Digital Commons Network^™

Ultrasound-Triggered Antibiotic Release From Peek Clips To Prevent Spinal Fusion Infection: Initial Evaluations., Lauren J. Delaney, Daniel Macdonald, Jay Leung, Keith Fitzgerald, Alex M. Sevit, John R. Eisenbrey, Neil Patel, Flemming Forsberg, Christopher K. Kepler, Taolin Fang, Steven M. Kurtz, Noreen J. Hickok

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Despite aggressive peri-operative antibiotic treatments, up to 10% of patients undergoing instrumented spinal surgery develop an infection. Like most implant-associated infections, spinal infections persist through colonization and biofilm formation on spinal instrumentation, which can include metal screws and rods for fixation and an intervertebral cage commonly comprised of polyether ether ketone (PEEK). We have designed a PEEK antibiotic reservoir that would clip to the metal fixation rod and that would achieve slow antibiotic release over several days, followed by a bolus release of antibiotics triggered by ultrasound (US) rupture of a reservoir membrane. We have found using human physiological fluid …

Prediction Models For Descreasing Visual Acuity In Wig Makers, Nur Ulfah, Siti Harwanti, Ngadiman Ngadiman

Kesmas

One of the occupational diseases that can arise for workers with high accuracy is a decrease in their visual acuity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the risk factors of decreasing visual acuity in workers with high accuracy, such as in wig makers. This study aimed to examine the correlation between age, working period, lighting intensity, fatigue, and nutritional status with visual acuity, and to observe the main risk factors that can be used as a reference for predicting decreasing visual acuity. This study was an observational study that used a cross-sectional design. The population number for this study was …

Comparing Vascular Deficiency Between Caucasian And Hispanic Metabolic Syndrome Women, Lorenzo Juarez, Jerene Yazzie, Andi Johnson, Abraham Gomez, Klaudia Szych, Ariel Gomez, Matthew A. Barlow Phd

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States especially in Hispanics. People with Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) generally have high blood pressure, excess body fat and fasting glucose and abnormal cholesterol. We evaluated Hispanic (HS) and Caucasian (CA) women diagnosed with MetSyn in New Mexico and sedentary control with an initial screening and vascular measurements. Previous work from our lab indicated significant deficiencies between the control and MetSyn women in the measurements of the vascular mechanisms of developing deficits associated with the metabolic deficiencies. We aimed to identify if the health disparate HS population …

Dynamic Graded Muscle Exercise In Sedentary Metabolic Syndrome Women; Effects On Cardiac Workload, Abraham Gomez, Lorenzo Juarez, Ariel Gomez, Klaudia Szych, Andi Johnson, Jerene Yazzie, Matthew A. Barlow Phd

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) individuals presented declining sensitivity to insulin (p=.0201) as calculated by insulin sensitivity index (ISI-60) measurement. The young women categorized as MetSyn were previously found to have significantly lower (ISI-60) from healthy controls (Gomez, 2018), and had higher percent body fat (p< .05), diminished HDL (p< .05), and higher expenditure of Kcals (p=.04) compared to controls as measured by 7 day accelerometer. Cardiovascular modification is hypothesized to involve progressive dysfunction of the insulin mediated AKT/PKB eNOS pathway. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify if daily sedentary activity is associated with myocardial workload in the development of the metabolic disorder. We hypothesized metabolic syndrome individuals Rate Pressure Product (RPP) would be at elevated at rest and through various workloads of small muscle exercise. METHODS: We compared daily activity to heart …

Effects Of High Concentration Vivissential Amino Acids Sports Drink Ingestion On Performance In Trained Athletes, Klaudia Szych, Ariel Gomez, Jerene Yazzie, Sarah A. Massey, Lorenzo Juarez, Andi Johnson, Shannon Jackson, Matthew A. Barlow Phd

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Essential amino acids are necessary for protein nutrition and muscle sustainability. Previous studies looking at the effects of BCAAs did not result in measurable reductions in muscle damage and enhanced recovery of muscle function. PURPOSE: The Calwood Nutritionals Company manufactures a balanced nutritional formula of amino acids with the addition of a higher concentration of arginine and methionine, which during an acute 3-day study in our lab decreased muscle degradation in a young sedentary population. The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in performance following the chronic consumption of the essential amino acids in collegiate athletes …

Exploring Determinants Of Behavioral Chronotype In A Diurnal-Rodent Model Of Human Physiology, Roberto Refinetti, Gabrielle Earle, G. J. Kenagy

