Digital Commons Network^™

Natural History, Phenology, And Stream Use Of Hyla Plicata From The Arroyo Los Axolotes, State Of Mexico, Mexico, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, A. Hernandez Ruiz, R. Montoya Ayala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Amphibians And Reptiles Of The State Of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, A. Cruz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Amphibians And Reptiles Of The State Of Coahuila, Mexico, With Comparison With Adjoining States, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Building Sustainable Futures In The Legal Classroom, Michelle Mei Ling Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The stable functioning of Earth’s life support systems is a prerequisite for a thriving global society.1 There is however growing evidence that human impact is putting such functioning at risk. The likely impacts of global environmental change include diminishing food production, water scarcity, extreme weather, ocean acidification, deteriorating ecosystems and sea-level rise. These impacts will further undermine human well-being and long-term prosperity. 2 Present and future generations are therefore faced with unprecedented challenges and the quest to achieve sustainable futures is fraught with uncertainty

Zoonotic Transmission Of Waterborne Disease: A Mathematical Model, Edward K. Waters

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Waterborne parasites that infect both humans and animals are common causes of diarrheal illness, but the relative importance of transmission between humans and animals and vice versa remains poorly understood. Transmission of infection from animals to humans via environmental reser12

voirs, such as water sources, has attracted attention as a potential source of endemic and epidemic infections, but existing mathematical models of water borne disease transmission have limitations for studying this phenomenon, as they only consider contamination of environmental reservoirs by humans. This paper develops a mathematical model that represents the transmission of waterborne parasites within and between both animal …

Body Weight Management In Overweight And Obese Breast Cancer Survivors, Max Bulsara

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of different body weight management approaches in breast cancer survivors who are overweight or obese.

The R18 Polyarginine Peptide Is More Effective Than The Tat-Nr2b9c (Na-1) Peptide When Administered 60 Minutes After Permanent Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion In The Rat, D Milani, N Knuckey, R Anderton, J Cross, B Meloni

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

We examined the dose responsiveness of polyarginine R18 (100, 300, and 1000 nmol/kg) when administered 60 minutes after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).The TAT-NR2B9c peptide, which is known to be neuroprotective in rodent and nonhuman primate stroke models, served as a positive control. At 24 hours afterMCAO, there was reduced total infarct volume in R18 treated animals at all doses, but this reduction only reached statistical significance at doses of 100 and 1000 nmol/kg. The TAT-NR2B9c peptide reduced infarct volume at doses of 300 and 1000 nmol/kg, but not to a statistically significant extent, while the 100 nmol/kg dose …

An International Randomised Controlled Trial To Compare Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (Targit) With Conventional Postoperative Radiotherapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery For Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer (The Targit-A Trial), J Vaidya, F Wenz, M Bulsara, J Tobias, D Joseph, C Saunders, C Brew-Graves, I Potyka, S Morris, H Vaidya, N Williams, M Baum

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Based on our laboratory work and clinical trials we hypothesised that radiotherapy after lumpectomy for breast cancer could be restricted to the tumour bed. In collaboration with the industry we developed a new radiotherapy device and a new surgical operation for delivering single-dose radiation to the tumour bed – the tissues at highest risk of local recurrence. We named it TARGeted Intraoperative radioTherapy (TARGIT). From 1998 we confirmed its feasibility and safety in pilot studies.

Objective: To compare TARGIT within a risk-adapted approach with whole-breast external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) over several weeks.

Design: The TARGeted Intraoperative radioTherapy Alone (TARGIT-A) …

Overexpression And Knock-Down Studies Highlight That A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase 28 Controls Proliferation And Migration In Human Prostate Cancer, C Rudnicka, S Mochizuki, Y Okada, C Mclaughlin, P Leedman, L Stuart, M Epis, G Hoyne, S Boulos, L Johnson, M Schlaich, V Matthews

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers inmen. It is critical to identify and characterize oncogenes that drive the pathogenesis of human prostate cancer. The current study builds upon previous research showing that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)28 is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers. Our novel study used overexpression, pharmacological, and molecular approaches to investigate the biological function of ADAM28 in human prostate cancer cells,with a focus on cell proliferation andmigration. The results of this study provide important insights into the role of metalloproteinases in human prostate cancer.

