Digital Commons Network^™

Knowledge And Practice Of Pediatricians In Kenya Regarding Helicobacter Pylori Infection In Children., Aura Mwende Nzinga

Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common chronic bacterial infections. It affects more than half of the world’s population and is frequently associated with peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma and other extra gastrointestinal manifestations. Globally, one third of the children are infected with the highest burdens observed in low and middle income countries. In Kenya the prevalence stands at 87% among school going children and 50% in children under three years. Justification: Studies in high income countries suggest poor knowledge and practice amongst physicians with limited data from Africa. There exists conflicting information regarding the pathogenic role and …

Heterogeneity In The Prevalence Of Premature Hypertension Among Asian American Populations Compared With White Individuals: A National Health Interview Survey Study, Sina Kianoush, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Anwar T. Merchant, Xiaoming Jia, Zainab Samad, Aneil Bhalla, Ayesha Khan, Dongshan Zhu, Salim S. Virani

Section of Cardiology

Background: Differences in prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension may explain heterogeneity in cardiovascular risk across Asian American populations.
Methods: We used National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2006 to 2018 among White, Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, and 'other Asians' (Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese). Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals were reported using logistic regression models for the association between race and self-reported premature hypertension (age old). Models were adjusted for sex, education, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Results: We studied 99,864 participants with history of hypertension (mean age, …

Forage News [2022-09], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

No abstract provided.

The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard Of 2016: Intersection Of Technology And Public Understanding Of Science In The United States, Brianne Suldovsky, William K. Hallman

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Genetically modified (GM) foods have been commercially available in the US for more than two decades, yet Americans know very little about them. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016, food manufacturers will be required to disclose the presence of GM ingredients in their food products. How food manufacturers communicate with consumers about GM ingredients may have consequences for public understanding of GM technology. In Study 1, we explore how food manufacturers characterize GM ingredients within their food products on SmartLabel, a digital disclosure website established by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. In Study 2, we …

Impact Of Vitamin D Elements And Osteoporosis Factors In Postmenopausal Iraqi Women With T2dm, Howraa Alkabi, Wafaa Alfatlawi, Muhammed Aldabagh

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Osteoporosis is a systematic bone disorder characterized by bone mass loss and bone tissue architectural degeneration. The incidence of osteoporosis in women increases with age, reflecting the considerable increase in bone loss rate in postmenopausal women once estrogen loses its protective influence. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of Osteocalcin, Vitamin D, and other parameters that influence bone quality and increased bone fragility in postmenopausal Iraqi women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The levels of vitamin D receptor and vitamin D binding protein in serum are studied for the first time in our study. The …

Cognitive Impairment And Cirrhosis In Older Patients: A Systematic Review, Kabiru Ohikere, Nicolette Veracruz, Robert J. Wong

Internal Medicine Articles

Prevalence of cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in older patients receiving care in long-term care settings is unknown. This systematic review aimed to identify potential factors associated with HE and cognitive impairment in older patients with cirrhosis. A PubMed search of English-language articles published between January 1, 2000, and November 3, 2021, was conducted to identify studies in adults with cirrhosis relevant to cognitive impairment and/or HE (e.g., fall, frailty, and sarcopenia). Of 2,879 English-language publications, 24 were included. In patients with cirrhosis, falls were increased in the presence of HE and were associated with increased injury risk. Frailty was …

Superoxide Dismutase And Vitamin E Levels In Serum As Indicators In Patients With Acute And Chronic Leukemia, Reem Al-Qaisi, Abdulnasser Al-Gebori, Mohammed Alosami

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Oxidative stress has been linked to the development of a variety of malignancies, including leukemia. Furthermore, the incidence of leukemia increases with age due to an increase in the number of free radicals reacting with age and a lower ability of the immune system to detoxify those free radicals. This study aims to investigate the levels of antioxidant activity and their relationship with various types of leukemia. The current study was carried out in the Hematology section of Baghdad Teaching Hospital/Medical City from November 2020 to January 2021. Patients with leukemia (n = 60) were divided into four groups based …

