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Selenium Status In Blood, Urine, And Hair Samples Of Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Cancer Patients, Serap Karaman, Banu Mansuroğlu, Kadri̇ye Kizilbey, Serap Derman, Afi̇fe Bi̇nnaz Hazar

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Selenium (Se) is a trace element that has multiple functions. Low Se amounts in serum and hair have been reported in pediatric and adult cancer patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate Se levels in the serum, urine, and hair of pediatric cancer patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumors when compared with healthy children. Materials and methods: The concentrations of Se in the serum, hair, and urine of 32 Turkish children as healthy controls and 88 Turkish children diagnosed with acute leukemia (58), lymphoma (16), and solid tumors (14) were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass …

R990g Polymorphism Of Calcium Sensing Receptor Gene Is Associated With High Parathyroid Hormone Levels In Subjects With Vitamin D Deficiency: A Cross-Sectional Study, Hafsa Majid, Aysha Habib Khan, Tariq Moatter

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), R990G and A986S of the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) gene, are shown to influence response of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in subjects with optimal vitamin D levels. This cross-sectional study was conducted in subjects with vitaminDdeficiency (VDD) to observe association’s betweenCaSR polymorphisms, plasma iPTH, and serumcalcium levels. Adult females (𝑛 = 140) with known VDD, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), and calcium levels were recruited for genotype analysis.The frequencies of the 986 alleles GG, GT, and TT were 68%, 25%, and 7%, respectively, whereas the frequencies of the 990 alleles AA, AG, and GG were 80%, 8.9%, and …

Medical-Legal Partnerships: Origins And Ethical Lessons, Cathryn Miller-Wilson

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction

II. Ethical Obligations Beyond Resource Limitations

III. The Medical-Legal Gap: History of Disability Claims Adjudication ... A. The Rise and Fall of the Treating Physician Rule … B. The Search for Accuracy and Consistency: Regulatory and Contractual Amendments

IV. The Medical-Legal Gap: Physician Perspectives vs. Legal Requirements ... A. Medical Definitions vs. Legal Definitions ... B. Medical Records: Doctor Goals vs. Legal Documentation Requirements ... C. Evidentiary Standards: The Legal Myth of Medically Objective Evidence ... D. Medical Records Revisited: Medical Follow-up vs. Legal Reviews

V. The Gap Widens: The Rise in Judicial Support of Nontreating Physician Evidence …

Influence Of Mycorrhizal Fungi On Soil Geochemistry And Plant Uptake Of Cadmium And Zinc: Greenhouse And Soil Studies Of Palmerton Zinc Superfund Site, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, Christian X. Figueroa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The application of bioremediation as a means to ameliorate potentially toxic metals from contaminated soils has been on the forefront of sustainable technologies in the field of environmental studies. Conventional methods available for soil remediation are employed in both in situ or ex situ and these are: soil flushing, solidification/stabilization, vitrification, electrokinetics, chemical reduction/oxidation, soil washing, and excavation. In general, these technologies are limited by their applicability to small areas and the high costs to execute. The use of biota, in particular fungi and trees, has been an emerging low-cost and "environmentally-friendly" alternative to conventional technologies. In this study, I …

Defining Cardiovascular Dysfunction In The Metabolic Syndrome: Therapeutic And Nutritional Approaches To Treatment, Sara Brooks Fournier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex disease state defined by the manifestation of a cluster of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors including, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Individuals afflicted with MetS have been demonstrated to assume the burden of a 3-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, myocardioal infarction, stroke, type II diabetes (T2DM) and all cause mortality. The national prevalence of hyperglycemia and abdominal obesity paralleled by a surge in sedentary lifestyle behavior underscore the importance of early identification and treatment of MetS. Deleterious adaptations to both vascular and myocardial structure and function have been demonstrated in MetS. …

The Effects Of Modest Improvement In Pellet Quality On Tom Turkey And Straight-Run Broiler Performance, With Focus On Experimental Design, Brian Gregory Glover

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Improving the crumble/pellet percentage of feed has been argued to be difficult to obtain in the commercial industry due to the necessity of feed mills producing adequate feed volume within a time constraint. Poultry research often utilizes small numbers of birds per pen or experimental unit that may affect the estimation of variance components, potentially producing pen performance metrics that are less valuable for industry guidance. In Experiment 1, diets were manufactured to maintain nutrient availability and vary only in crumble/pellet percentage (standard = 40% pellets, improved = 70% pellets). The two dietary treatments were then fed to Hybrid Converter …

Assessing Feeder Space Access And Commercial Phytase Production Methods On Performance Of Commercial Broilers Fed Pelleted Diets, Mark Edward Lemons

