Digital Commons Network^™

Building A Culture Of Health Through A Laundromat-Based Health Educational Intervention Focused On Women's Fertility, Pregnancy, And Health-Seeking Behaviors, Roxanne Mirabal-Beltran

Sigma Foundation for Nursing Research Grant Reports

This grant funded Building a Culture of Health through a Laundromat-Based Health Educational Intervention Focused on Women's Fertility, Pregnancy, and Health-Seeking Behaviors, a study to assess the efficacy of a reproductive health educational intervention (EI) in Washington, District of Columbia (WDC) laundromats. Laundromats provide services to community members who predominantly identify as biological females (women) of lower socio-economic backgrounds. Patrons generally have time to engage and interest in a short EI while waiting for laundry and visit their local laundromats regularly.

A Delicate Balance Between Antibody Evasion And Ace2 Affinity For Omicron Ba275, Jiandong Huo, Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc, Chang Liu, Daming Zhou, Helen M Ginn, Raksha Das, Piyada Supasa, Muneeswaran Selvaraj, Rungtiwa Nutalai, Aekkachai Tuekprakhon, Helen M E Duyvesteyn, Alexander J Mentzer, Donal Skelly, Thomas G Ritter, Ali Amini, Sagida Bibi, Sandra Adele, Sile Ann Johnson, Neil G Paterson, Mark A Williams, David R Hall, Megan Plowright, Thomas A H Newman, Hailey Hornsby, Thushan I De Silva, Nigel Temperton, Paul Klenerman, Eleanor Barnes, Susanna J Dunachie, Andrew J Pollard, Teresa Lambe, Philip Goulder, Optic Consortium, Isaric4c Consortium, Elizabeth E Fry, Juthathip Mongkolsapaya, Jingshan Ren, David I Stuart, Gavin R Screaton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have caused successive global waves of infection. These variants, with multiple mutations in the spike protein, are thought to facilitate escape from natural and vaccine-induced immunity and often increase in affinity for ACE2. The latest variant to cause concern is BA.2.75, identified in India where it is now the dominant strain, with evidence of wider dissemination. BA.2.75 is derived from BA.2 and contains four additional mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Here, we perform an antigenic and biophysical characterization of BA.2.75, revealing an interesting balance between humoral evasion and ACE2 receptor …

Assessing Ecosystem Health Through Contaminants In The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Nancy Torres

Theses

Although the Tijuana River Estuary (TRE) remains the largest, most-intact coastal wetland in Southern California, it has a history of major changes, much of this related to its location immediately north of the US / Mexico Border. One of the primary challenges is cross-border flows from the rapidly growing city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the delivery of wastewater, debris, and sediment to sensitive coastal wetland ecosystems. There is a need to more fully investigate these environmental changes to assess the ecosystem health of the Tijuana River Estuary over time, especially related to pollution impacts. This can inform an …

Persistent Reshaping Of Cohesive Sediment Towards Stable Flocs By Turbulence, M Yu, X Yu, Aj Mehta, Aj Manning, F Khan, S Balachandar

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractCohesive sediment forms flocs of various sizes and structures in the natural turbulent environment. Understanding flocculation is critical in accurately predicting sediment transport and biogeochemical cycles. In addition to aggregation and breakup, turbulence also reshapes flocs toward more stable structures. An Eulerian–Lagrangian framework has been implemented to investigate the effect of turbulence on flocculation by capturing the time-evolution of individual flocs. We have identified two floc reshaping mechanisms, namely breakage-regrowth and restructuring by hydrodynamic drag. Surface erosion is found to be the primary breakup mechanism for strong flocs, while fragile flocs tend to split into fragments of similar sizes. Aggregation …

A Review Of Biodegradable Plastics From Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Winnie Courtene-Jones, Falco F De, Imogen E. Napper

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Joint Spatiotemporal Models To Predict Seabird Densities At Sea, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, James T. Thorson, Katherine J. Kuletz, Gary S. Drew, Sarah K. Schoen, Daniel A. Cushing, Caitlin Kroeger, William J. Sydeman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Seabirds are abundant, conspicuous members of marine ecosystems worldwide. Synthesis of distribution data compiled over time is required to address regional management issues and understand ecosystem change. Major challenges when estimating seabird densities at sea arise from variability in dispersion of the birds, sampling effort over time and space, and differences in bird detection rates associated with survey vessel type.

