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Description
Over the past three decades, medical anthropology research, published within both public health and anthropological journals, demonstrates both the prevalence of traditional folk medicine in Latino populations in the United States and the potential difficulty of negotiating these beliefs and practices with clinical, western biomedicine. I bring attention to what might be a narrative of divergent values that occurs in Latino communities in the United States. A well-documented source (Pachter, 1994) of this clash is the culturally pervasive use of folk medicine in Latino layperson populations seeking biomedical care in the Unites States (U.S.). Numerous studies (Padilla, 2001; Koss 1972) suggest that a significant portion of Latinos in the continental United States call upon folk knowledge to diagnose, reinterpret, and treat illness. The Puerto Rican population seems to be no exception, though few studies are specific to native-born Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico, where the issue of access to quality public health care becomes increasingly problematic. In this honors undergraduate thesis project, I conduct a review of the literature that bridges anthropology and public health research and proceed to describe a study I conducted on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico in May of 2015. The study aims to determine whether patient satisfaction can be linked to being treated by a physician hailing from a similar cultural background, or if an irredeemable disparity between patient and provider present a roadblock to health outcomes. I found that the Puerto Rican physicians are receptive to folk illness (symptoms) and consider folk therapy as part of the treatment regimen. The physicians make patients feel understood, which might improve treatment adherence and thus health outcomes. Still, respondents demonstrated that there is high patient trust in the biomedical model by emphasizing the use of conventional medications in tandem with the folk therapy. Nevertheless, the health care provider's disposition in regards to folk knowledge and modalities are important but does not present a roadblock to optimal care and health outcomes as much as access, available services or clinic resources.
ContributorsVanasse-Torres, Elena Georgina (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / MartÃÂnez, AirÃÂn (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Memory CD8+ T-cells can persist in the absence of antigen, primed for immediate activation and proliferation if later exposed to the same antigen. These cytotoxic lymphocytes provide long-term immunity following an acute infection. Studies have observed that intermediate levels of general T cell transfer prior to infection may cause an inappropriate response resulting in increased pathology rather than prevention. Therefore, our study focused on a memory CD8 T-cell therapy using lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) specific splenocytes, which activate and proliferate at an accelerated pace compared to that of naive T-cells. LCMV is a natural murine pathogen which also poses a zoonotic infection threat to humans, and the effect of immune cell vaccination therapies for LCMV is not fully understood. We observed the effect of multiple memory CD8 T cell dosage levels on overall disease and memory CD8 T-cell response to the virus. Infection by exposure to a carrier was shown to have a reduced impact on mice receiving higher doses of memory T cells prior to infection compared to mice receiving less or no memory cells. Higher presence of activated memory cells were shown to correlate with less disease-related weight loss and accelerated recovery times. Survival rate after exposure to carriers was not shown to be affected by dosage level, warranting further research regarding the prevalence of the immunopathology observed in other studies in natural murine transmission models.
ContributorsMiller, Charles (Author) / Blattman, Joseph (Thesis director) / Holechek, Susan (Committee member) / Carmen, Joshua (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician facilitates a patient's death by prescribing a lethal medication that they understand will be used for the purpose of ending the patient's life. It is a highly contentious subject and, with the recent addition of California to the list of states that allow physician-assisted suicide, is an increasingly relevant subject. Physician-assisted suicide is rarely framed as a healthcare experience, despite being a choice in the process of end-of-life care. The research seeks to bring together the debates about physician-assisted suicide with conversations about health care experiences. The experiences and perspectives of young people are particularly valuable to evaluate now, as their voices will soon be the leaders in the debate over physician-assisted suicide. Within this research, there is an underlying theme of independence of individuals that is present through both the literature review and the body of data collected and analyzed. The study found that there was no significant relationship between the quality of a person's healthcare and their perspectives about physician-assisted suicide.
