Digital Commons Network^™

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Impact On Oxidative Stress, Antioxidant Responses And Vascular Function, Kayla R. Zehr

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death, and cigarette smoking (CS) is a major risk factor for CVD. Although there are smoking cessation programs that include a combination of pharmacological and behavior treatments, failure to curb behavioral habits and pharmacological addiction leads to low cessation success rates. Thus, developing a treatment to decrease CVD risk is critical. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) decrease oxidative stress and have been shown to restore endothelial function, an indicator of CV health, in cigarette smokers. Metabolites of n-3 PUFAs have been shown to have CV-protective effects, but the mechanism by …

Of Pools, Oceans, And The Dead Sea., Samir K. Ballas

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

In a comprehensive study in this issue of Blood, Carden and colleagues describe the importance of the tonicity of IV fluids used in the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) during vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). Hypertonic fluids decreased sickle red blood cell (sRBC) deformability, increased occlusion, and increased sRBC adhesion in microfluidic human microvasculature models. Hypotonic fluids decreased sRBC adhesion but prolonged sRBC transit time. Fluids with intermediate tonicities resulted in optimal changes that reduced the risk of vaso-occlusion. © 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.

State V. Olson Respondent's Brief Dckt. 45265

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

Three Papers On Social Interactions And Labor Market Outcomes, Tian Lou

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I study the influences of social interactions on individuals’ labor market outcomes. The first chapter tests for causality in the positive relationship between teenage alcohol consumption and future earnings. Specifically, to investigate this relationship, I exploit the quasi-random variations in high school peer compositions as a treatment to teenage alcohol consumption. By using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data, I find that high school peer compositions that cause teenagers to drink more do not have significant influences on their future incomes. This provides indirect evidence that the positive relationship between teenage drinking and …

Dep’T Of Health & Human Serv.’S V. Samantha Inc., 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 100 (Dec. 14, 2017), Sara Schreiber

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under the Nevada Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the right to petition for judicial review is limited to contested cases. When Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) denies an applicant a registration certificate to operate a medical marijuana dispensary, it is not a contested case under the APA. Since it is not a contested case, the applicant cannot petition the court for judicial review.

Shue V. State Of Nevada, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 99 (Dec. 14, 2017), Margaret Higgins

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Nevada Supreme Court held that (1) under NRS 200.710(2), knowingly using a minor as the subject of a sexual portrayal in a performance, the proper unit of prosecution is one conviction per each distinct minor appearing as the subject of a sexual portrayal in a performance; (2) under NRS 200.730, the “simultaneous possession at one time and place of [multiple] images depicting child pornography constituted a single violation of NRS 200.730”; (3) the statute barring the “sexual portrayals” of minors are not overbroad and do not violate the First Amendment or the Due Process Clause of the United States …

American College Students' Perceptions Of Saudi Arabia As A Travel Destination, Majed Hader

Theses

Destination image is a critical factor for customers making a travel decision. The recent fluctuation in oil prices has forced the Government of Saudi Arabia to focus on tourism to revive its economy. The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, affected the image of Saudi Arabia in the minds of people in other countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate American college students’ perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a travel destination and to provide information to help Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority to develop marketing strategies that will attract potential tourists.

Load Balancing With Energy Storage Systems Based On Co-Simulation Of Multiple Smart Buildings And Distribution Networks, Shaun Duerr, Cristinel Ababei, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, we present a co-simulation framework that combines two main simulation tools, one that provides detailed multiple building energy simulation ability with Energy-Plus being the core engine, and the other one that is a distribution level simulator, Matpower. Such a framework can be used to develop and study district level optimization techniques that exploit the interaction between a smart electric grid and buildings as well as the interaction between buildings themselves to achieve energy and cost savings and better energy management beyond what one can achieve through techniques applied at the building level only. We propose a heuristic …

Analysing The Sentiment Expressed By Political Audiences On Twitter: The Case Of The 2017 Uk General Election, M Plummer, Ma Palomino, Gl Masala

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

A significant amount of research on the intersection of sentiment analysis and social media platforms has been published in the past few years. While previous studies have focused on methods to identify the polarity of online posts, little has been done in terms of using the impact of such posts to enhance the discovery and description of trends in real time. Here, we present a tool for the retrieval and analysis of microblogging posts in real time. We have gathered a large sample of tweets related to the 2017 UK General Election. We introduce a novel classification of the polarity …

Hodge Theory On Transversely Symplectic Foliations, Yi Lin

Mathematical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we develop symplectic Hodge theory on transversely symplectic foliations. In particular, we establish the symplectic dδ-lemma for any such foliations with the (transverse) s-Lefschetz property. As transversely symplectic foliations include many geometric structures, such as contact manifolds, co-symplectic manifolds, symplectic orbifolds, and symplectic quasi-folds as special examples, our work provides a unifying treatment of symplectic Hodge theory in these geometries.

