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Design of a Low-Cost Spirometer to Detect COPD and Asthma for Remote Health Monitoring
This work develops a simple and low-cost microphone-based spirometer with a scalable infrastructure that can be used to monitor COPD and Asthma symptoms. The data acquired from the system is archived in the cloud for further procuring and reporting. To develop this system, we utilize an off-the-shelf ESP32 development board, MEMS microphone, oxygen mask, and 3D printable mounting tube to keep the costs low. The system utilizes the MEMS microphone to measure the audio signal of a user's exhalation, calculates diagnostic estimations and uploads the estimations to the cloud to be remotely monitored. Our results show a practical system that can identify COPD and Asthma symptoms and report the data to both the patient and the physician. The system developed can provide a means of gathering respiratory data to better assist doctors and assess patients to provide remote care.
Date:
May 2022
Creator:
Olvera, Alejandro
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Detection and Classification of Cancer and Other Noncommunicable Diseases Using Neural Network Models
Here, we show that training with multiple noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is both feasible and beneficial to modeling this class of diseases. We first use data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to train a pan cancer model, and then characterize the information the model has learned about the cancers. In doing this we show that the model has learned concepts that are relevant to the task of cancer classification. We also test the model on datasets derived independently of the TCGA cohort and show that the model is robust to data outside of its training distribution such as precancerous legions and metastatic samples. We then utilize the cancer model as the basis of a transfer learning study where we retrain it on other, non-cancer NCDs. In doing so we show that NCDs with very differing underlying biology contain extractible information relevant to each other allowing for a broader model of NCDs to be developed with existing datasets. We then test the importance of the samples source tissue in the model and find that the NCD class and tissue source may not be independent in our model. To address this, we use the tissue encodings to create augmented samples. We test …
Date:
July 2023
Creator:
Gore, Steven Lee
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Predictors of Quality of Life (Qol): Comparing Baby Boomers, Older Adults, and Younger Adults Using Data From the 2010 National Health Interview Survey
The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict quality of life (QOL) for aging adults and to examine and compare Baby Boomers', Older Adults' and Younger Adults' responses to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey/QOL Functioning and Disability. Significant findings included several significant values based on the multivariate regression to estimate a model to predict QOL. In particular, being male, four ethnicities other than white, being older than Boomer, age in 10 years, the Functional Difficulty Index, the Functional Limitation Index scores, chronic heart disease, asthma, and arthritis all had significant p values. Adults with chronic heart disease, asthma, or arthritis scored lower on the QOL index, but cancer, stroke, or diabetes were not associated with the QOL index. Two hypotheses had strong support. Lower scores on both the Functional Difficulty Index and the Functional Limitation Index yielded lower QOL scores. Further research recommendations include establishing reliability and validity of the QOL index; running additional regressions for demographics (ethnicity, marital status, etc.) to predict possible combinations of variables predicting QOL or barriers to QOL; and investigating the viability of incorporating the QOL index into an electronic medical record (EMR) dashboard parameter to serve as a screening mechanism …
Date:
December 2012
Creator:
Bryce, Helen Roult
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Measurement and Analysis of Indoor Air Quality Conditions
More than 80% of the people in urban regions and about 98% of cities in low and middle income countries have poor air quality according to the World Health Organization. People living in such environment suffer from many disorders like a headache, shortness of breath or even the worst diseases like lung cancer, asthma etc. The main objective of the thesis is to create awareness about the air quality and the factors that are causing air pollution to the people which is really important and provide tools at their convenience to measure and analyze the air quality. Taking real time air quality scenarios, various experiments were made using efficient sensors to study both the indoor and outdoor air quality. These experimental results will eventually help people to understand air quality better. An outdoor air quality data measurement system is developed in this research using Python programming to provide people an opportunity to retrieve and manage the air quality data and get the concentrations of the leading pollutants. The entire designing of the program is made to run with the help of a graphical user interface tool for the user, as user convenience is considered as one of the objectives of …
Date:
August 2016
Creator:
Chidurala, Veena
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Medical Comorbidity in the Course of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a serious illness affecting approximately 2-4% of the population and is one of the world’s leading causes of disability. In individuals with bipolar disorder, medical comorbidity associated with cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine disorders is related to increased rates of mortality. Recent updates to multi-system inflammatory related conceptualizations of bipolar disorder focus on the unique power that medical illness and biological processes may play as factors associated with course and outcome in bipolar disorder. The current study examined medical comorbidity and its associations with various demographic and psychological variables in individuals with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features followed for 10 years from their first hospital admission. When compared to an age, gender and race-matched control sample from the population, those with bipolar disorder had significantly higher medical comorbidity across a range of medical diagnoses both at 6 months and 10 years after first hospital admission. Ten years following initial hospitalization, individuals in all three diagnostic groups reported increased rates of diabetes (OR: 2.0 – 3.7), stroke (OR: 4.6 – 7.0) and asthma (OR: 1.9 - 3.1), and individuals with bipolar disorder reported increased rates of cancer (OR = 2.1). A number of psychological …
Date:
May 2016
Creator:
Smith, Patrick M.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Allergen Research and Its Implications for Psychology: History, Current Status, and Prospectus
The purpose of this manuscript was to present a brief history, the current status, and a prospectus of allergen and allergic reactions. Research on allergic reactions, particularly as viewed from the psychogenic position, was presented. The review strongly suggests that the psychogenic orientation has been frought with contradictions, unnecessarily complex interpretations, and an over-abundance of subjective, dynamic, and analytic redundancies which have done little more than perpetuate the stagnation of a rather important subdomain of the "mental" health professions.
