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Rising Rural Body-Mass Index Is The Main Driver Of The Global Obesity Epidemic In Adults, Con Burns, Tara Coppinger, Janette Walton, Et Al

Publications

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3,4,5,6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to …

Loss Of Nrf2 Results In Decreased Neuronal Arborization And Synaptic Density And Causes Exacerbated Age-Related Cognitive Impairment., Mikah Brandes, Nora Gray, Maya Caruso, Jonathan Zweig, Amala Soumyanath, Joseph F. Quinn

Student Research Symposium

Background: As the brain ages, free radicals accumulate and cause damage to cellular macromolecules. This increased oxidative damage is thought to contribute to the cognitive decline observed in aging. Activation of the antioxidant regulatory transcription factor NRF2 (Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2) has been shown to improve neuronal health in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Yet exactly how NRF2 participates in maintaining synaptic and cognitive function has not been fully elucidated. This study investigates how loss of NRF2 affects synaptic density and cognitive performance in aged mice.

Methods: Dendritic arborization and synaptic was evaluated in hippocampal neurons isolated from mice lacking NRF2 …

Extracellular Vesicle Encapsulated Micrornas In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Are Affected By Metformin Treatment., Vikas Ghai, Taek-Kyun Kim, Alton Etheridge, Trine Nielsen, Torben Hansen, Oluf Pedersen, David Galas, Kai Wang

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) in circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs), have emerged as a source of potential biomarkers for various pathophysiological conditions, including metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is the most prevalent form of diabetes in the USA, with 30 million diagnosed patients. Identifying miRNA biomarkers that can be used to assess response to glucose lowering treatments would be useful. Using patient plasma samples from a subset of the Danish Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract (MetaHIT) cohort, we characterized miRNAs from whole plasma, plasma-derived EVs, and EV-depleted plasma by small RNA-sequencing to identify T2DM associated miRNAs. …

Olfactory Hallucinations As A Unique Presentation Of Anti-Depressant Discontinuation Syndrome, Shweta Varade Md, Casey Judge Do, Megan Leary Md, Preet Varade Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Sonically Powered Biodegradable Nanogenerator For Bone Regeneration, Avi Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Reconstruction of bone fractures and defects remains a big challenge in orthopedic surgery. While regenerative engineering has advanced the field greatly using a combination of biomaterial scaffolds and stem cells, one matter of difficulty is inducing osteogenesis in these cells. Recent works have shown electricity’s ability to promote osteogenesis in stem cell lines when seeded in bone scaffolds; however, typical electrical stimulators are either (a) externally housed and require overcomplex percutaneous wires be connected to the implanted scaffold or (b) implanted non-degradable devices which contain toxic batteries and require invasive removal surgeries.

Objective: Here, we establish a biodegradable, piezoelectric …

Childhood Acute Illness And Nutrition (Chain) Network: A Protocol For A Multi-Site Prospective Cohort Study To Identify Modifiable Risk Factors For Mortality Among Acutely Ill Children In Africa And Asia, Childhood Acute Illness And Nutrition Network, J A. Berkley, J L. Walson, A H. Diallo, Asmsb Shahid, A Gwela, Ali Faisal Saleem Dr, Syed Asad Ali, C C. Tigoi, C Bourdon

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Introduction: Children admitted to hospitals in resource-poor settings remain at risk of both inpatient and post-discharge mortality. While known risk factors such as young age and nutritional status can identify children at risk, they do not provide clear mechanistic targets for intervention. The Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) cohort study aims to characterise the biomedical and social risk factors for mortality in acutely ill children in hospitals and after discharge to identify targeted interventions to reduce mortality.
Methods and analysis: The CHAIN network is currently undertaking a multi-site, prospective, observational cohort study, enrolling children aged 1 week to 2 …

Relationship Between Binge Eating Disorder And Circadian Chronotype, Leon B. Jons

Theses & Dissertations

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common condition in the general population and is more common in individuals with obesity. The later timing of food intake has been associated with an increase incidence of obesity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between circadian chronotype and BED in a population of individuals with obesity. The sample consists of a retrospective review of 170 subjects presenting to an obesity medicine clinic who had been clinically evaluated for BED and chronotype.