Prevalence Of Non-Communicable Disease Among Adults In Tonga, Autumn Vaitohi

Ballard Brief

Non-communicable diseases, or NCDs, are a primary health issue among people in the South Pacific country of Tonga. This issue is driven by various factors, the most notable being poor consumption behaviors, sedentary living, and genetics specific to this demographic. As a result of NCDs in Tonga, the population is experiencing high morbidity and mortality rates and a decreased stability of the healthcare system, government, and economy. Therefore, implementing interventions that are multifaceted and able to address all aspects, social, legislative, physiological, environmental, and so on, of the issue is key to finding success in overcoming this health issue.

Endothelin-1 As A Novel Target For The Prevention Of Metabolic Dysfunction With Intermittent Hypoxia In Male Participants, Jacqueline K. Limberg, Sarah E. Baker, Humphrey G. Petersen-Jones, Winston Guo, An Huang, Michael D. Jensen, Prachi Singh

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

We examined the effect of intermittent hypoxia (IH, a hallmark feature of sleep apnea) on adipose tissue lipolysis and the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in this response. We hypothesized that IH can increase ET-1 secretion and plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations. We further hypothesized that inhibition of ET-1 receptor activation with bosentan could prevent any IH-mediated increase in FFA. To test this hypothesis, 16 healthy male participants (32 ± 5 yr, 26 ± 2 kg/m2) were exposed to 30 min of IH in the absence (control) and presence of bosentan (62.5 mg oral twice daily for 3 days prior). …

Redox-Engineering Enhances Maize Thermotolerance And Grain Yield In The Field, Stuart A. Sprague, Tej Man Tamang, Trevor Steiner, Qingyu Wu, Ying Hu, Tayebeh Kakeshpour, Jungeun Park, Jian Yang, Zhao Peng, Blake Bergkamp, Impa Somayanda, Morgan Peterson, Ely Oliveira Garcia, Yangfan Hao, Paul St. Amand, Guihua Bai, Paul A. Nakata, Ivo Rieu, David P. Jackson, Ninghui Cheng, Barbara Valent, Kendal D. Hirschi, Sv Krishna Jagadish, Sanzhen Liu, Frank F. White, Sunghun Park

Faculty Publications

Increasing populations and temperatures are expected to escalate food demands beyond production capacities, and the development of maize lines with better performance under heat stress is desirable. Here, we report that constitutive ectopic expression of a heterologous glutaredoxin S17 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtGRXS17) can provide thermotolerance in maize through enhanced chaperone activity and modulation of heat stress-associated gene expression. The thermotolerant maize lines had increased protection against protein damage and yielded a sixfold increase in grain production in comparison to the non-transgenic counterparts under heat stress field conditions. The maize lines also displayed thermotolerance in the reproductive stages, resulting in …

Effect Of Two Strains Of Beauveria Bassiana On The Fecundity Of Nezara Viridula L. (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Maribel Portilla, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Moukaram Tertuliano

Faculty Publications

The southern green stink bug (SGSB) Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), has become a significant pest of soybean and cotton in southern Central America and in the lower mid-southern U.S. A laboratory colony of SGSB was used to evaluate the effect of two isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) including the commercial strain GHA and the Mississippi Delta native NI8 strain on the fecundity of this pest. Water control, Tween-80, and four concentrations of each strain (n × 104, 105, 106, and 107) were evaluated. Both native and commercial isolates with the highest concentrations were susceptible to the …

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer On A Hunted Landscape, Dylan G. Stewart, William D. Gulsby, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Bret A. Collier

Faculty Publications

Resource selection in sexually dimorphic ungulates is at least partially explained by sex-specific resource requirements and risk aversion strategies. Females generally spend more time in areas with less risk and abundant, high-quality forage due to their smaller body size. However, demographically variable responses to risk are context dependent, and few have concurrently quantified male and female behavior within areas with the same resource base. We captured 111 (54 males, 57 females) adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 2009 to 2018 on a site in South Carolina, USA, where hunters were the primary source of adult mortality. We fit each deer …

