Category: Mini Project Proposal

Mini Research Proposal: Effectiveness of Different Types of Vaccinations

by Tayba Aziz, Emilia Decaudin, Ann-Renee Rubia, and Manuel Sojan

Background

It is a well-known fact that flu vaccines can be effective when it comes to protecting an individual from influenza. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vaccine reduces the risk of contracting the flu by about 50 to 60 percent. The flu vaccine also reduced children’s risk of admission into pediatric intensive care units by about 74 percent during the 2010–2012 flu season (J. Ferdinands et al., 2014). There have been numerous inquiries into what makes a vaccine more or less effective at combating the flu. The main factors researchers look at are the person’s age, his or her health, and how closely the vaccine resembles the strain of influenza it’s designed to protect against. However, in this investigation, a fourth factor will be examined: the type of vaccine used. The difference in effectiveness between live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIV) and inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV) will be scrutinized.

Live attenuated vaccines are vaccines produced from disease-causing viruses or bacteria and are usually given in the form of a nasal spray. In a laboratory, the pathogens are weakened “by repeated culturing” (“Principles of Vaccination,” CDC). For instance, the vaccine for measles disease was produced from measles virus extracted from a child in 1954. According to the CDC, it took researchers about 10 years to create an attenuated form of the measles virus. The other type of vaccination, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, is the inactivated vaccine. To produce inactivated vaccine, bacteria and viruses are grown in culture media, and then inactivated with heat or chemicals. IIVs are usually carried out by intramuscular or deep subcutaneous injection. For adults and children aged 36 months or older, the injection is usually given in the deltoid muscle, while for those aged between 6 and 35 months, the preferred location for the injection is the anterolateral thigh flap (Sanofi Pasteur, 2017).

Research Question

Is the Inactivated Influenza Vaccine, administered through intramuscular injection, more effective than the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV), administered intranasally, in preventing influenza when given to children (ages 5-17) in the United States?

Proposed Methods

Subject Enrollment

In order to collect data for our study, we would enlist the help of doctors from medical centers across the United States. We would ask for data from the doctors for children between the ages of 5 and 17 years old who have an up-to-date vaccination record/immunization record. The data should be collected during vaccination season, which is September to February. Before administration of the vaccination, informed parental consent must be obtained.

Data Collection

• Survey

  Doctors should administer the vaccination for the influenza virus to the children either with the live attenuated vaccine (administered intranasally) or with the inactivated influenza vaccine (administered intramuscularly).  Both vaccinations should be the quadrivalent strain. After administering either vaccine, the doctors should give an optional survey for the parents to complete over the course of 4 weeks– observing and taking note of any symptoms experienced by the children such as pain, redness, swelling, etc., and rating the severity of each symptom (if experienced by the child). At the conclusion of 4 weeks, the children will return for a check-up and additional testing, at which point the completed survey will be returned.

• Testing

  Nasal swabs should be performed and tested using a Rapid Influenza Test (RIT), which has a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 97% for influenza A, and a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 99% for Influenza B (the two most common forms of influenza). After completion of the RIT, we will compare the presence of the influenza virus between the groups of children who were either vaccinated through LAIV or IIV. This will allow us to test the effectiveness of each vaccine.

Below is a summary of the methods needed to collect data:

• Access to medical centers across the United States.
• Randomized study – to reduce bias and include a wide range of individuals from all backgrounds.
• Give a survey to the parents/guardians asking about symptoms experienced by the children:
  • Survey Questions: Whether or not the children felt any of the following and rank each symptom from 1-5 based on severity:
    • Pain
    • Redness
    • Swelling
    • Headache
    • Nasuea
    • Fever
    • Vomiting
    • Diarrhea

Bibliography

Airey, J., Albano, F. R., Sawlwin, D. C., Jones, A. G., Formica, N., Matassa, V., & Leong, J. (2017). Immunogenicity and safety of a quadrivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine compared with a comparator quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in a pediatric population: A phase 3, randomized noninferiority study. Vaccine,35(20), 2745-2752. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.028

Does My Child Have the Flu? (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/pediatrics/influenza_flu_in_children_90,P02514

Ferdinands, J. M., Olsho, L. E. W., Agan, A. A., Bhat, N., Sullivan, R. M., Hall, M., … Randolph, A. G. (2014). Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccine Against Life-threatening RT-PCR-confirmed Influenza Illness in US Children, 2010–2012. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 210(5), 674–683. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiu185

Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (Split Virion) BP. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/6207

Influenza (Flu). (2017, September 14). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

Mclean, H. Q., Caspard, H., Griffin, M. R., Poehling, K. A., Gaglani, M., Belongia, E. A., . . . Ambrose, C. S. (2017). Effectiveness of live attenuated influenza vaccine and inactivated influenza vaccine in children during the 2014–2015 season. Vaccine,35(20), 2685-2693. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.085

Valdin, H. L., & Bégué, R. E. (2017). Influenza vaccines effectiveness 2013–14 through 2015–16, a test-negative study in children. Vaccine, 35(33), 4088–4093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.06.050

Group Members: Leslie Epps, Reid Vero, Nicole Budzinski

Research Question: How does the presence of sea otters affect kelp and sea urchin populations in the Aleutian islands?

