Digital Commons Network^™

Proning Vs. Respiratory Pharmacotherapeutics In Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients, Sasha Hopfauf

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

The purpose of this research and literature review is to compare the use of prone positioning and respiratory pharmacotherapeutics within hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the outcomes associated with each. A literature review was performed using the databases PubMed, Clinical Key, DynaMed, and CINAHL. A variety of key terms were used when searching. Studies chosen were retrospective reviews, a cross sectional study, an interventional study, and a pilot study. Articles within the last three years were utilized after exclusion criteria was applied. A total of thirteen articles were included within this project. The research shows that pulmonary vasodilators such as inhaled …

Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome: Surgical Treatment Vs Conservative Care, Molly Ruebke

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a relatively rare pathology characterized by pain, tightness, and/or numbness in the affected calf upon performance of repetitive physical activity, most commonly with running or serving in the military. CECS usually has a delay in diagnosis due to low levels of awareness among clinicians and a wide range of differential diagnoses for chronic exertional leg pain. The natural course of CECS is often not self-limiting and therefore requires intervention, as symptoms can be severely debilitating and eventually force patients to avoid any provoking activity. The purpose of this literature review is to take a …

Gabapentin As An Effective Treatment Option For Alcohol Use Disorder, Monica Hurst

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

The purpose of this literature review is to determine whether gabapentin is an effective treatment option for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Utilizing data sourced primarily from published clinical trials, gabapentin’s effect on heavy drinking, abstinence, withdrawal symptoms and alcohol cravings will be explored. This review will also compare gabapentin’s efficacy against currently approved AUD treatment options, along with what dosages are most efficacious while contributing the fewest adverse effects. The data presented in this literature review undeniably demonstrates a positive effect of gabapentin on alcohol use disorder; Specifically, the data shows that gabapentin at multiple dosages helps to decrease heavy …

Lgbtq+ Stress And Trauma Within The Dsm-5: Acase Study Adaptation Of The Uconn Racial/Ethnic Stress And Trauma Survey (Unrests), Jenna M. Wolff, Raeann E. Anderson, Katya Mickelson

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spring 2023, University Of North Dakota Alumni Association

ALL: UND Alumni Review Master List

Spring 2023 issue of "The University of North Dakota Alumni Magazine." 52 pages

Volume 106, Number 2

Active Toxoplasmosis Infection: Efficacy And Safety Of Treatment Options, Daniele Krouse

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

This literature review intends to investigate the safety and efficacy of two different drug treatment regimens, pyrimethamine versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, for active toxoplasmosis infections. Affecting nearly 11% of the United States population and up to 80% of the populations of tropical countries, Toxoplasmosis infection is the second leading cause of death from food borne illness. Current classic management of active infection with pyrimethamine is correlated with numerous undesirable side effects, high cost and need for complex use of adjunctive medications. It is necessary to identify alternative treatment options with fewer side effects, less complex regimens, lower cost, and easier access for …

A Comparison Of Pharmacotherapy Versus Complementary Medicine In The Treatment Of Migraines, Samantha Braaten

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Migraine headache is a common, universal neurological disorder that can be complicated to treat. Despite the wide availability of treatments used as prophylactic agents against migraines, outcomes have been inconsistent, and a number of patients do not respond to prophylactic medications. Therefore, it is important to investigate new non-pharmacological modalities accompanied with less adverse effects and maximal efficacy. To determine if complementary medicine modalities such as acupuncture, botulinum toxin-A, or cognitive behavioral therapy can be as effective as traditional pharmacotherapy for the treatment of migraines, a literature review was completed using meta-analyses and clinical trial reviews. Despite the fact there …

Safety And Efficacy Of Apixaban Vs Rivaroxaban: In Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation, Cody Dewitt

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia in developed countries, warrants anticoagulation for stroke prevention. Updated guidelines recommend direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) over historically used warfarin. The purpose of this review is to compare clinical safety and efficacy outcomes between apixaban and rivaroxaban. In patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation on a direct oral anticoagulant, is there a significant difference in safety and efficacy between apixaban and rivaroxaban? Does decreased kidney function change safety and efficacy? Does varying BMI such as low weight or obesity change safety and efficacy? A retrospective literature review was conducted utilizing PubMed databases. Articles included …

