Digital Commons Network^™

Deficiency Of Stat1 In Cd11c+ Cells Alters Adipose Tissue Inflammation And Improves Metabolic Dysfunctions In Mice Fed A High-Fat Diet, Antu Antony, Zeqin Lian, Xiaoyuan Dai Perrard, Jerry Perrard, Hua Liu, Aaron R Cox, Pradip Saha, Lothar Hennighausen, Sean M Hartig, Christie M Ballantyne, Huaizhu Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

CD11c+ macrophages/dendritic cells (MDCs) are increased and display the classically activated M1-like phenotype in obese adipose tissue (AT) and may contribute to AT inflammation and insulin resistance. Stat1 is a key transcription factor for MDC polarization into the M1-like phenotype. Here, we examined the role of Stat1 in obesity-induced AT MDC polarization and inflammation and insulin resistance using mice with specific knockout of Stat1 in MDCs (cKO). Stat1 was upregulated and phosphorylated, indicating activation, early and persistently in AT and AT MDCs of wild-type mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Compared with littermate controls, cKO mice fed an HFD (16 …

Esophageal Cancer Complicated By A Distal Acquired Esophagopulmonary Fistula, Alexander D. Lake, Yousef Almuzaini, Aaron Jaffe, Joseph Staffetti, Mukesh Patel

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Esophageal respiratory fistulas, commonly found as a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), are abnormal connections between the esophagus and trachea. These can be congenital (infants) or acquired (malignancy). A more rare form of an esophageal respiratory fistula is an abnormal connection between the esophagus and the lung parenchyma—also known as an esophagopulmonary fistula. In our case, we present a middle-aged male with a history of esophageal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and radiation presenting into the intensive care unit for increasing shortness of breath and vomiting after eating found to have a rare form of a TEF causing his symptoms.

The Relationship Between Depression And Cardiovascular Disease, Jomaries O. Gomez

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

While there has been extensive research on the link between depression and cardiovascular disease, few reviews have summarized the array of findings. In this literature review, we examined approximately 50 clinical papers and research studies to determine if reducing depression could reduce the risk of having a cardiovascular incident and if reducing the severity of cardiovascular disease could reduce depression. We identified two major mechanisms through which depression affects the cardiovascular system. We present evidence that depression and cardiovascular disease may have a reciprocal relationship. For instance, depression is as much of a risk factor for heart disease as smoking …

A Surrogate Frax Model For Pakistan, G Naureen, H Johansson, Romaina Iqbal, Lena Jafri, Aysha Habib Khan, Masood Umer, E Liu, L Vandenput, M Lorentzon, N C. Harvey, E V. Mccloskey, J A. Kanis

Community Health Sciences

A surrogate FRAX® model for Pakistan has been constructed using age-specific hip fracture rates for Indians living in Singapore and age-specific mortality rates from Pakistan.
Introduction: FRAX models are frequently requested for countries with little or no data on the incidence of hip fracture. In such circumstances, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and International Osteoporosis Foundation have recommended the development of a surrogate FRAX model, based on country-specific mortality data but using fracture data from a country, usually within the region, where fracture rates are considered to be representative of the index country.
Objective: This paper describes the development …

Risk Factors Associated With Cardiovascular Disease Among Adult Nevadans, Dieu My T. Tran, Nirmala Lekhak, Karen Gutierrez, Sheniz Moonie

Nursing Faculty Research

© 2021 Tran et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Objective Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of death in the US and Nevada is ranked 11th highest for CVD mortality. The study sought to examine the association between self-reported risk factors and CVD presence among adult Nevadans, between years 2011 and 2017. Methods This is a cross-sectional, population-based study that utilized the 2011 and 2017 Nevada Behavioral Risk …

Very Low Prevalence And Incidence Of Atrial Fibrillation Among Bolivian Forager-Farmers, Christopher J. Rowan, Michael A. Eskander, Edmond Seabright, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Edhitt Cortez Linares, Raul Quispe Gutierrez, Juan Copajira Adrian, Daniel Cummings, Bret Beheim, Kirsten Tolstrup, Abinash Achrekar, Thomas Kraft, David E. Michalik, Michael I. Miyamoto, Adel H. Allam, L. Samuel Wann, Jagat Narula, Benjamin C. Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Randall C. Thompson, Gregory S. Thomas, Hillard S. Kaplan, Michael D. Gurven

ESI Publications

Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in post-industrialized populations. Older age, hypertension, obesity, chronic inflammation, and diabetes are significant atrial fibrillation risk factors, suggesting that modern urban environments may promote atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Here we assess atrial fibrillation prevalence and incidence among tropical horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon with high levels of physical activity, a lean diet, and minimal coronary atherosclerosis, but also high infectious disease burden and associated inflammation.