Date:
August 1973
Creator:
Arnold, J. Steven
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Vitamin B-6 Status of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The problem of this study is to determine the vitamin B-6 status of patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Erythrocyte aspartate transaminase assay was the method for measuring vitamin B-6 status. The vitamin B-6 status was examined in thirty subjects (ten COPD subjects and twenty control subjects). An unpaired t-test was used to compare the vitamin B-6 status of the COPD group versus the control group. Four determinants (percentage stimulation, ratio of basal to stimulated activity, basal activity, and stimulated activity) were used to determine vitamin B-6 status in both groups of subjects. Percentage stimulation and ratio of basal to stimulated activity were not significantly different (control group versus COPD group) at the .05 level. However, two of ten COPD subjects had values for percentage stimulation that were two standard deviations above the mean, indicating a poor B-6 status. In contrast, basal activity and stimulated activity of erythrocyte aspartate transaminase were found to be significantly lower at the .05 level in the COPD group than the control group. Therefore, the COPD subjects as a group had some biochemical characteristics of a lower level of vitamin B-6 than the controls.
Date:
December 1986
Creator:
Anurak Bhunthurat
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Medical Anthropology Approach to Advocating for Social Justice and Policy Change in Pesticide Use and Practice to Reduce Health Risks Among Hispanic/Latinos in Central California
This mixed methods research was conducted in the fall of 2014 to understand the perceptions and experiences of health risks and health outcomes due to pesticide exposure among community members (n=13) - concerned community members, agriculture workers and teachers- that live in the Central California agriculture counties of Monterey, Santa Cruz, Tulare, Fresno and Madera. This research explored: 1) The crops growing in participants’ communities, and how exposure to pesticides used in these crops pose potential health risks to participants and their communities 2) How pesticide exposure is impacting Hispanic/Latino communities in Central California, particularly those that are most vulnerable including school children, agriculture workers, and community members 3) The major public health concerns of impacted communities 4) Feelings of empowered to advocate for community health and environment and 5) What impacted communities wish to see on behalf of government and agribusiness to protect public health from pesticide exposure and toxins.
Date:
August 2015
Creator:
Romero, Mariel Sintora
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Investigating the Effects of Traffic-Generated Air-Pollution on the Microbiome and Immune Responses in Lungs of Wildtype Mice
There is increasing evidence indicating that exposure to air pollutants may be associated with the onset of several respiratory diseases such as allergic airway disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Many lung diseases demonstrate an outgrowth of pathogenic bacteria belonging to the Proteobacteria phylum, and the incidence of occurrence of these diseases is higher in heavily polluted regions. Within the human body, the lungs are among the first to be exposed to the harmful effects of inhaled pollutants and microbes. Research in the past few decades have expounded on the air-pollution-induced local and systemic inflammatory responses, but the involvement of the lung microbial communities has not yet been well-characterized. Lungs were historically considered to be sterile, but recent advances have demonstrated that the lower respiratory tract is replete with a wide variety of microorganisms - both in health and disease. Recent studies show that these lung microbes may play a significant role in modulating the immune environment by inducing IgA and mucus production. Air pollutants have previously been shown to alter intestinal bacterial populations that increase susceptibility to inflammatory diseases; however, to date, the effects of traffic-generated air pollutants on the resident microbial communities on the lungs have not …
Date:
December 2020
Creator:
Daniel, Sarah
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Psychoimmunological Aspects of Anger: T-cell Correlates
Immunological correlates of anger conditions were investigated. Participants were 33 females and 36 males, ranging from 25 to 55 years old. Percentages of total T-lymphocytes, suppressor-T, helper-T, and ratio of helper-T to suppressor-T cells were measured. Differences were found between males and females for Anger Control and Anger Expression. For females, total T-cell percentages correlated with State Anger, Angry Temperament, Anger Out, and the combination of State Anger/Angry Reaction. Suppressor-T cell percentages correlated with State Anger, Trait Anger, Angry Temperament, Anger Out, Anger Expression, and the combination of Angry Temperament/Anger In. Helper-T cells correlated with State Anger, Angry Temperament, Angry Reaction, Anger Out, and Anger Control. Mindbody appears to function in a unified fashion.
