Digital Commons Network^™

Influence Of Host Interleukin-10 Polymorphisms On Development Of Traveler's Diarrhea Due To Heat-Labile Enterotoxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Travelers From The United States Who Are Visiting Mexico, Jose Flores, Herbert L Dupont, Stephanie A Lee, Jaime Belkind-Gerson, Mercedes Paredes, Jamal A Mohamed, Lisa Y Armitige, Dong-Chuan Guo, Pablo C Okhuysen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Up to 60% of U.S. visitors to Mexico develop traveler's diarrhea (TD), mostly due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains that produce heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins. Distinct single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the interleukin-10 (IL-10) promoter have been associated with high, intermediate, or low production of IL-10. We conducted a prospective study to investigate the association of SNPs in the IL-10 promoter and the occurrence of TD in ETEC LT-exposed travelers. Sera from U.S. travelers to Mexico collected on arrival and departure were studied for ETEC LT seroconversion by using cholera toxin as the antigen. Pyrosequencing was performed to …

A Case Of Histoplasmosis Mimicking Tuberculosis, Asim Qureshi

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Drug resistance to Tuberculosis is an emerging problem but proper exhaustive workup needs to be done before confirming the diagnosis. The case of a 5 year old male child who presented with low grade fever and lymphadenopathy and was being treated with anti TB drugs with no satisfactory response is presented. A detail workup including a biopsy gave the diagnosis of histoplasmosis.

Structures And Functions Of The Normal And Injured Human Olfactory Epithelium, Jonathan P Schuermann, Jianwen Jiang, Jorge Cuellar, Oscar Llorca, Liping Wang, Luis E Gimenez, Suping Jin, Alexander B Taylor, Borries Demeler, Kevin A Morano, P John Hart, Jose M Valpuesta, Eileen M Lafer, Rui Sousa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Hsp70s mediate protein folding, translocation, and macromolecular complex remodeling reactions. Their activities are regulated by proteins that exchange ADP for ATP from the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) of the Hsp70. These nucleotide exchange factors (NEFs) include the Hsp110s, which are themselves members of the Hsp70 family. We report the structure of an Hsp110:Hsc70 nucleotide exchange complex. The complex is characterized by extensive protein:protein interactions and symmetric bridging interactions between the nucleotides bound in each partner protein's NBD. An electropositive pore allows nucleotides to enter and exit the complex. The role of nucleotides in complex formation and dissociation, and the effects of …

Perceptions About The Cause Of Schizophrenia And The Subsequent Help Seeking Behavior In A Pakistani Population - Results Of A Cross-Sectional Survey, Syed Nabeel Zafar, Reema Syed, Sarah Tehseen, Saqib A. Gowani, Sana Waqar, Amina Zubair, Wajeeha Yousaf, Akbar J. Zubairi, Haider Naqvi

Department of Psychiatry

Background: There is a cultural variability around the perception of what causes the syndrome of schizophrenia. Generally Patients with schizophrenia are considered dangerous. They are isolated and treatment is delayed. Studies have shown favorable prognosis with good family and social support, early diagnosis and management. Duration of untreated psychosis is a bad prognostic indicator. We aimed to determine the perceptions regarding the etiology of schizophrenia and the subsequent help seeking behavior. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 404 people at the out Patient departments of Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. Data was collected via a …

Medical Education Digest, Vol. 10 No. 4 (July/August 2008), Nova Southeastern University

Medical Education Digest

No abstract provided.

Primary Health Care Providers’ Knowledge And Practices On Asthma Management Within Dar Es Salaam Region Health Facilities, John C. Rwegasha

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine

Background: Asthma is a common chronic health problem worldwide with considerable variation in the way it is managed. In the sub- Saharan Africa there is substantial gaps in asthma care; countries like Tanzania with inadequate health care structure are lagging far behind in both correct diagnosis and management of asthma. The increasing prevalence of asthma within populations is attributed to a number of the following factors; Patient behavior, Health service structure and access, Environmental factors and Provider's knowledge and practices. There is lack of required standard asthma care under provider's factors, hindering effective control of the disease. This could be …

Criterion Validity Of The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children - Fourth Edition After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Jacobus Donders, Kelly Janke