Methods: Between 2005–2019, 1314 Tsimane aged 40–94 years (52% female) and 534 Moseten Amerindians aged 40–89 years (50% female) underwent resting 12-lead electrocardiograms to assess atrial fibrillation prevalence. …

Effect Of Consumption Of Animal Milk Compared To Infant Formula For Non-Breastfed/Mixed-Fed Infants 6-11 Months Of Age: A Systematic Review (Protocol), Aamer Imdad, Julie Melissa Ehrlich, Joseph Catania, Emily Tanner-Smith, Abigail Smith, Olivia Tsistinas, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Woman and Child Health

Introduction: Prevalence rates of breastfeeding remain low even though the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend exclusive breast feeding for the first 6 months of life in combination with appropriate complementary feeding beyond six 6 months of age. There have been several studies that address the implication of drinking animal milk and/or infant formula on children's health and development when breast feeding is not offered during the first year of life. Vast improvements have been made in infant formula design, which may increase its benefits compared with animal's milk. The objective of this review is …

Wellness Review 2020, Part 2, Brian Ferguson, Martin Huecker

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: This article comprises Part 2 of the Journal of Wellness review of 2020 wellness literature (July – December). In this review, JWellness editors continue the goal of offering a cohesive summary of recent publications within the wellness domain. We summarize new science and resilience initiatives published outside of JWellness that seek understanding of either burnout and its prevention or thriving in the medical community.

Methods: From the interval of 01 July – 31 Dec 2020, PubMed was queried for empirical research studies, review articles, and editorials in accordance with the following algorithm: an article was required to …

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Confers Metabolic Improvements By Reducing Intestinal Bile Acids And Lipid Absorption In Mice, Lili Ding, Eryun Zhang, Qiaoling Yang, Lihua Jin, Kyle M Sousa, Bingning Dong, Yangmeng Wang, Jui Tu, Xiaoxiao Ma, Jingyan Tian, Hongli Zhang, Zhipeng Fang, Ana Guan, Yixin Zhang, Zhengtao Wang, David D Moore, Li Yang, Wendong Huang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) is a highly effective bariatric surgery that sustainably treats obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanisms governing its metabolic benefits remain unclear. In this study, we have used four different genetically modified mouse lines to understand the link between bile acid circulation and metabolic effects of VSG. Instead of directly activating the nuclear bile acid receptor farnesoid X receptor (Fxr) in the liver or intestine, VSG reduces intestinal levels of bile acids, thereby decreasing fat absorption in the intestine. Given the rising popularity of bariatric surgeries to treat obesity and associated T2D, the …

Common Questions And Misconceptions About Creatine Supplementation: What Does The Scientific Evidence Really Show?, Jose Antonio, Darren G Candow, Scott C Forbes, Bruno Gualano, Andrew R Jagim, Richard B Kreider, Eric S Rawson, Abbie E Smith-Ryan, Trisha A Vandusseldorp, Darryn S Willoughby, Tim N Ziegenfuss

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Supplementing with creatine is very popular amongst athletes and exercising individuals for improving muscle mass, performance and recovery. Accumulating evidence also suggests that creatine supplementation produces a variety of beneficial effects in older and patient populations. Furthermore, evidence-based research shows that creatine supplementation is relatively well tolerated, especially at recommended dosages (i.e. 3-5 g/day or 0.1 g/kg of body mass/day). Although there are over 500 peer-refereed publications involving creatine supplementation, it is somewhat surprising that questions regarding the efficacy and safety of creatine still remain. These include, but are not limited to: 1. Does creatine lead to water retention? 2. …

The Association Between Cardiovascular Disease Knowledge And Risk Factors Among African American Breast Cancer Survivors In The Deep South, Michelle S. Williams, Chizoba Anyimukwu

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Purpose: African American breast cancer survivors in the Deep South have a disproportionately high burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Multiple potentially modifiable CVD risk factors are highly prevalent in this population, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and poor dietary habits. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between CVD health metrics and heart disease knowledge among the target population.