The expression of ADAM28 protein levels was assessed …

Abnormal Plasma Dna Profiles In Early Ovarian Cancer Using A Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Platform: Implications For Cancer Screening, P Cohen, N Flowers, S Tong, N Hannan, M Pertile, L Hui

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) identifies fetal aneuploidy by sequencing cell-free DNA in the maternal plasma. Pre-symptomatic maternal malignancies have been incidentally detected during NIPT based on abnormal genomic profiles. This low coverage sequencing approach could have potential for ovarian cancer screening in the non-pregnant population. Our objective was to investigate whether plasma DNA sequencing with a clinical whole genome NIPT platform can detect early- and late-stage high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOC).

Methods: This is a case control study of prospectively-collected biobank samples comprising preoperative plasma from 32 women with HGSOC (16 ‘early cancer’ (FIGO I–II) and 16 ‘advanced cancer’ …

The Bipolar Ii Depression Questionnaire: A Self-Report Tool For Detecting Bipolar Ii Depression, C Leung, C Yim, C Yan, C Chan, Y Xiang, D Mak, M Fok, G Ungvari

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Bipolar II (BP-II) depression is often misdiagnosed as unipolar (UP) depression, resulting in suboptimal treatment. Tools for differentiating between these two types of depression are lacking. This study aimed to develop a simple, self-report screening instrument to help distinguish BP-II depression from UP depressive disorder. A prototype BP-II depression questionnaire (BPIIDQ-P) was constructed following a literature review, panel discussions and a field trial. Consecutively assessed patients with a diagnosis of depressive disorder or BP with depressive episodes completed the BPIIDQ-P at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Hong Kong between October and December 2013. Data were analyzed using discriminant analysis and …

Sequence Variants In The Ptch1 Gene Associate With Spine Bone Mineral Density And Osteoporotic Fractures, U Styrkarsdottir, G Thorleifsson, S Gudjonsson, A Sigurdsson, J Center, S Lee, T Nguyen, T Kwok, J Lee, S Ho, J Woo, P Leung, B Kim, T Rafnar, L Kiemeney, T Ingvarsson, J Koh, N Tang, J Eisman, C Christiansen, G Sigurdsson, U Thorsteinsdottir, K Stefansson

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a measure of osteoporosis and is useful in evaluating the risk of fracture. In a genome-wide association study of BMD among 20,100 Icelanders, with follow-up in 10,091 subjects of European and East-Asian descent, we found a new BMD locus that harbours the PTCH1 gene, represented by rs28377268 (freq. 11.4–22.6%) that associates with reduced spine BMD (P=1.0 × 10⁻¹¹, β=−0.09). We also identified a new spine BMD signal in RSPO3, rs577721086 (freq. 6.8%), that associates with increased spine BMD (P=6.6 × 10⁻¹⁰, β=0.14). Importantly, both …

The Disability Rate Of 5-Year Post-Stroke And Its Correlation Factors: A National Survey In China, Y Yang, Y-Z Shi, N Zhang, S Wang, G Ungvari, C Ng, Y-L Wang, X-Q Zhao, Y-J Wang, C-X Wang, Y-T Xiang

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Few studies on long-term functional outcome have been conducted in post-stroke patients in China. The objective of this study was to conduct a nationwide survey in China to investigate the 5-year prevalence of post-stroke disability and its correlation factors. A total of 893 patients with ischemic stroke were included. Demographic, clinical and neuro-imaging information were collected with standardized instruments that assessed stroke severity, depression, cognitive impairment, stroke recurrence and physical disability. Disability was assessed with the modified Ranking Score (mRS), of which a cutoff score _2 indicates disability. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests, two independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney U test …

Predicting Low-Risk Prostate Cancer From Transperineal Saturation Biopsies, P Van Leeuwen, A Siriwardana, M Roobol, F Ting, D Nieboer, J Thompson, Warick Delprado, A Haynes, P Brenner, P Stricker

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: To assess the performance of five previously described clinicopathological definitions of low-risk prostate cancer (PC).

