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- All Subjects: public health
- All Subjects: Embryology
- Creators: Maienschein, Jane
Description
This thesis explores concept of "global bioethics" in both its development as well as its current state in an effort to understand exactly where it fits into the larger field of bioethics. Further, the analysis poses specific questions regarding what it may contribute to this field and related fields, and the possibility and scope associated with the continued development of global bioethics as its own discipline. To achieve this, the piece addresses questions regarding current opinions on the subject, the authorities and their associated publications related to global bioethics, and what the aims of the subject should be given its current state. "Global Bioethics" is a term that, while seen frequently in bioethics literature, is difficult to define succinctly. While many opinions are provided on the concept, little consensus exists regarding its application and possible contributions and, in some cases, even its very possibility. Applying ethical principles of health and medicine globally is undoubtedly complicated by the cultural, social, and geographical considerations associated with understanding health and medicine in different populations, leading to a dichotomy between two schools of thought in relation to global bioethics. These two sides consist of those who think that universality of bioethics is possible whereas the opposing viewpoint holds that relativism is the key to applying ethics on a global scale. Despite the aforementioned dichotomy in addressing applications of global bioethics, this analysis shows that the goals of the subject should be more focused on contributing to ethical frameworks and valuable types of thinking related to the ethics health and medicine on a global scale. This is achieved through an exploration of bioethics in general, health as a function of society and culture, the history and development of global bioethics itself, and an exploration of pertinent global health topics. While primarily descriptive in nature, this analysis critiques some of the current discussions and purported goals surrounding global bioethics, recommending that the field focus on fostering valuable discussion and framing of issues rather than the pursuit of concrete judgments on moral issues in global health and medicine.
ContributorsRuffenach, Stephen Charles (Author) / Robert, Jason S (Thesis advisor) / Maienschein, Jane (Committee member) / Hruschka, Daniel J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Influenza has shown its potential to affect and even kill millions of people within an extremely short time frame, yet studies and surveys show that the general public is not well educated about the facts about influenza, including prevention and treatment. For this reason, public perception of influenza is extremely skewed, with people generally not taking the disease as seriously as they should given its severity. To investigate the inconsistencies between action and awareness of best available knowledge regarding influenza, this study conducted literature review and a survey of university students about their knowledge, perceptions, and action taken in relationship to influenza. Due to their dense living quarters, constant daily interactions, and mindset that they are "immune" to fairly common diseases like influenza, university students are a representative sample of urban populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 54% of the world's population lived in cities as of 2014 (Urban population growth). Between 2015 and 2020, the global urban population is expected to grow 1.84% per year, 1.63% between 2020 and 2025, and 1.44% between 2025 and 2030 (Urban population growth). Similar projections estimate that by 2017, an overwhelming majority of the world's population, even in less developed countries, will be living in cities (Urban population growth). Results of this study suggest possible reasons for the large gap between best available knowledge and the perceptions and actions of individuals on the other hand. This may lead to better-oriented influenza education initiatives, more effective prevention and treatment plans, and generally raise excitement and awareness surrounding public health and scientific communication.
ContributorsGur-Arie, Rachel Ellen Haviva (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Laubichler, Manfred (Committee member) / Creath, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This project focuses on the history of how teratogens, or agents which have the potential to cause birth defects, have been understood and tested for teratogenic potential in the US over the twentieth century. Prior to this time, teratogen studies were primarily concerned with cataloguing defects rather than exploring possible causes. At the turn of the twentieth century, experimental teratogen studies with the aim of elucidating mechanisms commenced. However, these early studies did not aim to discover human pregnancy outcomes and ways to prevent them, but simply focused on the results of exposing pregnant mammals to various physical and chemical insults. My project documents the change in understanding of teratogens over the twentieth century, the advancement of testing methods, and the causes of these advancements. Through the Embryo Project at Arizona State University (embryo.asu.edu), a digital encyclopedia for topics related to embryology, development, and reproductive medicine, I wrote ten encyclopedic articles that focused on chemical mechanisms of various teratogens, testing limitations in animal models, and legal and regulatory responses to well-known teratogens. As an extension of my previous work, this project bridges the current gap in research and focuses on contextualizing major events in the field of teratology to determine how these events led to various shifts in the understanding of birth defects and their causes, and how those conceptual shifts led to the creation of teratological testing guidelines. Results show that throughout the twentieth century, there are four distinct shifts in the understanding of teratogens: the first being 1900-1945, the second being 1946-1960, the third being 1961-1980, and the fourth being 1981-2000.