No significant correlation was found between BED and a late chronotype in this population. In a secondary analysis …

The Role Of Ros In The Progression And Treatment Of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer, Dannah R. Miller

Theses & Dissertations

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in U.S. men, primarily due to the development of castration-resistant (CR) prostate cancer (PCa), of which there are no effective treatment options. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays a critical role in prostate carcinogenesis, including the progression of the CR PCa phenotype. ROS regulates both cell proliferation and apoptosis; a moderate increase in ROS can promote proliferation; however, a substantial rise in ROS levels will result in apoptosis. Oxidase p66Shc is elevated in clinical PCa cells and has been associated with a metastatic phenotype of CR PCa cells, promoting PCa cell …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Theranostics, Christopher J. Woldstad

Theses & Dissertations

RATIONALE: Long-acting slow effective release antiretroviral therapy (LASER ART) was developed to improve patient regimen adherence, prevent new infections, and facilitate drug delivery to human immunodeficiency virus cell and tissue reservoirs. However, maintenance of sustained plasma drug levels, for weeks or months, after a single high-level dosing, could improve regimen adherence but, at the same time, affect systemic toxicities. Of these, the most troubling are those that affect the central nervous system (CNS) In an effort to facilitate LASER ART development, “multimodal imaging theranostic nanoprobes” were created. These allow combined bioimaging, drug pharmacokinetics and tissue biodistribution tests in animal …

Trauma Analysis From Rapid Staircase Descension, Srinanti Bhattacharya

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

This experiment was designed after the release of the Netflix show called the “The Staircase.” A true documentary, a woman’s fall down the staircase results in her death, but the investigators question whether it was an accident or murder. The woman’s husband was initially accused of murder, but after a lengthy trial and the review of additional evidence, it was ruled an accident. In the autopsy results, there was evidence of blunt force trauma (Figure 1) inconsistent with an accidental fall. Therefore this research asks what is the difference in trauma from an accidental fall versus a intentional, assisted descent?

One Amino Acid Change Of Angiotensin Ii Diminishes Its Effects On Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Ya Wang, Yinchuan Xu, Congqing Wu, Hongguang Xia, Yingchao Wang, Jinliang Nan, Jinghai Chen, Hong Yu, Wei Zhu, Peng Shi, Alan Daugherty, Hong S. Lu, Jian'an Wang

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Angiotensin (Ang) A is formed by the decarboxylation of the N terminal residue of AngII. The present study determined whether this one amino acid change impacted effects of AngII on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation in mice. Computational analyses implicated that AngA had comparable binding affinity to both AngII type 1 and 2 receptors as AngII. To compare effects of these two octapeptides in vivo, male low-density lipoprotein receptor (Ldlr) or apolipoprotein E (Apoe) deficient mice were infused with either AngII or AngA (1 μg/kg/min) for 4 weeks. While AngII infusion induced AAA consistently in …

A Lifestyle Modification Program For Adult Patients With Coronary Artery Disease, Amanda M. Yarbrough

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

As a leading cause of death worldwide, coronary artery disease affects people of all races and ethnicities. The foundation for the prevention of secondary fatal cardiac events, such as stroke or myocardial infarction, is lifestyle modification to effectively lower cholesterol levels. Lifestyle change impacts diet, physical activity, smoking habits, vital sign measures, and stress management. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to reduce implement a lifestyle intervention to lower LDL-C levels and promote healthier lifestyles. This practice change was developed utilizing Stetler’s Research Utilization model to promote evidence-based practice changes in the clinical setting. Nola Pender’s Health Promotion …

Framework For Algorithmically Optimizing Longitudinal Health Outcomes: Examples In Cancer Radiotherapy And Occupational Radiation Protection, Lydia Joyce Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Advancements in the treatment of non-infectious disease have enabled survival rates to steadily increase in recent decades (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, and cancer). Epidemiological studies have revealed that the treatments for these diseases can have life-threatening and/or life–altering effects. Thus, realizing the full beneficial potential of advanced treatments necessitates new tools to algorithmically consider all major components of the health outcome, including benefit and detriment. The goal of this dissertation was to develop a framework for improving projected health outcomes following planned radiation exposures in consideration of all beneficial and detrimental, early and late, and fatal and non-fatal …