Date:
May 1991
Creator:
Franks, Susan F. (Susan Faye)
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Learning in Emergency Physicians' Process of Changing Practice Behavior
The sequence of events leading to the implementation of a change in emergency physicians' practice and the learning activities and processes undertaken are examined and described in this study. A qualitative case study design was utilized and semi-structured interviews were employed as the primary means of data collection. Thirty emergency physicians were interviewed in face-to-face or telephone interviews. One change that required learning was selected per physician for an in-depth interview. The following factors were examined: motivation to change a practice behavior, time to implementation of changes, source of awareness, barriers to change, use of learning resources, stages in the change process, and method of learning.
Date:
May 1994
Creator:
Garcia, Rebecca, 1953-
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Why Are You Here? Exploring the Logic Behind Nonurgent Use of a Pediatric Emergency Department
Caregivers often associate fevers with permanent harm and bring children to emergency departments (EDs) unnecessarily. However, families using EDs for nonurgent complaints often have difficulty accessing quality primary care. Mutual misconceptions among caregivers and healthcare providers regarding nonurgent ED use are a barrier to implementing meaningful interventions. The purpose of this project was to identify dominant themes in caregivers’ narratives about bringing children to the ED for nonurgent fevers. Thirty caregivers were recruited in a pediatric ED for participation in qualitative semi-structured interview from August to November 2014. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes. Caregivers’ decisions to come to the ED revolved around their need for reassurance that children were not in danger. Several major themes emerged: caregivers came to the ED when they felt they had no other options; parents feared that fevers would result in seizures; caregivers frequently drew on family members and the internet for health information; and many families struggled to access their PCPs for sick care due to challenging family logistics. Reducing nonurgent ED utilization requires interventions at the individual and structural level. Individual-level interventions should empower caregivers to manage fevers and other common illnesses at home. However, such interventions may have limited …
Date:
August 2015
Creator:
Villa-Watt, Ian
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Negative Psychological States: Predictors for Immunological Health
Relationships of negative psychological conditions with general status of cell-mediated and humoral immune systems were investigated. A unique approach was utilized in that indexes representing multiple aspects of each branch of the immune system were employed to better indicate general immunological status. Differences in emotion-immune interactions between males and females were demonstrated. Results indicated a positive relationship between Trait Anger and Cell-Mediated Immunological Index. Particular criticisms of previous psychoneuroimmunological research were met by addressing sex differences and differences in various conditions of anger and depression, as well as through assessment of cumulative effects of negative emotions on immune system status. Directions for future research in eddressing similar issues are suggested. In general, results provide support for validity of mindbody interactionism and imply the need for revision of standard medical and psychological treatment.
Date:
August 1992
Creator:
Franks, Susan F. (Susan Faye)
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Fair balance? An analysis of the functional equivalence of risk and benefit information in prescription drug direct-to-consumer television advertising.
Prescription drug direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has been a subject of controversy in recent years. Though government regulations require equivalent prominence of risks and benefits, there is concern about the ability of consumers with limited health literacy to fully comprehend the risks and benefits associated with drug use. Evaluating the images in DTCA is important because individuals may rely on the visual message if the wording is overly complex. Using semiotics, this study aims to evaluate whether there is functional equivalence in the presentation of risk and benefit information in prescription drug direct-to-consumer television advertising. A new analytical method is created and used to assess the consistency between the messages contained in the voice track, the primary visual images, and the superscript/ subscript text. The results indicate that risk and benefit messages in this DTCA sample lack functional equivalence. However, it is important to properly frame these findings as the study does not evaluate viewer comprehension of the various message structures.
