Digital Commons Network^™

Ikkalpha Mediated Notch1 Activation Promotes Tumorigenesis Via Foxa2 Suppression, Mo Liu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Proinflammatory cytokine TNFa plays critical roles in promoting malignant cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis in many cancers. However, the mechanism of TNFa-mediated tumor development remains unclear. Here, we show that IKKa, an important downstream kinase of TNFa, interacts with and phosphorylates FOXA2 at S107/S111, thereby suppressing FOXA2 transactivation activity and leading to decreased NUMB expression, and further activates the downstream NOTCH pathway and promotes cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. Moreover, we found that levels of IKKa, pFOXA2 (S107/ 111), and activated NOTCH1 were significantly higher in hepatocellular carcinoma tumors than in normal liver tissues and that pFOXA2 (S107/111) expression was …

The Sanaviz: Human Centered Geovisualization To Facilitate Visual Exploration Of Public Health Data, Ashish Joshi

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

These three manuscripts are presented as a PhD dissertation for the study of using GeoVis application to evaluate telehealth programs. The primary reason of this research was to understand how the GeoVis applications can be designed and developed using combined approaches of HC approach and cognitive fit theory and in terms utilized to evaluate telehealth program in Brazil.

First manuscript

The first manuscript in this dissertation presented a background about the use of GeoVisualization to facilitate visual exploration of public health data. The manuscript covered the existing challenges that were associated with an adoption of existing GeoVis applications.

The manuscript …

Entertainment & Sports - The Voices Of New York Sports, Charles Salzberg

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Epidemiological Characteristics And Underlying Risk Factors For Mortality During The Autumn 2009 Pandemic Wave In Mexico, Gerardo Chowell, Santiago Echevarria-Zuno, Cecile Viboud, Lone Simonsen, Mark A. Miller, Irma Fernandez-Garate, Cesar Gonzalez-Bonilla, Víctor H. Borja Aburto

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

Elucidating the role of the underlying risk factors for severe outcomes of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic could be crucial to define priority risk groups in resource-limited settings in future pandemics.

Methods

We use individual-level clinical data on a large series of ARI (acute respiratory infection) hospitalizations from a prospective surveillance system of the Mexican Social Security medical system to analyze clinical features at presentation, admission delays, selected comorbidities and receipt of seasonal vaccine on the risk of A/H1N1-related death. We considered ARI hospitalizations and inpatient-deaths, and recorded demographic, geographic, and medical information on individual patients during August-December, 2009. …

A Geographical Analysis Of Hiv/Aids Infection In Nigeria, 1991-2001, Chinekwu Azuka Obidoa, Robert G. Cromley

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Abstract

Objectives: Within the gradually accumulating literature on the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Nigeria, investigations concerning the spatial dimensions of the infection are virtually non-existent. An understanding of the spatial dimensions of the epidemic is central in the development and implementation of appropriate intervention strategies. This study is a geographic analysis of HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria from 1991 – 2001. The three objectives of this study were: 1) to examine the geographic pattern of the epidemic, 2) to examine the spatial-temporal trend and diffusion pattern of the epidemic, and 3) to explore the factors associated with the spatial …

Building Trust And Collaboration With Rural Minorities: Experiences With Minority Farmers In The Mississippi Delta, Ari Mwachofi

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The paper focuses on the question “What research approach is effective in building trust with minority farmers?” The question is answered through a documentation of researchers’ experiences building trust and collaboration with minority farmers in the lower Mississippi Delta. The researchers applied two research paradigms -logical positivism and paradigm of praxis. The logical positivism research approach was met with mistrust and open animosity and had to be abandoned for one based on the paradigm of praxis. Through this approach, and cognizant of the historical-social-political context, the researchers included insiders from the focus population as collaborators and researchers and succeeded in …

Disparities In Cause-Specific Cancer Survival By Census Tract Poverty Level In Idaho, U.S., Christopher J. Johnson, Aliza K. Fink, Robert R. German

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective. This population-based study compared cause-specific cancer survival by socioeconomic status using methods to more accurately assign cancer deaths to primary site. Methods. The current study analyzed Idaho data used in the Accuracy of Cancer Mortality Statistics Based on Death Certificates (ACM) study supplemented with additional information to measure cause-specific cancer survival by census tract poverty level. Results. The distribution of cases by primary site group differed significantly by poverty level (chi-square = 265.3, 100 df, p In the life table analyses, for 8 of 24 primary site groups investigated, and all sites combined, there was a significant gradient relating …

Influence Of Obesity, Race And Gender On Cardiac Catheterization After Stress Testing, Robert Finkelhor

