Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Parenting Strategies As Predictors Of Cognitive Development Among Children, Nydia E. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study investigated relationships among parenting strategies, socioeconomic status, and theory of mind development in 88 (43 girls and 45 boys) predominantly Hispanic 3 – to 7-year-old children. Vocabulary and ToM reasoning (via one true and one false belief task) levels were assessed. Parents completed demographic surveys and a disciplinary questionnaire, which presented the parents with hypothetical corrective behavioral situations. Contrary to expectations there were no significant relations between ToM, parenting strategies, and socioeconomic status in the overall sample. However, examining children tested in English and children tested in Spanish separately yielded some significant results. In the Spanish-speaking sample, …

Social Skills As Predictors Of Theory Of Mind Development Among Children, Lucia A. Salinas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study examined relationships among social skills including deceptive behavior, socioeconomic status, and theory of mind development in 98 predominantly Hispanic 3- to 7-year-old children residing in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Measures were of vocabulary, deceptive ability, true belief, and false belief understanding. Children’s interactions with others were also measured through observational methods and parental data was obtained to compute socioeconomic status and validate social skills information. It was hypothesized that social skill development, including deception would emerge along with theory of mind understanding in this population, and that children from households of lower socioeconomic status would …

Use Of Preventative Health Care Services In Hispanic Workers In Manufacturing Sector In South Texas, Pooja Chopra

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study analyses the factors that determine the intensity of use of preventive health care services for a sample of Hispanic manufacturing workers in South Texas (RGV). Logistic regression is used to estimate the effect of health insurance, age, income level and education on the use of preventive health care of Hispanic workers in the manufacturing sector in South Texas (RGV). The outcome variables are vaccinations, tests and screening for women and men. The sample includes 228 manufacturing workers from the RGV. People with health insurance were more likely to use preventive care services such as vaccination for flu, hepatitis, …

Genetic Influence On The Working Memory Circuitry: Behavior, Structure, Function And Extensions To Illness, Katherine H. Karlsgodt, Peter Bachman, Anderson M. Winkler, Carrie E. Bearden, David C. Glahn

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Working memory is a highly heritable complex cognitive trait that is critical for a number of higher-level functions. However, the neural substrates of this behavioral phenotype are intricate and it is unknown through what precise biological mechanism variation in working memory is transmitted. In this review we explore different functional and structural components of the working memory circuitry, and the degree to which each of them is contributed to by genetic factors. Specifically, we consider dopaminergic function, glutamatergic function, white matter integrity and gray matter structure all of which provide potential mechanisms for the inheritance of working memory deficits. In …

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Loci Influencing Concentrations Of Liver Enzymes In Plasma, John C. Chambers, Weihua Zhang, Joban Sehmi, Xinzhong Li, Mark N. Wass, Pim Van Der Harst, Hilma Holm, Serena Sanna, Maryam Kavousi, Chun Xu

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma are widely used as indicators of liver disease. We carried out a genome-wide association study in 61,089 individuals, identifying 42 loci associated with concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma, of which 32 are new associations (P = 10−8 to P = 10−190). We used functional genomic approaches including metabonomic profiling and gene expression analyses to identify probable candidate genes at these regions. We identified 69 candidate genes, including genes involved in biliary transport (ATP8B1 and ABCB11), glucose, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism (FADS1, FADS2, GCKR, JMJD1C, HNF1A …

[Diabetes Mellitus As A Risk Factor For Dementia In The Mexican Elder Population] Diabetes Mellitus Como Factor De Riesgo De Demencia En La Población Adulta Mayor Mexicana, Silvia Mejía-Arango, Clemente Zúñiga-Gil

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Diabetes and dementia are growing problems throughout the world and especially in developing countries.

Aim: To determine the risk of developing dementia in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Patients and methods: Diabetic elders free of dementia from the Mexican Health and Aging study, a prospective community-based cohort research were followed after two years. Socio-demographic factors, comorbid conditions and type of diabetes treatment were analyzed in subjects who become demented.