Effectiveness Of Early Time-Restricted Eating For Weight Loss, Fat Loss, And Cardiometabolic Health In Adults With Obesity: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Humaira Jamshed, Felicia L. Steger, David R. Bryan, Joshua S. Richman, Amy H. Warriner, Cody J. Hanick, Corby K. Martin, Sarah Jeanne Salvy, Courtney M. Peterson

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Importance: It is unclear how effective intermittent fasting is for losing weight and body fat, and the effects may depend on the timing of the eating window. This randomized trial compared time-restricted eating (TRE) with eating over a period of 12 or more hours while matching weight-loss counseling across groups. Objective: To determine whether practicing TRE by eating early in the day (eTRE) is more effective for weight loss, fat loss, and cardiometabolic health than eating over a period of 12 or more hours. Design, Setting, and Participants: The study was a 14-week, parallel-arm, randomized clinical trial conducted between August …

Defining Relative Yield For Soil Test Correlation And Calibration Trials In The Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool, Austin W. Pearce, Nathan A. Slaton, Sarah E. Lyons, Carl H. Bolster, Tom W. Bruulsema, John H. Grove, John D. Jones, Josh M. Mcgrath, Fernando E. Miguez, Nathan O. Nelson, Deanna L. Osmond, Md Rasel Parvej, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, John T. Spargo

Faculty Publications

The Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool (FRST) will perform correlations between soil nutrient concentrations and crop response to fertilization from user-selected datasets in the FRST national database. Yield response for the nutrient of interest in a particular site-year is presented as relative yield (RY), a ratio of unfertilized yield to the maximum attainable yield (A). Several methods exist in the literature for estimating A and calculating RY but the effect of method choice on soil test correlation outcomes is undocumented. We used six published methods to calculate RY from site-year yield data for five published correlation datasets, and fit a generalized …

Association Of Cognition With Leptin And Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor In Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Mark A. Espeland, Joni K. Evans, Owen Carmichael, Jose A. Luchsinger, Santica M. Marcovina, Rebecca Neiberg, Karen C. Johnson, Steven E. Kahn, Kathleen M. Hayden

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: The 10-year intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) of the Look AHEAD study left a legacy of relative deficits in cognitive function among participants who entered the clinical trial with obesity or a history of cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that altered levels of two weight-sensitive proangiogenic cytokines, leptin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), accounted for this concerning finding. Methods: Serum leptin and VEGF concentrations were determined in 1,279 Look AHEAD participants at baseline, proximal to cessation of the interventions (Epoch 1), and an average of 4 years later (Epoch 2). Up to four standardized assessments of attention, executive function, and …

Applied Nutritional Investigationeffects Of Acute Arginine Supplementation On Neuroendocrine, Metabolic, Cardiovascular, And Mood Outcomes In Younger Men: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial, John W. Apolzan, Jesse A. Stein, Jennifer C. Rood, Robbie A. Beyl, Shengping Yang, Frank L. Greenway, Harris R. Lieberman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objectives: Arginine is an amino-acid supplement and precursor for nitric-oxide synthesis, which affects various biologic processes. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of arginine supplementation on growth hormone (GH) and metabolic parameters. Methods: Thirty physically active, healthy men (age 18–39 y; body mass index: 18.5–25 kg/m2) were randomized in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Arginine (10 g) and placebo (0 g) beverages were consumed after an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected at baseline and 1.5, 3.0, and 24 h after supplementation. The primary outcomes were serum GH and metabolomics. Also, amino acids, glucose, insulin, triacylglycerols, …

