Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Cognitive Status Of Older Adults Attending Primary Healthcare Centers In Saudi Arabia Using The Mini-Mental State Examination, Sulaiman A. Alshammari, Adel A. Alhamdan, Saad M. Bindawas, Maysoon M. Al-Amoud, Saada M. Al-Orf, Philip C. Calder

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To assess the cognitive status of older adults in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multistage, stratified study of older individuals (≥60 years of age) attending primary healthcare centres in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between January 2015 and April 2017. We collected data using a structured questionnaire, which incorporated questions regarding demographic and anthropometric variables, the Arabic version of Mini-Mental State Examination, the Mini-Nutritional Assessment tool, and the Modified Katz Index of Independence in activities of daily living. Results: Of the 1299 participants, 914 (70.4%) were male, with a mean age of 66.2 ± 5.9 years. Approximately 79.1% of …

Comment On: The Current Practice Of Using Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors And Angiotensin Ii Receptor Blockers In Diabetic Hypertensive And Non-Hypertensive Patients. Is There A Room For Vitamin D?, Ali S. Jawad

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 4, Number 12, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Ana Gutierrez Zubiate, Ignacio Santana

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Training Needs Assessment Of Health Care Professionals In Reproductive, Maternal And Newborn Health In A Low-Income Setting In Tanzania, Columba Mbekenga, Eunice Pallangyo, Tumbwene Mwansisya, Kahabi Isangula, Loveluck Mwasha, James Orwa, Micheal Mugerwa, Michaela Mantel, Leonard Subi, Secilia Mrema, David Siso, Edna Selestine, Marleen Temmerman, Grace Edwards

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Healthcare delivery globally and particularly in low-income setting is challenged by multiple, complex and dynamic problems. The reproductive, maternal and newborn health (RMNH) care is among the most affected areas resulting into high maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity across the Sub Saharan region and Tanzania in particular. However, under-investment in adequate education and training of health care providers (HCPs) is reported worldwide and contributes to the critical shortages, and lack of adequate knowledge and skills among HCPs. The aim of this study was to assess the training needs among HCPs of RMNH care in selected health facilities …

Risk Factors Contributing To The Development Of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Among Preterm Infants, Caitlin E. Bradley

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a pulmonary disease that affects infants born < 32 weeks gestational age. Despite improved survival among preterm infants, the incidence and severity of BPD has not improved, rather the features and severity of BPD have evolved (Abman et al., 2017). BPD is a disease that has significant impact on the outcomes of preterm infants, including poor pulmonary and neurodevelopmental outcomes (Abman et al., 2017). Since its identification in 1967, and many iterations to its defining criteria, healthcare practitioners are unable to accurately predict infants’ risk of developing BPD. Further, there is significant family, social, and economic impacts from BPD. This dissertation research examined risk factors for BPD, as identified in a mid-range theory developed from a systematic review of the literature. This mid-range theory is framed using the Neuman Systems Model (NSM) (2011). The research utilized a secondary analysis of data from a database including a cohort of infants born at < 32 weeks’ gestation (n=455) treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. Findings from this research demonstrated that multiple intrapersonal risk factors are associated with development of BPD and the grades of BPD severity including gestational age, birth weight, surfactant administration, necrotizing enterocolitis, infections, mechanical ventilation duration, and patent ductus arteriosus. This research adds to the current body of research by demonstrating specific risks associated with BPD. Findings of this research could be used to identify maternal infant dyads that would benefit from early therapy(s) to reduce BPD risk.

