Digital Commons Network^™

Cross-Subtype T-Cell Immune Responses Induced By A Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Group M Consensus Env Immunogen†0--, Eric A. Weaver, Zhongjing Lu, Zenaido T. Camacho, Fatiha Moukdar, Hua-Xin Liao, Ben-Jiang Ma, Mark Muldoon, James Theiler, Gary J. Nabel, Norman L. Letvin, Bette T. Korber, Beatrice H. Hahn, Barton F. Haynes, Feng Gao

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The genetic diversity among globally circulating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains is a serious challenge for HIV-1 vaccine design. We have generated a synthetic groupMconsensus env gene (CON6) for induction of cross-subtype immune responses and report here a comparative study of T-cell responses to this and natural strain env immunogens in a murine model. Three different strains of mice were immunized with CON6 as well as subtype A, B, or C env immunogens, using a DNA prime-recombinant vaccinia virus boost strategy. T-cell epitopes were mapped by gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot analysis using five overlapping Env peptide sets from …

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: July 2006, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2006

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from July 10 and 25, 2006These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Natriuretic Peptides And Nitric Oxide Stimulate Cgmp Synthesis In Different Cellular Compartments, Leslie A Piggott, Kathryn A Hassell, Zuzana Berkova, Andrew P Morris, Michael Silberbach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are a family of ion channels activated by the binding of cyclic nucleotides. Endogenous channels have been used to measure cyclic nucleotide signals in photoreceptor outer segments and olfactory cilia for decades. Here we have investigated the subcellular localization of cGMP signals by monitoring CNG channel activity in response to agonists that activate either particulate or soluble guanylyl cyclase. CNG channels were heterologously expressed in either human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells that stably overexpress a particulate guanylyl cyclase (HEK-NPRA cells), or cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was used to activate the …

Mobile Healthcare Informatics, Keng Siau, Zixing Shen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Advances in wireless technology give pace to the rapid development of mobile applications. The coming mobile revolution will bring dramatic and fundamental changes to our daily life. It will influence the way we live, the way we do things, and the way we take care of our health. For the healthcare industry, mobile applications provide a new frontier in offering better care and services to patients, and a more flexible and mobile way of communicating with suppliers and patients. Mobile applications will provide important real time data for patients, physicians, insurers, and suppliers. In addition, it will revolutionalize the way …

Assessing Effects Of Iq On Sociable And Withdrawn Behaviors In Children With Language Impairment, Amanda Lyn Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of IQ on subtypes of sociable and withdrawn behaviors in children with language impairment (LI). Research has suggested that children with LI are more likely to experience difficulty with social interaction than their typically developing peers (Brinton & Fujiki, 1999; Rice, 1991). The Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (Hart & Robinson, 1996) was used to compare sociable and withdrawn behaviors in 19 children with LI and 19 children with typically developing language. IQ scores for each participant were obtained by administering the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (Bracken & McCallum, 2003). These …

A Short Tutorial On Reconstructability Analysis, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This talk will present the basic ideas of Reconstructability Analysis. RA is a general modeling methodology developed in the systems community since the early 60s (pioneered by Ross Ashby) for exploratory (data mining, machine learning) and confirmatory modeling. RA is based in graph theory, set theory, information theory, and statistics. It is applicable to qualitative (nominal) and, via binning, to quantitative (continuous) data, with both statistical & non-statistical applications. It overlaps and augments more widely known methods, e.g., log-linear modeling and Bayesian networks.

Keywords: Reconstructability Analysis, Log-Linear Modeling, categorical data, multivariate statistics, exploratory modeling, confirmatory modeling

The Electronic Health Record In Practice: Why, How, And What Next?, Lisa Sprague, Sally Coberly

National Health Policy Forum

This local site visit was intended to allow participants to observe the electronic health record (EHR) as used in practice by two U.S. leaders in technology and quality, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Kaiser Permanente (KP). The VHA has employed an EHR system since 1997; KP is in the process of implementing a standard system for all clinicians nationwide. The site visit was designed to provide an opportunity for participants to explore both the expected benefits from EHR adoption and the specific lessons these two large, integrated delivery systems have learned in their transition from paper to electronic records. …