Methods: The Heart Disease Knowledge Questionnaire was used to assess the participants’ knowledge of heart disease and heart disease risk factors. Questions from My Life Check were used to assess the participants cardiovascular health metrics. Multivariate …

Environmentally Marginalized Populations: The "Perfect Storm" For Infectious Disease Pandemics, Including Covid-19, Gabriella Y. Meltzer, Oyemwenosa Avenbuan, Christina Awada, Oluwakemi B. Oyetade, Tricia Blackman, Simona Kwon Drph, Mph, Esther Erdei Phd, Judith T. Zelikoff Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

COVID-19 has exacted a severe toll on the United States population’s physical and mental health and its effects have been felt most severely among people of color and low socioeconomic status. Using illustrative case studies, this commentary argues that in addition to COVID-19 health disparities created by psychosocial stressors such as the inability to socially distance and access quality healthcare, environmental justice communities have the additional burden of disproportionate exposure to toxic contaminants that contribute to their higher risk of COVID-19. Environmental contaminants including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants found contaminating their nearby environments can alter the immune response, …

Eosinophils Attenuate Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury In Mice Through St2-Dependent Il-13 Production, Yaochun Wang, Yang Yang, Meng Wang, Shuhong Wang, Jong-Min Jeong, Long Xu, Yankai Wen, Christoph Emontzpohl, Constance Lynn Atkins, Kevin Duong, Nicolas F Moreno, Xiaoyi Yuan, David R Hall, Wasim Dar, Dechun Feng, Bin Gao, Yong Xu, Zoltan Czigany, Sean P Colgan, J Steve Bynon, Shizuo Akira, Jared M Brown, Holger K Eltzschig, Elizabeth A Jacobsen, Cynthia Ju

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Eosinophils are a myeloid cell subpopulation that mediates type 2 T helper cell immune responses. Unexpectedly, we identified a rapid accumulation of eosinophils in 22 human liver grafts after hepatic transplantation. In contrast, no eosinophils were detectable in healthy liver tissues before transplantation. Studies with two genetic mouse models of eosinophil deficiency and a mouse model of antibody-mediated eosinophil depletion revealed exacerbated liver injury after hepatic ischemia and reperfusion. Adoptive transfer of bone marrow-derived eosinophils normalized liver injury of eosinophil-deficient mice and reduced hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury in wild-type mice. Mechanistic studies combining genetic and adoptive transfer approaches identified …

Association Of Baseline Characteristics With Insulin Sensitivity And Β-Cell Function In The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness (Grade) Study Cohort, Neda Rasouli, Naji Younes, Kristina M Utzschneider, Silvio E Inzucchi, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Andrea L Cherrington, Faramarz Ismail-Beigi, Robert M Cohen, Darin E Olson, Ralph A Defronzo, William H Herman, John M Lachin, Steven E Kahn

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: We investigated sex and racial differences in insulin sensitivity, β-cell function, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 3,108 GRADE (Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study) participants. All had type 2 diabetes diagnosedβ-cell function were evaluated using the HOMA of insulin sensitivity and estimates from oral glucose tolerance tests, including the Matsuda Index, insulinogenic index, C-peptide index, and oral disposition index (DI).