Food Intolerance In Patients With Depression, Victoria Gingrey

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Depression is a multifactorial condition affecting people worldwide. Medication is commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, but some patients have difficulty finding a medication that is both effective and tolerable while others prefer to avoid medications all together. It has been suggested that dietary modification may reduce the depressive symptoms. As lifestyle changes may be difficult to maintain long term, determining specific foods to avoid for individual patients may improve adherence. A meta-analysis of 10 articles was performed. Articles were found using the electronic search databases PubMed and PsychInfo. Serology differences were appreciated between patients with depression and healthy …

Platelet-Rich Plasma Vs Corticosteroid: Osteoarthritis Symptoms, Joshua Zetocha

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that hundreds of millions of people suffer from across the world (Palazzo et al., 2016). Currently, corticosteroid intra-articular injections are frequently administered to help with pain and inflammation related to OA (Pereira et al, 2015). A relatively new treatment option is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) intra-articular injections. PRP injections use the patient’s own plasma, injected into the affected joint space, to reduce inflammation and potentially improve both pain and functionality. This literature review will investigate whether the newer PRP injections relieve pain and improve functionality of OA patients better than corticosteroid injections. The literature review was …

Aspirin Vs. Pravastatin For Prevention Of Preterm Delivery In Patients At Risk For Pre-Eclampsia, Mary Weisberg

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

This literature review is an examination of the use of low-dose aspirin therapy versus the use of pravastatin therapy to prevent preterm delivery in women at risk of developing preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is defined as new onset hypertension after 20 weeks of gestation with evidence of maternal organ or uteroplacental dysfunction or proteinuria. Preeclampsia is a serious condition that affects pregnant women and their growing fetuses which may lead to maternal or fetal demise. The Prevention of preeclampsia with the use of low-dose aspirin in the first 12-16 weeks is currently the mainstay of treatment for women with moderate to severe …

Perimenopausal Depression Screening And Treatment Efficacy Between Antidepressants And/Or Hormone Replacement Therapy, Mandy Stenehjem

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

During the menopause transition (MT), also known as perimenopause, women are at a significantly increased risk of depression. Although the pathophysiology is not fully understood, it is likely to be complex and multifactorial. Data evaluating the involvement of HPA axis dysregulation and correlating female reproductive hormone fluctuations, specifically estradiol, are factors that may contribute to this incidence. Currently antidepressants are the treatment for depression but with biological changes occurring during perimenopause, hormone replacement therapy alone or in combination may have comparable antidepressant effects. The combination of menopause symptoms, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial challenges, make recognition and treatment depend on many …

The Effects Of Food On Mood: Implications Of Mediterranean And Plant-Based Diets On Depression Symptom Prevalence And Severity, Kaitlyn Prochnow

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

The purpose of this research and systematic literature review is to determine whether adherence to a Mediterranean diet or a plant-based diet has better effects on decreasing depression prevalence and/or symptom severity. A variety of keywords were used to search the online database, PubMed. Clinical trials and randomized controlled trials conducted within the last 20 years were included in the initial search. Exclusions were made if studies were not specific to Mediterranean or plant-based diets, or if they were focused on other psychiatric illnesses besides depression. For the final review, ten articles were selected. After thorough analyses and comparisons of …

Roundtable: Issue 2, Mackenzie Amerman, Kalyn Bohrer, Eliza Schueneman, Victoria Voss

Roundtable: Journal of the UND Honors Program

No abstract provided.

Benzimidazole Adjuvant Therapy: A Review Of Efficacy And Safety In Patients With Cancer, Jared Mouw

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• The safety and toxicity profile of benzimidazoles will be assessed within a population of patients currently diagnosed with various types of cancer to determine if this class of medications could be implemented along with current cancer treatment regimens to increase efficacy and tolerance. • Databases of CINAHL, ClinicalKey, and PubMed were searched with the keywords mentioned below. Studies include those after the year 2000, and those focusing on the use of benzimidazoles on human cancer cells and tissue, case studies, or all phases of clinical trials. Excluded were those using non-human study subjects, those before the year 2000, and …

Understanding Nanog’S Role In Cell Differentiation, Oluwatobiloba Aminu, Junguk Hur, Bony De Kumar

Graduate Research Achievement Day Posters

Background: Pluripotency and differentiation are crucial cellular states for normal development and disease control. They are regulated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Master transcription factors, such as Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4, play a critical role in pluripotency, but their function in differentiation is not entirely clear. This study aims to investigate Nanog's role in differentiation using mouse embryonic stem cells as a model.