Correlation Between Number Of Retrieved Oocytes And Pregnancy Rate After In Vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Infection, Tanya Timeva, Tanya Milachich, Irena Antonova, Tanya Arabaji, Atanas Shterev, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The implementation of safe and maximally effective ovarian stimulation is a major aim for in vitro fertilization (IVF) teams. The goal of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) is to supply enough oocytes with normal maturation to insure the consequent biological procedures. A variety of different stimulation protocols have been suggested and an individual selection of the correct stimulation protocol is mandatory. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the correlation between number of retrieved oocytes and clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) after IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures. We reviewed 1017 cycles in a total of 975 patients. The …

Biomolecular Study Of The Correlation Between Papillomatosis Of The Vulvar Vestibule In Adolescents And Human Papillomavirus, Geni Beznos, Verônica Coates, Jose Focchi, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The main goal of this study was to investigate, through a biomolecular study, the correlation between papillomatosis of the vulvar vestibule and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, as well as to establish the necessity of treatment. A total of 44 female adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age were selected through a prospective study with a confirmed diagnosis of papillomatosis of the vulvar vestibule. Vulvar biopsies were obtained for the histological and biomolecular detection of HPV DNA through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Twenty (45%) adolescents were virgins (group A), the other 24 (55%) were sexually active. The virgin adolescents (group …

A Pilot Study: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sensation Seeking, And Pubertal Changes, Catherine A. Martin, Greg Guenthner, Christopher Bingcang, W. Jackson Smith, Thomas E. Curry, Hatim A. Omar, Mary Kay Rayens, Tom H. Kelly

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This study was designed to examine the relationship of pubertal changes and sensation seeking (SS) in adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Patients with current or past histories of uncomplicated stimulant medication use for ADHD between the ages of 11 and 15 (13 ± 1.5) were recruited from a Child Psychiatry and a General Pediatric Clinic. SS was measured using the SS Scale for Children. Pubertal development was measured using Tanner staging, free testosterone, and DHEAS. Subjects and their parent were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). SS total score was correlated with Tanner stage, free …

Research News: 2006, No. 1, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy

Research News: Grants and Publications (2000-2014)

Grants, publications, technology transfer, special announcements

Human Development And Resources Use In The Coastal Zone: Influences On Human Health, Robert E. Bowen, Anamarija Frankic, Mary E. Davis

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Coastal watersheds and nearshore marine areas are the most valuable and dynamic places on Earth. Human population growth is great in these regions, which are home to some of the most sensitive habitats in the world. Coastal areas provide more than half of the overall service value derived from the global environment (Costanza et al., 1997). Natural (e.g., hurricanes and tsunamis) and human pressures on this environment require it to constantly adjust. More than any other area, the global coast has defined the progress of human culture and continues to be a singular influence in how humans connect to the …

Analysis Of An Sirs Age-Structured Epidemic Model With Vaccination And Vertical Transmission Of Disease, Mohammed El-Doma

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

An SIRS age-structured epidemic model for a vertically as well as horizontally transmitted disease under vaccination is investigated when the fertility, mortality and removal rates depend on age and the force of infection of proportionate mixing assumption type, and vaccination wanes over time. We prove the existence and uniqueness of solution to the model equations, and show that solutions of the model equations depend continuously on the initial age-distributions. Furthermore, we determine the steady states and obtain an explicitly computable threshold condition, in terms of the demographic and epidemiological parameters of the model; we then study the stability of the …

Commencement Program 2006, Loma Linda University

Commencement Programs

CONTENTS

2 | 2006 Events of Commencement

3 | The Academic Procession

4 | Significance of Academic Regalia

5 | The Good Samaritan

6 | The Speakers

15 | The University Honorees

23 | The School Honorees

37 | The Program

• School of Medicine, 38
• School of Pharmacy, 47
• School of Dentistry, 52
• School of Science and Technology and Faculty of Religion, 63
• School of Nursing, 74
• School of Allied Health Professions - Physical Therapy, 80
• School of Allied Health Professions, 86
• School of Public Health, 95