RESULTS: The cohort was 56.6 ± 10 years of age (mean ± SD), 63.8% male, with BMI 34.2 ± 6.7 kg/m

CONCLUSIONS: In the …

Intestinal Stem Cell-Derived Enteroids From Morbidly Obese Patients Preserve Obesity-Related Phenotypes: Elevated Glucose Absorption And Gluconeogenesis, Nesrin M Hasan, Kelli F Johnson, Jianyi Yin, Nicholas W Baetz, Lea Fayad, Vadim Sherman, Sarah E Blutt, Mary K Estes, Vivek Kumbhari, Nicholas C Zachos, Olga Kovbasnjuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms behind the efficacy of bariatric surgery (BS) for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, particularly with respect to the influence of the small bowel, remain poorly understood. In vitro and animal models are suboptimal with respect to their ability to replicate the human intestinal epithelium under conditions induced by obesity. Human enteroids have the potential to accelerate the development of less invasive anti-obesity therapeutics if they can recapitulate the pathophysiology of obesity. Our aim was to determine whether adult stem cell-derived enteroids preserve obesity-characteristic patient-specific abnormalities in carbohydrate absorption and metabolism.

METHODS: We established 24 enteroid lines …

Mucosal Genomics Implicate Lymphocyte Activation And Lipid Metabolism In Refractory Environmental Enteric Dysfunction, Najeeha Talat Iqbal, Najeeb Rahman, Kamran Sadiq, Zubair Ahmad, Romana Idress, Junaid Iqbal, Sheraz Ahmed, Aneeta Hotwani, Fayyaz Umrani, Sana Syed, Syed Asad Ali

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background & aims: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) limits the Sustainable Development Goals of improved childhood growth and survival. We applied mucosal genomics to advance our understanding of EED.
Methods: The Study of Environmental Enteropathy and Malnutrition (SEEM) followed 416 children from birth to 24 months in a rural district in Pakistan. Biomarkers were measured at 9 months and tested for association with growth at 24 months. The duodenal methylome and transcriptome was determined in 52 undernourished SEEM participants and 42 North American controls and celiac disease patients.
Results: After accounting for growth at study entry, circulating IGF-1 and ferritin predicted …

New Insights And Enhanced Human Norovirus Cultivation In Human Intestinal Enteroids, Khalil Ettayebi, Victoria R Tenge, Nicolas W Cortes-Penfield, Sue E Crawford, Frederick H Neill, Xi-Lei Zeng, Xiaomin Yu, B Vijayalakshmi Ayyar, Douglas Burrin, Sasirekha Ramani, Robert L Atmar, Mary K Estes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the leading cause of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis worldwide. We previously demonstrated human intestinal stem cell-derived enteroids (HIEs) support cultivation of several HuNoV strains. However, HIEs did not support virus replication from every HuNoV-positive stool sample, which led us to test and optimize new medium conditions, identify characteristics of stool samples that allow replication, and evaluate consistency of replication over time. Optimization of our HIE-HuNoV culture system has shown the following: (i) a new HIE culture medium made with conditioned medium from a single cell line and commercial media promotes robust replication of HuNoV strains …

Repurposing The Orphan Drug Nitisinone To Control The Transmission Of African Trypanosomiasis, Marcos Sterkel, Lee R. Haines, Aitor Casas-Sánchez, Vincent Owino Adung'a, Raquel J. Vionette-Amaral, Shannon Quek, Clair Rose, Mariana Silva Dos Santos, Natalia García Escude, Hanafy M. Ismail, Mark I. Paine, Seth M. Barribeau, Simon Wagstaff, James I. Macrae, Daniel Masiga, Laith Yakob, Pedro L. Oliveira, Álvaro Acosta-Serrano

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tsetse transmit African trypanosomiasis, which is a disease fatal to both humans and animals. A vaccine to protect against this disease does not exist so transmission control relies on eliminating tsetse populations. Although neurotoxic insecticides are the gold standard for insect control, they negatively impact the environment and reduce populations of insect pollinator species. Here we present a promising, environment-friendly alternative to current insecticides that targets the insect tyrosine metabolism pathway. A bloodmeal contains high levels of tyrosine, which is toxic to haematophagous insects if it is not degraded and eliminated. RNA interference (RNAi) of either the first two enzymes …

Ten Things To Know About Ten Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors, Harold E. Bays, Pam R. Taub, Elizabeth Epstein, Erin D. Michos, Richard A. Ferraro, Alison Bailey, Heval M. Kelli, Keith C. Ferdinand, Melvin R. Echols, Salim S. Virani