Results: At baseline, 749 participants (13.8%) had diabetes mellitus. During the follow-up period (mean: 2.02 years; range: 1-3 years), 306 of 749 persons with diabetes mellitus developed dementia, yielding …

Prevalence And Incidence Rates Of Dementia And Cognitive Impairment No Dementia In The Mexican Population: Data From The Mexican Health And Aging Study, Silvia Mejía-Arango, Luis Miguel Gutierrez

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Objective

To estimate the prevalence and incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND) in the Mexican population.

Methods

The MHAS study is a prospective panel study of health and aging in Mexico with 7,000 elders that represent 8 million subjects nationally. Using measurements of cognition and activities of daily living of dementia cases and CIND were identified at baseline and follow up. Overall incidence rates and specific rates for sex, age and education were calculated.

Results

Prevalence was 6.1% and 28.7% for dementia and CIND, respectively. Incidence rates were 27.3 per 1,000 person-years for dementia and 223 per …

Adiponectin/Leptin Ratio And Metabolic Syndrome In A Mexican American Population, S. Mirza, Hui-Qi Qu, Quan Li, Perla J. Martinez, Anne R. Rentfro, Joseph B. Mccormick, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Adiponectin and leptin play critical roles in the development of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). This study was designed to assess the feasibility of using circulating levels of adiponectin and leptin for the early diagnosis of MetS.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using data from 367 participants randomly selected from a well-characterized cohort of Mexican-Americans living at the US-Mexico border.

Results: Significant differences in circulating levels of adiponectin and leptin were observed between males and females. Adiponectin/leptin correlated significantly with MetS in this population. A receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that adiponectin/leptin showed a high sensitivity (70.9% for males, 78.9% …

Decreased Expression Of Atp6v1h In Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Report On The Diabetes Risk Study In Mexican Americans, Melanie F. Molina, Hui-Qi Qu, Anne R. Rentfro, Saraswathy Nair, Yang Lu, Craig Hanis, Joseph B. Mccormick, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Previous studies in mice and humans observed down-regulation of the gene expression of ATP6V1H associated with type 2 diabetes. This study identified prospectively changes in ATP6V1H expression before and after overt diabetes.

Methods: Expression of ATP6V1H in peripheral blood was compared pre and post development of diabetes in nine individuals.

Results: Considerable variation of ATP6V1H mRNA levels was observed between different individuals. However, within each individual the decrease in expression of ATP6V1H with the development of diabetes was highly statistically significant.

Conclusions: ATP6V1H may represent a critical molecular mechanism involved in the development of type 2 diabetes and its …

Association Study Of Candidate Gene Polymorphisms And Obesity In A Young Mexican-American Population From South Texas, Jorge Duran-Gonzalez, Ixiu Ortiz, Enrique Gonzales, Nicole Ruiz, Manti Ortiz, Arthur Gonzalez, Edna K. Sanchez, Eugenia Curet, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Anne R. Rentfro, Huiqi Qu, Saraswathy Nair

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background and Aims

Obesity is increasingly a health problem and a risk factor for diabetes in young Mexican-American populations. Genetic association studies in older, mostly non-Hispanic populations have reported that polymorphisms in the candidate genes HSD11B1, CRP, ADIPOQ, PPARG, ANKK1, ABCC8 and SERPINF1 are associated with obesity or diabetes. We analyzed the polymorphisms rs846910, rs1205, rs1501299, rs1801282, rs1800497, rs757110 and rs1136287in these candidate genes, for association with obesity and metabolic traits in a young Mexican-American population from south Texas.

Methods

Genotyping of the seven common SNPs were performed by allelic discrimination assays in 448 unrelated Mexican Americans (median age = …

History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse In Mexican Origin Undergraduate Students And Its Relationship To Impulsivity, Jessica Lee Graham

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

It is estimated that twenty-five percent of undergraduate female students have experienced some form of sexual abuse while under the age of 18. The definition of childhood sexual abuse, CSA, consists of abusive behaviors of varying intensity and duration and varies across states. Few studies have been done addressing the relationship between CSA and impulsivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an association between a history of childhood sexual abuse and impulsivity in adults of Mexican origin. One hundred fifty-one undergraduates from UTPA participated. For the purposes of this study focus was placed on the …

Binge Drinking In Undergraduate Mexican-Origin Students And Its' Relation To Impulsivity, Rosalva M. Longoria