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Female gender and black race have been associated with lower use of cardiac resources however; these patients also have a higher prevalence of obesity. Therefore we determined their relation to cardiac catheterization after stress testing. Clinical characteristics were determined for all patients stress tested over one year at a safety-net, urban, teaching hospital. Subsequent cardiac catheterizations were identified. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with catheterization. 3644 patients underwent stress testing and 484 (13%) underwent cardiac catheterization. The population was 58% female, 33% black, 53% were obese and 32% lacked insurance. Obese patients were mostly …

Unintentional, Paediatric Domestic Injury In A Semi Rural Area Of Karachi., Emaduddin Siddiqui, Kiran Ejaz, Uzma Siddiqui

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE:

To identify the characteristics of unintentional domestic injury in children living in a semi-rural area of Karachi.

METHODS:

This retrospective descriptive study was carried out at a private hospital located at the northern outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, from January 2005 to January 2007. We enrolled 271 out-patient children of either gender with a positive injury history. A questionnaire inquiring socio-demographic characteristics, timing of injury, monthly variation, injury pattern and factors was filled out. Descriptive analysis and Chi-square test were applied to find out the statistically significant differences.

RESULTS:

Among the 271 patients, the male-to-female ratio was 1.2:1. Fall from …

Multilevel Analysis Of Physical Activity Among Us Adults Across Us Census Regions: The Role Of Environmental Contexts, Sariyamon Tiraphat

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study uses nationally representative data to explain the variation in physical activity among U.S. adults across four geographic regions of Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether environmental conditions inclusive of natural amenity, built environment, urbanization, crime, and social economic neighborhood are associated with physical activity and whether these associations are modified by geographic region. The study also investigates whether the influences of environmental contexts vary by subgroup and whether they are modified by geographic region. Determining regional factors that influence physical activity is essential to planning appropriate physical activity interventions.

The …

Developing Service Delivery Measures For Studies Of Practice Variation: The Mprove Study, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

OBJECTIVES: A growing body of evidence indicates that the delivery of public health activities varies widely across states and communities, creating missed opportunities for prevention as well as inequities in health protection. Consequently, HHS recently used a consensus-based process to develop a framework for improving quality in public health and to identify a set of nine priority areas for improvement. As next steps in operationalizing this framework, measures of quality in public health are needed to guide public health improvement initiatives and to support research on the comparative effectiveness of alternative public health strategies. This presentation profiles the methodology developed …

Two Boundaries Separate Borrelia Burgdorferi Populations In North America, Gabriele Margos, Jean I. Tsao, Santiago Castillo-Ramirez, Yvette A. Girard, Anne G. Hoen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Understanding the spread of infectious diseases is crucial for implementing effective control measures. For this, it is important to obtain information on the contemporary population structure of a disease agent and to infer the evolutionary processes that may have shaped it. Here, we investigate on a continental scale the population structure of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), a tick-borne disease, in North America. We test the hypothesis that the observed d population structure is congruent with recent population expansions and that these were preceded by bottlenecks mostly likely caused by the near extirpation in the 1900s …

Quality And Severity Of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Among African American Elders, Daniel L. Howard, Bennett G. Edwards, Kimberly Whitehead, M. A. Amamoo, Paul A. Godley

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Lack of population-based data on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among African American men represents a significant gap in understanding. This study examined LUTS among a racially over-sampled, mixed urban/rural, elderly cohort of African Americans and whites in the South to discern whether racial differences exist in the prevalence, severity, and associated risk factors of LUTS. Longitudinal analyses using generalized estimating equations (GEE) were conducted on the 1994–1998 EPESE dataset for 5 North Carolina counties. In 1994, the analytic cohort included 482 African Americans and 407 whites; by 1998, 249 and 222, respectively. In 1994, 49.4% of African Americans reported …

Seeking Cancer Information: An Appalachian Perspective, Robin C. Vanderpool, Bin Huang, Brent J. Shelton

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

There are noted disparities by ethnicity, race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status in the reported use of and access to cancer information. Missing from this list of variables that predict these disparities are specific geographic locales, such as Appalachia, a region recognized as a medically underserved, “special population”. Through a secondary analysis of NCI’s 2003 HINTS dataset, we are able to describe the cancer information-seeking behaviors of Appalachians as compared to non-Appalachians with a focus on actual versus preferential information-seeking behaviors, information-seeking experiences, and demographics. In general, Appalachians and non-Appalachians do not significantly differ in their cancer information-seeking behaviors and …

Lung Cancer Screening For The Poor And Underserved: Should Routine Screening Be Performed?, Vaibhav Verma, Vladimir K. Gotlieb, Joshua Fogel, Alan S. Multz, Geeti Sharma

Publications and Research

Background: Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in United States. A recent study using low dose CT scans for screening long term smokers for lung cancer has, for the first time, demonstrated reduction in mortality, although it is not a standard of care in the community yet.