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The performance of 40 children with complicated mild to severe traumatic brain injury on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003) was compared with that of 40 demographically matched healthy controls. Of the four WISC-IV factor index scores, only Processing Speed yielded a statistically significant group difference (p < .001) as well as a statistically significant negative correlation with length of coma (p < .01). Logistic regression, using Processing Speed to classify individual children, yielded a sensitivity of 72.50% and a specificity of 62.50%, with false positive and false negative rates both exceeding 30%. We conclude that Processing Speed has acceptable criterion validity in the evaluation of children with complicated mild to severe traumatic brain injury but that the WISC-IV should be supplemented with other measures to assure sufficient accuracy in the diagnostic process. © 2008 Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2008.

In Vivo Murine Melanoma Tumor Responses To Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Treatment, Xinhua Chen

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

High intensity nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) were applied to melanoma tumors to observe functional and structural biological changes and to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms responsible. An animal model was set up by injecting B16F10 mouse melanoma cells into SKH-1 mice. A treatment (Tx) of 100 pulses: 300 nanosecond duration; 40 kV/cm field strength; at 0.5 Hz rate were delivered to melanoma tumors in 120 mice. The nsPEF Txcaused tumor self-destruction with sharply decreased cell volumes and shrunken nuclei. The apoptotic biochemical tests confirmed nsPEF Tx induced apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. Examination of gross vessel and micro-vessel density …

Brain Death: Concepts And Knowledge Amongst Health Professionals In Province Of Sindh, Pakistan, Mughis Sheerani, Mian Zainul Sajadeen Urfy, Bhojo A Khealani, Junaid Patel, Qamarunnisa, Suresh Rath

Section of Neurology

OBJECTIVE: Last few decades have seen improved resuscitative measures and use of life saving machines like ventilators. Due to these dramatic interventions, end of life decisions, including brain death and organ transplantation, have become more complex and a major problem in our clinical practice. This study was done to find the opinion and awareness of physicians regarding issues surrounding brain death in this region.

METHODS: A total of 259 questionnaires were analyzed that encompassed physicians at different level of training and students in the final year of their training, from five major tertiary care centres, located at Karachi and Hyderabad …

Generalized Fuzzy Clustering For Segmentation Of Multi-Spectral Magnetic Resonance Images, Renjie He, Sushmita Datta, Balasrinivasa Rao Sajja, Ponnada A Narayana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

An integrated approach for multi-spectral segmentation of MR images is presented. This method is based on the fuzzy c-means (FCM) and includes bias field correction and contextual constraints over spatial intensity distribution and accounts for the non-spherical cluster's shape in the feature space. The bias field is modeled as a linear combination of smooth polynomial basis functions for fast computation in the clustering iterations. Regularization terms for the neighborhood continuity of intensity are added into the FCM cost functions. To reduce the computational complexity, the contextual regularizations are separated from the clustering iterations. Since the feature space is not isotropic, …

Brain Fiber Tract Plasticity In Experimental Spinal Cord Injury: Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Jaivijay Ramu, Juan Herrera, Raymond Grill, Tobias Bockhorst, Ponnada Narayana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and immunohistochemistry were performed in spinal cord injured rats to understand the basis for activation of multiple regions in the brain observed in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The measured fractional anisotropy (FA), a scalar measure of diffusion anisotropy, along the region encompassing corticospinal tracts (CST) indicates significant differences between control and injured groups in the 3 to 4 mm area posterior to bregma that correspond to internal capsule and cerebral peduncle. Additionally, DTI-based tractography in injured animals showed increased number of fibers that extend towards the cortex terminating in the regions that were activated …

The Temporal Relationship Between The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic And Preterm Birth, Harold E Bedell, Mahalakshmi Ramamurthy, Saumil S Patel, Shobana Subramaniam, Lan-Phuong Vu-Yu, Jianliang Tong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite rapid to-and-fro motion of the retinal image that results from their incessant involuntary eye movements, persons with infantile nystagmus (IN) rarely report the perception of motion smear. We performed two experiments to determine if the reduction of perceived motion smear in persons with IN is associated with an increase in the speed of the temporal impulse response. In Experiment 1, increment thresholds were determined for pairs of successively presented flashes of a long horizontal line, presented on a 65-cd/m2 background field. The stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between the first and second flash varied from 5.9 to 234 ms. In experiment …