As an application, we show that on compact K-contact manifolds, the s-Lefschetz property implies a general result on the vanishing of cup products, and that the cup length of a 2n+1 dimensional compact K-contact manifold with the …

Soft Foam Robot With Caterpillar-Inspired Gait Regimes For Terrestrial Locomotion, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Zachary T. Serlin, Piers Echols-Jones, Anthony E. Scibelli, Alexandra Cohen, Jeanne-Marie Musca, Shane Rozen-Levy, David Buckingham, Robert White, Barry A. Trimmer

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Caterpillars are the soft bodied larvae of lepidopteran insects. They have evolved to occupy an extremely diverse range of natural environments and to locomote in complex three-dimensional structures without articulated joint or hydrostatic control. These animals make excellent bio-inspiration for the field of soft robotics because of their diversity and adaptability. In this paper, we present SquMA Bot, a caterpillar-inspired soft robot. The robot's body is primarily composed of a soft viscoelastic foam, and it is actuated using a motor-tendon system. SquMA Bot is able to mimic the inching gait of a caterpillar and can use its flexible body to …

Information Security Collaboration Formation In Organisations, Safa N Sohrabi, C Maple, T Watson, Sm Furnell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Collaboration between employees in the domain of information security efficiently mitigates the effect of information security attacks on organisations. Collaboration means working together to do or to fulfil a shared goal, the target of which in this paper is the protection of the information assets in organisations. Information Security Collaboration (ISC) aims to aggregate the employees’ contribution against information security threats. This study clarifies how ISC is to be developed and how it helps to reduce the effect of attacks. The socialisation of collaboration in the domain of information security applies two essential theories: Social Bond Theory (SBT) and the …

Soundboard Scholar No. 3: Cover

Soundboard Scholar

The color portrait of Fernando Sor which appears on the cover of this issue, not previously published as far as we know, is a hand-colored version of a printed (b&w) copy of a painting—an original portrait (now lost) of Sor—by one Innocent Louis Goubeau. Before it disappeared it was copied, in the mid-1820s, by both a lithographer and an engraver, probably in response to public demand. The lithograph, according to the British Museum exemplar now online and well documented (No. 1893,0123.45), bears the attribution “Goubeau pinxit / Lith de Engelmann / Lithod par Bordes,” which means that the original painter …

Exposure To Environmental Microbiota Explains Persistent Abdominal Pain And Irritable Bowel Syndrome After A Major Flood, Nurfadhilah Yusof, Nurhazwani Hamid, Zheng Feei Ma, Rona Marie Lawenko, Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad, Deirdre Collins, Min Tze Liong, Toshitaka Odamaki, Jinzhong Xiao, Yeong Yeh Lee

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

After an environmental disaster, the affected community is at increased risk for persistent abdominal pain but mechanisms are unclear. Therefore, our study aimed to determine association between abdominal pain and poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) practices, and if small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and/or gut dysbiosis explain IBS, impaired quality of life (QOL), anxiety and/or depression after a major flood.

Results

New onset abdominal pain, IBS based on the Rome III criteria, WaSH practices, QOL, anxiety and/or depression, SIBO (hydrogen breath testing) and stools for metagenomic sequencing were assessed in flood victims. Of 211 participants, 37.9 % ( …

Animal Welfare: A Contemporary Understanding Demands A Contemporary Approach To Behavior And Training, E. Anne Mcbride, David J. Montgomery

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Contemporary understanding of One Welfare highlights the intrinsic link between animal and human welfare and ethics, regarding physical and psychological well-being as equally important. These principles apply to all animals we keep, regardless of why we keep them. One factor influencing psychological welfare is how animals are prepared for their life, including how they are taught (trained) to behave. Where such preparation is lacking or inappropriate methods are used, animals will be fearful and/or frustrated, resulting in impaired welfare, problematic behavior, and potential injury to humans and other animals. How animals are trained and by whom are the focus of …

Geographically Apart, Attitudinally Very Close: A Comparison Of Attitudes Toward Animals Between Romania And Mexico City, Alina Simona Rusu, Denisa Pop, Dennis C. Turner

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Among other regions, Romania and Mexico (particularly Mexico City) are often cited as problematic areas in surveys and reports on the growing population of stray animals in urban areas. The aim of our study was to adapt for Romanian and Spanish languages usage of an instrument that includes significant psychological and social dimensions of the attitudes toward animals (i.e., Attitudes toward Animals questionnaire [ATA]; Fehlbaum, Waiblinger, & Turner, 2010; Turner, 2010) and compare these attitudes between two countries that are confronted with similar situations regarding stray animals (dogs and cats). ATA consists of 27 statements on nature conservation, wild animals, …