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Heavy drinking is more prevalent in college students ages 18 through 21 than non-students (NIAAA, 2010). Impulsivity and binge drinking have shown an association (Balodis, Potenza & Olmstead, 2009). An important aspect of this relationship is the influencing factors that may help in determining the effects of drinking on academic performance. In order to predict this behavior, we collected information on tendencies to be impulsive and those that have shown binge drinking behavior from 151 undergraduate students, 11 non-Hispanics, 3 Hispanics, and 137 Hispanics of Mexican-origin attending the University of Texas-Pan American. Of the Mexican-origin students, 37% reported binge drinking …

Positive Emotions And Suicide Intervention Response, Crystal Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study investigated the role of positive emotions in suicide intervention response, in an effort to inform future directions in suicide intervention strategies. Participants were 381 Hispanic college students who completed a measure of suicide intervention skill and wrote written responses to a vignette of a peer in crisis. Results indicated that communication of positive emotions and suicide intervention response skill were not related. Possible explanations and future directions are discussed.

Variation In Parenting Style In A Captive Group Of Western Lowlands Gorillas, Ana E. Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Parenting styles were examined in a group of western lowland gorillas to determine the relationship between parenting style and multiple births with a single individual. Another interest in this study was on varying ways that motherhood can be approached, with partial attention to the relationship between parenting style and social rank. Observational data was collected by means of focal animal sampling and used to analyze contact behaviors in mother-infant relationship. Results indicated that parenting style stayed consistent within the same mother, but different between mothers.

Differential Expression Of Voltage-Gated K+ Currents In Medial Septum/Diagonal Band Complex Neurons Exhibiting Distinct Firing Phenotypes, Emilio R. Garrido-Sanabria, Miriam G. Perez-Cordova, Luis V. Colom

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The medial septum/diagonal band complex (MSDB) controls hippocampal excitability, rhythms and plastic processes. Medial septal neuronal populations display heterogeneous firing patterns. In addition, some of these populations degenerate during age-related disorders (e.g. cholinergic neurons). Thus, it is particularly important to examine the intrinsic properties of theses neurons in order to create new agents that effectively modulate hippocampal excitability and enhance memory processes. Here, we have examined the properties of voltage-gated, K+ currents in electrophysiologically-identified neurons. These neurons were taken from young rat brain slices containing the MS/DB complex. Whole-cell, patch recordings of outward currents were obtained from slow firing, fast-spiking, …

The Missing Men: High Risk And Low Use Of Health Care In Men Of Mexican Origin, Jennifer Salinas, Joseph B. Mccormick, Anne R. Rentfro, Craig Hanis, Monir Hossain, M Hossein Rahbar, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective

We sought to determine gender- and age-specific prevalence of chronic diseases in an urban Mexican American border community.

Methods

The Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC n=2000) was selected using a multi-staged cluster design. Sociodemographic, anthropometric measures and blood samples were collected on each participant.

Results

More women were obese (55.1%) than men (44.8%). Men had significantly higher rates of diabetes (20.4% for men vs 15.8% for women: p<.05) and undiagnosed diabetes (6.2% for men vs 2.4% for women: p<.01), the prevalence of diabetes rose steeply between the ages of 40 and 49 years. Men were significantly more likely to have serum cholesterol levels of ≥200 mg/dL and elevated LDL (22.6% versus 26.1%, p<.01).

Conclusions

Mexican American males in the US/Mexico border region have a high prevalence of obesity in younger men and higher overall rates of diabetes, including undiagnosed diabetes, and significantly higher serum …

The Definition Of Insulin Resistance Using Homa-Ir For Americans Of Mexican Descent Using Machine Learning, Hui-Qi Qu, Quan Li, Anne R. Rentfro, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Joseph B. Mccormick

School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective

The lack of standardized reference range for the homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index has limited its clinical application. This study defines the reference range of HOMA-IR index in an adult Hispanic population based with machine learning methods.