Effects Of The Kcnq Channel Opener Ezogabine On Functional Connectivity Of The Ventral Striatum And Clinical Symptoms In Patients With Major Depressive Disorder, Aaron Tan, Sara Costi, Laurel S. Morris, Nicholas T. Van Dam, Marin Kautz, Alexis E. Whitton, Allyson K. Friedman, Katherine A. Collins, Gabriella Ahle, Nisha Chadha, Brian Do, Diego A. Pizzagalli, Dan V. Iosifescu, Eric J. Nestler, Ming-Hu Han, James W. Murrough

Publications and Research

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, yet current treatment strategies remain limited in their mechanistic diversity. Recent evidence has highlighted a promising novel pharmaceutical target—the KCNQ-type potassium channel—for the treatment of depressive disorders, which may exert a therapeutic effect via functional changes within the brain reward system, including the ventral striatum. The current study assessed the effects of the KCNQ channel opener ezogabine (also known as retigabine) on reward circuitry and clinical symptoms in patients with MDD. Eighteen medication-free individuals with MDD currently in a major depressive episode were enrolled in an open-label study and …

Referral Patterns, Procedures, And Outcomes Of A Large Community- Based Urology Group: A Retrospective Chart Review, Hassan A. Al Saleh, Gregory C. Mcmahon, Michael Douglas, Michael Console, Mihir Thaker, Gordon A. Brown

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In 2012 The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against prostate cancer (Pca) screening. The purpose of our study is to assess the effects of the USPSTF grade D recommendation for PSA based screening on new PCa diagnoses within a large-community based private practice setting. We completed a retrospective chart review of men with an elevated PSA seen in our clinic between May 2009–May 2015 who had undergone a prostate biopsy and were diagnosed with PCa. We observed that following the 2012 USPSTF recommendations, there was a significant increase in patients with clinically significant prostate cancer GG ≥ …

The Correlation Between Obesity, Food Addiction, Anxiety & Depression, Ayham Khrais, Adarsh K. Gupta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Obesity is a multifaceted disease with physiological, psychological and social influences. While physiological factors, such as basal metabolic rate, can influence an individual’s BMI (Body Mass Index), obesity is primarily determined by behavior: excess food intake and a sedentary lifestyle greatly contribute to weight gain. An individual’s behavior is influenced by many factors, including their desires, perceptions, and social pressures. Therefore, psychological conditions can greatly impact an individual’s eating habits, thereby affecting that person’s BMI. This endeavor involved exploration of the potential effects of food addiction, anxiety, and depression on obesity. A survey consisting of an amalgamation of the Yale …

Omt For The Treatment Of Depression And Anxiety, Zachary Winchell

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) fundamentally aims to remedy somatic dysfunction through the manipulation of the patient. In this regard, OMT is a particularly viable non-pharmacological adjunct for patients with depressive and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

In both of these disorders, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has an interdependent relationship with physiological stress that feed one another to both increase symptomology and leave patients vulnerable to negative life events. Additionally, pro-inflammatory cytokines acting on the brain over long periods of time can lead to exacerbation of disease and the development of depression in susceptible individuals. Altered cytokine balance has also been found in …

Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Impairs Performance In A Rodent Assay Of Cognitive Flexibility, Christopher P. Knapp, Doug P. Fox, Ramesh Raghupathi, Laura L. Giacometti, Stan B. Floresco, Barry D. Waterhouse, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) occurs in almost 80% of the 3 million reported cases of TBI-related emergency department visits each year in the United States. The majority of mTBIs, sometimes classified as concussions, are due to sports-related activities and typically occur repeatedly over the course of an athlete’s career. mTBI symptoms are generally classified as either somatic or neuropsychiatric/cognitive in nature and include impairments in prefrontal cortex mediated functions, including attention, memory, processing speed, reaction times, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility. To date, there remains a major gap in our understanding of the behavioral manifestations, underlying neurobiology, and treatment …

Long-Term Safety Of Secukinumab In Patients With Moderate-To-Severe Plaque Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, And Ankylosing Spondylitis: Integrated Pooled Clinical Trial And Post-Marketing Surveillance Data., A Deodhar, Philip Mease, I B Mcinnes, X Baraliakos, K Reich, A Blauvelt, C Leonardi, B Porter, A Das Gupta, A Widmer, L Pricop, T Fox

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Secukinumab, a fully human immunoglobulin G1-kappa monoclonal antibody that directly inhibits interleukin (IL)-17A, has been shown to have robust efficacy in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) demonstrating a rapid onset of action and sustained long-term clinical responses with a consistently favorable safety profile in multiple Phase 2 and 3 trials. Here, we report longer-term pooled safety and tolerability data for secukinumab across three indications (up to 5 years of treatment in PsO and PsA; up to 4 years in AS).