ContributorsTantibanchachai, Chanapa (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Laubichler, Manfred (Committee member) / O'Neil, Erica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Visualizing the Embryo: Establishing Procedures for Digital image Production with the Embryo Project
Description
The Embryo Project (EP) Encyclopedia is an online database that has consolidated hundreds of development-related research articles, with subcategories addressing the context of such research. These articles are written by undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals in the fields of biology, history, and other fields, and are intended for a diverse audience of readers from both biology and non-biology related backgrounds. As the EP addresses a public audience, it is imperative to utilize all possible means to share the information that each article covers. Until 2013, the EP Encyclopedia did not present images in articles as no formal protocol for image development existed. I have created an image style guide that outlines the basic steps of creating and submitting an image that can complement an EP article and can enhance a reader's understanding of the discussed concept. In creating this style guide, I investigated similar protocols used by other scientific journals and medical professionals. I also used different programs and based my style guide off of the procedures I used in Adobe Illustrator CS6.
ContributorsHamidi, Neekta (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Crowe, Nathan (Committee member) / O'Neil, Erica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Biology textbooks are everybody's business. In accepting the view that texts are created with specific social goals in mind, I examined 127 twentieth-century high school biology textbooks for representations of animal development. Paragraphs and visual representations were coded and placed in one of four scientific literacy categories: descriptive, investigative, nature of science, and human embryos, technology, and society (HETS). I then interpreted how embryos and fetuses have been socially constructed for students. I also examined the use of Haeckel's embryo drawings to support recapitulation and evolutionary theory. Textbooks revealed that publication of Haeckel's drawings was influenced by evolutionists and anti-evolutionists in the 1930s, 1960s, and the 1990s. Haeckel's embryos continue to persist in textbooks because they "safely" illustrate similarities between embryos and are rarely discussed in enough detail to understand comparative embryology's role in the support of evolution. Certain events coincided with changes in how embryos were presented: (a) the growth of the American Medical Association (AMA) and an increase in birth rates (1950s); (b) the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and public acceptance of birth control methods (1960s); (c) Roe vs. Wade (1973); (d) in vitro fertilization and Lennart Nilsson's photographs (1970s); (e) prenatal technology and fetocentrism (1980s); and (f) genetic engineering and Science-Technology-Society (STS) curriculum (1980s and 1990s). By the end of the twentieth century, changing conceptions, research practices, and technologies all combined to transform the nature of biological development. Human embryos went from a highly descriptive, static, and private object to that of sometimes contentious public figure. I contend that an ignored source for helping move embryos into the public realm is schoolbooks. Throughout the 1900s, authors and publishers accomplished this by placing biology textbook embryos and fetuses in several different contexts--biological, technological, experimental, moral, social, and legal.
ContributorsWellner, Karen L (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis advisor) / Ellison, Karin D. (Committee member) / Robert, Jason S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is a global epidemic, costing over 9.51 million individuals their lives since 2000. There are different modes of transmission of HIV, one such mode being from an HIV positive woman to her child before, during, or after delivery (SIC Curriculum, 2006). Though a global epidemic, not all countries have the same prevalence of mother to child, or MTC, transmission of HIV. In 2016, over 160,000 children under the age of five were newly infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. That is compared to the United States of America, where it is estimated that fewer than 150 new infant HIV infections occur yearly (Glaser Foundation, 2020). Those differences exist despite both countries having access to preventative medication as of 1998.
Additionally, the World Health Organization, or WHO, developed three treatment plans for prevention of MTC transmission of HIV, globally available as of 2010 (WHO, 2010). The goal of the WHO was to globally standardize care of HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants in order to decrease the global prevalence of HIV. The first plan was called Option A, then came Option B, and lastly Option B+. While preventative medication has been available for over twenty years and at least one of these theoretically effective treatment plans has been implemented and is readily available in each country of sub-Saharan Africa, the overall prevalence of MTC transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has continued to be notably high compared to other countries. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to explore some of the significant obstacles to implementation of the WHO’s treatment plans in sub-Saharan Africa that contribute to that high prevalence. I also suggest possible solutions to those barriers in order to effectively decrease the prevalence of MTC transmission of HIV.
Additionally, the World Health Organization, or WHO, developed three treatment plans for prevention of MTC transmission of HIV, globally available as of 2010 (WHO, 2010). The goal of the WHO was to globally standardize care of HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants in order to decrease the global prevalence of HIV. The first plan was called Option A, then came Option B, and lastly Option B+. While preventative medication has been available for over twenty years and at least one of these theoretically effective treatment plans has been implemented and is readily available in each country of sub-Saharan Africa, the overall prevalence of MTC transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has continued to be notably high compared to other countries. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to explore some of the significant obstacles to implementation of the WHO’s treatment plans in sub-Saharan Africa that contribute to that high prevalence. I also suggest possible solutions to those barriers in order to effectively decrease the prevalence of MTC transmission of HIV.