Methods

This study investigated a Hispanic population of 1854 adults, randomly selected on the basis of 2000 Census tract data in the city of Brownsville, Cameron County. Machine learning methods, support vector machine (SVM) and Bayesian Logistic Regression (BLR), were used to automatically identify measurable variables using standardized values that correlate with HOMA-IR; K-means clustering was then used to classify …

Spanish/English Language Definitions For Applied Behavior Analysis Terminology, Claudia Arteaga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Experimental analysis of behavior has grown enormously within recent years. Mexico is one of the main centers of this growth and therefore, as a result, specific Spanish terminology has developed. This thesis offers a list of suggested Spanish translations for terms and definitions in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as a resource in support of bilingual students in the area of experimental analysis of behavior. The first and second chapters explain the origins and history of ABA and its development in the world and specifically in Mexico. The third chapter provides details about the methodology. A book entitled …

In-Group Implicit Prejudice Against Mexican Americans In The Rio Grande Valley, Christelle Fabiola Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The existence of in-group implicit prejudice against persons of Mexican origin was examined. Implicit refers to cognitive processes that the individual is unaware. Implicit attitudes are associations between social targets and positive or negative feelings that are passively learned from the environment. The measure we used to assess implicit prejudice was the Implicit Association Test. We also examined acculturation using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (Flores-Niemann et al., 1999). Family values, assessed using the Cultural Values Scale (Unger, et al., 2002), and skin tone defined by light or dark complexion using a Photovolt 577 reflectance meter, were also …

Effects Of Insulin And Oral Antidiabetic Agents On Glucose Metabolism, Vascular Dysfunction And Skeletal Muscle Inflammation In Type 2 Diabetic Subjects, J. Joya-Galeana, M. Fernandez, A. Cervera, Sara M. Reyna, S. Ghosh, C. Triplitt, N. Musi, Ralph A. Defronzo, Eugenio Cersosimo

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background

To test potential differences between the actions of anti-diabetic medications, we examined the effects of oral hypoglycemic agents versus insulin glargine-apidra therapy in T2DM.

Methods

T2DM subjects were randomized to either OHA (pioglitazone, metformin, glipizide, n=9) or IT (n=12) for 6 months. Carotid intimal media thickness (CIMT), vascular reactivity [FMD] (% change in brachial arterial diameter [BD] post-ischemia), and sublingual nitrate [SLN] were measured with ultrasonography. Euglycemic hyperinsulinemic (80 mU/m2) clamp with [3]-3H-glucose and muscle biopsies were performed.

Results

FPG (∼257 to ∼124, OHA ∼256 to ∼142 mg/dl, IT) and HgbA1C (∼10.3 to ∼6.4%, OHA; ∼10.7 to ∼7.1%, IT), …

Expression Of Lpp3 In Bergmann Glia Is Required For Proper Cerebellar Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Metabolism/Signaling And Development, Alejandro Lopez-Juarez, Sara Morales-Lázaro, Roberto Sánchez-Sánchez, Manjula Sunkara, Hilda Lomelí, Iván Velasco, Andrew J. Morris, Diana Escalante-Alcalde

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bioactive lipids serve as intracellular and extracellular mediators in cell signaling in normal and pathological conditions. Here we describe that an important regulator of some of these lipids, the lipid phosphate phosphatase-3 (LPP3), is abundantly expressed in specific plasma membrane domains of Bergmann glia (BG), a specialized type of astrocyte with key roles in cerebellum development and physiology. Mice selectively lacking expression of LPP3/Ppap2b in the nervous system are viable and fertile but exhibit defects in postnatal cerebellum development and modifications in the cytoarchitecture and arrangement of BG with a mild non-progressive motor coordination defect. Lipid and gene profiling studies …

Adiposity, Biological Markers Of Disease, And Insulin Resistance In Mexican American Adolescents, 2004-2005, Anne R. Rentfro, Jeanette C. Nino, Rosa M. Pones, Wendy Innis-Whitehouse, Cristina S. Barroso, M Hossein Rahbar, Joseph B. Mccormick, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction Rates of obesity and overweight, which frequently lead to type 2 diabetes, have increased dramatically among US children during the past 30 years. We analyzed associations between insulin resistance and other markers of disease in a sample of Mexican American adolescents from a severely disadvantaged community on the Texas-Mexico border.

Methods We analyzed results from 325 students from 1 high school in this descriptive study. We measured height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipids; calculated body mass index; and estimated insulin resistance.