Methods: We analyzed lung cancer data for stages 0 through 4 for 1,412 individuals from, a public hospital, Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) with patients of lower income, two private hospitals, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) and Long Island Jewish Hospital (LIJ), with patients of higher income, with average household income …

"Sewing A Safety Net: Scarborough's Maritime Community, 1747-1765", Charles Foy

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

From 1747 to 1765 Scarborough created a safety net to keep its maritime dependents from becoming impoverished. A web of kinship connections that permitted sailors to move between land and sea as well as between maritime roles as they aged; the employment of maritime servants; the extensive hiring of elderly seamen; the use of the Seamen’s Sixpence after legislative reform in 1747 to develop locally operated seamen’s hospitals for the benefit of sailors and their families; and strong community support of the hospitals worked together to provide a social safety net that was, by eighteenth century standards, robust and effective.

Influences Of Health Insurance And Primary Care On Breast And Cervical Cancer Screening Among Black Women In Boston, Gail Barlow Gall

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Healthy People 2010 promoted breast and cervical cancer screening to reduce cancer among all women and reduce disparities in cancer deaths between Black and White women. The REACH 2010 program targeted improving screening rates among Black women and funded a demonstration project to provide outreach, screening, patient navigation and case management for Black women in Boston. The purpose of this study was to describe associations between health insurance and primary care (having a primary care provider [PCP], quality of communications and relationship with PCP) on differences in breast and cervical cancer screening reported by Black women born in the United …

Identifying Risk Factors For Disparities In Breast Cancer Mortality Among African-American And Hispanic Women, Nancy Tian, Pierre Goovaerts, T. Benjamin Zhan, T. Edwin Chow, J. Gaines Wilson

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Background: This study evaluated the risk factors associated with racial disparities in female breast cancer mortality for African-American and Hispanic women at the census tract level in Texas from 1995 to 2005.

Methods: Data on female breast cancer cases were obtained from the Texas Cancer Registry. Socioeconomic and demographic data were collected from Census 2000. Network distance and driving times to mammography facilities were estimated using Geographic Information System techniques. Demographic, poverty and spatial accessibility factors were constructed using principal component analysis. Logistic regression models were developed to predict the census tracts with significant racial disparities in breast cancer mortality …

Physicians’ Experiences And Opinions Regarding Strategies To Improve Care For Minority Patients, Jared W. Klein, Lindsay O. Schubiner, Margaret Gadon, Matthew K. Wynia

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective: To assess the views and experiences of a select group of physicians interested in minority health issues regarding promising strategies to improve minority care. Methods: Physicians were asked to respond to a 17-item survey assessing the level of agreement, frequency of implementation of and interest in learning more about 7 promising strategies for alleviating disparities. Results: Most physicians (75-95%) agreed that the 7 proposed strategies could be useful to improve the quality of care provided to minority patients, but only 40-66% of physicians had implemented the strategies sometimes or often in their practices. Between 22 and …

Cancer-Related Disparities Among Residents Of Appalachia Ohio, James L. Fisher, Holly L. Engelhardt, Julie A. Stephens, Bette R. Smith, Georgette G. Haydu, Robert W. Indian, Electra D. Paskett

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The authors sought to identify cancer-related disparities in Appalachia Ohio and better understand reasons for the disparities. Data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System, among other sources, were used to examine potential cancer disparities among residents of Appalachia Ohio. Using Ohio census data, the authors examined contributions of household income, educational attainment and population density to disparities in cancer incidence. Results suggest the following disparities in Appalachia Ohio (compared to non-Appalachia Ohio): greater cancer incidence and mortality rates for cancers of the cervix, colon and rectum, lung and bronchus and melanoma of the skin; a later stage at diagnosis …

The Pharmacist Supply In The United States, 1994-2009: A Population Ecology Perspective, Kevin S.J. Lett

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. healthcare system is a complex segment of our society that is constantly evolving with changes to various areas such as education, financing, safety, and health. There continues to be a critical examination of how healthcare professionals are trained and utilized as healthcare demands increase. One category of healthcare professionals that has evolved over time to address societal needs is pharmacists. Pharmacists have kept their traditional function of dispensing medications while expanding into multiple areas of expertise and training from patient counseling and drug therapy, to being part of multidisciplinary teams treating acute care patients. According to the National …

Health Disparities In Kidney Transplantation: An Equity Analysis, Shirley A. Wells

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The growing incidence of end stage renal disease along with advances of the past 40 years that have improved the success rate of kidney transplantation have created an unprecedented demand for kidney transplant. Yet, certain racial and ethnic groups and women consistently have longer waiting times and lower rates of transplantation which makes a review of the kidney procurement and transplantation system in view of its equity imperative. Reasons given for these disparities have varied from cultural attitudes and beliefs on the part of patients and health care providers, socioeconomic status, rates of organ donation, and geographic location. The equity …

A Review Of Smoking Among Rural African Americans: Recommendations For Research And Cessation Interventions, Susan Hedgecock, Anita Fernander

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective: The purpose of this review is to synthesize the available literature on smoking among rural African Americans.

