Digital Commons Network^™

Ethics In A Global Biopharmaceutical Environment, Michael J. Malinowski

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Joint Kinetics Of The Ankle And Knee When Running Over Obstacles, Alan Hreljac, Nikolaos Stergiou, Shane D. Scholten

Journal Articles

When running over obstacles of increasing height, heelstrike runners switch to a forefoot landing pattern once a critical obstacle height is reached. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether ankle or knee joint kinetic variables trigger the gait change from a heelstrike to a forefoot striking pattern as obstacle height increases. Ten subjects were filmed from the sagittal plane as they ran at their preferred running speed over a force platform during six obstacle height conditions ranging from 10% to 22.5% of standing height, as well as an additional baseline condition with no obstacle (0%). An inverse …

Hispanic Physicians' Tobacco Intervention Practices: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study, Francisco G. Soto Mas, Richard L. Papenfuss, Holly E. Jacobson, Chiehwen E. Hsu, William M. Kane

Journal Articles

Background U.S. Hispanic physicians constitute a considerable professional collective, and they may be most suited to attend to the health education needs of the growing U.S. Hispanic population. These educational needs include tobacco use prevention and smoking cessation. However, there is a lack of information on Hispanic physicians' tobacco intervention practices, their level of awareness and use of cessation protocols, and the type of programs that would best address their tobacco training needs. The purpose of this study was to assess the tobacco intervention practices and training needs of Hispanic physicians.

Methods Data was collected through a validated survey instrument …

A Nonlinear Dynamic Approach For Evaluating Postural Control, James T. Cavanaugh, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Recent research suggests that traditional biomechanical models of postural stability do not fully characterise the nonlinear properties of postural control. In sports medicine, this limitation is manifest in the postural steadiness assessment approach, which may not be sufficient for detecting the presence of subtle physiological change after injury. The limitation is especially relevant given that return-to-play decisions are being made based on assessment results. This update first reviews the theoretical foundation and limitations of the traditional postural stability paradigm. It then offers, using the clinical example of athletes recovering from cerebral concussion, an alternative theoretical proposition for measuring changes in …

Excessive Tibial Rotation During High-Demand Activities Is Not Restored By Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Stavros Ristanis, Nikolaos Stergiou, Kostas Patras, Haris S. Vasiliadis, Giannis Giakas, Anastasios D. Georgoulis

Journal Articles

Purpose: Recent in vitro research has suggested that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction does not restore control of tibial rotation. The purpose of this study was to explore these findings in vivo and investigate rotational knee stability during landing and subsequent pivoting. Such an activity places higher demands on the knee, almost similar to those found during high-level sports.

Type of Study: Case control series study.

Methods: We assessed 11 patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction with the same arthroscopic technique using a bone–patellar tendon–bone graft, 11 ACL-deficient subjects who had sustained the injury more than 1 year prior to …

An Artificial Neural Network That Utilizes Hip Joint Actuations To Control Bifurcations And Chaos In A Passive Dynamic Bipedal Walking Model, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Chaos is a central feature of human locomotion and has been suggested to be a window to the control mechanisms of locomotion. In this investigation, we explored how the principles of chaos can be used to control locomotion with a passive dynamic bipedal walking model that has a chaotic gait pattern. Our control scheme was based on the scientific evidence that slight perturbations to the unstable manifolds of points in a chaotic system will promote the transition to new stable behaviors embedded in the rich chaotic attractor. Here we demonstrate that hip joint actuations during the swing phase can provide …

Electromechanical Delay Of The Knee Extensor Muscles Is Not Altered After Harvesting The Patellar Tendon As A Graft For Acl Reconstruction: Implications For Sports Performance, Anastasios D. Georgoulis, Stavros Ristanis, Anastasios Papadonikolakis, Elias Tsepis, U. Moebius

Journal Articles

Although the scar tissue, which heals the donor site defect, has different elasticity from the neighbouring patellar tissue, it remains unclear if this scar tissue can lead to the changes of the electromechanical delay (EMD) of the knee extensor muscles. If such changes do exist, they can possibly affect both the utilization of the stored energy in the series elastic component, as well as the optimal performance of the knee joint movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of harvesting the patellar tendon during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and the associated patellar tendon scar tissue …

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With A Quadrupled Hamstring Autograft Does Not Restore Tibial Rotation, Anastasios D. Georgoulis, Stavros Ristanis, Vasilis Chouliaras, Constantina O. Moraiti, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