An Experimental Approach To Modeling The Strength Of Canine Teeth, Patricia W. Freeman, Cliff A. Lemen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The strength of canine teeth in several carnivores is found through direct fracture experiments. The average forces required to break the canines of adult animals are coyote 1170 N, red fox 533 N, bobcat 737 N and raccoon 512 N. Stresses created in teeth at the breaking load are predicted by finite-element analysis and beam theory. The ultimate tensile stress sustainable in these teeth is 338 MPa in adult animals. The large pulp cavity in the canines of young animals significantly weakens the bases of their teeth (by about 25%), but as the animal ages the pulp cavity decreases and …

The Effect Of Calcium Hydroxide Pastes On Root Dentin Fracture Resistance, Kurt W. Sturz

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Calcium hydroxide is a common intracanal medicament used in the treatment of immature teeth that have been subjected to trauma or decay prior to root canal therapy. The effect of calcium hydroxide on immature root dentin is important. One area of concern is the effect that calcium hydroxide has on the fracture resistance of an immature tooth. It is the aim of this study to compare the effect of four different commercially available calcium hydroxide pastes on the fracture resistance of bovine teeth. Seventy-five freshly extracted, intact bovine incisors were prepared according to a modified Haapasalo and Orstavik technique. Each …

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Update: June 2006, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2006

LSUHSC Dailly Facilities Updates from June 2006. These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: June 2006, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2006

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from June 9 and 23, 2006.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Low Birth Weight, Very Low Birth Weight And Infant Mortality In San Bernardino County : A Secondary Analysis Of Maternal Factors, Rebecca D. Nanyonjo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Purpose: National and state infant mortality rates have slowly declined over the last several years. Despite this reduction, San Bernardino County still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in California and racial disparities between Black and White infants not only persist but continue to widen. These disparities remain at the forefront of concern. Healthy People 2010 target objectives have yet to be reached, while national and state proposed plans have supported the statement that a community's largest health problem is initiated by its infant mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate maternal factors through use of …

Comparing The Use Of A Manual And A Power Toothbrush By 3-To-4 Year-Old Children, Lorena Delgado Salcedo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

PURPOSE: To compare the ability of three-to four-year-old children in performing toothbrushing with manual versus battery-powered toothbrushes with and without oral hygiene instructions.

METHODS: This study was a randomized, controlled, examiner-blind, 4-period crossover design performed on 50 healthy children, ages 3 to 4 years old. Children were assigned either a manual or power toothbrush at visit one and alternated between the two types of toothbrushes each week, for four weeks. Plaque was scored before and after brushing using the Greene and Vermillion -Simplified Oral Hygiene Index. ^18,19 At their last two visits of the study, the children received brushing instructions …

Effects Of Diabetes Mellitus On The Healing Of The Dental Pulp, Stuart Evan Garber

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has been implicated as a factor affecting healing. The purpose of this study was to use the healing of experimentally exposed pulps subsequent to pulp capping as a model to determine the effect of DM on healing.

Twenty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups of eleven animals each. In one group, DM was induced by injection of 70 mg/KG of streptozotocin. In the other group, the animals were injected with sterile saline. Under anesthesia with Ketamine and Xylazine, the pulps of the maxillary first molars of all rats were exposed using a 1/16 round bur under …

Batch Mode Active Learning And Its Applications To Medical Image Classification, Steven C. H. Hoi, Rong Jin, Jianke Zhu, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The goal of active learning is to select the most informative examples for manual labeling. Most of the previous studies in active learning have focused on selecting a single unlabeled example in each iteration. This could be inefficient since the classification model has to be retrained for every labeled example. In this paper, we present a framework for "batch mode active learning" that applies the Fisher information matrix to select a number of informative examples simultaneously. The key computational challenge is how to efficiently identify the subset of unlabeled examples that can result in the largest reduction in the Fisher …

Hierarchical Models For Combining Ecological And Case-Control Data, Sebastien Haneuse, Jon Wakefield

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The ecological study design suffers from a broad range of biases that result from the loss of information regarding the joint distribution of individual-level outcomes, exposures and confounders. The consequent non-identifiability of individual-level models cannot be overcome without additional information; we combine ecological data with a sample of individual-level case-control data. The focus of this paper is hierarchical models to account for between-group heterogeneity. Estimation and inference pose serious compu- tational challenges. We present a Bayesian implementation, based on a data augmentation scheme where the unobserved data are treated as auxiliary variables. The methods are illustrated with a dataset of …