Methods: Using search terms “rural” “African American” “Black” and “smoking” 19 relevant articles were identified in the Medline data base. Findings gleaned from the 19 articles are presented in four categories: a) smoking prevalence, b) smoking behavior and patterns, c) smoking cessation interventions and quitting, and d) smoking-related outcomes.

Results: There may be gender differences, a pattern of late onset of smoking, and a preference for mentholated brands among rural African American smokers. There is no evidence that rural African Americans are …

Influence Of Diet-And Weight-Related Behaviors And Social Norms On Obesity In Texas Eighth And Eleventh Grade Adolescents, Brianna Moore

Health and Kinesiology Theses

Introduction: Adolescent obesity and overweight is now of critical concern for Texas. The aim of this study was to understand the influence of diet- and weight-related behaviors and perceived social norms on weight status in Texas adolescents. Methods: This study analyzed of 2004-2005 School Physical Activity and Nutrition data. Multinomial logistic regression tested the associations between overweight and obese (compared with underweight/normal) and the influence of diet- and weight-related social norms and behaviors, adjusting for demographics. Results: Certain factors were associated with a decreased risk of obesity: (a) Breakfast skipping (Male/Eleventh grade); (b) Adequate dairy consumption (African American/Eighth grade); and …

Addressing Congenital Syphilis In Rural Haiti: Beyond Maternal Screening And Treatment, Cheryl Bayart

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Unique Characteristics Of Cancer In Adolescents And Young Adults In Tennessee, Megan Quinn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) ages 15-39 years with cancer have received little attention in the medical and health fields, resulting in a lack of progress for this age group. Little is known about the unique biologic, epidemiologic, and psychosocial issues that play an integral role in the AYA cancer journey. The purposes of this study were to use the Tennessee Cancer Registry for all new cancer cases from 2004-2008 to determine 1) the main types of cancer that affect AYAs in TN, 2) the predictors of late-stage diagnosis of melanoma, and 3) the factors that predict a total thyroidectomy …

Deciphering Phosphotyrosine-Dependent Signaling Networks In Cancer By Sh2 Profiling, Kazuya Machida

UCHC Articles - Research

It has been a decade since the introduction of SH2 profiling, a modular domain-based molecular diagnostics tool. This review covers the original concept of SH2 profiling, different analytical platforms, and their applications, from the detailed analysis of single proteins to broad screening in translational research. Illustrated by practical examples, we discuss the uniqueness and advantages of the approach as well as its limitations and challenges. We provide guidance for basic researchers and oncologists who may consider SH2 profiling in their respective cancer research, especially for those focusing on tyrosine phosphoproteomics. SH2 profiling can serve as an alternative phosphoproteomics tool to …

New Dentist News (May 2012), Ada Committee On The New Dentist

New Dentist News

New Dentist News offers timely information on scientific, social, educational, political and economic developments affecting new dentists. This collection is historical and items may not reflect current standards. For up-to-date information contact the ADA. The New Dentist News was alternately titled ADA Lifeline, 1997-June 2001.

Improving Women And Family’S Health Through Integrated Microfinance, Health Education And Promotion In Rural Areas, Kahabi Isangula

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

While increasing number of women enjoys more freedom and power in urban areas, women in rural areas are at a disadvantage in almost all aspects of life when compared to men. Investing in economic empowerment of women particularly in rural areas by supporting them to implement local context based business ideas and basic finance capacity and skills development may reverse these trends, however, when combined with heath education and promotion through trainings focusing on preventive health yields greater impact. This paper is a systematic review of the peer - reviewed research papers and project reports in English language on how …

Anxiety And Sleep Disorder Comorbidity: Affecting The College Students' Performances, Amanda Rhenee Grimes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects that anxiety disorders and sleep disorders have on students' academic performance. The prevalence of both disorders is rising in the college student population. This study examines those who have been physician diagnosed with the one or both of the disorders and how the students' grade point average (GPA) is affected.

The National College Health Assessment was used for data collection; this survey assesses college students' health habits, behaviors, and perceptions. The sample was comprised of 57 institutions representing every region in the U.S. totaling 34,208 participants. Data was acquired through …