophia’s Stuffed Friends is a book written for children of divorce, aged five to eight years. The story deals with anxiety, depression, and misappropriated guilt in the form of character traits in Sophia’s stuffed animals. The story takes place in a dream world after the stuffed animals are thrown into the washer of the new family house. The washer acts as a portal to the dream world. The lessons of the story are learned through flashbacks to Sophia’s life when she personally experienced anxiety, depression, and guilt. Each character learns coping mechanisms and strategies to overcome those feelings.
Squeakie is a positive influence on the way the other characters perceive themselves. The shadow turns each character’s self-doubt and negative feelings into fuel, which he stores in a paintbrush. When he takes the fuel from the character, it fades their body color. Phan has anxiety and uses the 4-7-8 breathing technique to overcome her panic attacks. Her range of color is blue to light blue. Ovid feels guilty and exercises to take his mind off his guilty thoughts. Ovid is either red or light pink. Amelia is depressed and reframes her way of thinking to overcome her inability to fly. Visually she is green or light green. The shadow is later revealed as a misguided character who was just looking to escape the dream world and find friends.
The story is resolved by the stuffed animals joining forces with the perceived antagonist, the shadow, to operate a plane. They each use their strength of color to fuel the plane, which takes them back to the real world. When Sophia’s mom pulls the stuffed animals out of the washer, the shadow comes with them. The shadow, now a cat with rainbow patches, is instantly loved by Sophia. The story ends with the stuffed animals drying on the porch bench while Sophia plays with the shadow in the new backyard.
ContributorsWheeler, Isabella (Author) / Wells, Cornelia (Thesis director) / Fontinha de Alcantara, Christiane (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12