As a result of the morbidity associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with a bone–patellar–tendon– bone graft, many orthopaedic surgeons prefer hamstrings as the graft for ACL reconstruction. However, this selection is not based on solid scientific evidence. In vitro research shows that this graft cannot restore control of tibial rotation. Our recent in vivo research work has also demonstrated the same result. In particular, patients undergoing ACL repair who were reconstructed with a quadrupled hamstring tendon graft showed excessive tibial rotation during a dynamic activity when compared with healthy control subjects. Although the hamstring tendon graft has a …

Using Three Dimensional Motion Capture Technology To Describe And Assess Piano Technique: A Case Study, Brenda Wristen, Nikolaos Stergiou, Sharon Evans

Journal Articles

The purpose of the study was to examine any differences that exist in the quality of motions employed by pianists when they are sight-reading versus performing repertoire. A secondary question of interest was whether or not an improvement in the efficiency of motion could be observed between two sight-reading trials of the same musical excerpt. While data analysis for the full study is ongoing, the following results from a case study are illustrative.

Stratification Of Alpha Ganglion Cells And On/Off Directionally Selective Ganglion Cells In The Rabbit Retina, Jian Zhang, Wei Li, Hideo Hoshi, Stephen L Mills, Stephen C Massey

Journal Articles

The correlation between cholinergic sensitivity and the level of stratification for ganglion cells was examined in the rabbit retina. As examples, we have used ON or OFF alpha ganglion cells and ON/OFF directionally selective (DS) ganglion cells. Nicotine, a cholinergic agonist, depolarized ON/OFF DS ganglion cells and greatly enhanced their firing rates but it had modest excitatory effects on ON or OFF alpha ganglion cells. As previously reported, we conclude that DS ganglion cells are the most sensitive to cholinergic drugs. Confocal imaging showed that ON/OFF DS ganglion cells ramify precisely at the level of the cholinergic amacrine cell dendrites, …

Activation Of Src Kinase Lyn By The Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus K1 Protein: Implications For Lymphomagenesis., Om Prakash, O Rama Swamy, Xiochang Peng, Zhen-Ya Tang, Li Li, Janet E Larson, J Craig Cohen, Javed Gill, Gist Farr, Suizhao Wang, Felipe Samaniego

Journal Articles

The K1 gene of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein bearing a functional immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). Previously, we reported that the K1 protein induced plasmablastic lymphomas in K1 transgenic mice, and that these lymphomas showed enhanced Lyn kinase activity. Here, we report that systemic administration of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) inhibitor Bay 11-7085 or an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody significantly reduced K1 lymphoma growth in nude mice. Furthermore, in KVL-1 cells, a cell line derived from a K1 lymphoma, inhibition of Lyn kinase activity by the Src kinase inhibitor PP2 decreased VEGF …

Cart: An Hrs/Actinin-4/Berp/Myosin V Protein Complex Required For Efficient Receptor Recycling, Qing Yan, Wei Sun, Pekka Kujala, Yasmin Lotfi, Thomas A Vida, Andrew J Bean

Journal Articles

Altering the number of surface receptors can rapidly modulate cellular responses to extracellular signals. Some receptors, like the transferrin receptor (TfR), are constitutively internalized and recycled to the plasma membrane. Other receptors, like the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), are internalized after ligand binding and then ultimately degraded in the lysosome. Routing internalized receptors to different destinations suggests that distinct molecular mechanisms may direct their movement. Here, we report that the endosome-associated protein hrs is a subunit of a protein complex containing actinin-4, BERP, and myosin V that is necessary for efficient TfR recycling but not for EGFR degradation. The …

The Effect Of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Recontruction On Lower Extremity Relative Phase Dynamics During Walking And Running, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou, Ugo H. Buzzi, Anastasios D. Georgoulis

Journal Articles

The purpose of this investigation was to use relative phase dynamics to evaluate gait in individuals with a reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during walking and running. Relative phase dynamics can describe the coordination strategies between the interacting segments at the lower extremity. Ten subjects who had undergone ACL reconstruction using the central third of their patellar tendon and ten healthy controls walked and ran on a treadmill at a self-selected pace. Relative phase dynamics were calculated for the foot–shank and shank–thigh coordinative relation- ships. Statistical differences between the groups were noted for the foot– shank relationship (p<0.05) during both walking and running and for the shank–thigh relationship (p<0.05) during walking. Our results indicate that current ACL reconstructive techniques may result in altered relative phase dynamics. These changes in relative phase dynamics could be related to a loss of sensory information about joint position and velocity that is typically provided by the intact ACL. Additionally, relative phase adaptations could be a learned response from the early stages of postsurgical rehabilitation. Relative phase dynamics provide quantitative information about the dynamic status of the ACL-reconstructed knee that cannot be gained from the conventional time-series evaluation of gait analysis data. Relative phase dynamics measures should supplement the conventional gait analysis measures that are used today for the clinical evaluation of the functional dynamic stability of the reconstructed knee. The examination of relative phase dynamics could be clinically important for the quantification of new ACL surgical interventions and of patient performance at various stages of rehabilitation. Further research should incorporate relative phase dynamics to understand the influence of ACL reconstruction on coordination and functional patient outcomes.