Methods: Using a novel approach for modeling seabirds at sea, we applied joint dynamic species distribution models (JDSDM) with a vector-autoregressive spatiotemporal framework to survey data collected over nearly five decades and archived in the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird …

The Hepatic Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier As A Regulator Of Systemic Metabolism And A Therapeutic Target For Treating Metabolic Disease, Kyle S Mccommis, Brian N Finck

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Pyruvate sits at an important metabolic crossroads of intermediary metabolism. As a product of glycolysis in the cytosol, it must be transported into the mitochondrial matrix for the energy stored in this nutrient to be fully harnessed to generate ATP or to become the building block of new biomolecules. Given the requirement for mitochondrial import, it is not surprising that the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) has emerged as a target for therapeutic intervention in a variety of diseases characterized by altered mitochondrial and intermediary metabolism. In this review, we focus on the role of the MPC and related metabolic pathways …

Nonhuman Primate Genetic Models For The Study Of Rare Diseases, Eric J Vallender, Charlotte E Hotchkiss, Anne D Lewis, Jeffrey Rogers, Joshua A Stern, Samuel M Peterson, Betsy Ferguson, Ken Sayers

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Pre-clinical research and development relies heavily upon translationally valid models of disease. A major difficulty in understanding the biology of, and developing treatments for, rare disease is the lack of animal models. It is important that these models not only recapitulate the presentation of the disease in humans, but also that they share functionally equivalent underlying genetic causes. Nonhuman primates share physiological, anatomical, and behavioral similarities with humans resulting from close evolutionary relationships and high genetic homology. As the post-genomic era develops and next generation sequencing allows for the resequencing and screening of large populations of research animals, naturally occurring …

Mutations In The Transcriptional Regulator Mecp2 Severely Impact Key Cellular And Molecular Signatures Of Human Astrocytes During Maturation, Jialin Sun, Sivan Osenberg, Austin Irwin, Li-Hua Ma, Nigel Lee, Yangfei Xiang, Feng Li, Ying-Wooi Wan, In-Hyun Park, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, Nurit Ballas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mutations in the MECP2 gene underlie a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, most commonly Rett syndrome (RTT). We ask whether MECP2 mutations interfere with human astrocyte developmental maturation, thereby affecting their ability to support neurons. Using human-based models, we show that RTT-causing MECP2 mutations greatly impact the key role of astrocytes in regulating overall brain bioenergetics and that these metabolic aberrations are likely mediated by dysfunctional mitochondria. During post-natal maturation, astrocytes rely on neurons to induce their complex stellate morphology and transcriptional changes. While MECP2 mutations cause cell-intrinsic aberrations in the astrocyte transcriptional landscape, surprisingly, they do not affect the neuron-induced …

Effect Of Histology On Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Oligometastatic Pulmonary Lesions, Alexander J. Allen, Dominic A. Labella, Roman O. Kowalchuk, Michael R. Waters, Charles R. Kersh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is commonly used to provide targeted treatment to metastatic lung disease. Investigation is needed to understand the influence of histology on treatment outcomes. We report how tumor histology affects local control (LC) in a cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving SBRT for oligometastatic and recurrent pulmonary lesions.

