Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common form that exists and has many variables that play into its development and diagnosis. This study looks at some of the factors that may have played an impact on people who are pre-diabetic or at risk of being pre-diabetic. Pre-diabetes can often serve as a warning sign for people and presents them with an opportunity for intervention before their condition worsens. However, it often goes unnoticed due to the lack of education regarding healthy living and making better quality-of-life decisions in Hispanic communities. The purpose of this study was to help identify patterns in how people from these communities manage their conditions and find techniques that can be replicated by others in order to improve health outcomes. This study followed a mixed methods approach in order to gain a full understanding of the quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) aspects that may have an impact on diabetes. Data was collected using a questionnaire to analyze different aspects and lifestyles of the participants and an interview with probing questions regarding life decisions, beliefs, and expectations. The overarching research question was “How did varying levels of health motivation and healthful eating habits affect glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c) in Hispanic/Latinx populations who are at risk of or are pre-diabetic?”. With this, we can obtain a better understanding of certain key aspects that play a role in the development of diabetes. A correlations matrix analysis was run to test how certain variables related and caused changes with one another. To analyze how these variables related specifically to HbA1c, our dependent variable, a multiple regression model analysis was used. It was found that the main contributors to elevated HbA1c levels were health motivation and age. A joint display analysis combined different levels of health motivation, QUAN data, and the responses to a focus question regarding efforts taken to improve one's condition, QUAL. This displayed a pattern of participants with higher health motivation showing efforts to reduce their diabetes risk and by contrast, low health motivation participants showing minimal to no efforts in changing behavior. This study found that elevated HbA1c levels also come with higher health motivation which normally wouldn’t make sense. However, the participants from this study knew about their HbA1c levels before this survey was conducted which means that these people already knew about the dangers of their condition and may have been taking steps to mitigate further risk. This demonstrates the importance of developing education systems to help inform people about risk factors and symptoms to alert them of their condition. It is common in Hispanic areas for people to cook high-fat foods, lard, or oil which often lead to an increased risk of diabetes. There is also a great difference in the amount of resources that Hispanic communities have for practicing healthy lifestyle habits and less effective self-monitoring that makes it difficult to recognize early signs of diabetes. Promoting interventions that help educate about the risks of diabetes could encourage great change in eating habits, activity levels, and overall health outcomes for people from Hispanic communities.

Infertility is a disease generally recognized as a complication of the reproductive system, impacting both men and women. It has undoubtedly been acknowledged as a universal health issue for several years, and within each year, it has been quite observable to identify the increasing rates of infertility attributable to disease, hormonal imbalances, chemical exposures, and lifestyle choices. Across the years, there have been increasing developments of fertility treatments readily available, and of the numerous treatments, the most effective and prominent treatments include intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The processes of carrying out these treatments vary in nature and, in particular, possess a variety of ethical issues, such as the accessibility of these treatments for targeted individuals like the disadvantaged, single women, and same-sex couples. Throughout this paper, comprehensive research will be brought forth towards introducing such fertility treatments and their prominence in the United States vs Spain, along with their accessibility, success rates, religious viewpoints, and a generalized examination regarding the relationship between infertility and mental health.

Financial toxicity is a term that has gained traction within the oncology field, detailing the financial burden on and distress of cancer patients in regard to their cancer regimen and treatment. Previous research has shown that financial toxicity affects older cancer patients, but more recent research has shown that it can affect anyone of any demographic, particularly newly diagnosed cancer patients. Unfortunately, patients may not fully understand the costs associated with cancer treatment, which can make it difficult for them to effectively contain the costs. This issue has been ongoing and will continue to affect many as cancer treatment evolves with developments in technology and medications and more patients survive. Due to the financial distress, patients can make alterations to their healthcare and treatment, potentially resulting in the decline of patients’ quality of life and possible worsening of cancer outcomes. The present problem of financial toxicity was examined and compiled into a website, where the information was organized into different pages for ease of reading and additional resources were provided. This website is currently ready for use, but I hope to continue improving it with additional information and resources.