Materials and Methods: Men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for clinical stage ≤T2, PSA <10 ng/mL, Gleason score <8 PC, diagnosed by transperineal template-guided saturation biopsy were included. The performance of five previously described criteria (i.e., criteria 1–5, criterion 1 stringent (Gleason score 6 + ≤5mm total max core length PC + ≤3mm max per core length PC) up to criterion 5 less stringent (Gleason score 6-7 with ≤5% Gleason grade 4) was analysed to assess ability of each to predict insignificant disease in RP specimens (defined as Gleason score ≤6 and total tumour volume <2.5mL, or Gleason score 7 with ≤5% grade 4 and total tumour volume <0.7 mL).

Results: 994 men who underwent RP were included. Criterion 4 (Gleason score 6) performed best with area under the curve of receiver operating characteristics 0.792. At decision curve analysis, criterion 4 was deemed clinically the best performing transperineal saturation biopsy-based definition for low-risk PC.

Conclusions: Gleason score 6 disease demonstrated a superior trade-off between sensitivity and specificity for clarifying low-risk PC that can guide treatment and be used as reference …

Dental Bacterial Dna Are Present In The Amniotic Cavity Of Healthy Pregnant Women At Term, S Vytla, George Mendz, J Quinlivan

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Aims: To determine if dental bacterial DNA are present in the amniotic cavity of healthy pregnant women undergoing an elective caesarean section at term utilising culture independent techniques.

Methods: Pregnant Australian women undergoing an elective caesarean section were recruited. Women completed questionnaires addressing demographics, past and current pregnancies and medical history. One high vaginal swab and three amniotic cavity swabs (amniotic fluid, newborn axilla and placental) were collected under sterile conditions. Samples were analysed using culture-independent techniques to detect the presence of predefined pathogenic bacterial taxa of the oral microbiome. Taxa isolated from the amniotic cavity swabs were compared to …

Survey Of Australian Father's Attitudes Towards Infant Vaccination: Findings From The Australian Father's Study, N Prosser, R Petersen, J Quinlivan

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: To investigate the attitudes of expectant Australian fathers towards vaccination, and to identify factors which may influence these attitudes.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of 407 Australian men with expectant partners, mean age 30.4 (SD 6.7). Self reported attitude, level of knowledge and information resources accessed regarding pregnancy related issues. Participant demographics collected included: Age, number of children, relationship status, level of education, employment information and smoking status.

Results: Majority (89%) of participants had a positive attitude towards infant vaccination, 9% felt neutral and 2% had negative attitudes. Positive attitudes towards vaccination were associated with lower self-reported knowledge …

New Techniques To Characterise The Vaginal Microbiome In Pregnancy, G Mendz, N Kaakoush, J Quinlivan

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Understanding of the vaginal microbiome in health and disease is essential to screen, detect and manage complications in pregnancy. One of the major complications of pregnancy is preterm birth, which is the leading world-wide cause of death and disability in children under five years of age. The aetiology of preterm birth is multifactorial, but a causal link has been established with infection. Despite the importance of understanding the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy in order to evaluate strategies to prevent and manage PTB, currently used culture based techniques provide limited information as not all pathogens are able to be cultured.

The …

Changing The Antibiotic Prescribing Of General Practice Registrars: The Chap Study Protocol For A Prospective Controlled Study Of A Multimodal Educational Intervention, Mieke L. Van Driel, Simon Morgan, Amanda Tapley, Lawrie Mcarthur, Patrick Mcelduff, Lucy Yardley, Anthea Dallas, Laura Deckx, Katie Mulquiney, Joshua S. Davis, Andrew Davey, Kim Henderson, Paul Little, Parker J. Magin

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Australian General Practitioners (GPs) are generous prescribers of antibiotics, prompting concerns including increasing antimicrobial resistance in the community. Recent data show that GPs in vocational training have prescribing patterns comparable with the high prescribing rate of their established GP supervisors. Evidence-based guidelines consistently advise that antibiotics are not indicated for uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and are rarely indicated for acute bronchitis. A number of interventions have been trialled to promote rational antibiotic prescribing by established GPs (with variable effectiveness), but the impact of such interventions in a training setting is unclear. We hypothesise that intervening while early-career …

Predicting Academic Success Of Health Science Students For First Year Anatomy And Physiology, R Anderton, P Chivers

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Students commencing tertiary education enter through a number of traditional and alternative academic pathways. As a result, tertiary institutions encounter a broad range of students, varying in demographic, previous education, characteristics and academic achievement. In recent years, the relatively constant increase in tertiary applications in Australia has not translated to an increase in student retention or graduate numbers. The Health Sciences discipline typically falls within this paradigm, prompting various approaches to promote academic success and overall student retention. In this study, the demographic and previous education of health science students at an Australian University, were analysed along with first year …