METHODS: Patients who received SBRT to recurrent or oligometastatic NSCLC pulmonary lesions from 2015-2019 at our institution were included in this retrospective cohort study. Minimum follow-up was 2 months. Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis was performed to assess local progression-free survival (LPFS). Local failure cumulative incidence …

Measures Of Carotid Atherosclerosis And Fall-Related Hospitalization Risk: The Perth Longitudinal Study Of Ageing Women, Abadi K. Gebre, Marc Sim, Jack Dalla Via, Alexander J. Rodríguez, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Catherine P. Bondonno, Peter L. Thompson, Richard L. Prince, Joshua R. Lewis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and aims: We and others have identified links between cardiovascular conditions and poor musculoskeletal health. However, the relationship between measures of carotid atherosclerosis such as focal carotid plaque and common carotid intima media thickness (CCA-IMT) and falls remains understudied. This study examined the association between measures of carotid atherosclerosis and fall-related hospitalization over 11.5 years in community dwelling older women. Methods and results: 1116 older women recruited in 1998 to a five-year randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of calcium supplementation in preventing fracture and who had undertaken B-mode ultrasound in 2001 (three years after the baseline clinical …

Development Of Android-Based Mobile Learning On Ecosystem Materials To Increase The Interest In Learning Elementary School Students, Linda Setiawati, Asep Sunandar, Muhammad Zidni Ilman Nafi’A, Ediyanto Ediyanto, Melor Md Yunus

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

The development of mobile learning ecosystem materials for elementary school students aims to produce a learning media that aims to support teachers in delivering learning materials in class while increasing interest in learning. Research and Development (R&D) is the research method used, and the Lee and Owens model is the development model used in this development. The results of this mobile learning development were validated by the validator with an average percentage of 94.5%. The results of this validation indicate that the resulting mobile learning is valid or feasible to use in the learning process in order to increase student …

Cumulative Experience Of Educational Assets From Preschool Through First Grade And The Social-Emotional Well-Being Of English- And Spanish-Speaking Children, Tutrang Nguyen, Tara Hofkens, Robert C. Pianta, Jessica V. Whittaker, Virginia E. Vitiello, Erik A. Ruzek

Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education

Children’s social and emotional experiences influence brain development and are therefore central to outcomes of behavior, learning, and health. The current study examined associations between children’s cumulative educational assets in the early grades and end of first grade social-emotional outcomes for children from English- and Spanish-speaking families. Data were drawn from a sample of preschool-aged children (N = 1,132) from low-income families in a large, culturally, and linguistically diverse sample followed annually from pre-kindergarten through first grade. A multi-method, multi-informant approach was used to assess predictor and outcome variables. Results indicate overall that cumulative experiences of educational assets (teacher-student interaction …

Promoting Health And Wellness In Young Children: Preschool Assessment, Bruce A. Bracken, Lea A. Theodore

Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education

Children’s formative development is most critical during the preschool years. It is during the earliest years of a child’s life when the fundamental building blocks of learning, cognitive development, academic achievement, information processing, language, and interpersonal skills are acquired and developed. Preschools are well suited to shape children’s overall health and well-being, with burgeoning research demonstrating a relationship between early life experiences and subsequent adult health. Preschool and quality daycare provide rich opportunities for children’s learning, yielding long-lasting and significant effects. Comprehensive preschool assessment sheds light on aspects of the whole child, providing early identification of potential problems and the …

Positive Development For Preschooler Well-Being, Melissa Bray, Cheryl Maykel

Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education

The intent of this special section on promoting mind-body health in preschoolers is to review the related areas of assessment, intervention, and physical health care practices. The preschool years are a time of critical development, growth, and vulnerability. Growth trajectories put in place and supported across settings can lead to positive outcomes. However, these can be interrupted during periods of trauma. It is at these times that the overall wellness of these youth requires careful support. This introduction reviews preschool mind-body health development, assessment, and intervention within a cultural context, both as part of typical development and in the case …

Abrupt Shift Or Caught Off Guard: A Systematic Review Of K-12 Engineering And Stem Education’S Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ibrahim Delen, Tugba Yuksel

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

In the past hundred years, there have been a number of pandemics that have affected the entire world, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. While responses to the most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic remained local, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, resulted in long-term school closures all around the world, prompting a sudden shift to distant education by compelling K-12 educators and students to do so. The purpose of this study is to find out how K-12 education studies reacted to the sudden shift in supporting engineering and …

What Did We Learn About Vads In 2022?, Maya Guglin

The VAD Journal

This is our 9^th annual literature review on mechanical circulatory support devices. Our previous reports were well received by the readers.