Hypothesis: If we compare similar marine habitats, some with sea otters and some without, then we will see a large population of kelp and a small population of smaller sea urchins in habitats with sea otters. We will also see a large population of larger sea urchins and a smaller population of kelp in habitats without sea otters.

Method:

• Choose similar locations within the Aleutian Islands – some with sea otters and some without
  • Habitats with similar water temperatures, landscapes, etc.
• Randomly pick points in these locations to be used for an estimate for the populations of the entire location.
• Measure sea otter and kelp forest populations in sites.
• Measure sea urchin populations in these sites and the average size of sea urchins in these populations.
• Compare the kelp forest population of sites with an abundance of sea otters to the populations of habitats with a low amount of sea otters.
• Repeat this experiment over the course of five years.

Background:

Sea otters are considered a keystone species, in that other species in their surrounding ecosystem depend on them for survival. These animals help maintain sea kelp forest by eating the sea urchins that destroy them. This process is known as trophic cascade. Without the top predator, the sea otter, the sea kelp would be depleted by the prey, the sea urchins. Kelp forests are important because they absorb inorganic carbon from the environment for photosynthesis and subsequently release oxygen back into the environment, which increases the growth rates and population size of many consumer species.

Citations:

Estes, J. A., & Duggins, D. O. (1995).  Sea Otters and Kelp Forests in Alaska: Generality and Variation in a Community Ecological Paradigm.  Ecological Monographs, 65, 75-100.

Estes, J. A., Tinker, M. T. and Bodkin, J. L. (2010), Using Ecological Function to Develop Recovery Criteria for Depleted Species: Sea Otters and Kelp Forests in the Aleutian Archipelago. Conservation Biology, 24: 852–860. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01428.x

Dean, T., Bodkin, J., Jewett, S., Monson, D., & Jung, D. (2000). Changes in sea urchins and kelp following a reduction in sea otter density as a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 199, 281-291. Retrieved from http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/199/m199p281.pdf

Group: Zainab Baig, Rebecca Regine, Katie Johnson, Viktoriya Markova

Introduction:

The education system in America is largely based on examinations which leads adolescents to sacrifice sleep in favor of studying. The lack of sleep led students to have more academic problems as they advanced in their education (Gillen-O’Neel, Huynh & Fuligni, 2013). Many studies have found that sleep does have an effect on academic performance. It was found that better sleep quality led to the achievement of an individual’s scholarly goals (Flueckiger, Lieb, Meyer, & Mata, 2014). In our study, we aim to investigate the relationship between study habits of City College students and their grades. Based on the studies we have examined, we have able to deduce that good study and sleep habits yield positive academic outcomes. The study habits that we are examining are the Spacing Effect and “cramming.” Many students tend to pull all-nighters or study a significant amount of the course material the night before the exam, which is known as cramming, while others choose to study the same material over a spaced out period of time (the spacing effect). This study aims to discover whether or not there is a relationship between study habits that affect sleep levels and the resulting examination scores.

References

Flueckiger, L., Lieb, R., Meyer, A. H., & Mata, J. (2014). How Health Behaviors Relate to Academic Performance via Affect: An Intensive Longitudinal Study. Plos ONE, 9(10), 1-10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111080

Gillen-O’Neel, C., Huynh, V. W. and Fuligni, A. J. (2013), To Study or to Sleep? The Academic Costs of Extra Studying at the Expense of Sleep. Child Development, 84: 133–142. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01834.x\

Research Question:

Do study habits that affect sleep levels influence test scores of City College students?

Methods:

To gather substantial data, we are conducting surveys of 60 students in various locations across the City College campus (NAC Building/Courtyard, Shepard Hall, Compton-Goethals Hall, Marshak Cafe). We plan on gathering data after midterms so our subjects will have exam scores fresh in their minds. Our survey consists of the following questions:  

• What year are you in? (List years)
• What is your major? (Short Answer)
• What were your examination Scores ? (Letter Grades or did not take)
• How many classes are you taking? (Multiple Choice)
• Rank what order you prioritize your classes for studying. (Subject)
• How confident were you during the examination? ( Very – Moderate – Not Confident At All)
• How many hours did you study? (Intervals in hours)
• Did you space out your studying or did you study the night before? (2 Options)
• How much sleep did you get the night before the examination? (Intervals in hours)
• How many hours of sleep do you get on an average night? (Intervals in hours)

We plan on examining the correlation (if any) within the following variable sets :

• Year vs. Hours of studying
• Year vs. Hours of Sleep
• Hours of Sleep vs. Test scores
• Cramming vs. Test Scores
• Spaced out studying vs. Test Scores