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Applied research conducted at universities is essential for further advancements in poultry science and ultimately the commercial poultry industry. One important area of applied nutrition research is examining production methods associated with the important feed additive/enzyme phytase. Exogenous phytase inclusion in poultry diets has consistently been associated with decreased diet cost, increased broiler performance, and reduction in negative environmental impact. However, thermal stability of commercial phytases are variable. Strategies for production of phytases that ultimately maintain activity after being subjected to the pelleting process is essential. Phytase manufacturers have modified production methods in an effort to maximize phytase thermal stability …

Development Of Drilling Control Technology To Reduce Drilling Noise During Roof Bolting Operations, Mingming Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Noise induced hearing loss is a serious health issue among coal mine workers. The roof bolting operation is one of the noisiest underground mining operations. It is second among all equipment in underground coal mines whose operators exceed 100% noise dosage according to MSHA data. In roof bolting, the noise generated in the roof drilling normally contributes a major proportion to the noise exposure to this particular group of miners. This study is to develop a drilling control technology to reduce noise generated during roof bolting drilling.;Previous research shows that the specific energy consumed in drilling bolt holes is inversely …

The Effects Of Parameter Tuning On Machine Learning Performance In A Software Defect Prediction Context, Benjamin N. Province

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Most machine learning techniques rely on a set of user-defined parameters. Changes in the values of these parameters can greatly affect the prediction performance of the learner. These parameters are typically either set to default values or tuned for best performance on a particular type of data. In this thesis, the parameter-space of four machine learners is explored in order to determine the efficacy of parameter tuning within the context of software defect prediction.;A distinction is made between the typical within-version learning scheme and forward learning, in which learners are trained on defect data from one software version and used …

Breast-Feeding And Postpartum Maternal Weight Trajectories, Laura Mullaney, Amy O'Higgins, Shona Cawley, Rachel Kennedy, Daniel Mccartney, Michael J. Turner

Articles

We examined whether breast-feeding, and in particular exclusive breast-feeding, was associated with maternal weight and body composition changes at 4 months postpartum independently of other maternal variables.

A Needs Assessment: Barriers To Wildland Firefighter Fitness Training, Aria E. Mangan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract:

Mangan, Aria, M.S, Spring 2015 Health and Human Performance

A Needs Assessment: Barriers to Wildland Firefighters Fitness Training

Chairperson: Dr. Annie Sondag

Introduction: Working on a wildland fire can be physically and mentally taxing. Given the physical demands of the job, fitness is a key component in keeping wildland firefighters (WLFFs) healthy and safe from injury. Unfortunately little is known about physical training (PT) programs of WLFFs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine motivators and barriers to PT in WLFFs. Personal, interpersonal, organizational and environmental factors that influence PT were identified. Strategies for overcoming barriers were …

Robust Determinants Of Reservation Wages In Colombia, Thiago Andrade Moellmann Ferro

Theses and Dissertations

First prong of this work analyzes effects of an early-shock, the 1999 Colombia Earthquake on the development of cognitive skills. Second prong analyzes the effects of professional skills on reservation wages.

The Effects Of Caffeine Supplementation On Vertical Jump Performance, Lucas Paul Bloms

Theses and Dissertations

The Effects of Caffeine Supplementation on Vertical Jump Performance. Introduction: Caffeine enhances performance of many types of exercise, but its effects on vertical jump are unclear. Purpose: To investigate the effects of caffeine on vertical jump tests on a force platform. Methods: The study was a single-blind, randomized, crossover design. Participants consumed either caffeine (5 mg/kg body weight) or placebo. After a sixty-minute waiting period participants performed three squat jumps and three countermovement jumps separated by 30 seconds each while standing on a force platform. There were two minutes of rest between the two different types of jumps. Results: In …

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Wing Color Pattern Development In Vanessa Cardui And Evolution Of The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, Heidi Connahs

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present four papers. Three explore different aspects of wing color pattern development in the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui; while the fourth examines the evolution of an epigenetic silencer complex across invertebrate animals. In the first paper, I used transcriptomics to identify patterning genes from the Drosophila wing gene regulatory network (GRN) in larval and pupal wings of V. cardui and to examine how temporal expression dynamics of this gene network correspond to expression of ommochrome and melanin pigment genes. This study identified key developmental periods of gene upregulation and highlights the temporal separation between peak …

