Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions About Female Sexuality Among Young Pakistani Men Presenting To Family Physicians At A Teaching Hospital In Karachi, Waris Qidwai

Department of Family Medicine

Objective: To study the perceptions about female sexuality among young Pakistani men, presenting to family physicians at a teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan
Study Design: A questionnaire based prevalence study.
Setting: Questionnaire administered to 188 young Pakistani men, between the ages 18-30 veai-s, who presented to family physicians, at the outpatient department of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Main Outcome Measures: Perception among Pakistani young men about enjoyment of sexual experiences in women, whether women stop to enjoy sexual experiences during stress, menstruation, pregnancy and after menopause. Whether they are aware about “orgasm” in women and their belief …

Health Promotion For Older Adults: What Is The Potential?, Linda P. Fried

Center for Policy Research

As a greater number of people reach old age, medicine is challenged to develop new approaches to this population. Health promotion, not just treatment of disease but improving the quality of life for older persons, must play a role. What happens to individuals in terms of health status as they get older, and what are the implications for health care needs? Where should we focus to get the biggest benefits in terms of health promotion? Overall, we have learned a tremendous amount over the last 25 years about the components of health as people get older, and what modifies their …

Pharmaceuticals And The Elderly: A Comparative Analysis, Deborah A. Freund, Don Wilson, Grant D. Reeher, Bernie O'Brien

Center for Policy Research

This paper compares and contrasts outpatient pharmaceutical policies for the elderly in seven OECD nations: Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each country is facing an increasing financial burden due to rapidly growing numbers of elderly citizens, in number and as a percentage of population, and rising drug costs. As a result, they are struggling to balance varying levels of commitment to providing drugs for the elderly with the need to contain costs. Although each country's healthcare system is unique, the methods that each country is using to control rising pharmaceutical costs are …

Factors Associated With Healthy Eating: Attitudes, Cultural Adherence, And Snacking Behavior Among Korean-American Adolescents, Kyoung Eun Oh

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Adolescents have increased nutrition needs and report frequent meal skipping and snacking, but there are few studies that examine the determinants of unhealthy eating, especially among ethnic minority groups. This study investigated dietary intake and snacking behavior among Korean-American adolescents in the Los Angeles area. We determined the relationship between dietary fat intake and overall quality of the diet as assessed by two healthy eating indices: the Healthy Eating Index (HEl) and Mean Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (MNAR). HEl assessed degree of compliance to Food Guide Pyramid and Dietary Guidelines for Americans while MNAR assessed nutrient consumption compared to Recommended Dietary …

Client-Centered Versus Traditional-Directive Educational Approach: A Randomized Study Of Exercises And Perceived Control Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Melissa D. Olfert

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A patient’s adherence to self-management therapies in diabetes strongly influences health outcomes, health care utilization, and ultimately health care costs. Engaging in regular exercise therapy reduces risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this randomized prospective study was to determine if a client-centered approach (CCA) toward diabetes education, verses a traditional-directive approach (TDA), would improve exercise participation, perceived control, intention to exercise, and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Fifty-nine type 2 patients were randomized into two groups: CCA and TDA. Diabetes education in the CCA group provided empowerment toward acquiring knowledge, skills, and responsibility …

Assessment Of Prothrombotic Tendency In Humans Using Functional And Genomic Determinants, Pádraig O'Sullivan

Theses

Thrombophilia describes the familial or acquired disorders of the haemostatic mechanism that are likely to predispose to thrombosis. Venous thrombosis and its associated complications account for a significant number of hospital admissions and deaths annually having a significant health-economic impact on the heath-care industry globally. Mutations in genes that code for proteins involved directly (or indirectly) in blood coagulation have been associated with prothrombotic states. The majority of inherited genetic defects were attributed to polymorphisms in Antithrombin III, Protein C, and Protein S genes until 1994. Together these accounted for only 5-10% of individuals with thrombosis. Subsequently the Factor V …

Lds Life Tables: A Comparison Of Long-Lived Populations, Christopher R. Layton

Theses and Dissertations

This research estimates the life expectancy of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Utah. We create gender-specific life tables for four groups: total Utah, active LDS, less-active LDS, and non-LDS. Male life tables are based on data from 1991-1995; female life tables are based on data from 1994-1998. Life expectancy at birth is 75 years for all utah males, 79.8 years for active LDS Utah males, 71.6 years for less active LDS Utah males, and 71.5 years for non-LDS Utah males. Female life expectancy at birth is 80.4 years for all Utah females, 83.9 …