Methods: An integrative analysis was carried out using gene expression and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing data to determine the impact of Nanog binding on downstream gene expression. Target genes were identified as those whose expression was altered by …

Design And Performance Analysis Of Dry Gas Fishbone Wells For Lower Carbon Footprint, Habib Ouadi, Aimen Laalam, Amjed Hassan, Abderraouf Chemmakh, Vamegh Rasouli, Mohamed Mahmoud

Petroleum Engineering Student Publications

Multilateral well drilling technology has recently assisted the drilling industry in improving borehole contact area and reducing operation time, while maintaining a competitive cost. The most advanced multilateral well drilling method is Fishbone drilling (FbD). This method has been utilized in several hydrocarbon fields worldwide, resulting in high recovery enhancement and reduced carbon emissions from drilling. FbD involves drilling several branches from laterals and can be considered as an alternative method to hydraulic fracturing to increase the stimulated reservoir volume. However, the expected productivity of applying a Fishbone well from one field to another can vary due to various challenges …

March 2, 2023: Agenda, University Of North Dakota

University Senate Meeting Minutes

Agenda for the March 2, 2023, meeting of the University Senate. 26 pages

Progress And Development Of Syngas Fermentation Processes Toward Commercial Bioethanol Production, Ademola Owoade, Ali Alshami, David Levin, Sagheer Onaizi, Zuhair O. Malaibari

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

Syngas is created through the thermochemical conversion of biomass using gasification or pyrolysis and from CO-rich off-gases obtained from industries such as steel mills. The Wood–Ljungdahl metabolic pathway, or one of its variations, is used by acetogenic bacteria to convert syngas components (CO, H₂, and CO₂) to alcohols and other compounds. Many factors affect how well syngas is fermented, including the bacteria species used, syngas composition, medium components, bioreactor type, operational parameters used and the gas–liquid mass transfer rate. These parameters impact carbon and electron flow in the bacteria, influencing the distribution, concentration and metabolic end-product …

Centering Culture In The Treatment Of Opioid Use Disorder With American Indian And Alaska Native Communities: Contributions From A National Collaborative Board, Katherine A. Hirchack, Melanie Nadeau, Angel Vasquez, Alexandra Hernandez-Vallant, Kyle Smith, Cuong Pham, Karen Anderson Oliver, Paulette Baukol, Karen Lizzy, Raquel Shaffer, Jalene Herron, Aimee M. C. Campbell, Kamilla L. Venner

Indigenous Health Faculty Publications

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are disproportionally impacted by the opioid overdose epidemic. There remains a dearth of research evaluating methods for effectively implementing treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) within these communities. We describe proceedings from a 2-day Collaborative Board (CB) meeting tasked with developing an implementation intervention for AI/AN clinical programs to improve the delivery of medications to treat OUD (MOUD). The CB was comprised of Elders, cultural leaders, providers, individuals with lived experience with OUD, and researchers from over 25 communities, organizations, and academic institutions. Conversations were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by two academic researchers with interpretation …

February 2, 2023: Agenda, University Of North Dakota

University Senate Meeting Minutes

Agenda for the February 2, 2023, meeting of the University Senate. 26 pages

Artificial Intelligence For Automated Detection Of Large Mammals Creates Path To Upscale Drone Surveys, Javier Lenzi, Andrew Barnas, Abdelrahman A. Elsaid, Travis Desell, Robert F. Rockwell, Susan N. Ellis-Felege

Biology Faculty Publications

Imagery from drones is becoming common in wildlife research and management, but processing data efficiently remains a challenge. We developed a methodology for training a convolutional neural network model on large-scale mosaic imagery to detect and count caribou (Rangifer tarandus), compare model performance with an experienced observer and a group of naïve observers, and discuss the use of aerial imagery and automated methods for large mammal surveys. Combining images taken at 75 m and 120 m above ground level, a faster region-based convolutional neural network (Faster-RCNN) model was trained in using annotated imagery with the labels: “adult …

Identification Of Cancer Related Risk And Protective Factors For American Indian Youth: A Mixed Studies Review, Melanie Nadeau, Kathryn Wise, Vianca Farfan Cuela, Devon Olson, Karan Saravana

Indigenous Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Many causes of cancer related morbidity and mortality can be traced back to childhood behaviors. The culmination of cancer related risk and protective factors impacting the health and wellbeing of American Indian youth is unknown. The aim of this Mixed Studies Review was to identify cancer related risk and protective factors among American Indian youth. Results will be shared with Tribal communities to inform surveillance efforts.

