Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Intense End-Of-Life Care Among Children And Young Adults With Advanced Hematologic Malignancies, Sophia Mun

Public Health Theses

Background: Studies suggest that children, adolescents, and young adults (AYAs) with advanced cancer receive intense end-of-life (EOL) care. This is particularly true for patients with hematologic malignancies. Yet, it is unclear who is at highest risk for receiving intense care.

Methods: We used the Premier Healthcare Database to perform a population-based analysis of patients aged 0-39 years at death with hematologic malignancies who died between 2010-2017. We defined intense EOL care as: receipt of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), intubation, hemodialysis, or tracheostomy within the last 30 days of life; more than one emergency room (ER) visit within the last 30 days …

Assessing The Effect Of The Fto (Rs9939609) Gene On Weight Loss Among Breast Cancer Survivors Enrolled In The Lifestyle, Exercise, And Nutrition (Lean) Study, Hien Thai Nguyen

Public Health Theses

Abstract: Background: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the Fat, Mass, and Obesity associated (FTO) gene, rs9939609, is significantly associated with obesity and individual variability in weight loss achieved by diet/lifestyle interventions. However, study results on the effect of the FTO gene on weight loss remains inconsistent. This study aims to examine the moderating effects of the FTO SNP rs9939609 on weight loss achieved by a lifestyle intervention in breast cancer survivors. Methods: Breast cancer survivors with a body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2 were randomized to the LEAN 6-month intervention, which included eleven 30-min counseling sessions focused on reducing …

The Effects Of Rurality And Cost Of Transportation On Time Of Evolution And Disease Complexity At Diagnosis For Cutaneous Leishmaniasis In Colombia, Miguel Paredes

Public Health Theses

Patients in Colombia affected by cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) face significant geopolitical and socioeconomic barriers to accessing diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to understand how the geosocial characteristics of a patient’s area of residence affect time to medical consultation and disease status at consultation. An observational cross-sectional study was performed of individuals with CL who consulted at a local clinical referral center (CIDEIM) in Cali and Tumaco, Colombia. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable simple and ordinal logistic regression analyses were done to examine how area of residence (urban or rural) and cost of transportation to the nearest urban center may influence …

Quantifying The Burden Of Contact Precautions Of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (Cre) In Hospital Settings, Carolyn Park

Public Health Theses

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a group of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) that is currently considered an important and urgent public health concern due to their high mortality rates, antibiotic resistance, and their potential for rapid transmission. These pathogens are more commonly seen in healthcare-associated infections with some also occurring in the community. This study focused on distinguishing CRE into two distinct groups based on resistance mechanism: carbapenemase-producing CRE (CP-CRE) and non-CP-CRE. In order to determine if testing for carbapenemase can be useful in infection prevention, we aimed to quantify the total hospitalization in days per patient within a 90-day follow-up …

Randomized Trial Of Weight Loss On Ghrelin Levels Among Breast Cancer Survivors, Leah Puklin

Public Health Theses

Purpose: Obesity is associated with increased breast cancer risk and mortality. Ghrelin is a hormone that participates in a negative feedback loop to regulate body weight. Understanding the impact of an individualized, sustainable, dietary and exercise weight-loss intervention on circulating ghrelin levels could provide insight on weight control mechanisms among overweight and obese breast cancer survivors.

Methods: The Lifestyle, Exercise, and Nutrition (LEAN) randomized controlled trial was a 6-month weight loss trial conducted to examine the effect of a weight loss intervention versus usual care on outcomes in 151 breast cancer survivors with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Fasting blood samples …

Associations Between Mindful Eating Techniques And Gestational Weight Gain, Yuqing Shang

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the extent to which the use of mindful eating techniques is associated with gestational weight gain among a clinic-based sample of pregnant women.

Methods: Four hundred and forty-eight pregnant women in their second trimester of pregnancy participated in the Expect With Me group care study and were selected for this secondary analysis. Sociodemographic and general health data was collected at baseline. Mindfulness practice was measured based on frequency of performing mindful thinking and mindful eating techniques in the third trimester. The main outcome was excessive average weekly gestational weight gain, which was determined using the guidelines …

Analysis Of Entomological Surveillance Data To Predict West Nile Virus Cases In Connecticut, Lena Marie Tayo

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: Since 1999, West Nile Virus (WNV) has been identified in a wide variety of mosquito species. Seasonal epidemics occur in the summer in all regions of the United States, with varying degrees of intensity and spread. In Connecticut, the state mosquito surveillance system for WNV has been conducted since 2000, collecting entomological and site data, and acting as an early warning system for potential human disease risk.