In this paper, we summarized the most interesting and important, from our standpoint, publications from 2022. There may be some slight overlap with the end of 2021 because some papers were published online first, and the year of the publication changed when they became available in print.

For the sixth time, we wrote a section on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) which primarily addresses new developments in veno-arterial ECMO.

Readers who wish to supplement this review, argue with the …

Geothermal Energy And Its Impacts On The Environment, Aditi Gorthy, Nathan Tran, Laureen Pierre-Louis

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

From the multitude of energy sources that we have developed throughout the eons, renewable energy or “clean energy” has been on the rise to combat global warming and climate change which burning nonrenewable sources of energy have contributed to. Before geothermal energy is used as part of the mainstream energy sources some aspects must be analyzed and resolved. Unfortunately, geothermal power plants still release pollutants, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, into the environment and cause general environmental disruptions due to drilling and changes in land formations. Recent and future studies have been and should be conducted to find …

A Brief Overview Of Triple A Syndrome, Jamaal Khan

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Triple A Syndrome, also known as AAA Syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by any mutation in the AAAS gene on chromosome 12q13, whose main function is to code for the WD-repeat family regulatory protein, ALADIN. It typically occurs as a group of diseases that are characterized by alacrima, Addison's disease, and achalasia. Alacrima can be defined by a decrease in the amount of tears produced while achalasia is nerve damage in the esophagus that can cause difficulty swallowing. Lastly, Addison's disease is the insufficient production of cortisol and aldosterone produced by the adrenal cortex. There is no …

Genetic Enhancement Of The Inevitable, Varun Kota

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The invention of CRISPR-CAS9 allows one to edit the genome easily. As a result, many are excited by the potential breakthroughs in medical applications. Others worry that the development of this technology will lead to genetic enhancement, the modification of a set of genes toward a non-therapeutic end goal. After reviewing the philosophical and ethical literature regarding genetic enhancement it became apparent that there was a lack of specificity. Often, the arguments portrayed genetic enhancement as an unbelievable process. In reality, the effects of genetic enhancement are far tamer. The folly in these discussions lies in the notion that traits …

Simultaneous 3d Reconstruction And Implant Placement Using Allogenic Laminar Bone Membranes In Atrophic Mandible. A Comparative Clinical Study, Sara T. Elshayat, Mohamed Diaa Zein El-Abdein, Waleed Ragab El Beialy, Waleed F. Esmael

Future Dental Journal

Objective: to compare the outcome of allogenic bone sheets clinically and radiographically in posterior mandibular vertical augmentation in Luhr class III cases with simultaneous implant placement using autogenous versus xenografts.

Patients and methods: this study was based on a total of 12 implants placed in 4 patients, 2 of which were males and 2 females. Patients were divided into 2 groups, both treated with implants placed with exposed threads 3 mm crestally and covered buccolingually with the laminar bone membrane; group 1 received autogenous bone obtained from the same surgical site using 4.5 diameter ACM bur mixed with PRP and …

Clinical And Radiographic Assessment Of Xenogenic Bone Graft With Or Without Hyaluronic Acid For Post Extraction Socket Preservation (Randomized Clinical Trial), Khaled Mohie Aldeen Abdelzaher, Lobna Abdel Aziz Aly Prof, Mostafa Ezz Prof., Mahmoud Mohsen Elsayed Hassan Elarini Dr.

Future Dental Journal

hyaluronic acid shows osteogenic potentials which considered important property during bone regeneration. So, we aim to assess the efficiency of hyaluronic acid with xenograft mixture in post extraction alveolar sockets to decelerate resorption of dental alveolar ridge.