Date:
August 2009
Creator:
Baird-Harris, Kay
System:
The UNT Digital Library
An Assessment of Extant Euphonium Methodologies for Developing and Performing in the Upper Register
This dissertation presents a categorization of existing methodologies of upper register development for euphoniumists with evaluation of effectiveness and current use of these methodologies. The purpose of this study is to provide euphonium musicians as well as educators with essential references and guides to applicable methods for developing the upper register more effectively with greater efficacy. The assessments of current methodologies include three steps: categorization, summarization, and evaluation. To support the significance why it could be more beneficial than the methodology alone, the dissertation will include the examination of the aspect of biomechanics and ergonomics, suggestions, and discussion of particular issues of the upper register.
Date:
December 2017
Creator:
Chou, Wei Chien
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Spirituality in Ethnic Minority Patients with COPD
COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States and is the sixth leading cause of death for low-to middle income countries (Downs & Appel, 2006; GOLD, 2011). COPD is a largely preventable disease due to the lifestyle factors that heavily contribute to disease onset and severity. Although traditionally COPD research has focused on health outcomes related to risk factors, compliance, comorbid psychological and physical conditions, and treatment interventions, a growing body of research suggests religious and spiritual factors may play an equally important role in health outcomes for several medical conditions, including pulmonary disease. However, studies of this kind have not specifically examined COPD nor have they examined the role of religious and spiritual beliefs in COPD management among ethnic minority patients. As such, the current study aimed to examine whether spiritual ethnic minority patients with COPD hold religious fatalistic attitudes and less active religious problem solving . A sample of 35 ethnic minority patients from the Louis. B. Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (LSCVAMC) Outpatient Pulmonary Clinic in Cleveland, OH. were recruited to participate in the study. Due to the acknowledgeable limitations of the present study, results are preliminary but convey associations between religious health …
Date:
August 2015
Creator:
Bell, Keisha
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Clinical and Educational Efficacy of a University-Based Biofeedback Therapy Clinic.
This study is a qualitative analysis and a quantitative analysis of all peripheral biofeedback client data files of the University of North Texas Biofeedback Research and Training Laboratory since its establishment in 1991 and through the year of 2002. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical and educational efficacy of the BRTL. Clients' electromyography and temperature measures, self-report of homework relaxation exercises and progress, and the pre- and post-Stress Signal Checklist were reviewed and analyzed. In regard to clinical efficacy, results indicate statistically significant changes in both temperature training and muscle tension training as a whole group. When divided into subtypes based on the clients' primary presenting problem, findings indicate statistical significance in chronic pain, tension headache, and temporomandibular jaw pain on temperature training, and show statistical significance in chronic pain, tension headache, hypertension, migraine headache, stress, and temporomandibular jaw pain on muscle tension training. When analyzing the Stress Signal Checklist, only 25% of clients had complete information on both pre- and post-Stress Signal Checklist. For these 25%, 87.5% reported symptoms decreased. When reviewing the clients' self-reported progress in therapist's session notes, there is no procedure for computing a treatment success to failure ratio due to the …
Date:
December 2003
Creator:
Shiau, Shwu-Huey
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Patient Family and Hospital Staff Information Needs at a Pediatric Hospital: an Analysis of Information Requests Received by the Family Resource Libraries
This research explored the information needs of patient families and hospital staff at a pediatric hospital system in Dallas, Texas. Library statistics recorded in four hospital libraries from 2011 - 2013 were used to analyze the information requests from patient families and hospital staff. Crosstabulations revealed the extent to which patient families and hospital staff used the libraries to satisfy their information needs. The data showed that patient families used the libraries very differently than hospital staff. Chi-square tests for independence were performed to identify the relationships between the Classification (Patient Family, Hospital Staff) and two descriptors of information needs (Request Type, Resources Used). There were a total of 1,406 information requests analyzed. The data showed that patient families and hospital staff information requests differed greatly in the number of information requests, the type of information requested, the resources used and the time the library staff spent on the requests. Chi-square analyses revealed relationships statistically significant at the p < .05 level; however, the strength of the relationships varied.
Date:
May 2015
Creator:
Rutledge, M. Hannah
System:
The UNT Digital Library
“Just Tell Me the Truth”: Understanding Health Risks and Community Perspectives in Karnes County, Texas, an Oil and Gas Community
Using ethnographic research methods, I collaborated with the organization Earthworks to conduct a community assessment on the health issues related to the air quality in Karnes County, Texas, an oil and gas community. The research consisted of in-depth interviews with residents on their experiences and knowledge on the health issues associated to air quality. This research is going to be used to inform the community and develop strategies to empower community members in improving their environmental conditions.