Comparisons Of Muskrat (Ondatra Zibethicus) Trapping Efficiency And Incidental Take Of Non-Target Water Birds Using Covered And Uncovered Float Sets, Rodney Allen Gross Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) have been a highly sought after furbearer species in North Dakota because of recent pelt prices. In 2011, regulation changes allowed trappers to use float sets to trap muskrats during the spring season. The current regulations require float sets used during the spring trapping season to have a covering made of either wire mesh, wood, or plastic and must not have an opening exceeding 20.32 cm (8 in) to attempt to minimize the incidental take of non-target species. The primary goals of this project were to determine if muskrat float set covers are effective in eliminating incidental …

Voices From The Frontier: Stories Of Nurse Practitioners Working In Remote Areas, Lynn Marie Jakobs

Theses and Dissertations

Frontier communities are the most sparsely populated and geographically remote areas in the United States. Residents of these communities often lack access to healthcare resources of any kind. Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are more likely than physicians to practice in these areas and provide a vital link in the frontier healthcare safety net.

This narrative inquiry into the practice experiences of frontier NPs informs the discipline of nursing regarding the significant contribution frontier NP practice makes to the delivery of frontier healthcare. This inquiry creates a repository of stories upon which nurse leaders, health care policy makers, and nurse educators interested …

Needs Assessment Of A Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program In The Near Southside Neighborhood In Grand Forks, Nd, Derrick Lapoint

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the needs of a Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) Program to help the elderly successfully age-in-place in the Near Southside Neighborhood (NSS) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. As aging becomes increasingly an issue of concern, establishing a NHN Program in the NSS would help the elderly remain independent in their own home and community. The NHN Program is a specialized program designed to provide aging services to those who are in need through community engagement. Through surveys, data was collected in the Grand Forks Area and the NSS. The first survey was conducted …

Does Sleep Affect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (Doms) In Olympic Hockey Players?, Monique Edith Lamoureux

Theses and Dissertations

A quantitative study was conducted on the 2014 USA Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. Data was collected from the participants asking for the hours of sleep they got the previous night and how sore they were from the training on the previous day. These numbers were then analyzed to see if athletes who got less sleep reported higher soreness ratings. Results showed that two days in Training Cycle 1 had two significant p-values that coincided with the two strongest negative correlations. Training Cycle 3 had one significant p-value trending in the opposite direction of the proposed hypothesis. The hours of sleep …

Risk Factors For Cholelithiasis (Gallstones) Among Female Veterans, Mila Pak

Theses and Dissertations

Background and Purpose: Gallstones affect up to 15% of the U.S. adult population. Women are at greater risk for cholelithiasis, especially if they are overweight, over forty years of age, or have had children. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) performed 114,653 cholecystectomy surgeries with 107,975 patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis from 2008 to 2013. Female veterans may be at even greater risk for cholelithiasis. However, research with this vulnerable population is sparse. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine physiological and environmental risk factors that may be associated with cholelithiasis among female veterans.

Study Design and Theoretical Framework: This …

Gvsu Undergraduate And Graduate Catalog, 2015-2016, Grand Valley State University

Course Catalogs, 1963 - Current

Grand Valley State University 2015-2016 undergraduate and/or graduate course catalog published annually to provide students with information and guidance for enrollment.

Community Assessment Of African Maternal Health In The Portland Region: Drivers For Community, Health Services And Institutional Change, Marie-Elena Reyes, Ann Curry-Stevens

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

This community needs assessment surfaces a range of health priorities faced by the African community. While the scope of the study is limited by time and resources, and strategically focused on maternal health, there are a wider set of upstream and downstream health challenges that impede the community’s wellbeing. We encourage policy makers to remember these whenever health policies, and in fact all manner of policies and programs tied to the social determinants of health, are being considered.

The main body of this report contains the insights of the 56 African women who participated in six focus groups. Their voices …

Exploring The Underlying Mechanisms Of Comorbid Adhd And Eating Disorders, Jennifer Rebecca Bleck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evidence suggests comorbidity of ADHD and eating disorders (EDs) among females. Capitalizing on the comorbidity of ADHD and EDs and subsequent obesity could lead to improved prevention and treatment of all three conditions. However, additional information regarding the comorbidity is necessary to develop such interventions, as little is known about how or why this co-occurrence exists. A comprehensive model of the underlying mechanisms associated with comorbid ADHD and EDs is needed to improve understanding of the development of the comorbidity. Moreover, while there are gender differences within each disorder, literature is limited regarding to the comorbidity among males, leading to …

The Relation Between Adiposity And Anxiety In Youth: Analysis Of Peer Victimization, Teasing, Sociocultural Influences, And Internalization Of Appearance Ideals As Explanatory Variables, Natasha L. Burke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine putative mediators and moderators in the association between adiposity and anxiety in a sample of overweight and obese youth. In addition, anxiety was examined as a potential moderator between adiposity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Participants were youth (N = 137) between 8 and 17 years old (M = 13.09, SD = 2.61) and their legal caregivers recruited from four medical clinics affiliated with the University of South Florida. Youth were primarily overweight (28.5%) or obese (64.2%) and ethnically diverse. Data were analyzed by path analysis. Weight-related teasing significantly mediated …