Methods: A Mixed Studies Review process was deemed most appropriate for the search process and data collection. 7 databases were included in the search along with 3 databases that were hand searched. Google …

Leukocytes As Mediators Of Gut-Brain Communication, Dilini Ekanayake

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Food allergies

▪ Reactions range from mild/delayed to severe/rapid. ▪ People with mild allergic reactions have increased re-exposure risks. ▪ Cow’s milk allergy tends to manifest with milder allergic reactions.

Cow’s milk allergy (CMA)

▪ CMA has been associated with behavioral and neurological disorders. ▪ How allergic inflammatory signals from the gut reach the brain is unclear

Continuous Consumption Of Whey Protein Affects Motor And Cognitive Functions In A Mouse Model Of Cow’S Milk Hypersensitivity, Geetika Verma

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Hypersensitization to a food allergen can occur in the absence of immediate allergic reactions, a condition referred to as asymptomatic sensitization. Using mice asymptomatically sensitized to a bovine whey allergen, β-lactoglobulin (BLG, Bos d 5), we have previously shown that chronic exposure to the allergen results in behavior changes with increased neuroinflammation and cortical demyelination. However, whether allergen avoidance can resolve these pathologies is unknown. Thus, we aimed to compare immunological and behavioral changes in sham- or BLG-sensitized mice with or without the removal of dietary whey after the mice had consumed either a control diet (CTL) or a whey-protein-containing …

Continued Food-Allergen Consumption Exacerbates Beta-Amyloid Accumulation In Allergen-Sensitized Appnl-G-Fmice., Afrina Brishti

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, with β-amyloid(Aβ) plaque deposition being one of the hallmark pathologies. However, the etiology of AD remains elusive. While chronic inflammation from recurrent infections or injury seems to contribute to AD development, it is unclear whether atopic diseases, such as allergies, are associated with AD. We previously reported that continuous consumption of a whey protein(WP) -containing diet led to lasting neuro inflammation in C57BL/6J mice that were sensitized but tolerant to a bovine milk allergen, β-lactoglobulin (BLG;Bosd5). Thus, we hypothesized that the persisting neuroinflammation due to repeated allergen consumption would exacerbate AD …

Histamine H3 Receptor Antagonism Mitigates Food-Hypersensitivity-Associated Depressive Behavior And Neuropathology In A Mouse Model Of Cow’S Milk Allergy, Danielle Germundson-Hermanson

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Background Histamine is best known for causing allergy symptoms, but it also regulates blood-brain barrier permeability1 and oligodendrocyte differentiation2. Thus, brain histamine levels are tightly controlled.

Previous Findings We demonstrated that histamine and histamine H3 receptor (H3R) levels were elevated in a mouse model of cow’s milk allergy (CMA) in association with intracranial mast cell activation, depression-like behaviors, and cortical demyelination3,4.

Gaps in Knowledge In humans, food allergies are often associated with neuropsychiatric disorders5-7, but the involvement of allergy induced histamine in triggering behavioral changes is unclear.

Hypothesis Repeated allergen consumption can lead to central histaminergic dysfunction through H3R, ultimately …

Continuous Consumption Of Whey Protein Maintains Neuroinflammation In A Mouse Model Of Asymptomatic Cow’S Milk Allergy, Geetika Verma

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Using a mouse model of cow’s milk allergy (CMA), we previously showed that C57BL/6J mice sensitized to a bovine whey allergen, β-lactoglobulin (BLG), exhibited anxiety/depression-like behavior and neuroinflammation in the absence of overt anaphylaxis upon allergen exposure

Milk Allergen Increases Intestinal Immune Cells In Association With Neuroinflammation And Behavioral Changes, Dilini Ekanayake

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Cow’s milk allergy (CMA)

 CMA h as been associated with neurological disorders.

 How allergic inflammatory signals from the gut reach the brain is unclear.

Telehealth Benefits In Rural Areas: Occupational Therapy, Grant E. Tolkkinen, Grace K. Torgerson, Kaitlyn J. Wanner

Critically Appraised Topics

This paper focuses on the efficacy of occupational-based interventions administered via telehealth within a rural-dwelling adult (18 years and older) population with mental health conditions. The main factors to consider in this scenario are the mental health services in rural areas, the features of the rural population, and the role of occupational therapy (OT) and telehealth in rural mental health. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework defined health management as “activities related to developing, managing, and maintaining health and wellness routines, including self-management, with the goal of improving or maintaining health to support participation and other occupation” (AOTA, 2020, p.32).