Visceral, Subcutaneous, And Total Fat Mass Accumulation In A Prospective Cohort Of Adolescents, Amanda E. Staiano, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Race and sex differences in adolescents’ body fat are demonstrated in cross-sectional cohorts, yet a longitudinal design would better identify patterns of fat distribution over time. Objectives: The aim was to examine race and sex differences in adiposity between black and white adolescents over 2 y. Methods: A cohort of adolescents aged 10–16 y (38% black; 52% girls; 15% overweight, 34% with obesity) underwent body composition measurements at baseline (n = 309) and 2 y later (n = 236), using DXA to quantify whole-body fat mass (FM) and MRI for abdominal subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volumes. …

The Protection Of Professional Esports Players Against Physical And Mental Health Problems Under The International Covenant On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights, Tsubasa Shinohara

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Aging In Hingham: A Community Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle, Shayna Gleason

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Hingham. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Hingham’s residents aged 45 or older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Department of Elder Services, the Hingham Council on Aging and Senior Center, and the Senior Center Building Committee that was appointed in 2020. As well, organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Hingham …

Validity Of An Abbreviated Individual Water Insecurity Experiences (Iwise-4) Scale For Measuring The Prevalence Of Water Insecurity In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Hilary J. Bethanancourt, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Sera L. Young

Faculty Publications

The 12-item Water Insecurity Experiences Scales provide high resolution, cross-context equivalent data on household and individual water insecurity. A 4-item, 1-minute version of the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE-4) Scale has proven useful for understanding the prevalence of household water insecurity experiences when limited resources preclude the use of the HWISE-12 Scale. Herein, we tested the validity of an analogous four-item version of the Individual Water Insecurity Experiences Scale (IWISE-4) for measuring the prevalence of individual water insecurity when limited resources prevent implementation of the IWISE-12 Scale. We used data from adults in 31 low- and middle-income countries (n …

Data Management Report September 2022, Tennessee. Department Of Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities

Compliance & System Data/Reports

This monthly report provides data on various aspects of the department's activities and programs.

Chemical Composition Of Kombucha, Peyton Bishop, Eric R. Pitts, Drew Budner, Katherine A. Thompson-Witrick

Chemistry

Kombucha is a fermented sweetened tea with a mixed fermenting culture of yeast and acetic acid bacteria. While the history of kombucha is not completely clear, it is now available around the world and has shown an increase in availability and demand in the United States market. The proponents of kombucha consumption tout the varied health benefits it can provide. The final kombucha flavor and composition is a function of both the initial tea used and the fermentation process. While the ascribed benefits are varied and numerous, the number of direct studies has been limited. This review focuses on the …

Prenatal Choline Supplementation During Maternal Obesity Alters Offspring Response To Western Diets, Hunter W. Korsmo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Maternal obesity has led to an increase in adverse offspring developmental outcomes and a greater risk for long-term metabolic diseases. Choline, a semi-essential nutrient, can be incorporated into phosphatidylcholine (PC) as well as sphingomyelin (SM) and donate its labile methyl group for the remethylation of homocysteine after choline is oxidized to betaine. Prenatal choline insufficiency has been related to maternal obesity and metabolic diseases, such as metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Choline may interact with maternal obesity to influence the programming offspring.

Chapter 1 presents an introduction of choline and the various clinical outcomes associated with choline supplementation during …

Historical Ecology Of Norse Greenland: Zooarchaeology And Climate Change Responses, Konrad Smiarowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis invokes Historical Ecology approach to better understand human impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the creation of cultural landscapes and seascapes in Norse Greenland. It also investigates climate impacts on human economic strategies, as they vary substantially by island and region in the North Atlantic but were especially important in arctic Greenland.