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) often experience more stress compared to continuing-generation students (Holden et al., 2021). This stress can stem from familial and cultural obligations, financial challenges, and the experience of being part of a racial or ethnic minority group. Storytelling is a psychosocial process involving sharing personal experiences or fictional stories, usually reflecting the behavior patterns and orientation to events present in the culture of the teller. Limited research has explored storytelling interventions to address self-compassion and stress levels in first-generation college students Aims: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and preliminary effects of a storytelling intervention for first-generation college students on perceived stress, resilience, and self-compassion, as determined by pre- and post-intervention. In addition, the incorporation of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements during storytelling quantified the physiological stress levels associated with the intervention and its potential correlation with stress reduction. Of additional interest was to obtain a qualitative characterization of the experiences, stresses, and supportive factors described in the stories told by participants. Methods: FGCS were recruited at Arizona State University. Participants (N=22, M age=21.18 years, SD=3.172) attended a storytelling session for one hour in person. Heart-rate variability assessment was used to measure participant emotions and psychological coherence during in-person storytelling. The outcome measures included the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), and HRV coherence was assessed during the intervention. Quantitative analyses were conducted in SPSS Version 27. Using the content of the stories shared in the intervention, qualitative content analyses were conducted with 3 research project members. Results: A total of 36 participants agreed to be contacted and were emailed. Of these 36, 10 declined to participate and 4 were ineligible due to unwillingness to commit to 2 hours over 2 weeks to complete the study, (including an in-person visit to the lab) yielding 22 consented participants (61% recruitment of those screened). All consented individuals completed data collection, attended a storytelling intervention session, and completed the post-intervention data collection (100% retention). 5 major themes emerged from the data: (1) Barriers within Journey; (2) Immigrant and Immigrant Family Experiences; (3) Facilitators within Journey; (4) Reasoning for Attending University. The direction of change for HRV coherence with self-compassion and depression-anxiety was as expected. T-tests were generated for pre- and post- intervention self-reports: T1-T3 BRS SD= 0.79247, t= -0.673; T1-T3 PSS SD= 5.39540, t= -0.514; T1-T3 PHQ for anxiety SD= 1.91429, t= 0.111; T1-T3 PHQ for depression SD= 1.62302, t= 1.708; T1-T3 SCS SD= 0.46319, t= -1.956. Conclusions: Participants described telling and sharing their stories as therapeutic and regenerative. Statistical tests of emotional regulation with HRVB demonstrated minimal change in stress response, with an increase in self-compassion. A storytelling intervention demonstrates a promising coping tool as an avenue for retelling distressing events and increasing self-compassion and resilience.

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) often experience more stress compared to continuing-generation students (Holden et al., 2021). This stress can stem from familial and cultural obligations, financial challenges, and the experience of being part of a racial or ethnic minority group. Storytelling is a psychosocial process involving sharing personal experiences or fictional stories, usually reflecting the behavior patterns and orientation to events present in the culture of the teller. Limited research has explored storytelling interventions to address self-compassion and stress levels in first-generation college students Aims: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and preliminary effects of a storytelling intervention for first-generation college students on perceived stress, resilience, and self-compassion, as determined by pre- and post-intervention. In addition, the incorporation of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements during storytelling quantified the physiological stress levels associated with the intervention and its potential correlation with stress reduction. Of additional interest was to obtain a qualitative characterization of the experiences, stresses, and supportive factors described in the stories told by participants. Methods: FGCS were recruited at Arizona State University. Participants (N=22, M age=21.18 years, SD=3.172) attended a storytelling session for one hour in person. Heart-rate variability assessment was used to measure participant emotions and psychological coherence during in-person storytelling. The outcome measures included the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), and HRV coherence was assessed during the intervention. Quantitative analyses were conducted in SPSS Version 27. Using the content of the stories shared in the intervention, qualitative content analyses were conducted with 3 research project members. Results: A total of 36 participants agreed to be contacted and were emailed. Of these 36, 10 declined to participate and 4 were ineligible due to unwillingness to commit to 2 hours over 2 weeks to complete the study, (including an in-person visit to the lab) yielding 22 consented participants (61% recruitment of those screened). All consented individuals completed data collection, attended a storytelling intervention session, and completed the post-intervention data collection (100% retention). 5 major themes emerged from the data: (1) Barriers within Journey; (2) Immigrant and Immigrant Family Experiences; (3) Facilitators within Journey; (4) Reasoning for Attending University. The direction of change for HRV coherence with self-compassion and depression-anxiety was as expected. T-tests were generated for pre- and post- intervention self-reports: T1-T3 BRS SD= 0.79247, t= -0.673; T1-T3 PSS SD= 5.39540, t= -0.514; T1-T3 PHQ for anxiety SD= 1.91429, t= 0.111; T1-T3 PHQ for depression SD= 1.62302, t= 1.708; T1-T3 SCS SD= 0.46319, t= -1.956. Conclusions: Participants described telling and sharing their stories as therapeutic and regenerative. Statistical tests of emotional regulation with HRVB demonstrated minimal change in stress response, with an increase in self-compassion. A storytelling intervention demonstrates a promising coping tool as an avenue for retelling distressing events and increasing self-compassion and resilience.