ContributorsMoeur, Katherine Elizabeth (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Graff, Sarah (Committee member) / Stevenson, Christine (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In this study, we propose and then assess the efficacy of a new approach to static suspension to correct for facial paralysis. Our method involves placing barbed sutures through the superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS) and anchoring them in the temporal fascia parallel to the underlying facial muscles. We first analyzed the ability of this procedure to improve facial symmetry by comparing the degree of asymmetry between the paralyzed and unaffected sides of a patient's face (N=10) prior to and following surgery. Then, to determine if symmetry is improved as a result of placing the sutures parallel to the direction of facial muscle forces, we measured the vectors of levator labii superioris and zygomaticus major in cadaver hemifaces (N=3) and compared them to the angles of the vectors of correction from the patient sample to angles of muscle vectors in three facial hemispheres from cadaver controls. Results indicate that: (1) facial symmetry was significantly improved in these patients and (2) this improvement. We conclude that, compared to existing protocols, our novel surgical method is a better means of static suspension for reconstruction following onset of facial paralysis as it is simple to perform, easy to replicate, able to be post-operatively adjusted in-office, has a good long-term prognosis, and, as we have demonstrated, effectively corrects the appearance of asymmetry by working with the underlying facial anatomy.
ContributorsLeach, Garrison Alecsander (Co-author) / Joganic, Jessica (Co-author) / Hooft, Nicole (Co-author) / Joganic, Edward (Co-author, Committee member) / Foy, Joseph (Thesis director) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Paleodietary analysis through the interpretation of stable isotopic analyses can be used to determine the approximate diet consumed at archaeological sites. The following question was investigated through the course of this research: What are the differences between the Middle Horizon capital of Tiwanaku and the associated colony of Chen Chen; and what do these differences, including those associated with paleodiet, suggest about interactions between the two sites? The main hypothesis suggested a similar dietary analysis between the two sites with two possible explanations. First, it is possible that similarities between the sites were due to the exchange and consumption of goods at both locations, perhaps through trade. Secondly, it is possible that the similarities were due to the acquisition of similar goods through local sourcing or limited trade. To assess this, an analysis was conducted based on δ13Cdiet (VPDB) values in the comparison of the city center Tiwanaku and the agricultural site of Chen Chen. Archaeological bone samples were processed from a diverse group of individuals at Chen Chen and combined with published values by Tomczak (2001), then compared against δ13C from Tiwanaku, published by Berryman (2010). After conversion to δ13Cdiet (VPDB) as described by Kellner and Schoeninger (2007), it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the δ13Cdiet (VPDB) values from either site, suggesting a similar ratio of goods consumed. These values were then compared to baseline values from the region to determine an approximate ratio of C3 to C4 flora or dependent fauna consumed. These data most likely support the second explanation of the main hypothesis, that both sites had access to similar goods through local sourcing or limited trade as an explanation for their similarity. However, because a similar ratio of foods consumed was determined in this analysis, it is still possible that trade occurred in both directions between Tiwanaku and Chen Chen. Additional isotopic analyses would be required to support the first claim, which can be addressed in future research projects.
ContributorsDouglas, Brynn Babette (Author) / Knudson, Kelly (Thesis director) / Spielmann, Katherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Influenza is a deadly disease for which effective vaccines are sorely lacking. This is largely due to the phenomena of antigenic shift and drift in the influenza virus's surface proteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). The ectodomain of the matrix 2 protein (M2e) of influenza A, however, has demonstrated high levels of conservation. On its own it is poorly immunogenic and offers little protection against influenza infections, but by combining it with a potent adjuvant, this limitation may be overcome. Recombinant immune complexes, or antigens fused to antibodies that have been engineered to form incredibly immunogenic complexes with one another, were previously shown to be useful, immunogenic platforms for the presentation of various antigens and could provide the boost in immunogenicity that M2e needs to become a powerful universal influenza A vaccine. In this thesis, genetic constructs containing geminiviral replication proteins and coding for a consensus sequence of dimeric M2e fused to antibodies featuring complimentary epitopes and epitope tags were generated and used to transform Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The transformed bacteria was then used to cause Nicotiana benthamiana to transiently express M2e-RICs at very high levels, with enough RICs being gathered to evaluate their potency in future mouse trials. Future directions and areas for further research are discussed.