Office of the Provost

Given rapid advancements in medical science, it is often challenging for the busy clinician to remain up-to-date on the fundamental and multifaceted aspects of preventive cardiology and maintain awareness of the latest guidelines applicable to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. The "American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) Top Ten CVD Risk Factors 2021 Update" is a summary document (updated yearly) regarding CVD risk factors. This "ASPC Top Ten CVD Risk Factors 2021 Update" summary document reflects the perspective of the section authors regarding ten things to know about ten sentinel CVD risk factors. It also includes quick access to sentinel …

Calcaneal Ultrasound And Its Relation To Dietary And Lifestyle Factors, Anthropometry, And Vitamin D Deficiency In Young Medical Students, Lena Jafri, Hafsa Majid, Sibtain Ahmed, Ghazala Naureen, Aysha Habib Khan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Bone quality and peak bone mass are greatly affected by lifestyle factors. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationships between anthropometry, dietary and caloric intake, body composition measurements, physical activity, and vitamin D status with quantitative ultrasound-based bone parameters among medical students.
Methods: Both male and female medical college students were included in this study. A detailed questionnaire was administered, collecting clinical, dietary, physical activity information, physical examination details, including body mass index (BMI). Body composition (total body fat, total body water, muscle mass, mean visceral fat mass, basal metabolic rate, bone mass using a bioelectrical …

Association Of Presenting Symptoms With Abnormal Laboratory Values For Vector-Borne Illness — Experience In An Urban Gastroenterology Practice, Michael D. Erdman, Niloofar Kossari, Jessica Ye, Kristen H. Reynolds, Emily Blodget, B. Robert Mozayeni, Farshid Sam Rahbar

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Background: In the clinical setting, it is not common practice to consider a vector bite, such as from a tick or flea, to be a contributing factor to chronic digestive symptoms. This article investigates associations we have observed among symptomatic patients and positive blood tests for vector-borne illness (VBI).

Methods: Patients who visited an urban gastroenterology clinic over a 3-year period were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 270 patients presenting with a constellation of digestive symptoms — and who had no apparent digestive pathology and reported no prior diagnosis or treatments for VBI — were analyzed. Before the initial visit, …

Co-Phosphorylation Networks Reveal Subtype-Specific Signaling Modules In Breast Cancer, Marzieh Ayati, Mark R. Chance, Mehmet Koyuturk

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Motivation Protein phosphorylation is a ubiquitous mechanism of post-ranslational modification that plays a central role in cellular signaling. Phosphorylation is particularly important in the context of cancer, as down-regulation of tumor suppressors and up-regulation of oncogenes by the dysregulation of associated kinase and phosphatase networks are shown to have key roles in tumor growth and progression. Despite recent advances that enable large-scale monitoring of protein phosphorylation, these data are not fully incorporated into such computational tasks as phenotyping and subtyping of cancers.

Results We develop a network-based algorithm, CoPPNet, to enable unsupervised subtyping of cancers using phosphorylation data. For this …

Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Among Pregnant And Post-Partum Women, Mohamed M Gad, Islam Y Elgendy, Ahmed N Mahmoud, Anas M Saad, Toshiaki Isogai, Isadora Sande Mathias, Rabel Misbah Rameez, Johnny Chahine, Hani Jneid, Samir R Kapadia

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background

The incidence of cardiovascular disease among pregnant women is rising in the United States. Data on racial disparities for the major cardiovascular events during pregnancy are limited.

Methods and Results

Pregnant and post‐partum women hospitalized from January 2007 to December 2017 were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The outcomes of interest included: in‐hospital mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and peripartum cardiomyopathy. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the independent association between race and in‐hospital outcomes. Among 46 700 637 pregnancy‐related hospitalizations, 21 663 575 (46.4%) were White, 6 302 089 (13.5%) were Black, and 8 914 …

Equipping Community Health Workers With Digital Tools For Pandemic Response In Lmics, Anam Shahil Feroz, Adeel Khoja, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are well-positioned to play a pivotal role in fighting the pandemic at the community level. The Covid-19 outbreak has led to a lot of stress and anxiety among CHWs as they are expected to perform pandemic related tasks along with the delivery of essential healthcare services. In addition, movement restrictions, lockdowns, social distancing, and lack of protective gear have significantly affected CHWs' routine workflow and performance. To optimize CHWs' functioning, there is a renewed interest in supporting CHWs with digital technology to ensure an appropriate pandemic response.
Discussion: The current situation has necessitated the use …