Feasibility Of Gdaha Hospitals Meeting The Surge Capacity And Capability Requirements Of An Avian Flu Pandemic In The Miami Valley, Raymond P. Ten Eyck

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Hospital surge capacity is a crucial portion of disaster preparedness planning within a community. The demands generated by a disaster require additional capacity, in the form of beds, equipment, personnel, and special capabilities. The scope and urgency of these requirements must be balanced with a practical approach addressing cost and space concerns. The advent of new infectious disease threats, particularly an avian flu pandemic, have reinforced the need to be prepared for a prolonged surge, lasting six to eight weeks, in addition to the shorter duration surges required for industrial accidents, tornados, chemical disasters and terrorists. Using a standardized data …

Incidence Of Galactorrhea In Young Women Using Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, Hatim A. Omar, Rana M. Zakharia, Shibani Kanungo, Marlene B. Huff, Kimberly K. Mcclanahan

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Galactorrhea is rarely mentioned as a possible side effect of the use of Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA). Over the last few years, we have noticed an increased number of patients complaining of galactorrhea. A review of clinical data showed that between 1999 and 2005, 360 adolescents in our clinic used DMPA for at least 6 months. After medical follow-up, 13 (3.6%) of these patients were found to have developed galactorrhea. The mean age of the patients was 19.4 years with a range from 13-24. Prolactin levels in these patients were normal, and in all subjects, the galactorrhea resolved spontaneously within the …

In Vitro Expression And Purification Of Class I Mhc Molecules, Loi Cheng

Honors Scholar Theses

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a gene family responsible for many critical functions of the immune system in most vertebrates. The MHC consists of three classes differentiated by their structure and function, and MHC class I encodes antigen binding proteins as well as chaperone and accessory proteins such as tapasin. The purpose of this project is to reconstitute several human MHC class I molecules in their peptide-filled and peptide-deficient forms, and to purify these proteins for biochemical study. The expressed proteins include wild type and mutant variants of the fusion protein human leukocyte antigen HLA-B*0801-fos, and human beta-2-microglobulin (β2m). …

Information Interface - Volume 34, Issue 2 - May/June 2006, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Information Interface (1976 - 2009)

News and information about Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library of interest to users.

Food Insecurity And Hunger In America, Elizabeth Zufelt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies have shown that about twelve percent (13.5 million) of American households experience at least some form of food insecurity in one year. Causes for food insecurity include disability, low income if employed, unemployment within the past six months, and retirement. Hunger and obesity are often seen in the same person at the same time, including children. The effects of hunger and food insecurity seen among children include: anemia, higher levels of anxiety, poorer performance on mathematical tests, depression, aggression, tardiness, a poorer sense of well-being, lower physical abilities, and lower psychosocial abilities. Food insecurity also affects the elderly population. …

Longitudinal Analysis Of Censored Medical Cost Data, Onur Baser, Joseph C. Gardiner, Cathy J. Bradley, Huseyin Yuce, Charles Given

Publications and Research

This paper applies the inverse probability weighted (IPW) least-squares method to estimate the effects of treatment on total medical cost, subject to censoring, in a panel-data setting. IPW pooled ordinary-least squares (POLS) and IPW random effects (RE) models are used. Because total medical cost might not be independent of survival time under administrative censoring, unweighted POLS and RE cannot be used with censored data, to assess the effects of certain explanatory variables. Even under the violation of this independency, IPW estimation gives consistent asymptotic normal coefficients with easily computable standard errors. A traditional and robust form of the Hausman test …

How Special Education Teachers Of High School-Aged Students Address Sex Education, Amelia Owen-Casillas

Master's Projects

In this qualitative pilot study, five special education teachers of high-school-age students responded to seven research questions regarding how they address sex education, a part of family living from the Health Framework for California Public Schools. The participating special education teachers taught either in special education programs for the emotionally-disturbed(ED) or severely handicapped (SH). An overall identified theme for both groups of teachers was family participation. Other themes were teachers needing to be expert at understanding students learning styles and the need to be an expert at modifying goals for students learning. School nurses can help support and provide accurate …