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

studies conducted with human participants have shown that differences in chronotype, defined as individual patterns of early or late beginning of daily activity, have implications for many biobehavioral processes, such as cognitive performance, mood, impulsivity, academic achievement of college students, and mental health. However, the determinants of individual variation in chronotype have not been investigated. Basic research on circadian rhythms has provided a basis for investigating the causes of chronotype variation, but experimental tests of pertinent hypotheses are difficult to conduct with human subjects. This limitation can be overcome by use of animal models. This study was conducted with a …

The Effects Of The Leisure Activity Of Coloring On Post-Test Anxiety In Graduate Level Occupational Therapy Students, Brittney N. Burton, Mary F. Baxter

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: This study examined the effects of the leisure activity of coloring on the anxiety levels of graduate level occupational therapy students after taking a high stress exam. This study also examined the effects of the leisure activity of coloring on the students’ perceptions of preparedness for and performance on the exam.

Method: The participants were recruited for this quantitative, pre/posttest study through a purposive convenience sample and randomly assigned to either the leisure activity or the control. A self-report assessment was used for data collection. The changes in anxiety levels were examined using a repeated measures analysis …

Cognitive Load Theory Principles Applied To Simulation Instructional Design For Novice Health Professional Learners, Susan M. Grieve

Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

While the body of evidence supporting the use of simulation-based learning in the education of health professionals is growing, howor why simulation-based learning works is not yet understood. There is a clear need for evidence, grounded in contemporary educational theory, to clarify the features of simulation instructional design that optimize learning outcomes and efficiency in health care professional students.

Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) is a theoretical framework focused on a learner’s working memory capacity. One principle of CLT is example based learning. While this principle has been applied in both traditional classroom and laboratory settings, and has shown positive …

A Review Of Asthma Treatments: Monoclonal Antibody, Corticosteroid, Leukotriene Modifier, And Bronchodilator, Alec Williams

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

Medical research has created multitudes of medications to help control the symptoms of asthma. Asthmas effects the respiratory system in different ways, creating unique challenges to researchers and doctors alike to create or a manage the symptoms of asthma. Identifying the common treatment methods and understanding their effect on the human physiology can aid in treating patients. The goal of this review is to identify the common medications used to treat asthma, how these medications work on the human’s physiology, as well as bring to light a new upcoming medication with greater asthma control. As asthma research continues, the need …

Physician Assistant Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Physician Assistant Fort Meyers, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

The Potential Of Organ On Chip Technology For Replacing Animal Testing, Malcolm Wilkinson

Human Clinical Trials Collection

The term organ on a chip is used to describe the latest stage of development of in vitro cell culture technology. Figure 26.1 shows its steady development since the 1960s. Each step forward has improved our ability to model human-clinical response to new drugs or therapies and has enabled safety risk assessment of existing cosmetics, personal care products, or other chemicals in the environment. Scientific evidence that the predictive power of in vitro tests is superior to the use of animals will trigger a major shift in the way that medical research, in many areas, is carried out. In this …

Physician Assistant Jacksonville, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Physician Assistant Orlando, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Functional Testing Platform For The Sensory Segment Of The Neuromuscular Reflex Arc, Alisha Colon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Investigations of human biology and disease have been hindered by the use of animal models. The information obtained from such studies often results in clinically irrelevant results and drug trial failures. Additionally, several governing bodies have been formulating legislation to move away from animal models and toward more ethical and efficient testing platforms for drug discovery and cosmetic research. As an answer to these issues, "body-on-a-chip" systems have been a rapidly developing field which easily recapitulates in vivo functionality, providing a more relevant, repeatable, and ethical testing platform to better predict biology. These systems can be used as human-based testing …

The Experiences Of Counseling Graduate Students Who Participated In Professional Legislative Advocacy Training, Nakpangi Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Legislative advocacy efforts are increasingly becoming part of a counselor's professional identity, yet scholarly literature lacks studies about experiences of counseling students involved in legislative advocacy for the counseling profession. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the meaning counseling students ascribe to their involvement in legislative advocacy for the counseling profession. Astin's student involvement theory was the conceptual framework utilized to explore the lived experiences of counseling graduate students and recent graduates who participated in a 4-day long American Counseling Association Institute for Leadership Training on legislative advocacy and leadership or in professional legislative advocacy …