Results Approximately 50% of our sample (mean age, 16 y) were overweight or obese, …

Blood Pressure And Cerebral White Matter Share Common Genetic Factors In Mexican Americans, Peter Kochunov, David C. Glahn, Jack Lancaster, Anderson M. Winkler, Rene L. Olvera, Joanne E. Curran, Thomas D. Dyer, Laura Almasy, Ravi Duggirala, Peter T. Fox, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Elevated arterial pulse pressure and blood pressure (BP) can lead to atrophy of cerebral white matter (WM), potentially attributable to shared genetic factors. We calculated the magnitude of shared genetic variance between BP and fractional anisotropy of water diffusion, a sensitive measurement of WM integrity in a well-characterized population of Mexican Americans. The patterns of whole-brain and regional genetic overlap between BP and fractional anisotropy were interpreted in the context the pulse-wave encephalopathy theory. We also tested whether regional pattern in genetic pleiotropy is modulated by the phylogeny of WM development. BP and high-resolution (1.7 × 1.7 × 3 mm; …

“Upregulation Of Strex Splice Variant Of The Large Conductance Ca2+-Activated Potassium (Bk) Channel In A Rat Model Of Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy”, Boris Ermolinsky, Frank Skinner, Ileana Garcia, Massoud F. Arshadmansab, Luis F. Pacheco Otalora, Masoud M. Zarei, Emilio R. Garrido-Sanabria

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Functional properties of large conductance Ca2+ activated potassium (BK) channels are determined by complex alternative splicing of the Kcnma1 gene encoding the alpha pore-forming subunit. Inclusion of the STREX exon in a C-terminal splice site is dynamically regulated and confers enhanced Ca2+ sensitivity and channel inhibition via cAMP-dependent phosphorylation. Here, we describe a real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach to investigate relative changes in the expression of STREX and ZERO splice variants using a newly designed set of probes and primers for TaqMan-based qPCR analysis of cDNA from the rat dentate gyrus at different time points following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. …

Minimally Invasive Approaches For The Management Of “Difficult” Colonic Polyps, Roberto A. Cruz, Madhu Ragupathi, Rodrigo Pedraza, T. Bartley Pickron, Anne T. Le, Eric M. Haas

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Traditionally, patients with colonic polyps not amenable to endoscopic removal require open colectomy for management. We evaluated our experience with minimally invasive approaches including endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), laparoscopicassisted endoscopic polypectomy (LAEP), and laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC). Patients referred for surgery for colonic polyps were selected for one of three minimally invasive modalities. A total of 123 patients were referred for resection of “difficult” polyps. Thirty underwent EMR, 25 underwent LAEP, and 68 underwent LAC. Of those selected to undergo EMR or LAEP, 76.4% were successfully managed without colon resection. The remaining 23.6% underwent LAC. Nine complications were encountered, including two …

Genetic Analysis Of Cortical Thickness And Fractional Anisotropy Of Water Diffusion In The Brain, Peter Kochunov, David C. Glahn, Thomas E. Nichols, Anderson M. Winkler, Elliot L. Hong, Joanne E. Curran, Rene L. Olvera, Matthew P. Johnson, Shelley A. Cole, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Objectives: The thickness of the brain’s cortical gray matter (GM) and the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the cerebral white matter (WM) each follow an inverted U-shape trajectory with age. The two measures are positively correlated and may be modulated by common biological mechanisms. We employed four types of genetic analyses to localize individual genes acting pleiotropically upon these phenotypes.

Methods: Whole-brain and regional GM thickness and FA values were measured from high-resolution anatomical and diffusion tensor MR images collected from 712, Mexican American participants (438 females, age = 47.9 ± 13.2 years) recruited from 73 (9.7 ± 9.3 individuals/family) large …

Integrating Education, Group Support, And Case Management For Diabetic Hispanics, Sharon A. Brown, Alexandra A. García, Mary Winter, Lita Silva, Adama Brown, Craig Hanis

School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives: Culturally tailored diabetes self-management education (DSME) improves glycemic control and other health outcomes in Mexican Americans but sociocultural barriers to health improvements remain. This study explored the feasibility of adding a nurse case manager (NCM) to DSME to foster DSME attendance and increase utilization of other available health care services.

Design, setting and participants: The setting was a rural community on the Texas-Mexico border in one of the poorest counties in the United States. Using a repeated measures pretest, post-test control group design, we enrolled 165 Mexican American adults into: 1) an experimental group that received a DSME intervention …