A genome wide association study (GWAS) of treatment outcomes for citalopram and escitalopram, two frontline SSRI treatments for Major Depressive Disorder, was conducted with 529 subjects on an imputed dataset. While no variants of genome-wide significance were identified, various potentially interesting variants were identified that warrant further exploration. These findings have the potential to elucidate novel mechanisms underlying drug response for SSRIs. This work will be continued further, with machine learning and deep learning analyses to perform non-linear analyses and employing a biologist or geneticist to provide more specialized knowledge for interpretation of results.

Data indicates that the effect of familiar size is effective for objects larger in size than the objects that the subjects were familiar with. This effect did not take place when an object smaller than the familiar object was presented. To test Lawrence and Yonas’ (2023) hypothesis, a replication of the study was conducted with the addition of two more experimental groups. The familiar subjects were all allowed to touch the object in Lawrence and Yonas’ (2023) study, so groups were added in which participants were not permitted to touch the objects. Two groups were added: one group learned about the size of objects at a distance that would match the visual angles of the smaller objects, and one group that were familiarized with a visual angle matching the larger objects. This made it possible to test the effects of tactile and kinesthetic information on the process of familiarization and its effect on familiar size.

Ballet is both a classical dance art form and a physically demanding sport. Dancers go through extraneous training to produce anatomically unnatural movements but in a safe manner. Flexibility, balance, and coordination are mandatory to advance to the higher levels of training. Ballet technique is danced with the feet turned outwards or externally rotated and requires a high range of motion of several joints in the body. Because of the nature of ballet technique, dancers frequently suffer from injuries. Studies have found that lower limb, especially knee, ankle, and foot injuries, and hip and back injuries are prevalent in students and professionals. Identifying the roots of these issues is vital to prevent injuries. Technical errors such as rolling in the arches of the feet while externally rotated, having a loose core, and over-rotating the legs increase the risk of injury. Training dancers correctly through proper teaching techniques, promoting anatomically sound ballet technique, and identifying physical weaknesses are possible solutions to reduce injury risk. This project aims to identify risk factors for common injuries in dance and identify possible solutions to prevent them.

Antioxidants have long been known to have positive effects on human health. Polyphenols are the most bountiful type of antioxidant in the human diet (Williamson, 2016). Polyphenols are found in a variety of plant foods, and the consumption of these foods has been shown to have a positive impact on eliminating oxidative stress in the body (Fraga et al., 2019). Additionally, the consumption of polyphenols has been researched to act as chemoprotective agents against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases (Pott et al., 2019). In addition to a healthy well balanced diet, polyphenols are a low cost way to increase the health of the general public. This thesis paper is a manuscript of the multifaceted project centered around research and communication of a healthy diet for the American adult, with a spotlight of the health benefit of polyphenol and what food sources are quality sources of this secondary metabolite. The first stage of this project involved active laboratory research, where the concentration of various fruit juices and supplements were tested and compared. Secondly, a literature review was conducted to investigate the most evidenced based dietary pattern that supports health and longevity. Thirdly, the laboratory research and the literary review was translated into a website meant for the general public. The text of this website can be found in this manuscript, as all other components including sources and references.

Women in developing countries suffer greatly when they are menstruating. With a lack of education provided and a lack of resources, they are unable to get the care they truly need. This makes them more vulnerable to developing easily preventable diseases. In areas of India, it is extremely difficult to gain access to safe water that ensures a woman’s hygiene is adequate. Through the Culture, Health, and Environmental Lab (CHElab) in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, researchers were able to conduct face-to-face interviews in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The women who took part in the study described their experience regarding water insecurity and limited resources as “humiliating and deeply distressing” (CHEl, 2021). Cultural and environmental factors are key in analyzing the true difficulties the women are experiencing with inadequate water and menstruation products. The cultural factors that have been highlighted are age, religion, and the family which they live with. Specifically relating to water insecurity, the focus is on where they get the water from and what difficulties they face. By analyzing the data provided for the women in India, it is imperative to understand their difficulties.