Water-Soluble Fullerene (C60) Derivatives As Nonviral Gene-Delivery Vectors, Balaji Sitharaman, Tatiana Y Zakharian, Anita Saraf, Preeti Misra, Jared Ashcroft, Su Pan, Quynh P Pham, Antonios G Mikos, Lon J Wilson, David A Engler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A new class of water-soluble C60 transfecting agents has been prepared using Hirsch-Bingel chemistry and assessed for their ability to act as gene-delivery vectors in vitro. In an effort to elucidate the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the fullerene core, the hydrophilicity of the water-solubilizing groups, and the overall charge state of the C60 vectors in gene delivery and expression, several different C60 derivatives were synthesized to yield either positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral chemical functionalities under physiological conditions. These fullerene derivatives were then tested for their ability to transfect cells grown in culture with DNA carrying the green …

Synaptotagmin-2 Controls Regulated Exocytosis But Not Other Secretory Responses Of Mast Cells*, Qun-Fang Wan, Alejandro Vila, Zhen-Yu Zhou, Ruth Heidelberger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To better understand synaptic signaling at the mammalian rod bipolar cell terminal and pave the way for applying genetic approaches to the study of visual information processing in the mammalian retina, synaptic vesicle dynamics and intraterminal calcium were monitored in terminals of acutely isolated mouse rod bipolar cells and the number of ribbon-style active zones quantified. We identified a releasable pool, corresponding to a maximum of 7 s. The presence of a smaller, rapidly releasing pool and a small, fast component of refilling was also suggested. Following calcium channel closure, membrane surface area was restored to baseline with a time …

Obesity And Cardiac Metabolism In Women, Heinrich Taegtmeyer, Mohamed F Algahim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Pcr-Based Assay Using Occult Blood Detection Cards For Detection Of Diarrheagenic Escherichia Coli In Specimens From Us Travelers To Mexico With Acute Diarrhea, Kevin A Grimes, Jamal A Mohamed, Herbert L Dupont, Ranjit S Padda, Zhi-Dong Jiang, Jose Flores, Jaime Belkind-Gerson, Francisco G Martinez-Sandoval, Pablo C Okhuysen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Large field studies of travelers' diarrhea for multiple destinations are limited by the need to perform stool cultures on site in a timely manner. A method for the collection, transport, and storage of fecal specimens that does not require immediate processing and refrigeration and that is stable for months would be advantageous. This study was designed to determine if enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) DNA could be identified from cards that were processed for the evaluation of fecal occult blood. U.S. students traveling to Mexico during 2005 to 2007 were monitored for the occurrence of diarrheal …

Role Played By Serum, A Biological Cue, In The Adherence Of Enterococcus Faecalis To Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Collagen, Fibrinogen, And Fibronectin, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Most previous studies have found that Enterococcus faecalis isolates do not show significant adherence to fibronectin and fibrinogen.

METHODS: The influence of various conditions on E. faecalis adherence to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins was evaluated using a radiolabeled-cell adherence assay.

RESULTS: Among the conditions studied, growth in 40% horse serum (a biological cue with potential clinical relevance) elicited adherence of all 46 E. faecalis strains tested to fibronectin and fibrinogen but not to elastin; adherence levels were independent of strain source, and adherence was eliminated by treating cells with trypsin. As previously reported, serum also elicited adherence to collagen. …

Primary Cerebral Angitis Of The Central Nervous System: Case Report, S. Das, J. O. Jowi, K. Hameed, F. S. Rana

Pathology, East Africa

We report a case of a 28 year old female who presented with variedly progressive stroke like illness and raised intracranial pressure. Brain MRI scans revealed pericallosal and periventricular hyperintensities with oedema. Various medications like intravenous immunoglobulin, antibiotics, acyclovir, methyl prednisolone and management for raised intracranial pressure were instituted. She rapidly deteroriated and died on tenth hospital day. Only at autopsy was the diagnosis of primary angitis of central nervous system established.