ContributorsFavre, Brandon Chetan (Author) / Mason, Hugh (Thesis director) / Mor, Tsafrir (Committee member) / Diamos, Andrew (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The NCAA recently declared sickle cell trait (SCT) to be a risk factor for sudden illness and death among student athletes. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) concentration in adults is negatively correlated with disease severity in sickle cell anemia, although its effect on SCT is not fully understood and the concentration is found to have high variability across populations. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the human beta globin gene cluster, rs7482144 and rs10128556, contribute to the heritable variation in HbF levels and are associated with increased HbF concentrations in adults. A sample population of NCAA football student athletes was genotyped for these two polymorphisms, and their allele frequencies were compared to those of other populations. The minor allele of both polymorphisms had allele frequencies of 0.091 in the sample population, which compared closely with other populations of recent African heritage but was significantly different from European populations. The results of this study will be included in a larger study to predict whether these among other polymorphisms can be used as markers to predict susceptibility to heat-related emergencies in NCAA student athletes with SCT, although the small sample size will delay this process until participation in the study increases. Since both rs7482144 and rs10128556 exhibit high levels of linkage disequilibrium, and as their contributions to the heritable variability of HbF concentrations tend to differ greatly between populations of different ancestry, further investigations should be aimed at distinguishing between the effects of each SNP in African American, European, and other populations represented in NCAA football before conclusions can be drawn as to their practical use as genetic markers of heat susceptibility in student athletes with SCT.
ContributorsGrieger, Ryan Wayne (Author) / Stone, Anne C. (Thesis director) / Rosenberg, Michael (Committee member) / Madrigal, Lorena (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Vaccine opposition is a growing problem in developed countries where dropping vaccination rates threaten general public health by laying the foundation for resurgence and reemergence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. This thesis argues that the current movement is only the most recent incarnation of opposition that has co-evolved with vaccine practices for the duration of their mutual histories. Part one provides a historical context for the current movement using the example of the development and deployment of the smallpox vaccine as a representative timeline of vaccine acceptance and opposition. Part two describes the current movement in the United States and the United Kingdom, interprets the reasons for the conclusions drawn by vaccine-concerned parents, and provides a framework for public health officials to approach the issues.
ContributorsKost, Stephanie Michelle (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / Hurlbut, Ben (Committee member) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Early humans adapted to eating cooked food with increased energy density and absorption of macronutrients. However, in modern times many suffer from diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes which can result from too much energy being absorbed from food. This study measures glucose responses to a high glycemic meal with a side dish of raw or cooked vegetables. There was a slight trend for raw vegetables to have decreased postprandial blood glucose responses when compared to cooked vegetables.
ContributorsWilkins, Christine Marie (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Jacobs, Mark (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Dengue virus infects millions of people every year. Yet there is still no vaccine available to prevent it. Here we use a neutralizing epitope determinant on the dengue envelope (E) protein as an immunogen to be vectored by a measles virus (MV) vaccine. However the domain III (DIII) of the dengue 2 E protein is too small to be immunogenic by itself. In order for it to be displayed on a larger particle, it was inserted into the amino terminus of small hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg, S) coding sequence. To generate the recombinant MV vector and verify the efficiency of this concept, a reverse genetics system was used where the MV vectors express one or two additional transcription units to direct the assembly of hybrid HBsAg particles. Two types of recombinant measles virus were produced: pB(+)MVvac2(DIII-S,S)P and pB(+)MVvac2(DIII-S)N. Virus recovered from pB(+)MVvac2(DIII-S,S)P was viable. An ELISA assay was performed to demonstrate the expression and secretion of HBsAg. Supernatant from MVvac2(DIII-S,S)P infected cells confirmed that hybrid HBsAg-domain III particles with a density similar to traditional HBsAg particles were released. Characteristics of the subviral particle have been analyzed for the successful incorporation of domain III. The replication fitness of the recombinant MV was evaluated using multi-step growth kinetics and showed reduced replication fitness when compared to the parental strain MVvac2. This demonstrates that viral replication is hindered by the addition of the two inserts into MV genome. Further analysis of MVvac2(DIII-S)N is needed to justify immune response studies in a small animal model using both of the generated recombinant vectors.
ContributorsHarahap, Indira Saridewi (Author) / Reyes del Valle, Jorge (Thesis director) / Hogue, Brenda (Committee member) / Misra, Rajeev (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05