Wildebeest-Associated Malignant Catarrhal Fever: Perspectives For Integrated Control Of A Lymphoproliferative Disease Of Cattle In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lillian Wambua, Peninah Nduku Wambua, Allan Maurice Ramogo, Domnic Mijele, Moses Yongo Otiende

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Wildebeest-associated malignant catarrhal fever (WA-MCF), an acute lymphoproliferative disease of cattle caused by alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1), remains a significant constraint to cattle production in nomadic pastoralist systems in eastern and southern Africa. The transmission of WA-MCF is dependent on the presence of the wildlife reservoir, i.e. wildebeest, belonging to the species Connochaetes taurinus and Connochaetes gnou; hence, the distribution of WA-MCF is largely restricted to Kenya, Tanzania and the Republic of South Africa, where wildebeest are present. WA-MCF is analogous to sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF) in many aspects, with the latter having sheep as its reservoir host and a more …

Rapid And High Throughput Molecular Identification Of Diverse Mosquito Species By High Resolution Melting Analysis., Yvonne Ukamaka Ajamma, Enock Mararo, David Omondi, Thomas Onchuru, Anne W.T. Muigai, Daniel Masiga, Jandouwe Villinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Mosquitoes are a diverse group of invertebrates, with members that are among the most important vectors of diseases. The correct identification of mosquitoes is paramount to the control of the diseases that they transmit. However, morphological techniques depend on the quality of the specimen and often unavailable taxonomic expertise, which may still not be able to distinguish mosquitoes among species complexes (sibling and cryptic species). High resolution melting (HRM) analyses, a closed-tube, post-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method used to identify variations in nucleic acid sequences, has been used to differentiate species within the Anopheles gambiae and Culex pipiens complexes. We …

Cme/Cne Article: A Framework Of Care In Multiple Sclerosis, Part 1, Scott D Newsome, Philip J Aliotta, Jacquelyn Bainbridge, Susan E Bennett, Gary Cutter, Kaylan Fenton, Fred Lublin, Dorothy Northrop, David Rintell, Bryan D Walker, Megan Weigel, Kathleen Zackowski, David E Jones

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Activity Available Online: To access the article, post-test, and evaluation online, go to http://www.cmscscholar.org.

TARGET AUDIENCE: The target audience for this activity is physicians, physician assistants, nursing professionals, and other health-care providers involved in the management of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Apply new information about MS to a comprehensive individualized treatment plan for patients with MSIntegrate the team approach into long-term planning in order to optimize rehabilitation care of patients with MSAccreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) …

Fruit Fly Nutrition, Rearing And Quality Control, Samira A. Mohamed, Fathiya M. Khamis, Chrysantus M. Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tephritid fruit flies are recognized worldwide as an important threat to the horticultural industry. Most of the species belonging to this group are highly polyphagous attacking several important fruits and vegetables. They cause direct damage through larval feeding and indirect losses are associated with quarantine restrictions. The increasing awareness of the damage caused by these fruit flies to the horticultural industry has created a demand for the development of control measures based on integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, success of the majority of these control methods largely depends on the ability to establish …

Maize Landraces Are Less Affected By Striga Hermonthica Relative To Hybrids In Western Kenya, Charles A.O. Midega, John Pickett, Antony Hooper, Jimmy Pittchar, Zeyaur R. Khan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Production of maize in western Kenya is severely constrained by the parasitic weed striga. Although productivity of maize can be improved through adoption of improved varieties, adoption of such varieties remains low in the region, as the majority of smallholder farmers still grow unimproved open-pollinated varieties (landraces). The performance of two improved hybrid varieties was evaluated against six landraces in striga-infested soils in western Kenya. The varieties were planted in plots under natural striga infestation and were supplemented with pot experiments under artificial infestation. Striga emergence was lower in landraces than in the hybrid varieties in both field and pot …

Spatial Separation Of Semiochemical Lurem-Tr And Entomopathogenic Fungi To Enhance Their Compatibility And Infectivity In An Autoinoculation System For Thrips Management, David K. Mfuti, Sevgan Subramanian, Rob Whm Van Tol, Gerrie L. Wiegers, Willem J. De Kogel, Saliou Niassy, Hannalene Du Plessis, Sunday Ekesi, Nguya K. Maniania

