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Predictors Of Noncompliance To Antihypertensive Therapy Among Hypertensive Patients Ghana: Application Of Health Belief Model, Yaa Obirikorang, Christian Obirikorang, Emmanuel Acheampong, Enoch Odame Anto, Daniel Gyamfi, Selorm Philip Segbefia, Michael Opoku Boateng, Dari Pascal Dapilla, Peter Kojo Brenya, Bright Amankwaa, Evans Asamoah Adu, Emmanuel Nsenbah Batu, Adjei Gyimah Akwasi, Beatrice Amoah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study determined noncompliance to antihypertensive therapy (AHT) and its associated factors in a Ghanaian population by using the health belief model (HBM). This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Kintampo Municipality in Ghana recruited a total of 678 hypertensive patients. The questionnaire constituted information regarding sociodemographics, a five-Likert type HBM questionnaire, and lifestyle-related factors. The rate of noncompliance to AHT in this study was 58.6%. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 43.5 (±5.2) years and median duration of hypertension was 2 years. Overall, the five HBM constructs explained 31.7% of the variance in noncompliance to AHT with a …

Alterations In Serum Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites In Individuals With High Neocortical Amyloid-Β Load: A Pilot Study, Pratishtha Chatterjee, Kathryn Goozee, Chai K. Lim, Ian James, Kaikai Shen, Kelly R. Jacobs, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Tejal Shah, Prita R. Asih, Preeti Dave, Candice Manyan, Kevin Taddei, David B. Lovejoy, Roger Chung, Gilles J. Guillemin, Ralph N. Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The kynurenine pathway (KP) is dysregulated in neuroinflammatory diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), however has not been investigated in preclinical AD characterized by high neocortical amyloid-β load (NAL), prior to cognitive impairment. Serum KP metabolites were measured in the cognitively normal KARVIAH cohort. Participants, aged 65-90 y, were categorised into NAL+ (n = 35) and NAL- (n = 65) using a standard uptake value ratio cut-off = 1.35. Employing linear models adjusting for age and APOEϵ4, higher kynurenine and anthranilic acid (AA) in NAL+ versus NAL- participants were observed in females (kynurenine, p = 0.004; AA, p = 0.001) but …

Homelessness Predicts Attrition But Not Alcohol Abstinence In Outpatients Experiencing Co-Occurring Alcohol Dependence And Serious Mental Illness., Emily Leickly, Jordan Skalisky, Oladunni Oluwoye, Sterling M Mcpherson, Debra Srebnik, John M Roll, Richard K Ries, Michael G Mcdonell

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Adults experiencing homelessness and serious mental illnesses (SMI) are at an increased risk of poor mental health and treatment outcomes compared with stably housed adults with SMI. The additional issue of alcohol misuse further complicates the difficulties of those living with homelessness and SMI. In this secondary data analysis, the authors investigated the impact of homelessness on attrition and alcohol use in a contingency management (CM) intervention that rewarded alcohol abstinence in outpatients with SMI.

METHODS: The associations between housing status and attrition and alcohol abstinence during treatment, as assessed by ethyl glucuronide (EtG) urine tests, were evaluated in …

Use Of Caudal Epidural Catheter In A Child With Cerebral Palsy With Prior Posterior Spine (T1-Sacrum) Fusion., Divya Dixit, Mary C. Theroux, Kirk W. Dabney, Freeman Miller

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Hemiepiphysiodesis On The Growth Plate: The Histopathological Changes And Mechanism Exploration Of Recurrence In Mini Pig Model., Jing Ding, Jin He, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Zhen-Kai Wu, Fang-Chun Jin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Purpose: Hemiepiphysiodesis has been widely used to correct angular deformity of long bone in immature patients. However, there is a limited knowledge about the biomechanical effect of this technique on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal. We aimed to evaluate the biomechanical effect of hemiepiphysiodesis on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal in Bama miniature pigs, and to explore the role of asymmetric stress during this procedure.