Structure Determination By Single-Particle Cryo-Electron Microscopy: Only The Sky (And Intrinsic Disorder) Is The Limit, Emeka Nwanochie, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Traditionally, X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy represent major workhorses of structural biologists, with the lion share of protein structures reported in protein data bank (PDB) being generated by these powerful techniques. Despite their wide utilization in protein structure determination, these two techniques have logical limitations, with X-ray crystallography being unsuitable for the analysis of highly dynamic structures and with NMR spectroscopy being restricted to the analysis of relatively small proteins. In recent years, we have witnessed an explosive development of the techniques based on Cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) for structural characterization of biological molecules. In fact, single-particle Cryo-EM is a special …

The Effect Of Maternal Dietary Habits During Pregnancy On Neonate Leptin Methylation Patterns And Gestational Age, Sean Fitzpatrick

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The health of a newborn baby is inextricably linked to the health status of its mother and in turn the mother’s diet during pregnancy. Leptin (LEP) is an adipokine hormone involved in metabolism regulation and has been linked fetal development through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). Prior work suggests that gestational epigenetic alterations the LEP gene may be sensitive to adverse exposures during pregnancy, which in turn could explain variation in neonate outcomes. However, no prior work has examined this possibility explicitly. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns of mothers during pregnancy and their …

Detection Of Human Plasma Glucose Using A Self-Powered Glucose Biosensor, Gymama Slaughter, Tanmay Kulkarni

Bioelectrics Publications

This work presents the characterization of a self-powered glucose biosensor using individual sequential assays of human plasma glucose obtained from diabetic patients. The self-powered glucose biosensor is exploited to optimize the assay parameters for sensing plasma glucose levels. In particular, the biofuel cell component of the system at pH 7.4, 37 °C generates a power density directly proportional to plasma glucose and exhibited a maximum power density of 0.462 mW·cm⁻² at a cell voltage of 0.213 V in 5 mM plasma glucose. Plasma glucose is further sensed by monitoring the charge/discharge frequency (Hz) of the integrated capacitor functioning as …

Investigation Of The Role For Methyl-Cpg Binding Protein 2 Variant Mbd2_V2 In Cancer Stem Cells And Obesity-Associated Cancers, Emily A. Teslow

Wayne State University Dissertations

Obesity is a risk factor for both TNBC and PCa, and pro-inflammatory features associated with obesity, including upregulated production of ROS, promote CSCs. Previously published work from the Bollig-Fischer laboratory established that TNBC CSCs could be inhibited by neutralizing ROS in culture with H2O2 targeted antioxidants. In this report, antioxidant treatment resulted in the downregulation of mRNA splicing variant MBD2_v2. MBD2_v2 was highly expressed in CSCs versus bulk TNBC cells and supported self-renewal in vitro. As obesity is coupled with increased ROS, we hypothesized that obesity could drive CSCs via MBD2_v2 expression. The work presented in this thesis addressed this …

Effects Of A Ketogenic Diet On Body Composition, Metabolic Health, And Quality Of Life In Ovarian And Endometrial Cancer Patients, Caroline Whitney Cohen

All ETDs from UAB

Ketogenic diets (KDs) have garnered considerable research attention in recent years, having been investigated as a therapy for neurologic, metabolic, and even dermatologic diseases. Recent research has also focused on KDs as a potential intervention for cancer, with preclinical studies demonstrating profound effects such as inhibiting tumor growth, enhancing the effects of radiation and chemotherapy, and prolonging survival. However, to date few studies have been conducted in cancer patients. In order to determine if KDs might augment existing cancer treatment protocols, additional research is needed. Accordingly, the objective of this project was to conduct the first randomized, controlled trial examining …

Impact Of Environmental Exposures On Respiratory Health, Lawrence Rasmussen

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of COPD; similarly, individuals exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) are also vulnerable to COPD and other airway diseases; however, distinct molecular mechanisms involved in SHS-induced lung effects that result in COPD are poorly understood. Mucociliary clearance (MCC) is a primary lung defense against inhaled particulate matter and pathogens. Thus, understanding how inhaled irritants such as SHS disrupt MCC will promote improved scientific understanding and better public health initiatives to prevent respiratory illnesses. Using a variety of in vitro …

Postpartum Body Composition And Breast Milk Hormones, Camille Schneider

All ETDs from UAB

The prevalence of both adult and child obesity continues to rise. Children born to mothers with obesity have a greater risk for future obesity and chronic disease. There is an increasing body of literature suggesting that pregnancy and infancy are critical periods influencing the child’s risk for obesity. However, little is known about whether consumption of breast milk from an obese mother might influence the child’s metabolic programming and growth. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the association of maternal adiposity with insulin and leptin in breast milk and, in turn, whether breast milk insulin, leptin, and glucose …