AIMS: Re-analysis of the epidemiology of WNV in Connecticut after years of established endemicity will be conducted using recent mosquito surveillance and human case data. A predictive model will also be developed …

Strengthening Maternal, Infant And Young Child Feeding Training And Education Delivery In Ghana, Madelynn Raye Tice

Public Health Theses

Objective: To document the maternal, infant and young child feeding (MIYCF) training and education system within Ghana and identify key factors influencing MIYCF training and education delivery by health care providers.

Design: A qualitative study that utilized in-depth interviews.

Setting: The study was conducted within the Central Region of Ghana.

Participants: Fourteen health care providers that served as MIYCF trainers or educators were included in this study.

Analysis: Interviews were conducted in English, audio recorded, and then transcribed. A grounded theory approach was used to create a conceptual model of the themes that emerged from the interview. Half of the …

Nut And Peanut Butter Consumption And Risk Of Prostate Cancer In The Nih-Aarp Diet And Health Study, Mimi (Trucmai) Nu Ton

Public Health Theses

Background: While nuts and their related nutrients have been inversely associated with some cancers, the association between nut consumption and prostate cancer has been inconsistent.

Methods: We conducted an analysis of the association between nut and peanut butter consumption and risk of incident prostate cancer among 173,243 men in the prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. There was a total of 18,619 incident prostate cancer cases during the 16 years of follow-up. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards regression for intake of nuts, peanut butter, and total nuts (nuts plus peanut butter), …

Average Time To Negativity Of New Alere Ultra-Sensitive Rapid Diagnostic Test After Treatment For Malaria., Azan Zahir Virji

Public Health Theses

Malaria remains one of the most challenging infections globally. Malaria RDTs have had the largest impact on malaria detection in recent years with almost 245 million RDTs delivered globally. (1) They work by detecting either the histidine-rich protein (HRP2) or the Plasmodium lactate-dehydrogenase (pLDH). (2) Following a malaria infection, the HRP2 and pLDH antigens often circulate in the blood stream for several weeks. (3) As new RDTs are constantly being developed, each with a better sensitivity, specificity and lower limit of detection than its predecessor, the need to understand the persistence of their positivity, following a malaria infection, remains. The …

Exploring Pharmaceutical Waste Prevention And Disposal Practices In Nurse Populations, Natasha Wasim

Public Health Theses

Objective: This research study aimed to explore pharmaceutical waste prevention and disposal practices in nurse populations.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was employed through the Qualtrics survey system. The survey questions were designed to probe knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of nurses towards pharmaceutical waste. Participants included intensive care unit nurses

and perioperative nurses in the Yale New Haven Health System.

Results: A total of 104 surveys were collected. Nurses were asked about the importance of proper waste disposal, and 95.2% of nurses (N=99/104) believed that appropriate waste disposal is important to “protect the environment health.” The survey also asked about …

Prion Epidemiology And The Npdpsc’S Experience With Rt-Quic, Aleksandra Wrona

Public Health Theses

Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, constitute a wide array of invariably fatal rapidly progressive neurodegenerative illnesses that affect both humans and animals. The gold standard of diagnosis for these diseases is through neuropathologic examination of brain tissue following autopsy. In September 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added positive real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) test result as a likely indicator of certain human prion diseases. With high sensitivity and specificity approaching 100%, RT-QuIC has quickly become one of the most powerful antemortem diagnostic tools.

This paper will demonstrate why changes in diagnostic criteria and reporting metrics are …

State Vaccination Policies And Coverage For Adolescent Vaccines In The United States, 2017, Anthony Edward Yakely

Public Health Theses

Background: The wide-ranging nature of state vaccination requirements for school entry allows for suboptimal coverage of adolescent vaccination as well as missed opportunities where some adolescent vaccinations are received but not all of them. Variation exists both in the types of exemptions that are allowed and the process that is required to obtain an exemption. State-level policies have been shown to be associated with childhood vaccination coverage, but far fewer studies have examined adolescent vaccine coverage.

Methods: HPV, MenACWY, and Tdap vaccine receipt and demographic data from the 2017 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) Public Use Dataset were combined with data …

Modeling The Policy Impact On The Dynamics Of Tobacco Product Use, Tianzhou Yu

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Objective

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. While the proportion of the U.S. population that uses combustible tobacco products has been declining over the past decade, use of e-cigarettes among youth and young adults has risen. Our objective was to model the prevalence of tobacco product use in 10 years given the current policy environment and project product use patterns if new policies are adopted.