Skeletal Abnormalities In Mice Lacking Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Thrombospondin-1, Thrombospondin-3, Thrombospondin-5, And Type Ix Collagen, Karen L Posey, Kurt Hankenson, Alka C Veerisetty, Paul Bornstein, Jack Lawler, Jacqueline T Hecht

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Thrombospondin-5 (TSP5) is a large extracellular matrix glycoprotein found in musculoskeletal tissues. TSP5 mutations cause two skeletal dysplasias, pseudoachondroplasia and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia; both show a characteristic growth plate phenotype with retention of TSP5, type IX collagen (Col9), and matrillin-3 in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Whereas most studies focus on defining the disease process, few functional studies have been performed. TSP5 knockout mice have no obvious skeletal abnormalities, suggesting that TSP5 is not essential in the growth plate and/or that other TSPs may compensate. In contrast, Col9 knockout mice have diminished matrillin-3 levels in the extracellular matrix and early-onset osteoarthritis. …

A Randomised Comparative Clinical Trial Of Prokinetic Agents And Proton Pump Inhibitors In H. Pylori Negative Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia, Mzee Ngunga

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Aim: To compare the efficacy of prokinetic agents and proton pump inhibitors in symptom relief of patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. Design: Comparative prospective single blind clinical trial. Patients and setting: Fifty four cases of non-ulcer dyspepsia in whom H. pylori has been eradicated were seen in the specialist gastroenterology clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: Patients with dyspepsia and negative endoscopy for peptic ulcer disease, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, hiatus hernia and upper gastrointestinal malignancy in whom H pylori has been eradicated but still had dyspepsia were assessed and scored using the modified Glasgow dyspepsia severity score (GDSS) at baseline. …

Response Of Endothelial Cells To Stressors: The Impact Of Aging And Diabetes, Katie Mclellan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Preliminary research indicates there is some impairment of the endothelial cells to respond to single stressors such as local heat, shear stress, and global heat in older people and people who have diabetes. The response of the skin blood flow to local heat is an indicator of the endothelial cells ability to cope with stress. In addition, factors such as thicker subcutaneous fat and skin moisture may impair the skin’s ability to dissipate heat. For older people and people with diabetes, this endothelial dysfunction may cause an even more diminished response to multiple stressors. However, no studies have examined the …

Immediate Provionalization Of Single Threaded Oxidized Implants On Maxillary Premolars Healed Sites: One-Year Study, Kiyotaka Umezu

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Osseointegrated endosseous implants have been widely used and become a predictable treatment option for completely and partially edentulous patients. The viability and predictability of this treatment modality have been supported with the high success rates in numerous studies. Clinical guideline requires a healing period of 3 to 6 months without functional loading to achieve osseointegration with machine surface implants. Therefore, numerous studies on immediately loaded implants have been conducted in an attempt to minimize or eliminate this healing period. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success rate of the immediately provisionalized oxidized-surface implants in healed sites supporting …

Predicting Long-Term Memory In Adult Brain Injury Patients Using Mr Spectroscopy, Herminia De La Rosa-Trujillo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Accurate outcome prediction has proven to be somewhat elusive for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The difficulty is due to the sometimes inaccurate methods of prediction currently available. Despite the advances seen in radiological technology, the traditional methods of x-rays, CT scans and MRIs are not always accurately able to predict patient functional outcome. These radiological methods are adequate in determining gross structural anatomical disturbances, however, they unable to detect more diffuse cellular damage believed to be responsible for the functional impairments evidenced in patients sustaining TBI. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) is an imaging technique which measures brain metabolites …

Factors That Affect Performance On Executive Functioning After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Sapna Mahesh Patel

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research suggests that individuals who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) experience declines in neuropsychological functioning post-operatively. This decline has been observed in up to 80% of patients early after surgery, and in up to 30% of patients after six months. Many studies have examined the potential effects of CABG on neuropsychological functioning in general, and numerous studies have found that executive functions are impaired in particular. However, none have examined what factors contribute to observed executive dysfunction after CABG. This study investigated the role of memory functions on executive functions in a selected sample of patients undergoing CABG. This …

Hiv Risk Among Nursing Students In Rwanda : Self-Efficacy, Knowledge And Attitudes, Jacqueline Wosinski

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. With a prevalence rate of 3.1% in 2006, Rwanda is one of the hardest hit countries. Nurses are often the leading health professionals in rural communities and at the forefront of the fight against the HIV pandemic. Little has been written on how nurses are prepared to intervene successfully along the continuum of HIV prevention and care. A mixed-methods sequential exploratory approach was used to explore this question.