Parkinson's Disease And The Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Michal Lubomski, Ai Huey Tan, Shen-Yang Lim, Andrew J. Holmes, Ryan L. Davis, Carolyn M. Sue

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Recently, there has been a surge in awareness of the gastrointestinal microbiome (GM) and its role in health and disease. Of particular note is an association between the GM and Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the realisation that the GM can act via a complex bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. Compelling evidence suggests that a shift in GM composition may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PD by facilitating the characteristic ascending neurodegenerative spread of α-synuclein aggregates from the enteric nervous system to the brain. Here, we review evidence linking GM changes with PD, highlighting mechanisms …

Heat Exposure And Adaptation Strategies Of Outdoor Informal Sector Workers In Urban Bulawayo - Zimbabwe, Bigboy Ngwenya

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Ambient temperatures have risen over the past few decades and are expected to increase even further due to climate change impacts. Extreme temperatures, accompanied by high humidity levels, will exacerbate occupational heat stress, heat related illnesses and mortality amongst vulnerable groups, particularly among outdoor workers in developing countries in the tropics. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, a large portion of the population work outdoors in the informal sector as street vendors (hawkers) due to a lack of employment opportunities. These hawkers spend long hours in the sun or under makeshift sheds with poorly developed adaptation strategies, and no access to cooling systems …

The Influence Of Fatiguing Exercise On Power Output, Lena Kate Perry

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Physical fatigue impairs performance during high power, short duration activities. As technological developments permit new methods of measuring this effect, it is important to validate existing paradigms. The purpose was to determine if kinetic measurements from vertical jump (VJ) tests are influenced by fatigue based on explosive power outputs. A sample of athletes (9 men, 26 women) from a Division I NCAA sports program completed testing. To establish baseline VJ kinetics, athletes performed a controlled warm-up and then completed six jumps using Sparta Science technology, each separated by 15s rest. Sparta software computed three force outputs: Load, Explode and Drive. …

Using An In Vitro-In Vivo Correlation For The ‘Bioequivalence By Design’ Development Of An Immediate Release Carbamazepine Product, Douglas Steinbach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The quality of a drug product may be characterized by the consistency with which its indicated clinical effect, and safety profile, is experienced by the patient. The concept that such quality should be built into a product is at the core of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) quality by design (QbD) initiative. This vision for pharmaceutical product development emphasizes the risk-based identification of critical quality attributes (CQA) which summarize a product’s performance, the efficient refinement of critical product/process parameters (CPP) that can affect such attributes, and the systematic development of CPP limits, which assure appropriate performance of …

Modeling Reveals The Dependence Of Hippocampal Neurogenesis Radiosensitivity On Age And Strain Of Rats, Eliedonna Cacao, Sidath Kapukotuwa, Francis A. Cucinotta

Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences Faculty Research

Cognitive dysfunction following radiation treatment for brain cancers in both children and adults have been correlated to impairment of neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Various species and strains of rodent models have been used to study radiation-induced changes in neurogenesis and these investigations have utilized only a limited number of doses, dose-fractions, age and time after exposures conditions. In this paper, we have extended our previous mathematical model of radiation-induced hippocampal neurogenesis impairment of C57BL/6 mice to delineate the time, age, and dose dependent alterations in neurogenesis of a diverse strain of rats. To the best of our knowledge, …

Blended With The Savior: Gregory Of Nyssa's Eucharistic Pharmacology In The Catechetical Oration, John David Penniman

Faculty Journal Articles

Humankind, for Gregory of Nyssa, was poisoned through a primordial act of eating the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. As a result, the toxin of sin and death has been blended into the body and soul of each person, dispersing itself throughout the component parts of their nature. If eating and drinking initiated the spiritual and physical degradation of humanity, Gregory argues, then it must also be through eating and drinking—namely, through the Eucharist—that humanity will be healed. This article proposes that Gregory's instruction on the Eucharist in his Catechetical Oration should be understood as more than merely …

Triggers, Protectors, And Predictors In Episodic Migraine., Michael J. Marmura

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A wide variety of triggers prompt attacks in episodic migraine. Although experimental triggers such as glyceryl trinitrate reliably produce migraine, natural triggers are much less predictable and vary in importance between individuals. This review describes the most common triggers in episodic migraine and provides strategies for managing them in clinical practice.

RECENT FINDINGS: Multiple migraine attack triggers have been established based on patient surveys, diary studies, and clinical trials. Stress, menstrual cycle changes, weather changes, sleep disturbances, alcohol, and other foods are among the most common factors mentioned. Clinical studies have verified that fasting, premenstrual periods in …