The analysis centers on the animal bone data and uses both existing and newly generated zooarchaeological collections to contribute to the study of Norse Greenland and its place in human ecodynamics research. The newly analyzed archaeofauna shows that the culturally Nordic European settlers used to …

The Persistence Of Exclusion In Developmental Math Courses In Community Colleges: The Search For Equity And Justice In Math Education, Dora P. Trujillo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines how minoritized community college students taking developmental mathematics courses construct their math identities and how structures within academia affect this construction. It uses interviews and a focus group with open-ended questions to look beyond the quantitative studies examining the effectiveness of math developmental courses by exploring student narratives rather than statistical data. Both curricula and pedagogies need to be de-constructed so we may bring social change through diversity to the teaching and learning of mathematics at this level, as developmental math courses have become a systematized form of marginalization. In the process of de-constructing, we also need …

Biomarker, Treatment, And Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention, Fernand A. De Los Reyes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

Biomarker, Treatment, and Socio-Demographic Factors

Affecting Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention

by

Fernand A. De Los Reyes

Advisor: Martha Velasco-Whetsell

Increasing mortality from opioid overdose and low treatment engagement are significant public health concerns. Along with increasing health care and criminal justice enforcement costs, there is an urgent need to study the factors associated with treatment retention in opioid use disorder. The study investigated the relative impact of the biomarker cholesterol on treatment retention in an opioid treatment program (OTP) clinic. Further, it examined the medical comorbidities, treatment, and socio-demographic variables that impact opioid use disorder treatment retention. This …

Dietary Regulation Of Silent Synapses In The Dorsolateral Striatum, Allison M. Meyers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Obesity and drugs of abuse share overlapping neural circuits and behaviors. Cravings for drugs of abuse increase during abstinence, a phenomenon known as incubation. In obesity, increased craving is observed in individuals during dieting. Diets often fail, with return to- or increase above- original weight. The extent to which this reflects an incubation phenomenon has not been carefully examined. One mechanism underlying incubation is the reemergence of a developmental mechanism called silent synapses. Silent synapses are 'temporary' synapses that are important for remodeling brain circuits. They are prevalent during early development but largely disappear by adulthood. Drugs of abuse increase …

A Quantitative Evaluation Of Explainable Ai Methods Using The Depth Of Decision Tree, Nizar Abdulaziz Mahyoub Ahmed, Adi̇l Alpkoçak

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

It is necessary to develop an explainable model to clarify how and why a medical model makes a particular decision. Local posthoc explainable AI (XAI) techniques, such as SHAP and LIME, interpret classification system predictions by displaying the most important features and rules underlying any prediction locally. Therefore, in order to compare two or more XAI methods, they must first be evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively. This paper proposes quantitative XAI evaluation metrics that are not based on biased and subjective human judgment. On the other hand, it is dependent on the depth of the decision tree (DT) to automatically and …

Improving The Performance Of Industrial Mixers That Are Used In Agricultural Technologies Via Chaotic Systems And Artificial Intelligence Techniques, Onur Kalayci, İhsan Pehli̇van, Selçuk Coşkun

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this study, it is aimed to show how important to apply chaotic systems and Fuzzy Logic artificial intelligence technique to increase the production performance of industrial mixers used in agriculture in terms of important criteria such as product quality, homogeneity, time, and energy saving by using. A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) controlled mixer whose all functions can be controlled by the HMI (Human Machine Interface) operator panel is designed and manufactured for experimental studies. Water, leonardite and potassium hydroxide (KOH) mixture components are mixed in a newly designed mixer in three different ways by using traditional, chaos, and artificial …

Geography, Niches, And Transportation Influence Bovine Respiratory Microbiome And Health, Jianmin Chai, Xinting Liu, Hunter Usdrowski, Feilong Deng, Ying Li, Jiangchao Zhao

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), one of the most common and infectious diseases in the beef industry, is associated with the respiratory microbiome and stressors of transportation. The impacts of the bovine respiratory microbiota on health and disease across different geographic locations and sampling niches are poorly understood, resulting in difficult identification of BRD causes. In this study, we explored the effects of geography and niches on the bovine respiratory microbiome and its function by re-analyzing published metagenomic datasets and estimated the main opportunistic pathogens that changed after transportation. The results showed that diversity, composition, structure, and function of the bovine …