Promoting The Sustainability Of The Gulf Of Maine Recreational Groundfish Fishery Through Discard Mortality Estimation, Mitigation, And Outreach, Connor W. Capizzano

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Recreational fishing (i.e., angling), a popular leisure activity that provides socio-economic benefits to human societies around the world, can represent a significant source of fishing mortality and impact fish populations and marine ecosystems. Although fish are often released by recreational anglers to reduce fishing mortality rates, the efficacy of discarding fish is often criticized given that fish can die from the factors experienced during the capture, handling, and release process (i.e., discard mortality). Despite this recognition, the rate at which fish suffer discard mortality in specific commercial and recreational fisheries is often unknown and difficult to obtain due to logistical …

Diminishing And Preventing Homelessness: A Managerial Audit Of Santa Clara County Nonprofit Organizations Addressing Homelessness, Sergio J. Gonzalez

Master's Projects

While the problem of homelessness intensifies in the United States, the search for solutions becomes increasingly crucial. As the number of homeless people in Santa Clara County, California continues to surge, various sections of government and nonprofit organizations have intensified their search for ways to reduce the problem. There have been many proposed ideas for a solution, such as policy options and emergency measures to address local crises. For example, the city of San Jose, California, has opened a “bridged housing” community, allocating 80 tiny homes with beds, a desk, and air conditioning in two locations to serve as temporary …

Nutrition At Tipu: A Comparative Analysis Of Juvenile Health In Maya Populations, Sydnie A. Bianchi

Master's Theses

The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17^th century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, …

Validation Of An Inertial-Measurement-Unit System For Calculating Hip And Knee Flexion Angles During Gait, Joonsun Park

Master's Theses

Technological advances regarding Inertial Measurements Units (IMUs) have positioned this type of sensor as an alternative for camera-based motion capture. This study introduces a new IMU based system (IMU_sys) to measure hip and knee flexion angles. PURPOSE: To validate the use of a five-sensor IMU_sys for the measurement of knee and hip flexion angles during gait in adults and pediatrics at two different time points. METHODS: Bilateral hip and knee flexion patterns (LH, RH, LK, and RK) of twenty-two healthy participants (12 adults and 10 pediatric) between the ages of 8 – 35 years were investigated. Participants …

Immunogenetic And Tolerance Strategies Against A Novel Parasitoid Of Wild Field Crickets, Kristin L. Sikkink, Nathan W. Bailey, Marlene Zuk, Susan L. Balenger

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Among the parasites of insects, endoparasitoids impose a costly challenge to host defenses because they use their host’s body for the development and maturation of their eggs or larvae, and ultimately kill the host. Tachinid flies are highly specialized acoustically orienting parasitoids, with first instar mobile larvae that burrow into the host’s body to feed. We investigated the possibility that Teleogryllus oceanicus field crickets employ postinfestation strategies to maximize survival when infested with the larvae of the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea. Using crickets from the Hawaiian …

Montclair Magazine (Fall/Winter 2020), Montclair State University

Montclair: The magazine of Montclair State University

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Neurocognitive And Educational Outcomes Of Neonatal Insults In Kilifi, Kenya, Dorcas N. Magai, Hans M. Koot, Paul Mwangi, Esther Chongwo, Charles R. Newton, Amina Abubakar

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Background: There is little data on the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes among school-aged survivors of neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in Africa. This study investigates the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes and the correlates of these outcomes in school-aged survivors of NNJ or HIE in Kilifi, Kenya.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on neurocognitive and educational outcomes among school-aged survivors (6–12 years) of NNJ (n = 134) and HIE (n = 107) and compared them to a community comparison group (n = 134). We assessed nonverbal intelligence, planning, working memory, attention, syntax, pragmatics, wordfinding, …

Color-Induced Aroma Illusion: Color Cues Can Modulate Consumer Perception, Acceptance, And Emotional Responses Toward Cooked Rice, Shady Afrin Jeesan, Han-Seok Seo

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since rice is often cooked in many countries with different types of ingredients or seasonings, the surface colors of traditional rice meal items vary across cultural backgrounds. This study aimed to determine whether consumer perception, acceptance, willingness to eat, and emotional responses toward cooked rice samples could differ with their surface color cues. Milled rice was cooked with one of three food colorants: yellow, orange, and green, with milled (white) and un-milled (brown) rice cooked without colorants used as respective test and filler samples. Using a check-all-that-apply method, 98 rice consumers checked all aroma attributes they perceived by sniffing each …