METHODS: The integrated clinical trial safety dataset included data pooled from …

A Refractory Case Of Severely Uncontrolled Eosinophilic Asthma On Maximal Therapy, William Ueng Mph, Jaimin Patel Do, Nathan Brewster Do, Swetangini Patel P3, Andres Zirlinger Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of The Sofa And Qsofa Scores In Predicting In-Hospital Mortality Among Adult Critical Care Patients With Suspected Infection., Mohammed Said

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Background: Sepsis is global health priority and the commonest cause of death in critical care. SEPSIS 3 criteria introduced in 2016 is the latest tool in diagnosing sepsis, uses qSOFA and SOFA scores in place of the SIRS based definition for better prediction of mortality in patients with suspected infections. Their performance in predicting mortality in critical care units outside high- income countries remains largely unknown. Objective: We compared the SOFA and qSOFA scores in predicting the hospital mortality of adult critical care patients admitted with suspected infection at the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: We did a …

The Practice Of Dermatology Ain't What It Used To Be: The Preauthorization Catastrophe., Lawrence Charles Parish, Jennifer L. Parish, W. Clark Lambert, Carmela Ciferni

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

Many of us remember when a dermatology practice was cash only, and $5 cash was considered appropriate for a specialist. The general practitioner received $2 for an office visit and $4 for a home call. If you recall those days, “dearie you are much older than I.” 1

Not so long ago, the practitioner was confronted with obtaining a referral from the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in order to see the patient. Some plans permitted only four such referrals for specialists, annually, so the patient, who might have had a visit or two for gastritis and a similar number of …

Commonly Integrated Epigenetic Modifications Of Differentially Expressed Genes Lead To Adaptive Resistance In Cancer., Abdullah Al Emran, Diego M Marzese, Dinoop R Menon, Heinz Hammerlindl, Farzana Ahmed, Erika Richtig, Pascal Duijf, Dave S B Hoon, Helmut Schaider

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Ethanol (EtOH) consumption is known to affect multiple organs; this is unsurprising, as the concentration of EtOH in the blood at relevant doses reaches the millimolar range. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to elucidate mechanisms of alcohol-induced organ injury, specifically the effects of alcohol on the hepatic extracellular matrix (ECM) proteome, the alcoholic hepatitis (AH) plasma peptidome, and the effects of alcohol on the renal cortex proteome and transcriptome. Methods. Mice were pair-fed ethanol-containing liquid diet chronically, and then some mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Liver sections from these mice were processed in a series of increasingly …

Silencing The Guca2a-Gucy2c Tumor Suppressor Axis In Cin, Serrated, And Msi Colorectal Neoplasia., Babar Bashir, Dante J. Merlino, Jeff A. Rappaport, Esteban Gnass, Juan P. Palazzo, Ying Feng, Eric R R. Fearon, Adam E. Snook, Scott A. Waldman

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) initiate through distinct mutations, including in APC pathway components leading to tubular adenomas (TAs); in BRAF, with epigenetic silencing of CDX2, leading to serrated adenomas (SAs); and in the DNA mismatch repair machinery driving microsatellite instability (MSI). Transformation through the APC pathway involves loss of the hormone GUCA2A that silences the tumor-suppressing receptor GUCY2C. Indeed, oral hormone replacement is an emerging strategy to reactivate GUCY2C and prevent CRC initiation and progression. Moreover, retained expression by tumors arising from TAs has established GUCY2C as a diagnostic and therapeutic target to prevent and treat metastatic CRC. Here, we defined …

Gastric-Type Enteric Duplication Cyst In The Tail Of A Bifid Pancreas In Association With Complete Intestinal Malrotation, Muhammad Awais, Abdul Rehman, Noor Ul-Ain Baloch

