Consider Steven Cryos’ words, “When disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed.” Witnessing domestic water insecurity in events such as Hurricane Katrina, the instability in Flint, Michigan, and most recently the winter storms affecting millions across Texas, we decided to take action. The period between a water supply’s disruption and restoration is filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and distress -- particularly since there is no clear indication of when, exactly, restoration comes. It is for this reason that Water Works now exists. As a team of students from diverse backgrounds, what started as an honors project with the Founders Lab at Arizona State University became the seed that will continue to mature into an economically sustainable business model supporting the optimistic visions and tenants of humanitarianism. By having conversations with community members, conducting market research, competing for funding and fostering progress amid the COVID-19 pandemic, our team’s problem-solving traverses the disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to educate our readers about a unique solution to emerging issues of water insecurity that are nested across and within systems who could benefit from the introduction of a personal water reclamation system, showcase our team’s entrepreneurial journey, and propose future directions that will this once pedagogical exercise to continue fulfilling its mission: To heal, to hydrate and to help bring safe water to everyone.

This case study describes an adult patient whose brachial plexus injury was treated with various modalities and exercise. The participant of this study was a 76 year old female who sustained a brachial plexus injury during an elective reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. The initial evaluation reported only passive range of motion with 90 degrees shoulder flexion, 85 degrees abduction, and 30 degrees external rotation. Muscle testing yielded significantly limited wrist and digit extension strength. Testing of sensation found diminished protective sensation along the median nerve distribution, including the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. Occupational therapy was initiated for postoperative treatment of the shoulder as well as treatment of the brachial plexus palsy. Therapy consisted of static splinting for healing structures and sensory reeducation through massage, finding objects with the eyes occluded, and fluidotherapy. Additionally, various exercises and modalities for improving motion and strength were initiated, including proprioceptive neuromuscular reeducation, passive/active assist/active exercises, dynamic splinting, muscle stimulation, kinesio tape, functional activities, and tendon glides. After five months, active range of motion in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist was finally achieved and median nerve sensation had improved. After nine months, elbow motion was within normal limits and wrist motion had significantly improved. Upon muscle testing, the elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand had made significant gains in strength. However, shoulder strength and motion was still limited. Overall, treatment made a significant improvement in the patient’s functionality.

Within the pediatric hospitalization experience, fear and anxiety are two emotions commonly felt by children of all ages. Hospitalized children can greatly benefit from interventions designed to help them cope with these emotions throughout their medical experiences. This study draws on each of our clinical experiences as volunteers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and uses a qualitative analysis of three semi-structured interviews with currently employed Child Life Specialists to understand and analyze the use of medical play, a form of play intervention with a medical theme or medical equipment. We explore the goals and benefits of medical play for hospitalized pediatric patients, the process of using medical play as an intervention, including the activity design process, the assessments and adjustments made throughout the child’s hospitalization, and the considerations and limitations to implementing medical play activities. Ultimately, we found that the element of fun that defines play can be channeled into medical play activities implemented by skilled Child Life Specialists, who are experts in their field, in clinical settings to promote several different and beneficial goals, including pediatric patient coping.

Motor learning is the process of improving task execution according to some measure of performance. This can be divided into skill learning, a model-free process, and adaptation, a model-based process. Prior studies have indicated that adaptation results from two complementary learning systems with parallel organization. This report attempted to answer the question of whether a similar interaction leads to savings, a model-free process that is described as faster relearning when experiencing something familiar. This was tested in a two-week reaching task conducted on a robotic arm capable of perturbing movements. The task was designed so that the two sessions differed in their history of errors. By measuring the change in the learning rate, the savings was determined at various points. The results showed that the history of errors successfully modulated savings. Thus, this supports the notion that the two complementary systems interact to develop savings. Additionally, this report was part of a larger study that will explore the organizational structure of the complementary systems as well as the neural basis of this motor learning.