Prime-Boost Vaccination With Plasmid And Adenovirus Gene Vaccines Control Her2/Neu+ Metastatic Breast Cancer In Mice., Xiaoyan Wang, Jian-Ping Wang, Xiao-Mei Rao, Janet E Price, Heshan S Zhou, Lawrence B Lachman

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Once metastasis has occurred, the possibility of completely curing breast cancer is unlikely, particularly for the 30 to 40% of cancers overexpressing the gene for HER2/neu. A vaccine targeting p185, the protein product of the HER2/neu gene, could have therapeutic application by controlling the growth and metastasis of highly aggressive HER2/neu+ cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two gene vaccines targeting HER2/neu in preventive and therapeutic tumor models.

METHODS: The mouse breast cancer cell line A2L2, which expresses the gene for rat HER2/neu and hence p185, was injected into the mammary fat pad …

A Legal Remedy For Homophobia: Finding A Cure In The International Right To Health, Michael Boucai

Journal Articles

This article argues that the international right to health obligates governments to combat homophobia. Part One presents the powerful evidence that stigma, prejudice, and violence directed toward lesbian and gay people drastically endanger their physical and mental well-being. Part Two defends an expansive interpretation of the international right to health. Applying this interpretation, Part Three proposes that gay men and lesbians are entitled to demand that their governments to eliminate all public and much private discrimination against gay men and lesbians, and requires them to combat homophobia through education and other positive efforts. Acknowledging that this obligation is unlikely to …

The Impact Of Current Policy And Regulation On Future Stem Cell Human Health Applications, Michael J. Malinowski

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Could Biobanking Be A Means To Include "Health Care Have-Nots" In The Genomics Revolution?, Michael J. Malinowski

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Are Filipina/Os Asians Or Latina/Os?: Reclaiming The Anti-Subordination Objective Of Equal Protection After Grutter And Gratz, Victor C. Romero

Journal Articles

In this piece, I explore two avenues of political action - self-identification for affirmative action purposes and longer-term solutions to educational inequity - in an attempt to develop a coherent and effective post-Grutter and Gratz strategy for promoting equal educational opportunities consistent with the demands of equal protection. I use the experiences of Filipina/o-Americans as a vehicle for exploring these issues. I hope to show that diversity as the underlying goal of affirmative action fails to capture the core of modern equal protection jurisprudence implicit in Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia: that treating all …

Rethinking Minority Coalition Building: Valuing Self-Sacrifice, Stewardship And Anti-Subordination, Victor C. Romero

Journal Articles

This essay provides an alternative to the conventional self-interest model of coalition building to explore one that relies instead on the three concepts of self-sacrifice, stewardship, and anti-subordination, addressing anticipated counterarguments and providing concrete examples of how this model might work.

The Vocation Of International Arbitrators, Catherine A. Rogers

Journal Articles

This Essay examines the vocation of the international arbitrator. I begin by evaluating, under sociological frameworks developed in literature on Weberian theories of the professions, how the arbitration community is organized and regulated. Arbitrators operate in a largely private and unregulated market for services, access to which is essentially controlled by what might be considered a governing cartel of the most elite arbitrators. I conclude my description with an account of how recently international arbitrators have begun to display a professional impulse, meaning efforts to present themselves as a profession to obtain the benefits of professionalization. Professional status is often …

Regulating International Arbitrators: A Functional Approach To Developing Standards Of Conduct, Catherine A. Rogers

Journal Articles

Some scholars have protested that arbitrators are subject to less exacting regulation than barbers and taxidermists. The real problem with international arbitrators, however, is not that they are subject to less regulation, but that no one agrees about how they should be regulated. The primary reason for judicial and scholarly disagreement is that, instead of a coherent theory, analysis of arbitrator conduct erroneously relies on a misleading judicial referent and a methodologic failure to separate conduct standards (meaning those norms or rules that guide arbitrators' professional conduct) from enforcement standards (meaning those narrow grounds under which an arbitral award can …

The Ecology Of Breastfeeding, Kim Diana Connolly

Journal Articles

This essay reflects on the ecological advantages of breastfeeding, and argues that that laws promoting and supporting breastfeeding should be included among laws labeled as “environmental.”