In the first phase, cognitive, socio-psychological, and environmental factors of nursing education in Rwanda in regard to HIV …

Partner Communication And Factors Associated With The Decision To Obtain An Hiv Test Among Chinese/Chinese American Community College Students In Northern California, Sang Leng Trieu

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

HIV testing and counseling is considered the cornerstone of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention and education. Little is known, however, about HIV prevention, including HIV testing rates for Asian Pacific Islander (API) women, because data for this ethnic group is aggregated, thus limiting specific data for Chinese/Chinese American population or other API subgroups. This dissertation research examined factors associated with the decision to obtain an HIV test among Chinese/Chinese American community college women and explored the association among relationship status, partnership communication, and discussions of HIV testing.

Using constructs of the health belief model, an online and paper-pencil, crosssectional …

Neuronal Connections From The Cervix To The Spinal Cord Before Parturition, Mary Medina Groves

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

By the day before birth, the density of nerve fibers in the cervix has increased compared to earlier in pregnancy or in nonpregnant mice. Similar findings are reported in parturient women. To test the hypothesis that connections between the cervix and spinal cord are enhanced by term, the cervix of nonpregnant and time-dated pregnant mice (day 15 or 18 post-breeding) was injected with pseudorabies virus (PRV), a trans-synaptic retrograde neural tract tracer. Mice were euthanized and perfused 5 days later. The spinal cord and cervix were removed and postfixed overnight, immersed in sucrose, and cryostat sections through the thoracic to …

Mechanisms Of T Helper Cell Modulation In A Simulated Space Radiation Environment, Asma Rizvi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Exposure to solar particle events (SPEs) poses the most serious threat to astronaut health. Due to this radiation environment, exploration of the solar system beyond Earth’s orbit entails many risks for the crew on these deep space missions. Depression or dysfunction of the immune system is a major concern due to its high radio-sensitivity; potential consequences include overwhelming infection, development of cancer, fibrosis, and poor wound healing. Astronauts are also exposed to low dose/low dose rate (LDR) radiation. A three month stay at the international space station exposes them to ~ 0.05 Gy of radiation.

C57BL/6 mice received LDR gamma-radiation …

Case Report: Signal Drop On Mra Imaging Of The Internal Carotid Artery After Neuroform Stent Placement, Aditya S. Pandey Md, Meryl A. Severson Iii Md, Robert H. Rosenwasser Md

JHN Journal

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is an important tool in evaluating the patency of vessels which have previously been stented. Neuroform stents (Boston Scientific, Natick, MA, U.S.A.) are utilized to provide a scaffold across the neck of an aneurysm. These stents are synthesized from Nitinol (nickel and titanium) and thus cause minimal distortion upon imaging with MRA. Patients who have undergone Neuroform stent assisted coiling of aneurysms are routinely followed with MRA to delineate stenosis of the stented segment of vessel as well as recurrence of the aneurysms. While numerous reports show that Neuroform stents do not lead to MRA imaging …

Rtr1 Is The Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Homolog Of A Novel Family Of Rna Polymerase Ii-Binding Proteins, Patrick A Gibney, Thomas Fries, Susanne M Bailer, Kevin A Morano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cells must rapidly sense and respond to a wide variety of potentially cytotoxic external stressors to survive in a constantly changing environment. In a search for novel genes required for stress tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we identified the uncharacterized open reading frame YER139C as a gene required for growth at 37 degrees C in the presence of the heat shock mimetic formamide. YER139C encodes the closest yeast homolog of the human RPAP2 protein, recently identified as a novel RNA polymerase II (RNAPII)-associated factor. Multiple lines of evidence support a role for this gene family in transcription, prompting us to rename …