Designing Law To Enable Adaptive Governance Of Modern Wicked Problems, Barbara A. Cosens, J.B. Ruhl, Niko Soininen, Lance Gunderson

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the twenty-first century, our planet is facing a period of rapid and fundamental change resulting from human domination so extensive it is expected to be visible in the geologic record. The accelerating rate of change compounds the global social-ecological challenges already deemed “wicked” due to conflicting goals and scientific uncertainty. Understanding how connected natural and human systems respond to change is essential to understanding the governance required to navigate these modern wicked problems. This Article views change through the lens of complexity and resilience theories to inform the challenges of governance in a world dominated by such massive and …

How Do Food Shopping Behaviors Differ Between High-Income And Low-Income Shoppers In The Grand Rapids Metropolitan Area?, Alison M. Cooney

Masters Theses

Background: The social determinants of health and health equity are influenced by access, environment, and socioeconomic status (SES). Health inequities are preventable and can be avoided with systemic policy change surrounding the distribution of wealth and resources. Few studies have researched the differences in different income levels and the influence income has on food shopping behaviors.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in food shopping behaviors between high-income and low-income shoppers living in the same zip code. Subjects Sixty-eight individuals who live in the 49341 zip code which represents a small city in Kent County, …

Sane, Manipulative Self-Harm: When Hostage And Hostage Taker Become One, John R. Fitzgerald

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Running And Physical Activity In An Air-Polluted Environment: The Biomechanical And Musculoskeletal Protocol For A Prospective Cohort Study 4haie (Healthy Aging In Industrial Environment—Program 4), Daniel Jandacka, Jaroslav Uchytil, David Zahradnik, Roman Farana, Dominik Vilimek, Jiri Skypala, Jan Urbaczka, Jan Plesek, Adam Motyka, Denisa Blaschova, Gabriela Beinhauerova, Marketa Rygelova, Pavel Brtva, Klara Balazova, Veronika Horka, Jan Malus, Julia Freedman Silvernail, Gareth Irwin, Miika T. Nieminen, Victor Casula, Vladimir Juras, Milos Golian, Steriani Elavsky, Lenka Knapova, Radim Sram, Joseph Hamill

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Far too little attention has been paid to health effects of air pollution and physical (in)activity on musculoskeletal health. The purpose of the Healthy aging in industrial environment study (4HAIE) is to investigate the potential impact of physical activity in highly polluted air on musculoskeletal health. A total of 1500 active runners and inactive controls aged 18–65 will be recruited. The sample will be recruited using quota sampling based on location (the most air-polluted region in EU and a control region), age, sex, and activity status. Participants will complete online questionnaires …

Entry-Level Workplace Competencies Needed By Graduates Of A Community College Agriculture Program: A Midwest Case Study Using The Delphi Technique, Blake Colclasure

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Community colleges have a strong history of providing vocational education and occupational training to meet changing workforce demands of local industries. In the Midwest, agricultural industries have expressed an expanding need for middle-skilled workers with postsecondary, prebaccalaureate credentials. The 21st century agricultural landscape has changed as a result of the need for efficiency and sustainability, and resulting emergent agricultural technologies. Community colleges will be integral to establishing a qualified agriculture workforce for entry-level, middle-skilled positions. This study utilized a modified Delphi approach to identify entry-level workplace competencies needed by graduates of a community college agriculture program. Delphi panel experts represented …

Potential Mentoring Impacts On Oklahoma Induction-Year School-Based Agricultural Education Teachers: A Modified Delphi Study, Jessica M. Toombs, Jon W. Ramsey

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Literature supports benefits of mentoring for induction-year school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers. Yet for the past 15 years, no structured mentoring program has been offered for Oklahoma SBAE induction-year teachers. This study sought to find consensus among an expert panel representing Oklahoma SBAE regarding the impact on induction-year SBAE teachers without a structured mentoring program. Panel members were asked to respond to three open-ended questions representing goals, outcomes, and impacts of a mentoring program. Sixty-two unique statements representing eight themes met consensus. Themes included building mentoring relationships, effective emotional management, effective SBAE program management, impact to the profession, student learning, …