Baseline Measures Are Altered In Biomechanical Studies, Nikolaos Stergiou, Melissa Scott

Journal Articles

The purpose of this investigation was to examine if baseline measures are altered between conditions in biomechanical studies and to determine the need for baseline measurements in biomechanics. Ten runners were asked to run at varying speeds and obstacle heights. Baseline measures were acquired between all conditions. Right lower extremity kinematic and kinetic data were collected for all baseline trials and evaluated by both a group and a single subject analysis. The group analysis revealed significant differences between baselines only for the obstacle perturbation. The single subject analysis indicated that baseline measures are altered in a greater degree for kinematics …

Detecting Altered Postural Control After Cerebral Concussion In Athletes With Normal Postural Stability, James T. Cavanaugh, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Carol Giuliani, Stephen Marshall, Vicki S. Mercer, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Objective: To determine if approximate entropy (ApEn), a regularity statistic from non-linear dynamics, could detect changes in postural control during quiet standing in athletes with normal postural stability after cerebral concussion.

Methods: The study was a retrospective, case series analysis of centre of pressure (COP) data collected during the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) from NCAA Division I (USA) athletes prior to and within 48 h after injury. Subjects were 21 male and six female athletes from a variety of sports who sustained a cerebral concussion between 1997 and 2003. After injury, athletes displayed normal postural stability equivalent to preseason levels. …

Robotic Surgery Training And Performance, Kenji Narazaki, D. Oleynikov, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Background: To understand the process of skill acquisition in robotic surgery and to allow useful real-time feedback to surgeons and trainees in future generations of robotic surgical systems, robotic surgical skills should be determined with objective variables. The aim of this study was to assess skill acquisition through a training protocol, and to identify variables for the quantification of proficiency.

Methods: Seven novice users of the da Vinci Surgical System engaged in 4 weeks of training that involved practicing three bimanual tasks with the system. Seven variables were determined for assessing speed of performance, bimanual coordination, and muscular activation. These …

A Template For The Exploration Of Chaotic Locomotive Patterns, Max J. Kurz, Nikolaos Stergiou, Jack Heidel, E. Terry Foster

Journal Articles

Inverted pendulum and spring-mass models have been successfully used to explore the dynamics of the lower extremity for animal and human locomotion. These models have been classified as templates that describe the biomechanics of locomotion. A template is a simple model with all the joint complexities, muscles and neurons of the locomotor system removed. Such templates relate well to the observed locomotive patterns and provide reference points for the development of more elaborate dynamical systems. In this investigation, we explored if a passive dynamic double pendulum walking model, that walks down a slightly sloped surface (γγ was increased, …

Make-Believe Families And Whiteness, Judy Scales-Trent

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Predicting Childhood Sexual Or Physical Abuse: A Logistic Regression Geo-Mapping Approach To Prevention., Roland K. Tadoum, Kamila Smolij, Michelle A. Lyn, Craig W. Johnson

Journal Articles

This study investigates the degree to which gender, ethnicity, relationship to perpetrator, and geomapped socio-economic factors significantly predict the incidence of childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse and non- abuse. These variables are then linked to geographic identifiers using geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop a geo-mapping framework for child sexual and physical abuse prevention.

Using Technology To Teach Technology: Design And Evaluation Of Bilingual Online Physician Education About Electronic Medical Records., Sarah R. Edmonson, Adol Esquivel, Pallavi Mokkarala, Craig W. Johnson, Cynthia L. Phelps

Journal Articles

The "EMR Tutorial" is designed to be a bilingual online physician education environment about electronic medical records. After iterative assessment and redesign, the tutorial was tested in two groups: U.S. physicians and Mexican medical students. Split-plot ANOVA revealed significantly different pre-test scores in the two groups, significant cognitive gains for the two groups overall, and no significant difference in the gains made by the two groups. Users rated the module positively on a satisfaction questionnaire.

Comparison Of Accuracy Captured By Different Controlled Languages In Oral Pathology Diagnoses, Jung-Wei Chen, Catherine Flaitz, Todd Johnson

Journal Articles

This project was comparing the accuracy of capturing the oral pathology diagnoses among different coding systems. 55 diagnoses were selected for comparison among 5 coding systems. The results of accuracy in capturing oral diagnoses are: AFIP (96.4%), followed by Read 99 (85.5%), SNOMED 98 (74.5%), ICD-9 (43.6%), and CDT-3 (14.5%). It shows that the currently used coding systems, ICD-9 and CDT-3, were inadequate, whereas the AFIP coding system captured the majority of oral diagnoses. In conclusion, the most commonly used medical and dental coding systems lack terms for the diagnosis of oral and dental conditions.