Latino Immigrant Workers’ Search For Justice After Occupational Injury, Carla Gabriela Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latino immigrants encounter an entanglement of rights and policies after occupational injury or illness. In collaboration with an immigrant worker center, ethnographic research and a survey are used to analyze injured workers’ experiences. The center uses survey results to identify common threads and systematic problems, and to explore potential direct action. Through interviews with workers and medical and legal professionals, I investigate the barriers Latino immigrants face following occupational injury or illness, how their lived experiences relate to the greater medicolegal frameworks that demarcate most formal processes of compensation and treatment, and the experiences of professionals who mediate these structures. …

High-Throughput Screening Of Age-Related Changes In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Neil Copes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project was developed to identify novel methods for high-throughput culturing and screening of C. elegans to investigate age-related metabolic changes and to survey the proteomic and metabolomic factors associated with age-related changes. To accomplish these goals we developed a novel way to grow C. elegans in liquid culture in 96-well microplates for several weeks without suffering significant fluid loss due to evaporation and without needing to shake or unseal the plates for aeration. We also developed methods for assaying the total volume of live C. elegans in microplate cultures using a fluorescence microplate reader and for performing RNAi experiments …

Strategies For Preventing Age And Neurodegenerative Disease-Associated Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Vedad Delic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the development of aging phenotypes and aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Strategies that restore mitochondrial dysfunction may rescue the deficits of central metabolism in these disorders and improve cell survival. For example, we found that modulating the mTOR signaling pathway in a tissue culture model of aging-induced mitochondrial DNA mutation enhanced mitochondrial function as evidenced by increased oxygen consumption. Our previous melatonin studies also led us to hypothesize that caloric restriction and the hormone melatonin would reverse brain mitochondrial dysfunction in animal …

Maternal Stress, Breastmilk Igf-1, And Offspring Growth Among Breastfeeding Mothers-Infant Pairs In The Tampa Bay Area, Lauren Michelle Gottfredson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Maternal stress during utero has been shown to have negative health consequences on the offspring, including low birth weight and increased risk of adult disease. Variation in breastmilk may act as an environmental cue of maternal stress and continue to program the infant during early life. This research aimed to explore the role of breastmilk on developmental programming of the infant. Specifically, to examine how breastmilk may act as a medium for the exposure of stress between the mother and the offspring, and see if variation in insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) a potential mechanism for the relationship.

Methods: …

Theoretically Guided Examination Of Caregiver Strain And Its Relationship With School-Based Mental Health Services Utilization And Parent Engagement In Services, Amy Lynn Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Broadly, the purpose of this study was to address the gaps in the knowledge base of caregiver strain through an examination of this and other theoretically related constructs in a sample of parents of high-risk youth. In the last two decades, a growing body of research has pointed to the significance of strain that can result from this caregiving experience, particularly as it relates to patterns of mental health services utilization. Despite the fact that the majority of children who receive mental health receive them from the school, few studies have examined caregiver strain in the context of school-based mental …

Neuroinflammatory Alterations Via Cd-36 In Traumatic Brain Injury, Diana G. Hernandez-Ontiveros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become an increasingly unmet clinical need due to intense military conflicts worldwide. Directly impacted brain cells suffer massive death, with neighboring cells succumbing to progressive neurodegeneration accompanied by inflammatory and other secondary cell death events. Subsequent neurodegenerative events may extend to normal areas beyond the core of injury, thereby exacerbating the central nervous system’s inflammatory response to TBI. Recently CD-36 (cluster of differentiation 36/fatty acid translocase (FAT), a class B scavenger receptor of modified low-density lipoproteins (mLDLs) in macrophages, has been implicated in lipid metabolism, atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, and tissue injury in cerebral ischemia, and …

Multiple Stain Histology Of Skeletal Fractures: Healing And Microtaphonomy, John Wellington Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The forensic examination of wounds is one of the key elements of analysis performed by forensic anthropologists and forensic pathologists. Gross examination and histological analysis can be used to determine the timing of the wound and its cause. While forensic pathologists are trained to analyze hard and soft tissue wounds, forensic anthropologists, bioarchaeologists, and paleopathologists, focus on hard tissue. Forensic anthropologists have the added benefit of potentially working with residual soft tissue and would benefit from the incorporation of microscopy techniques that take advantage of the soft tissue to better understand perimortem events. Little research has been published that examines …