The Italian Agreement Between The Government And The Regional Authorities: National Guidelines For Aai And Institutional Context, Martina Simonato, Marta De Santis, Laura Contalbrigo, Daniele Benedetti, Elisabetta Finocchi Mahne, Vincenzo Ugo Santucci, Silvio Borrello, Luca Farina

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have developed considerably in the last half century, prompting various private and public realities dealing with AAI worldwide to work on and establish standards and best practice. However, AAI are still far from being regulated harmoniously. In this context, Italy offers a unique example at world level: here the spread of AAI has set in motion an ethical and legal reflection that led to the creation of the Italian National Reference Centre for AAI (NRC AAI) by ministerial decree in 2009 and the approval of National Guidelines for AAI in 2015. The Italian legislation on AAI is …

Quality And Access To Care For Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence In Women Veterans: Population Estimate Using Electronic Health Records, Meena Marie Kim-Dopp, Vanessa Gow-Lee, Linda Ferry, Sharon Jamie, Ralph Clark, Suma Singh

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Electronic Health Records are used to measure quality indicators for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but have not been tested for sensitivity and specificity. Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) used by the Veterans Health Affairs (VHA), has active CVD clinical reminders from Healthcare Effectiveness Data & Information Set (HEDIS) that are compared nationally. San Bernardino County, CA has a 7.8% prevalence of self-reported CVD in both genders. For HEDIS measures, there is only a 4 point CVD composite score gender difference for VHA nationally, but at the Loma Linda VHA there is an 18 point gender difference (2016). Women Veterans (WV) are …

Is Engagement Alone Sufficient To Ensure “Active Learning”?, Reed Krause, Amy C. Hayton Md, Jeff Wonoprabowo, Lawrence Loo

Loma Linda University Student Journal

“Active Learning” is commonly defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process. However, active learning encompasses a broad range of educational methods and its impact on learning outcomes has been variable. In 2015, our IM clerkship redesigned its half-day learning sessions from a largely passive didactic style of lecturing to more active learning approaches. We further revised the curriculum in 2016 to further convert the sessions to primarily case based learning led by a faculty or resident. The goal of our intervention was to increase the Self-Reported Engagement Measure (STOBE) of each didactic session and improve …

Does Ecg And Arrhythmia Simulation Training In Adjunct To Didactics Improve Medical Students’ Clinical Skills Compared To Didactics Alone?, Reed Krause, Amy C. Hayton Md

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Medical Schools continue to face the challenge of bridging the gap between classroom education and its application in the clinical environment. Several studies have shown utility of incorporating simulation training into a variety of healthcare related topics. We hypothesize that incorporating ECG and arrhythmia simulation training in adjunction to ECG and arrhythmia didactics; it would improve Year-3 medical students’ preparedness for managing arrhythmias in the clinical setting.

Percutaneous Externally Assembled Laparoscopic (Peal) Donor Nephrectomy: A Cohort Pain Comparison, Tyler Miskin, Isaac Kelly, Matthew Pierce, Samuel Abourbih, Duane D. Baldwin

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Donor nephrectomies can be technically demanding. Donors also may not be fully psychologically prepared for their post-operative pain or cosmetic outcome. A novel Percutaneous Externally Assembled Laparoscopic (PEAL) paradigm was developed to decrease incisional pain and laparoscopic scars. The aim of this study is to compare the post-operative outcomes between donor nephrectomies performed with and without the PEAL instruments.

Glycemic Control In Insulin And Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetic Patients With St Elevation Predicts Time To Presentation, Jonathan Evans, David Hamilton, Tigran Khachatryan, Daniel K. Amponsah, Andrew Stewart, Islam Abudayyeh, Kenneth Jutzy, Eric Suh, Anthony Hilliard

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Worldwide, the annual number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to increase. Classically, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has been associated with silent or atypical initial symptoms and increased time to presentation in patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) compared to non-DM patients. It is less clear whether the type of treatment or the adequacy of glycemic control impacts the time to presentation and type of symptoms. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the impact of poor glycemic control on these outcomes as measured by hemoglobin A1c.