Date:
May 2016
Creator:
Villa, Priscilla
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Ozone Pollution Monitoring and Population Vulnerability in Dallas-Ft. Worth: A Decision Support Approach
In urban environments, ozone air pollution, poses significant risks to respiratory health. Fixed site monitoring is the primary method of measuring ozone concentrations for health advisories and pollutant reduction, but the spatial scale may not reflect the current population distribution or its future growth. Moreover, formal methods for the placement of ozone monitoring sites within populations potentially omit important spatial criteria, producing monitoring locations that could unintentionally underestimate the exposure burden. Although air pollution affects all people, the combination of underlying health, socioeconomic and demographic factors exacerbate the impact for socially vulnerable population groups. A need exists for assessing the spatial representativeness and data gaps of existing pollution sensor networks and to evaluate future placement strategies of additional sensors. This research also seeks to understand how air pollution monitor placement strategies may neglect social vulnerabilities and therefore, potentially underestimate exposure burdens in vulnerable populations.
Date:
August 2021
Creator:
Northeim, Kari M.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Air Pollution on the Intestinal Microbiota: A Novel Approach to Assess How Gut Microbe Interactions with the Environment Affect Human Health
This thesis investigates how air pollution, both natural and anthropogenic, affects changes in the proximal small intestine and ileum microbiota profile, as well as intestinal barrier integrity, histological changes, and inflammation. APO-E KO mice on a high fat diet were randomly selected to be exposed by whole body inhalation to either wood smoke (WS) or mixed vehicular exhaust (MVE), with filtered air (FA) acting as the control. Intestinal integrity and histology were assessed by observing expression of well- known structural components tight junction proteins (TJPs), matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9), and gel-forming mucin (MUC2), as well known inflammatory related factors: TNF-α, IL-1β, and toll-like receptor (TLR)-4. Bacterial profiling was done using DNA analysis of microbiota within the ileum, utilizing 16S metagenomics sequencing (Illumina miSeq) technique. Overall results of this experiment suggest that air pollution, both anthropogenic and natural, cause a breach in the intestinal barrier with an increase in inflammatory factors and a decrease in beneficial bacteria. This evidence suggests the possibility of air pollution being a potential causative agent of intestinal disease as well as a possible contributing mechanism for induction of systemic inflammation.
Date:
May 2017
Creator:
Fitch, Megan N.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Building Relationships between a Free Clinic and Its Donors
This thesis presents qualitative research conducted in summer 2017 at the Finger Lakes Free Clinic, which provides free medical and holistic care to people without insurance in upstate New York. The primary goal of this research was to strengthen the relationship between a free clinic and its donors by gathering donor concerns and perceptions regarding federal healthcare policy. Data from 32 interviews with donors, staff, board members, and volunteers, along with 100 hours of participant observation revealed that donors to this clinic were concerned about the potential impact of Congressional healthcare reform yet did not consider federal policy a strong influence on their donations. Rather, donors cited dedication to local giving and personal connections with the clinic as their primary motivations. These motivations suggest the value of viewing the clinic-donor relationship as a relationship of reciprocity. From this framework, the research identifies opportunities for the clinic to reciprocate donor generosity while expanding services in response to a growing need. Insights from the research will guide the clinic's response to federal policy changes and support the clinic's vision of becoming a national model for integrative care.
Date:
December 2018
Creator:
Nalin, Emma R
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Thiophene Analogs of DDT; O-Alkylhydorxylamine Hydrochorides; Dialkylaminoalkyl Esters of Phenoxyacetic Acid
This thesis describes three separate and unrelated chemical experiments. The first investigates analogs for the compound DDT. The second investigates the properties of O-substituted hydroxylamines. The third investigates the action of slight changes to the structure of an antihistaminic agent.
Date:
1947
Creator:
Mattison, Marjorie Bess
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Ecological Treatment and Fasting Effects on Psychological Measures
The purpose of the present study was to objectively verify psychological and behavioral changes in a group of identifiably susceptible patients who were treated for environmental sensitivities in a highly controlled environment. The subjects were 71 Environmental Control Unit (ECU) patient volunteers and 16 nonpatient volunteers for a total of 87. The patients were divided into a short-treatment (fasting 3-4 days) group (n = 35) and a long-treatment (fasting 5-7 days) group (n = 36). A third group, consisting of the 16 nonpatients, formed a nonpatient/no-treatment control group. All subjects were administered tests for assessment of intellectual/cognitive functioning, neurological/cerebral functioning, perceptual-motor skills, mood states, and general psychopathology.
Date:
December 1983
Creator:
Bridges, Charles Frederick
System:
The UNT Digital Library