Potential Overfeeding Among Formula Fed Special Supplemental Nutrition Program For Women, Infants And Children Participants And Associated Factors, Christopher E. Anderson, Catherine E. Martinez, Alison K. Ventura, Shannon E. Whaley

Kinesiology and Public Health

Background: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides enough formula to meet the known nutritional needs of infants up to 6 months of age whose mothers report not breastfeeding, but many mothers report WIC providing insufficient formula, indicating potential overfeeding.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of potential overfeeding among formula-feeding WIC participants and identify associated factors.

Methods: Potential overfeeding was identified among participants of the longitudinal Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (ITFPS-2) receiving the fully formula feeding WIC infant package at 1 month of age (n = 1235, weighted n = 197 079). Associations …

An Examination Of Meat Consumption As A Pro-Environmental Behavior And Its Weak Correlation To Delay Discounting, Sarah Parkinson

Theses

This study presented meat consumption as an environmentally relevant behavior (ERB) and examined how the delay to an environmental loss might affect peoples’ decisions to eat meat. Participants completed a delay discounting survey where they selected what percentage of meat they would eliminate from their diet based on varying delays to rising sea levels flooding of their neighborhood. After watching a brief educational video, participants completed the survey a second time to examine whether the video had any influence on discounting rates in the post-survey. Participants also completed the 27-Item Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ; Kirby & Marakovic, 1996) in order …

The Effect Of Nutritional Programming On Gut Microbiota In Broodstock And Progeny Fish, Samuel Patula

Theses

Aquaculture is currently the fastest growing animal production sector. Because the aquaculture sector is growing at rapid rates, certain materials for feed, specifically marine protein sources, are becoming increasingly expensive and unsustainable. To counteract the reliance on fishmeal (FM) and other marine protein sources in the industry plant protein (PP), specifically soybean meal (SBM), has been investigated to replace FM as a protein source. Unfortunately, SBM when given in high quantities (greater than 30%) has been shown to negatively affect fish performance including retarded growth, intestinal inflammation, reduction of spawn quality, as well as dysbiosis in the gut microbiome, most …

Efficacy Of The Nutritional Supplement, Evenflo, In The Management Of Sickle Cell Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Richard Muga, Arthur Ajwang, James Ouma, Josephine Ojigo, Juliana Otieno, Peter Okoth, Caroline Wafula, Sophia Ajwang, David Ogolla, Abraham Hollist, James Adefisoye

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Background: In this study, we investigated if a combination of the nutraceutical supplement, EvenFlo and folic acid will be superior to the standard stand-alone use of folic acid.

Methods: We conducted a randomized double-blind, active-controlled, clinical trial. A total of 70 subjects with SCD ages 5-12 years were enrolled into the study with 35 in the intervention group and 35 in the control group; 61 completed the trial (32 from the intervention group and 29 from the control group).

Results: Participants in the intervention group were significantly less likely to experience crises compared to subjects in the control group. None …

Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Measurements Of Tissue Perfusion And Metabolism, Keith Michel

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging (HP MRI) is an emerging modality that enables non-invasive interrogation of cells and tissues with unprecedented biochemical detail. This technology provides rapid imaging measurements of the activity of a small quantity of molecules with a strongly polarized nuclear magnetic moment. This polarization is created in a polarizer separate from the imaging magnet, and decays continuously towards a non-detectable thermal equilibrium once the imaging agent is removed from the polarizer and administered by intravenous injection. Specialized imaging strategies are therefore needed to extract as much information as possible from the HP signal during its limited lifetime.