Magnetically Focused Proton Irradiation Of Small Volume Radiosurgery Targets Using A Triplet Of Quadrupole Magnets, Patrick Mcgee, Grant Mcauley, Andrew Wroe, James M. Slater, Jerry D. Slater

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Proton therapy is an advantageous choice for the irradiation of tumors in proximity of critical structures due to rapid dose fall off and high dose deposition at target compared to dose at the surface of the patient (ie, peak-to-entrance dose ratio (P/E)). However, with target fields below 1.0 cm, as often encountered in proton radiosurgery, multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) broadens proton beams leading to diminished P/E advantages and reduced dose delivery efficiency (DDE). Magnetic focusing tends to counteract MCS and is a promising method to reduce these undesirable effects. The purpose of this research is to investigate the advantages of …

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Findings In Pediatric Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Tshea Dowers, B L. Bartnik, Barbara Holshouser, Stephen Ashwal, Samuel Barnes

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Approximately 14% of school age children with sports-related concussions (SRC) remain symptomatic 3 months after injury. Previous studies have used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to detect white matter tract changes in regions of interest in symptomatic patients; however data in the pediatric population remains limited. This study was undertaken to determine whether DTI metrics can provide valuable information in pediatric mTBI patients with persistent symptoms.

Multimodality Minimally Invasive Treatment Of Large Joint Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Trial Of Stromal Vascular Fraction From Autologous Fat Combined With Platelet-Rich Plasma, Phil Giddings, Insiyah Campwala, Subhas Gupta

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that can cause severe pain in those affected. Currently, there are no therapeutic drugs available to treat osteoarthritis. While total joint arthroplasties (TJA) allow for improved function, there are no less invasive, yet effective procedures that can be done for patients unwilling or unable to undergo major surgery.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been shown to reduce the symptoms of OA when injected into the affected joint. Patients treated by this method alone have improved self-reported pain (at least a 50% reduction from original value) as well as lower extremity function. While the effects …

Identification Of Unreported Sources Of Objects Containing High Release Nickel, David J. Eng, Mary A. Rasmussen, Chandler Rundle, James K. Parker, Daniel Bergman, Sharon E. Jacob

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Globally, nickel is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Nickel is ubiquitous, and published literature continues to index items most frequently associated with Ni-ACD. Unregulated nickel exposure in North America is evident by the unprecedented rates of sensitization seen in patch-tested cohorts, 18.5% in children (ages 0-18 years) and 28.1% in adults.¹ Conservative estimates of ACD within the pediatric population suggest at least one million cases in the US yearly with roughly one-quarter of those cases due to nickel.^2-3 The United States could potentially save $5.7 billion annually in health care costs, extrapolating current cost-saving data …

The Feasibility Of Percutaneous Externally Assembled Laparoscopic Nephrectomy: A New Surgical System, Benjamin West, Jerry Thomas, Mohamed Keheila, Nazih Khater, Samuel Abourbih, Salim Cheriyan, Matthew Pierce, Duane D. Baldwin, Jim Shen

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) nephrectomy provides excellent cosmetic outcomes, but is technically challenging due to loss of triangulation and increased instrument collision. A novel Percutaneous Externally Assembled Laparoscopic (PEAL) surgical system was developed to simplify minimally invasive surgery while providing a nearly scarless outcome. In this study, the feasibility of the PEAL system for nephrectomy was determined.

Comparing The Vaginal Wall Sling With Autologous Rectus Fascia And Polypropylene Sling On Outcome And Patient Satisfaction, Mohamed Keheila, Salim Cheriyan, Jim Shen, Catalino J. Bautista, Josianne Bailey, Kevin Kim, Marina Germanos, Isaac Kelly, Matthew Pierce, Andrea Staack

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Since 2011 FDA safety update on transvaginal synthetic mesh for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP), providers are encouraged to counsel patients on risks related to synthetic mesh slings, such as dyspareunia, erosion, and extrusion. As an alternative to synthetic slings patients often choose autologous slings. We aim to compare outcome and patient satisfaction in patients, who received an autologous vaginal wall sling (VWS), rectus fascia sling (RFS), or synthetic suburethral sling (SSS) for treatment of SUI.

Assessing Dietary Advancement For Dysphagia Patients At Risk For Aspiration, Cedric Thiel, Thomas Murry, Brianna Crawley, Priya Krishna

Loma Linda University Student Journal

Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) evaluates oral intake safety by allowing direct observation of laryngeal function before and after swallowing. The purpose of this study was to delineate the impact of abnormal vocal fold mobility and altered laryngeal sensation on dietary management in hospitalized patients previously diagnosed with aspiration.

Impact Of Macra Legislation And Mips Scores On Cost Effective Analysis For Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Devices, Jeremy W. Kubiak, Subhas Gupta

Loma Linda University Student Journal

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) changes reimbursement from a fee-for-service payment system to fee-for-value. Physicians will be scored according to the quality of their care in the MIPS program and will receive a positive or negative modifier to their Medicare reimbursement based on that score.