This thesis responds to the question, "Can Science Make Sense of Life?" through a structural lens of the Human Germline Genetic Editing debate. I explore who is absent from the table, and how the ways of thinking that dominate marginalize and exclude alternative frameworks and considerations. This analysis is centered around an examination of several perspectives from the disability community and an in-depth study of how the Orthodox Jewish community contends with genetic disease. These perspectives illuminate several lessons that prove to bring insight not merely to questions of permissibility on genetic editing, but also offer reflections on the larger relationship between science, technology, and society. I then return to the mainstream genetic editing debate to show how the culture it is born out of and the structures it has ingrained prevent lessons such as these from impacting the conversation. In light of such structures that continuously reproduce the assertion that it is science, not humanity, that is able to make sense of life, my final argument is that though science tends to gatekeep questions of emerging technologies by centering conversations on highly advanced and methodological considerations, public individuals need not feel as if they are irrelevant or unessential. Though science may offer one solution, it is the individuals and communities, not results from a lab, that are equipped to determine if it is the best solution.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in Latino youth with obesity and prediabetes. <br/>Methods: Participants (n=50) in this study were taken from a larger randomized controlled trial (n=180, BMI ≥ 95th percentile). Youth participated in a 6-month lifestyle intervention that included physical activity (60 minutes, 3x/week) and nutrition and wellness classes (60 minutes, 1x/week) delivered to families at the Lincoln Family YMCA in Downtown Phoenix. The primary outcome was cardiorespiratory fitness measured at baseline and post-intervention.<br/>Results: The mean BMI for the sample was 33.17 ± 4.54 kg/m2, which put the participants in the 98.4th percentile. At baseline, the mean VO2max was 2737.02 ± 488.89 mL/min. The mean relative VO2max was 30.65 ± 3.87 mL/kg/min. VO2max values significantly increased from baseline to post-intervention (2737.022 ± 483.977 mL/min vs 2932.654 ± 96.062 mL/min, p<0.001). <br/>Conclusion: Culturally-grounded, family-focused lifestyle interventions are a promising approach for improving cardiorespiratory fitness in high-risk youth at risk for diabetes.

In 2006, the Chilean government began the implementation of a “program of integrated childhood protection” called Chile Crece Contigo. This program involves the cooperation of the public health, education, and legal systems of Chile in the support of the Rights of the Child ratified by the United Nations in 1989, and guarantees accessibility to the diverse historical and cultural communities of Chile. This study seeks to evaluate the cultural pertinence of Chile Crece Contigo as implemented in the public health system of the predominantly Aymaran community of Putre and recommend policy changes and further investigation for the improvement of its implementation in all Aymaran communities of Northern Chile. These objectives were pursued through three weeks of observation of program activities as well as interviews with key implementers of Chile Crece Contigo in Putre’s Rural Family Health Center, a practitioner of traditional Aymaran medicine and mothers whose children are enrolled or were enrolled in a variety of the services offered by the program. These results highlighted successful efforts by health practitioners in Putre to provide culturally relevant care through Chile Crece Contigo, but also policy failures and ongoing uncertainty considering best practices for cultural pertinence within the program. The conclusion was reached that several funding and logistical policies of Chile Crece Contigo need to be altered to better serve this rural, Aymaran community. Also, several in-depth longitudinal studies on traditional Aymaran upbringing and the common socioeconomic conditions of the Aymaran community in Chile should be carried out in order to determine further policy changes and best practices for Chile Crece Contigo.

Sex, Love, & Dating During the COVID-19 Pandemic is a creative thesis project that addresses two main issues: 1) the overall lack of resources and information available to the public about how to proceed with respect to sex, love, and dating during a global pandemic; and 2) my inability as director of Devils in the Bedroom (an on-campus sexual health club at ASU) to get condoms and other sexual health materials into the hands of students while in quarantine. A resource was developed, an informational pamphlet on the three main topics (sex, love, and dating), as well as a program to distribute the materials by mail, the sexual health care packages.

The ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory began in March 2020 after the severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus 2, began spreading throughout the world. ASU worked towards implementing  its own efficient way of testing for the virus, in order to assist the university but also keep the communities around it safe. By developing its own strategy for COVID-19 testing, ASU was on the forefront of research by developing new ways to test for the virus. This process began when research labs at ASU were quickly converted into clinical testing laboratories, which used saliva testing to develop swift COVID-19 diagnostic tests for the Arizona community. The lab developed more accurate and time efficient results, while also converting Nasopharyngeal tests to saliva tests. Not only did this allow for fewer amounts of resources required, but more individuals were able to get tested at faster rates. The ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) was able to accomplish this through the adaptation of previous machines and personnel to fit the testing needs of the community. In the future, the ABCTL will continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the community in regards to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The research collected throughout the past year following the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic is a reflection of the impressive strategy ASU has created to keep its communities safe, while continuously working towards improving not only the testing sites and functions, but also the ways in which an institution approaches and manages an unfortunate impact on diverse communities.

The following paper explores the various effects of stress on the endocrine system. Many understand that being stressed can jeopardize maintaining adequate health, but what specifically happens when humans are stressed? Why does stress affect human health? This paper delves into background information, previous research, and the depths to which stress negatively affects the body. The effects stress has on the endocrine system, specifically on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), is discussed, and additionally, at home de-stressing methods are researched. The study included a set of participants at Arizona State University. The method took place over the course of 2 weeks: one normal week, and the other with the implementation of a de-stressing method. The normal week involved the participants living their daily lives with the addition of a stress-measuring survey, while the second week involved implementing a de-stressing method and stress-measuring survey. The purpose of this study was to discover if there was a correlation between performing these relaxation activities and decreasing stress levels in ASU students. The results found that students reported they felt more relaxed and calm after the activities. Overall, this thesis provides information and first hand research on the effects of stress and stress-reducing activities and discusses the importance of maintaining lower stress levels throughout everyday life.