In …

Genetic And Clinical Determinants Of Racial/Ethnic Differences In Multiple Myeloma Susceptibility And Outcomes Focusing On Hispanics, Alem Belachew

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Multiple Myeloma (MM) constitutes 10% of diagnosed hematologic malignancies in the US, with over 12,000 deaths recorded each year. Race/ethnicity is a well-known MM risk factor, where individuals of African descent have over 2- to 3-fold increased risk of incidence compared to those of European descent. Additionally, Hispanics are diagnosed approximately three years younger than white American counterparts, for unknown reasons. Differences in clinical phenotype are also present for MM patients by ancestry, including varying rates of common initiation mutations such as IgH translocations and TP53 mutation between patients of European and African descent. Studies have begun to interrogate the …

Reversal Of Neurodegeneration By Engineered Monocytes In Alzheimer’S Disease, Chao-Hsien Chen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The health challenges posed by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continue to grow as societies age worldwide. Accumulation of Tau-associated pathology correlates with clinical cognitive deterioration in AD. Resident myeloid cells within the central nervous system (CNS) have a limited capacity to uptake and degrade Tau; however, the resulting secretion of proinflammatory cytokines only acts to accelerate neurodegeneration. Therapeutic antibodies can reduce the neurotoxic oligomeric form of Tau (o-Tau), but in doing so they also aggravate inflammation. Attenuating mutation of the antibody Fc region can silence inflammation but also eliminates its capacity to mediate o-Tau clearance by CNS myeloid cells. Thus, there …

Great Expectations: Phosph(On)Ate Prodrugs In Drug Design—Opportunities And Limitations, Victoria Yan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Phosphate and phosphonates are chemical moieties with historical precedence in anticancer and antiviral nucleotide analogues. Synchronous to modern efforts identifying novel therapeutic targets in cancer, such chemical moieties are being investigated in the design of novel inhibitors with antineoplastic potential. A central challenge to the delivery of phosph(on)ate-containing drugs is their anionic character at physiological pH, which portends poor membrane permeability. This limitation has been successfully overcome through the use of prodrugs. When attached to the phosph(on)ate moiety, prodrugs mask the negative charge and easily enable cell permeability. Upon cellular entry, the promoieties are enzymatically or environmentally cleaved to unveil …

Decoding The Evolutionary Response To Prostate Cancer Therapy Using Plasma Genome Sequencing, Naveen Ramesh

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Investigating genome evolution in response to therapy is difficult in human tissue samples due to the difficulty in accessing metastatic tumor sites and logistical challenges of collecting longitudinal samples. To overcome these issues, we developed an unbiased whole-genome plasma DNA sequencing approach called PEGASUS that concurrently measures genomic copy number and exome mutations from archival cryostored plasma samples. This approach was applied to study longitudinal blood plasma samples from prostate cancer patients. A molecular characterization of archival plasma DNA from 233 patients and genomic profiling of 101 patients identified clinical correlations of aneuploid plasma DNA profiles with poor survival, increased …

Ionic Mechanism Of Lysosomal Function And Cell Metabolism, Jian Xiong

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Two Pore Channels (TPCs) are endolysosomal ion channels that are permeable to sodium and calcium. Defects in TPCs have been implicated to impair vesicle trafficking, autophagy and cell metabolism control; however, the detailed mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, I show that TPCs are critical for appropriate cargo delivery to the lysosomes and deletion of either TPC1 or TPC2 leads to delayed clearance of autophagosomes, resulting in enlarged lysosomes and accumulated contents inside the lysosomes. Cells with both TPC deleted also exhibit 50% reduction in lysosomal amino acids under normal culture conditions, leading to reduced homeostatic mTORC1 activation.

Glutamine …

Providing Head Start Services Amid A Global Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Explanatory Study Of Capacity, Resources, And Support, Kelly L. Vigants

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic altered education in dramatic ways including immediate building closures and the implementation of virtual instruction. In March of 2020, Michigan faced a statewide shutdown on all non-essential travel as Michiganders were ordered to “Stay Home. Stay Safe.” Head Start began to provide remote services to families and students. Head Start lead teachers were charged with using virtual methods to teach their students. With little direction in the beginning and many unknowns, Head Start lead teachers used innovative methods to promote family engagement.

This study used a mixed method, explanatory sequential design to evaluate the most effective methods …