Methods

Using data from the literature, we constructed a microsimulation model for the period 2015 – 2025 with the following Markov states: combustible use only, e-cigarette use only, dual use, former use, …

Epigenetic Silencing Rna Methylation Machinery Fto And Mettl3 Associate With Patient Survival In Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma, Jiaxun Zhao

Public Health Theses

Purpose: RNA methylation eraser FTO and writer METTL3 play important roles in human diseases by regulating gene expression. However, the potential of FTO and METTL3 as markers in renal clear cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate differential expression of FTO and METTL3 in CCRCC vs. normal kidney tissues, the association of FTO and METTL3 expression and methylation with and their interaction of FTO and METTL3 expression in patient survival in CCRCC.

Method: FTO and METTL3 expression and methylation, the clinicopathologic data were retrieved from a publicly accessed dataset of The Cancer Genome …

Using Volatile Organic Compounds In Exhaled Breath As A Biomarker For Early Lung Cancer Detection: A Systematic Review, Jieqiong Zhou

Public Health Theses

Lung cancer has become the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths globally. The major problem of the high mortality rate is the late diagnosis. Conventional methods utilized for clinical detection of lung cancer have employed expensive and invasive medical procedures that cause stress, discomfort, and pain to patients, and have demonstrated low sensitivity, substantial false negatives, and risk of radiation exposure. The drawbacks obviate their applicability to large-scale, population-wide screening efforts. This paper reviews the applications of using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath as a potential approach for early lung cancer detection.

An …

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Breast Cancer Risk Prediction Using Uk Biobank Data., Xiaorui Zhu

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Both genetic and clinical risk factors play roles in breast cancer onset. Developing comprehensive and accurate breast cancer prediction model will enable effective identifications of individuals at high risk, and facilitate personalized decision on screening and preventive strategy.

Objectives: Develop a risk prediction model for breast cancer including both genetic and clinical risk factors, and quantify the benefit of adding polygenic risk score (PRS) in risk prediction.

Methods: Analysis was based on data collected through the UK Biobank which consist of 13,851 breast cancer cases and 206,865 controls. The clinical factors that we considered include baseline demographics, lifestyles, family …

Unprocessed Food Sustainability, Kelsey Gengo, Dylan Bartlett, Mickayla Buisch, Katie Sheehan

Student Work

This article shows the differences in sustainability of a diet consisting of unprocessed food or processed food. The effect on trophic levels was considered as well as economical, environmental, and social effects.

Industrialized Countries Do Not Equal Increased Food Sustainability, Jennifer Bodzon, Kristen Ladue, Kirsten Schwegmann, Connor Thayer

Student Work

No abstract provided.

Discovery Of Adults Linked To Cloning Oceanic Starfish Larvae (Oreaster, Asteroidea: Echinodermata), Daniel Janies, Yoalli Quetzalli Hernández-Díaz, Francisco Alonso Solís-Marín, Karen Lopez, Boyan Alexandrov, Madeline Galac, Joan Herrera, Janessa Cobb, Thomas A. Ebert, Isidro Bosch

Biology

Two juvenile specimens of a new species of Oreaster were collected at Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes and Triángulos Oeste in the southern Gulf of Mexico. DNA of mitochondrial loci identifies them as members of the same clade as cloning larvae of Oreaster found abundantly in waters of the Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, and distinct from Oreaster clavatus and Oreaster reticulatus, the two known Oreasteridae species in the North Atlantic. Larvae from the new species of Oreaster persist as clones but also metamorphose and settle to the benthos with typical asteroid morphology. © 2019 The University of Chicago.

Knowing Is Half The Battle: Assessments Of Both Student Perception And Performance Are Necessary To Successfully Evaluate Curricular Transformation, Tarren J. Shaw, Suann Yang, Troy R. Nash, Rachel M. Pigg, Jeffrey M. Grim

Biology

Student-centered pedagogies increase learning and retention. Quantifying change in both student learning gains and student perception of their experience allows faculty to evaluate curricular transformation more fully. Student buy-in, particularly how much students value and enjoy the active learning process, has been positively associated with engagement in active learning and increased learning gains. We hypothesize that as the frequency of students who have successfully completed the course increases in the student population, current students may be more likely to buy-in to the curriculum because this common experience could create a sense of community. We measured learning gains and attitudes during …

Selective Mortality And Malnutrition In India, Pallavi Panda

School of Business

India presents itself as a paradox with low infant mortality and high malnutrition. This paper provides survival bias as an explanation of the paradox. Using pooled health surveys from 1993 to 2005 and a pseudo-panel selection model, this study finds that the change in Height-for-Age Z-Scores (HAZ scores) can be explained by mortality selection. Specifically, children with sample average characteristics that survive have 17.4% less HAZ scores than a child randomly drawn from the population indicating an overestimation of malnutrition in India. This is consistent with the hypothesis of weaker children surviving due to skilled delivery which pulls down the …