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Abstract are not provided by the author/publisher

Potential Reduction Of Lung Dose Via Vmat With Jaw Tracking In The Treatment Of Single-Isocenter/Two-Lesion Lung Sbrt, Damodar Pokhrel, Lana Sanford, Matthew Halfman, Janelle A. Molloy

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose/objectives: Due to higher radiosensitivity, non‐target normal tissue dose is a major concern in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatment. The aim of this report was to estimate the dosimetric impact, specifically the reduction of normal lung dose in the treatment of single‐isocenter/two‐lesion lung SBRT via volumetric modulated arc therapy with jaw tracking (JT‐VMAT).

Materials/methods: Twelve patients with two peripherally located early‐stage non‐small‐cell‐lung cancer (NSCLC) lung lesions underwent single‐isocenter highly conformal non‐coplanar JT‐VMAT SBRT treatment in our institution. The mean isocenter to tumors distance was 5.6 ± 1.9 (range 4.3–9.5) cm. The mean combined planning target volume (PTV) was 38.7 …

Tdp-43 Proteinopathy In Aging: Associations With Risk-Associated Gene Variants And With Brain Parenchymal Thyroid Hormone Levels, Peter T. Nelson, Zsombor Gal, Wang-Xia Wang, Dana M. Niedowicz, Sergey C. Artiushin, Samuel Wycoff, Angela Wei, Gregory A. Jicha, David W. Fardo

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

TDP-43 proteinopathy is very prevalent among the elderly (affecting at least 25% of individuals over 85 years of age) and is associated with substantial cognitive impairment. Risk factors implicated in age-related TDP-43 proteinopathy include commonly inherited gene variants, comorbid Alzheimer's disease pathology, and thyroid hormone dysfunction. To test parameters that are associated with aging-related TDP-43 pathology, we performed exploratory analyses of pathologic, genetic, and biochemical data derived from research volunteers in the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center autopsy cohort (n = 136 subjects). Digital pathologic methods were used to discriminate and quantify both neuritic and intracytoplasmic TDP-43 pathology …

Evaluating The Effectiveness And Implementation Of Evidence-Based Treatment: A Multisite Hybrid Design., Jamile A Ashmore, Kirk W Ditterich, Claire C Conley, Melissa R Wright, Peggy S Howland, Kelly L Huggins, Jena Cooreman, Priscilla S Andrews, Donald R Nicholas, Lind Roberts, Larissa Hewitt, Joan N Scales, Jenny K Delap, Christine A Gray, Lynelle A Tyler, Charlotte Collins, Catherine M Whiting, Brittany M Brothers, Marlena M Ryba, Barbara L Andersen

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The gap between treatment development and efficacy testing to scaled up implementations of evidence-based treatment (EBT) is an estimated 20 years, and hybrid research designs aim to reduce the gap. One was used for a multisite study in cancer control, testing coprimary aims: (a) determine the feasibility and utility of a flexible EBT implementation strategy and (b) determine the clinical effectiveness of an EBT as implemented by newly trained providers. Therapists from 15 diverse sites implemented the biobehavioral intervention (BBI) for cancer patients (N = 158) as part of standard care. For implementation, therapists determined treatment format, number of …

Commonly Integrated Epigenetic Modifications Of Differentially Expressed Genes Lead To Adaptive Resistance In Cancer., Abdullah Al Emran, Diego M Marzese, Dinoop R Menon, Heinz Hammerlindl, Farzana Ahmed, Erika Richtig, Pascal Duijf, Dave Hoon, Helmut Schaider

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Aim: To investigate the integrated epigenetic regulation of acquired drug resistance in cancer. Materials & methods: Our gene expression data of five induced drug-tolerant cell models, one resistant cell line and one publicly available drug-resistant dataset were integrated to identify common differentially expressed genes and pathways. ChIP-seq and DNA methylation by HM450K beadchip were used to study the epigenetic profile of differential expressed genes. Results & conclusion: Integrated transcriptomic analysis identified a common 'viral mimicry' related gene signature in induced drug-tolerant cells and the resistant state. Analysis of the epigenetic regulation revealed a common set of down-regulated genes, which are …