Dysregulation Of The Muscle Clock During Development Of Cancer Cachexia, Madeline Amos

2021 Honors Symposium

INTRODUCTION
Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death across the world. Among many conditions that accompany cancer, cachexia is one that has long been identified as an unfortunate consequence. Cachexia is a skeletal muscle-wasting syndrome that ultimately leads to deterioration in the body’s functional ability and is considered to be irreversible solely by nutritional means. Researchers have yet to identify the precise mechanisms responsible for its development and current treatments remain inadequate.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to confirm the dysregulation of Clock gene expression in male and female tumor-bearing mice, whether such effects …

Role Of Rela In Dormancy And Toxr Proteolysis In Vibrio Cholerae, Zachary J. Malaussena

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of the severe diarrheal disease cholera, is an enteric pathogen that can be found in aquatic ecosystems when not colonizing the human gastrointestinal tract. Under adverse environmental conditions, V. cholerae is capable of entering dormant states that increase its survival during these ecological fluctuations. In these states, V. cholerae slows its metabolic activity and exhibits drastically altered gene expression and morphology. Stressors that lead to entry into these states vary from nutrient limitation, suboptimal pH, or antimicrobials. Cells in these dormant states are highly resistant to antimicrobials and cannot be detected using standard microbiological techniques …

The Effect Of Long-Acting Dual Bronchodilator Therapy On Exercise Tolerance, Dynamic Hyperinflation, And Dead Space During Constant Work Rate Exercise In Copd, William W. Stringer, Janos Porszasz, Min Cao, Harry B. Rossiter, Shahid Siddiqui, Stephen I. Rennard, Richard Casaburi

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

We investigated whether dual bronchodilator therapy (glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate; GFF; Bevespi Aerosphere) would increase exercise tolerance during a high-intensity constant work rate exercise test (CWRET) and the relative contributions of dead space ventilation (V_D/V_T) and dynamic hyperinflation (change in inspiratory capacity) to exercise limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In all, 48 patients with COPD (62.9 ± 7.6 yrs; 33 male; GOLD spirometry stage 1/2/3/4, n = 2/35/11/0) performed a randomized, double blind, placebo (PL) controlled, two-period crossover, single-center trial. Gas exchange and inspiratory capacity (IC) were assessed during cycle ergometry at 80% incremental exercise peak …

Maternal Proximity To Mountaintop Removal Mining And Birth Defects In Appalachian Kentucky, 1997-2003, Daniel B. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: Extraction of coal through mountaintop removal mining (MTR) alters many dimensions of the landscape, and explosive blasts, exposed rock, and coal washing have the potential to pollute air and water with substances known to increase risk of developmental and birth anomalies. Previous research suggests that infants born to mothers living in MTR coal mining counties have higher prevalence of most types of birth defects.

Objectives: This study seeks to examine further the relationship between MTR activity and birth defects by employing individual level exposure estimation through precise satellite data of MTR activity in the Appalachian region and maternal residence …

Use Of Mechanical Pronation Beds In Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome In The Intensive Care Unit: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Amanda St. John

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The increasing rate of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) reinforces the need for additional resources to assist clinical staff with an individual's care and recovery. Pronation therapy involves physically rotating an individual from the posterior position to the prone position. Pronation therapy has successfully been used for individuals diagnosed with ARDS in Intensive Care Units for decades. However, manual pronation maneuvers by staff members poses risks for those who are critically ill and risk of physical injury to caregivers. Mechanical pronation beds have revolutionized the art of pronation therapy, minimizing risks, and decreasing possibility of kinking or pulling out life …

Factors Associated With Lifestyle Modification For Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management And Prevention, Leigh Anne Koonmen

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, affecting roughly 13% of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all diabetes cases and is characterized by the progressive development of insulin resistance leading to sustained elevated blood glucose levels. Management of type 2 diabetes includes risk-reduction strategies and continuous medical care to prevent the development of complications.

Lifestyle is a major contributing factor to morbidity and mortality rates in the United States. Preventative health behaviors, such as engaging in physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and following a healthy …