Winning And Losing In Investor-State Arbitration, Tim Samples

Scholarly Works

As tensions between investors’ rights and sovereign power escalate, investor-state dispute settlement has become a focal point of backlash and controversy. As a result, ISDS now embodies two opposing currents in international law: (i) the erosion of sovereignty that accompanied economic globalization, trade frameworks, and investment treaties following the Second World War and (ii) more recently, reassertions of sovereignty prompted by recent backlashes against the global economic order. This Article measures and evaluates outcomes of the ISDS system for sovereign participants. Using the best available data, this Article contributes more detailed assessments of sovereign winners (home states of claimants) and …

Building By Right: Social Equity Implications Of Transitioning To Form-Based Code, Daniela A. Tagtachian, Natalie N. Barefoot, Adrienne L. Harreveld

Articles

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of A Threshold Shock Sensor: Combining Bi-Stability And Triboelectricity, Daniel S. Nelson, Alwathiqbellah Ibrahim, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

A proof of concept of a triboelectric threshold shock sensor and its characterization are presented. Shock sensors are used in many applications in the automotive, shipping and other industries, mainly to determine if acceleration thresholds are met. Many shock sensors are only mechanical, so the only way to know if the threshold has been reached is to physically check the device. There are noticeable advantages of using triboelectric transduction and bi-stability to create a shock sensor. By combining a buckled-beam structure and a triboelectric generator, we created a proof of concept of a tunable threshold shock sensor. The sensor generates …

The Divergent Effects Of Cdppb And Cannabidiol On Fear Extinction And Anxiety In A Predator Scent Stress Model Of Ptsd In Rats, John Shallcross, Peter Hámor, Allison R. Bechard, Madison Romano, Lori Knackstedt, Marek Schwendt

Psychology

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) currently has no FDA-approved treatments that reduce symptoms in the majority of patients. The ability to extinguish fear memory associations is impaired in PTSD individuals. As such, the development of extinction-enhancing pharmacological agents to be used in combination with exposure therapies may benefit the treatment of PTSD. Both mGlu5 and CB1 receptors have been implicated in contextual fear extinction. Thus, here we tested the ability of the mGlu5 positive allosteric modulator 3-Cyano-N-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)benzamide (CDPPB) and cannabidiol (CBD) to reduce both conditioned and unconditioned fear. We used a predator-threat animal model of PTSD which we and others have …

Editor’S Note, David Granger

School of Education

No abstract provided.

The African Development Bank, Organized Hypocrisy, And Maternal Mortality, Jamie M. Sommer, John M. Shandra, Michael Restivo, Holly E. Reed

Sociology

We draw on the theory of organized hypocrisy and examine how different forms of lending by the African Development Bank affect maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. We do so by using a two-way fixed effects model for a sample of 33 Sub-Saharan African nations from1990 to 2010. We find that the bank’s structural adjustment lending in the health sector is associated with increased maternal mortality, and its reproductive health investment lending is associated with decreased maternal mortality, consistent with the organized hypocrisy approach. These findings remain stable and consistent even when controlling for World Bank lending and other relevant control …

Coarse Particulate Matter Exposure And Inflammation, Emilie Elizabeth Davis

Public Health Theses

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, and environmental exposures, such as air pollution, contribute to the risk of CVD. While previous studies have found that fine particles, PM 2.5, are associated with CVD risk, fewer studies have considered the effect of coarse particles, PM 10-2.5, on CVD risk and the possible biological mechanism through which this environmental exposure could increase CVD risk. Methods This analysis examines the association between ambient concentrations of PM 10-2.5 and a marker of CVD risk in a cohort of midlife women. Annual questionnaire and clinical data were …

Board 78: Establishing A Pathway To Completion For Pursuing Engineering And Engineering Technology Degrees Through A Scholarship Program At Old Dominion University, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Anthony W. Dean, Kim Bullington Sibson, Cynthia Tomovic, Rafael Landaeta

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

There are various barriers facing adult students and veterans completing engineering degrees. Many of these student’s work part- or full-time while in college. In order to help these students, enable high retention rates, and decrease time to graduation require an in-depth understanding of specific student populations, especially ones classified as underrepresented. This paper provides an initial look into the first year of a scholarship program, funded by the National Science Foundation, and student success activities designed to support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology. Support services and scholarships are for veterans …