ContributorsJones, Sierra Hope (Author) / Jacobs, Bertram (Thesis director) / Maienschein, Jane (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Background: Endometriosis is a condition characterized by the growth of the endometrium, or the tissue that lines the uterus, outside of the uterus, and it is diagnosed through the presence of endometriotic lesions in the pelvic region. The disease is most often associated with abnormal and painful vaginal bleeding. Currently, minimal literature exists concerning the management of endometriosis in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), which may influence the lack of a cultural competent understanding of menstruation in LMICs and, therefore, a lack of evidence-based policies concerning menstruation.
Methods: Social and cultural barriers influencing endometriosis reporting and management in LMICs were examined through a systematic literature review. Online databases yielded a list of relevant studies. Then, use of MAXQDA, a qualitative data analysis software program, helped to extract and code specific text segments from each study that pertain to the research topic. In-context analysis of coded segments revealed the most common trends, which were organized into broader themes.
Results: Findings demonstrated that social and cultural ideas regarding vaginal bleeding influenced the lack of disease reporting and management of endometriosis in LMICs. Socioeconomic challenges include a lack of hygiene and sanitation measures and education regarding menstruation and vaginal bleeding. Also, many diseases associated with the abnormal vaginal bleeding are often disregarded and not prioritized in clinical settings. It also became clear that cultural taboos regarding menstruation and vaginal bleeding often create feelings of anxiety and fear in women and girls throughout communities in LMICs. However, further research is needed to examine the ways in which women in those communities treat symptoms of irregular vaginal bleeding related to endometriosis.
Conclusions: Socioeconomic, gender, and sex-related factors may influence the ways in which endometriosis is reported and treated and may affect the way the related diseases are understood. Evidence-based policies using a culturally competent understanding of abnormal vaginal bleeding in LMICs may help positively affect the reproductive health of women and girls in such areas.
Methods: Social and cultural barriers influencing endometriosis reporting and management in LMICs were examined through a systematic literature review. Online databases yielded a list of relevant studies. Then, use of MAXQDA, a qualitative data analysis software program, helped to extract and code specific text segments from each study that pertain to the research topic. In-context analysis of coded segments revealed the most common trends, which were organized into broader themes.
Results: Findings demonstrated that social and cultural ideas regarding vaginal bleeding influenced the lack of disease reporting and management of endometriosis in LMICs. Socioeconomic challenges include a lack of hygiene and sanitation measures and education regarding menstruation and vaginal bleeding. Also, many diseases associated with the abnormal vaginal bleeding are often disregarded and not prioritized in clinical settings. It also became clear that cultural taboos regarding menstruation and vaginal bleeding often create feelings of anxiety and fear in women and girls throughout communities in LMICs. However, further research is needed to examine the ways in which women in those communities treat symptoms of irregular vaginal bleeding related to endometriosis.
Conclusions: Socioeconomic, gender, and sex-related factors may influence the ways in which endometriosis is reported and treated and may affect the way the related diseases are understood. Evidence-based policies using a culturally competent understanding of abnormal vaginal bleeding in LMICs may help positively affect the reproductive health of women and girls in such areas.
ContributorsSantora, Emily (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Abboud, Carolina (Committee member) / Hagaman, Ashley (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The epigenetic landscape is a concept representing embryonic development. It was proposed by Conrad Hal Waddington to illustrate the various developmental pathways a cell might take toward differentiation. The epigenetic landscape integrates the connected concepts of competence, induction, and regulative abilities of the genes into a single model designed to explain cellular differentiation, a long standing problem in embryology.
ContributorsNavis, Adam R. (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Editor) / Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. (Publisher) / Arizona Board of Regents (Publisher)
Created2007-10-30
Description
"In vitro Experiments on the Effects of Mouse Sarcomas 180 and 37 on the Spinal and Sympathetic Ganglia of the Chick Embryo" were experiments conducted by Rita Levi-Montalcini in conjunction with Viktor Hamburger and Hertha Meyer and published in Cancer Research in 1954. In this series of experiments, conducted at the University of Brazil, Levi-Montalcini demonstrated increased nerve growth by introducing specific tumors (sarcomas) to chick ganglia. Ganglia are clusters of nerve cells, from which nerve fibers emerge. This work led to the discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) and later the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986.
ContributorsNavis, Adam R. (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Editor) / Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. (Publisher) / Arizona Board of Regents (Publisher)
Created2007-10-30
Description
Epidermal growth factor is a signaling molecule that stimulates the growth of epidermal tissues during development and throughout life. Stanley Cohen discovered epidermal growth factor (EGF) during studies of nerve growth factor as a side effect of other experiments. EGF stimulates tissue growth by initiating a variety of cellular mechanisms. This work led to the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini. At the Nobel Award ceremony Levi-Montalcini focused her acceptance speech on nerve growth factor, while Cohen focused his on epidermal growth factor. Although they presented different topics, they were close collaborators and their combined effort led to the discovery of nerve growth factor. They had worked together in Viktor Hamburger's laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis.
ContributorsNavis, Adam R. (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Editor) / Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. (Publisher) / Arizona Board of Regents (Publisher)
Created2007-10-30