Generational Conflict, Human Capital Accumulation, And Economic Growth, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Mary E. Lovely, Mehmet Serkan Tosun

Center for Policy Research

Worldwide, dependency ratios are forecast to increase dramatically in the next 50 years. A great deal of attention has been devoted to understanding the changes in fiscal policies that "must" take place to accommodate these changes. In contrast, less effort has been concentrated on studying the fiscal shifts that will endogenously result from demographic pressures. An example of particular interest is the degree to which a more elderly population will support public spending for education. We use an overlapping-generations model to investigate the effect of this demographic transition on the endogenous determination of public spending for education. A demographic transition …

Euphemistic Codes And Tell-Tale Hearts: Human Assistance In End-Of-Life Cases, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

A euphemism is defined as the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive word or expression for one that is harsh, indelicate, or otherwise unpleasant taboo; allusion to an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression. This article deals with medical euphemisms used commonly through medical codes in hospitals for end-of-life patient care. It examines the extent to which fear shapes decision making in critical care units - fear of medical failure, and fear of litigation if not "everything" is done to prolong life, no matter how agonizing. Furthermore, being trained to save lives, health care providers often lack the courage to …

Ethical Issues In Dementia, Peter J. Whitehouse

Faculty Scholarship

The growing number of individuals affected by dementia will intensify the ethical issues that emerge in clinical practice and research, issues early in disease relate to genetic testing, use of medications in mildly affected persons, and diagnostic disclosure. Research issues relate to appropriate informed consent processes, conflict of interests, and research design issues, such as the use of placebos and the use of biological tissues. In the later stages of disease concern about appropriate therapeutic goals and end-of-life care is appropriate.

Attitudes, Practices And Knowledge Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening Among Greek Women In The Area Of Perth, Panagiota Karnaki

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this thesis is to study the attitudes, practices and knowledge of Greek women in Perth, Western Australia, regarding cervical cancer screening. This is important because no study has yet examined the cervical screening pattern of this group, despite their low participation rate in screening programs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews among 15 Greek women in Perth were used for data collection. Interviews were conducted both in English and Greek. Eight out of the 15 women interviewed did not participate in frequent screening and many had had only one Pap test in their life. Culture and religion influenced negative attitudes …

The Use Of The Cognitive Status Examination In Detecting Cognitive Impairment In Elderly People, Geoff Mccann

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Dementia is a growing social problem in Australia because as the population ages, the incidence of dementia increases. While the prevalence rates are only about I% at age 65, they double every five years until by 85 years of age the rate is over 24%. It is expected that by the year 2030, the number of elderly people with dementia will increase by 200%. Dementia is easily recognized in its advanced stages but can be overlooked in the early phase. Family members, care-givers and even the treating medical practitioner may mistakenly attribute the early decline in mental function to the …

Sterilization In The United States: Prevalence And Controversies, Carey Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There have been many breakthroughs in birth control technologies, many of which have been beneficial for women. However, many feminists who advocate reproductive freedom also warn that freedom for some might lead to further oppression for others. The case in point is the practice of tubal ligation in the United States. Conflict theory indicates that the field of medicine is a social structure that is based upon capitalistic ideology and serves to perpetuate inequality. Feminist theory argues that medicine systematically disempowers women and that notions of family are very narrowly defined. This study examined the prevalence of tubal ligation among …

A Preclinical Model Of Ionizing Radiation And Tnf-Alpha Gene Therapy For Cancer, Jun Li

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Long term control of high-grade brain tumors is rarely achieved with current therapeutic regimens. This study sought to determine if pretreatment with plasmid DNA expressing Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) could enhance the effect of ionizing radiation in an aggressive, rapidly growing glioma tumor (C6) model. Plasmid DNA is an attractive vector system for delivery of foreign genes into eukaryotic cells due to its advantages including low immunogenicity in vivo, lesser toxicity and relatively low cost. We have constructed a plasmid-based mammalian expression vector (pGL1-TNF) to secrete human TNF-α from cancer cells. Plasmid DNA was successfully transfected into C6 cells …