Methods: Eight 3-month-old male Bama miniature pigs sustained surgeries on the …

Standard Ablation Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Ablation In The Treatment Of Ventricular Tachycardia., Tarek Zghaib, Esra G Ipek, Rozann Hansford, Hiroshi Ashikaga, Ronald D Berger, Joseph E Marine, David D Spragg, Harikrishna Tandri, Stefan L Zimmerman, Henry Halperin, Scott Brancato, Hugh Calkins, Charles Henrikson, Saman Nazarian

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Determination Of An Optimal Response Cut-Off Able To Predict Progression-Free Survival In Patients With Well-Differentiated Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours Treated With Sunitinib: An Alternative To The Current Recist-Defined Response., Angela Lamarca, Jorge Barriuso, Matthew Kulke, Ivan Borbath, Heinz-Josef Lenz, Jean Luc Raoul, Neal J. Meropol, Catherine Lombard-Bohas, James Posey, Sandrine Faivre, Eric Raymond, Juan W. Valle

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Sunitinib prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNET). Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST)-defined partial responses (PR; classically defined as ⩾30% size decrease from baseline) are infrequent.

METHODS: Individual data of pNET patients from the phase II [NCT00056693] and pivotal phase III [NCT00428597] trials of sunitinib were analysed in this investigator-initiated, post hoc study. The primary objective was to determine the optimal RECIST (v.1.0) response cut-off value to identify patients who were progression-free at 11 months (median PFS in phase III trial); and the most informative time-point (highest area under the curve (AUC) …

A Novel Approach To Addressing An Unintended Consequence Of Direct To Room: The Delay Of Initial Vital Signs., J. Basile, E. Youssef, B. Cambria, J. Chacko, K. Treval, B. Hahn, B. Ardolic

Journal Articles

Introduction: The concept of "direct to room" (DTR) and "immediate bedding" has been described in the literature as a mechanism to improve front-end, emergency department (ED) processing. The process allows for an expedited clinician-patient encounter. An unintended consequence of DTR was a time delay in obtaining the initial set of vital signs upon patient arrival.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single, academic, tertiary-care facility with an annual census of 94,000 patient visits. Inclusion criteria were all patients who entered the ED from 11/1/15 to 5/1/16 and between the hours of 7 am to 11 pm. During …

Global Mapping Of Transcription Factor Motifs In Human Aging., David Alfego, Ulrich Rodeck, Andres Kriete

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

Biological aging is a complex process dependent on the interplay of cell autonomous and tissue contextual changes which occur in response to cumulative molecular stress and manifest through adaptive transcriptional reprogramming. Here we describe a transcription factor (TF) meta-analysis of gene expression datasets accrued from 18 tissue sites collected at different biological ages and from 7 different in-vitro aging models. In-vitro aging platforms included replicative senescence and an energy restriction model in quiescence (ERiQ), in which ATP was transiently reduced. TF motifs in promoter regions of trimmed sets of target genes were scanned using JASPAR and TRANSFAC. TF signatures established …

Vitamin E Status Is Inversely Associated With Risk Of Incident Tuberculosis Disease Among Household Contacts, Omowunmi Aibana, Molly F Franke, Chuan-Chin Huang, Jerome T Galea, Roger Calderon, Zibiao Zhang, Mercedes C Becerra, Emily R Smith, Carmen Contreras, Rosa Yataco, Leonid Lecca, Megan B Murray

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Few studies have previously assessed how pre-existing vitamin E status is associated with risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease progression.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the association between baseline plasma concentrations of 3 vitamin E isomers (α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and δ-tocopherol) and TB disease risk.

METHODS: We conducted a case-control study nested within a longitudinal cohort of household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary TB cases in Lima, Peru. We defined cases as HHCs who developed active TB disease ≥15 d after the diagnosis of the index patient, and we matched each case to 4 control cases who did not develop active TB based on …