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

BACKGROUND: The effect of spatial separation of the semiochemical Lurem-TR, which has been found to inhibit conidia of entomopathogenic fungi when put together, on the persistence of conidia of Metarhizium brunneum and M. anisopliae was evaluated in the greenhouse and field in order to develop an autodissemination strategy for the management of Megalurothrips sjostedti on cowpea crop. Influence of spatial separation of the semiochemical on thrips attraction and conidial acquisition by thrips from the autoinoculation device was also investigated in the field. RESULTS: Persistence of conidia of M. brunneum and M. anisopliae increased with distance of separation of Lurem-TR. Direct …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Bunyamwera And Ngari Viruses (Family Bunyaviridae, Genus Orthobunyavirus) Isolated In Kenya, C. Odhiambo, M. Venter, O. Lwande, R. Swanepoel, R. Sang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Orthobunyaviruses, tri-segmented, negative-sense RNA viruses, have long been associated with mild to severe human disease in Africa, but not haemorrhagic fever. However, during a Rift Valley fever outbreak in East Africa in 1997-1998, Ngari virus was isolated from two patients and antibody detected in several others with haemorrhagic fever. The isolates were used to identify Ngari virus as a natural Orthobunyavirus reassortant. Despite their potential to reassort and cause severe human disease, characterization of orthobunyaviruses is hampered by paucity of genetic sequences. Our objective was to obtain complete gene sequences of two Bunyamwera virus and three Ngari virus isolates from …

Assent Described: Exploring Perspectives From The Inside, Rebecca D. Poston

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose- The purpose of this study was to describe the informed consent and assent experience for oncology research from the perspective of the participants: adolescents, their parents, and their physician providers.

Design & Methods- This descriptive mixed-methods study included the pilot use of the Quality of Informed Consent Questionnaire (QuIC) with an adolescent population and semi-structured interviews with adolescents, their parents, and their physician providers within 48-72 hours of the informed consent and assent discussion for a pediatric oncology clinical trial and again 6-9 weeks later. Results: Adolescents and their parents scored considerably lower on part A of the QuIC …

Understanding The Problem Solving Approaches Of Special Educators Through The Lens Of Adaptive Expertise, Serra T. De Arment

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate special educators’ problem solving approaches through the lens of adaptive expertise. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used with participants of varying experience levels and teaching contexts from one Mid-Atlantic state. Participants responded to a researcher-developed survey about their orientations to problem solving (N = 162), then a purposive sample completed semi-structured interviews (N = 8). Following survey measure refinement and validation, quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, z-scores, correlation, and chi-square test of independence. Subsequently, qualitative data were analyzed through iterative cycles of hypothesis and open coding. …

The Role Of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (Nac) As An Adjuvant To Opioid Treatment In Patients With Inadequately Controlled Chronic Neuropathic Pain, Thomas B. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. While opioid medications are commonly prescribed for management of neuropathic pain (NP), long-term use has been associated with increased risk for overdose, drug interactions and addiction. New strategies are necessary to better manage chronic pain, thereby reducing need for opioid medications and their associated adverse consequences. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), an over-the-counter supplement, has shown promise in the treatment of psychiatric and addictive disorders. In addition, NAC has shown promise for reducing physiological signs of NP in laboratory rat models, prompting this study.

Purpose. The present study was an open-label clinical trial of NAC as an adjuvant to opioid treatment for …

Radioprotective Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles: Molecular Imaging Investigations Of Conps’ Pharmacokinetics, Efficacy, And Mechanisms Of Action, Philip R. Mcdonagh Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CONPs) are being investigated for several anti-oxidant applications in medicine. One of their most promising applications is as a radioprotective drug, an area of research in need due to the severe side effects from radiation therapy. In this work, the potential of CONPs as a radioprotective drug is examined using four criteria: favorable biodistribution/pharmacokinetics, low toxicity, ability to protect normal tissue from radiation damage, and lack of protection of tumor. The mechanisms of action of CONPs are also studied. Biodistribution was determined in radiolabeled CONPs with surface coatings including citrate, dextran T10-amine (DT10-NH₂), dextran T10-polyethylene …