Ethnic Variability In The Treatment Of Pain, Rafael A. Ortega, Benjamin A. Youdelman, Richard C. Havel

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Ethnicity has been shown to be an important determinant of behavior during illness, particularly when a painful condition is present. Studies have shown that pain may be undertreated among different ethnic groups of patients. Whereas individual variations in the reaction to pain occur, available data do not support racial and/or ethnic differences in the perception of pain, leaving no justification for this discrepancy in treatment. Regardless of ethnicity, inadequate treatment of pain has been known for some time and has been referred to in recent literature as "oligoanalgesia." Lack of understanding of different ethnic and cultural groups can lead to …

Clinical Trials In Alzheimer Disease: Debate On The Use Of Placebo Controls, Peter J. Whitehouse

Faculty Scholarship

During the past 10 years, there has been a rapidly growing number of pharmaceutical industry-sponsored drug trials for treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. As public awareness and concerns about AD have grown, so has interest in developing drug therapies for retarding symptom progression, delaying onset, and ultimately curing the disease. Ethical debate on the use of placebo control trials in AD research has come of age in the United States with the availability of treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The experts and the public agree that more effective therapies are necessary, and new …

The Immunology Of Parturition, Ari Mayer Mackler

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Macrophage-derived factors have been implicated in the etiology of preterm labor but little is known about trafficking of this immune cell into the uterus or its regulation of uterine contractility in mice. Enhanced number and activation of macrophages was hypothesized to precede parturition. Studies characterized contractile activity and the distribution of macrophages in the uterus of C3/HeN mice before and after term (=day 19). Contractile activity by uterine strips on days 15 and 18 of pregnancy, the day of delivery, and 1 day postpartum indicate that an endogenous oscillator sustains high frequency contractions. Modest acceleration of the pacemaker occurred before …

The Validation Of An Existing Sleep Apnea Questionnaire And Its Application To Clinical Orthodontics, Jeffery C. Biggs

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to validate a sleep apnea questionnaire from the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center, and then to utilize the questionnaire in order to identify potential sleep apnea patients from a pre-orthodontic patient sample. Study patients were selected from the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center and the Loma Linda University Orthodontics Clinic, both in Loma Linda, California, USA.

Methods: The study sample represented all of the patients initially examined from 1996 through 1998 who were age 8-15 years old at the time of the initial exam. Validation of the questionnaire was based on responses …

The Accuracy Of Nitrous Oxide Passive Dosimeters As Compared With An Infra-Red Spectrographic Reference Method, Susan Allen

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

Nitrous oxide is a gas often used in dental, surgical and veterinary operations as an anesthetic agent. Employees stationed in proximity of fugitive gas emissions may potentially suffer adverse health effects from chronic exposure to this agent. Passive dosimeters can be worn in the breathing zone of potentially affected personnel during exposure periods, then later analyzed to quantify nitrous oxide exposure. This study sought to establish the accuracy of several commercially available passive monitoring devices for nitrous oxide by comparison against an infra-red spectrophotometric reference method.

Induction Of Integral Membrane Pam Expression In Att-20 Cells Alters The Storage And Trafficking Of Pomc And Pc1, Giuseppe D. Ciccotosto, Martin R. Schiller, Betty A. Eipper, Richard E. Mains

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) is an essential enzyme that catalyzes the COOH-terminal amidation of many neuroendocrine peptides. The bifunctional PAM protein contains an NH2-terminal monooxygenase (PHM) domain followed by a lyase (PAL) domain and a transmembrane domain. The cytosolic tail of PAM interacts with proteins that can affect cytoskeletal organization. A reverse tetracycline-regulated inducible expression system was used to construct an AtT-20 corticotrope cell line capable of inducible PAM-1 expression. Upon induction, cells displayed a time- and dose-dependent increase in enzyme activity, PAM mRNA, and protein. Induction of increased PAM-1 expression produced graded changes in PAM-1 metabolism. Increased expression of …

Health Professions Division Catalog Academic Year 1999-2000, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Informing Research On Hiv Prevention: A Consultation, Sharon Fonn, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory

HIV and AIDS

According to a 1998 UNAIDS/WHO report, HIV infection among women is the fastest-growing segment of the AIDS pandemic, especially in developing countries. Unfortunately, the HIV-prevention strategies put forward by the public health community—monogamy, condom use, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections—are not feasible for many women. Women urgently need a means within their personal control to protect themselves against HIV. Recognizing this need, a number of international and nongovernmental organizations and government agencies have called for the development of microbicides, products that women could use vaginally to prevent infection with sexually transmitted infections, particularly HIV. The Population Council is one …

Adenoma Of The Ampulla Of Vater: A Genetic Condition?, Francesco M. Serafini, Larry C. Carey

Surgery Faculty Publications

The etiology of adenoma of the ampulla of Vater is not well understood. Previous authors reported the association of this neoplasm with polycystic kidney disease of two fraternal sisters. They concluded that these two conditions were somehow related. We describe a case of ampullary adenoma associated with polycystic kidney disease. This presentation raises again the question of a possible link between these two diseases.

The Tostan Story: Breakthrough In Senegal Ending Female Genital Cutting, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In Senegal, elements of the Tostan education program were fundamental to the ending of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) which has persisted for centuries, despite outside efforts to abolish such a dangerous and harmful operation. This paper is an attempt by those who lived through these events to share the experience with others. At a time when there has been little reduction in the numbers of women ending FGC in 28 African countries, when different programs and strategies have rarely succeeded in making an impact on the number of women still practicing FGC despite laws abolishing the tradition, …

The Association Of Fluid Intake With Total Natural-Cause Mortality, Coronary Heart Disease And Fatal Stroke, Jacqueline Chung Lun Chan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Hypohydration may be more widespread than realized since it does not always arouse a sense of thirst. When thirst is felt, it is often ignored, or satisfied before euhydration is achieved. There is growing evidence indicating that hypohydration contributes to acute and chronic illnesses, and to rheological factors associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Therefore the relationship of fluid intake with risk of total natural-cause mortality, CHD and stroke death was examined using data on 34,192 white, non-Hispanic participants in the Adventist Health Study.

Among the 27,342 reporting no CHD, stroke or diabetes at baseline, during six years …

Sexual Knowledge And Practice In Pakistani Young Men, Waris Qidwai

Department of Family Medicine

Background: There is a shortage of scientific data on the subject of sexuality from Pakistan. We decided to document misconceptions among Pakistani young men, regarding masturbation and nocturnal emissions and to make a case for sex education in the country.
Objective: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of Pakistani young men as regards masturbation and nocturnal emissions and to see any associations with demographic factors like age, marital status, occupation, level of education and socio economic status.
Method: A questionnaire was developed, based on the objectives of the study. It was administered to 188 men between the ages 18-30 …

Ms211: Overview - Assessing Aid - World Bank Report, Armin Weinberg

Works on Radiation Effects: 1990-2020

A World Bank Policy Research Report that helped inform my leadership of our international projects in the former Soviet Union. See more at Armin Weinberg, PhD Papers and its finding aid.

The Role Of Gap Junctions In Congenital Diseases Of The Heart, Scott Henry Britz-Cunningham

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. Gap junctions are thought to have a crucial role in the synchronized contraction of the heart and in embryonic development. Connexin43, the major protein of gap junctions in the heart, is targeted by several protein kinases that regulate myocardial cell-cell coupling. We hypothesized that mutations altering sites critical to this regulation would lead to functional or developmental abnormalities of the heart.

Methods. Connexin43 DNA from 25 normal subjects and 30 children with a variety of congenital heart diseases was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Mutant DNA was expressed in cell culture and examined for its effect …

Ms211: Registry Screens 02no98, Armin Weinberg

Works on Radiation Effects: 1990-2020

Content and screen shots of development of cancer registrty. See more at Armin Weinberg, PhD Papers and its finding aid.

A Cross-Sectional Study Examining Lifestyle And Rheumatoid Arthritis, Leslie Nazaroff

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Objective. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the synovial joints. RA affects 0.5-2% of the population. Though it is predominantly a progressive disease, adjunct therapy may slow the destructive pathway or alleviate affiliated symptoms. This study examined the effects of lifestyle (diet and exercise) and self-efficacy on symptoms of RA as measured by disease activity and health satisfaction.

Methods. Seventy-five RA patients (77% female) from the Loma Linda University Faculty Medical Offices, Rheumatology Department completed self-assessment surveys on their lifestyle practices and RA affliction. Disease symptoms and activity were assessed with the Arthritis Impact Measurement …