Effect Of Low-Level Diode Laser Bio-Stimulation On Implant Stability Before, During And After Immediate Implants In Mandibular Molars. (A Randomized Clinical Study), Ahmed Elsayed Fahim A.Faim, Ahmed Farid Shehab, Waleed Ragab El-Beialy, Ahmed Abozekry

Future Dental Journal

Introduction: Tooth loss can affect the person’s life dramatically. Tooth loss is accompanied by bone loss in all dimensions, so preservation of the bone is mandatory for placement of dental implant.

Immediate implant can preserve alveolar bone. Due to difference in shape between the implants and extracted roots a gap appears between the immediately placed implant and the extraction socket resulting in jumping distance, Bone grafts are commonly used to fill this gap, recent studies suggest that jumping gaps shouldn’t always be grafted.

Low level bio stimulation has stimulatory effect on bone cells so it can be used in immediate …

Evaluation Of Apoptotic Effect Of Betanin Nanoparticles Against Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Line Compared To Doxorubicin, Noha Hassanine [email protected], Future University In Egypt, Amany M. Taha Lecturer, Al Azhar University, Egypt, Eman A. Abohager Professor, Al Azhar University

Future Dental Journal

Objective : to evaluate the anticancer effect of nano sized betanine particles (betanine NP) on squamous cell carcinoma cell line compared to doxorubicin (DOX) by measuring apoptosis through caspase 3. Methods: Three groups of the human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line (SCC 25) were created, and two of them were treated with DOX and betanine NP. The third group served as a negative control and was not given any treatment. To evaluate the concentration of caspase 3 using the ElISA technology, different quantities of betanin NP and DOX were administered to SCC25 at 48- and 72-hour intervals.Results: …

International Multicenter Study Comparing Covid-19 In Patients With Cancer To Patients Without Cancer: Impact Of Risk Factors And Treatment Modalities On Survivorship., Issam I Raad, Ray Hachem, Nigo Masayuki, Tarcila Datoguia, Hiba Dagher, Ying Jiang, Vivek Subbiah, Bilal Siddiqui, Arnaud Bayle, Robert Somer, Ana Fernández Cruz, Edward Gorak, Arvinder Bhinder, Nobuyoshi Mori, Nelson Hamerschlak, Samuel Shelanski, Tomislav Dragovich, Yee Elise Vong Kiat, Suha Fakhreddine, Abi Hanna Pierre, Roy F Chemaly, Victor Mulanovich, Javier Adachi, Jovan Borjan, Fareed Khawaja, Bruno Granwehr, Teny John, Eduardo Yepez Yepez, Harrys A Torres, Natraj Reddy Ammakkanavar, Marcel Yibirin, Cielito C Reyes-Gibby, Mala Pande, Noman Ali, Raniv Dawey Rojo, Shahnoor M Ali, Rita E Deeba, Patrick Chaftari, Takahiro Matsuo, Kazuhiro Ishikawa, Ryo Hasegawa, Ramón Aguado-Noya, Alvaro Garcia García, Cristina Traseira Puchol, Dong Gun Lee, Monica Slavin, Benjamin Teh, Cesar A Arias, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, Alexandre E Malek, Anne-Marie Chaftari

Oncology Articles

BACKGROUND: In this international multicenter study, we aimed to determine the independent risk factors associated with increased 30 day mortality and the impact of cancer and novel treatment modalities in a large group of patients with and without cancer with COVID-19 from multiple countries.

METHODS: We retrospectively collected de-identified data on a cohort of patients with and without cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and November 2020 from 16 international centers.

RESULTS: We analyzed 3966 COVID-19 confirmed patients, 1115 with cancer and 2851 without cancer patients. Patients with cancer were more likely to be pancytopenic and have a smoking history, …

Editorial: Emerging Research Organisms In Regenerative Biology, Stefano Tiozzo, Igor Schneider

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Synchronised Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation For Substance Use-Disordered Veterans: Protocol For The Pilot Sham-Controlled Acceptability Trial, Jonathan Jampel, Mckenzie J. Quinn, Jamie L. Catalano, Chelsie B. Benca-Bachman, Leslie Brick, Noah S. Philip, Robert M. Swift

Student Publications [Scholarly]

Introduction:
Substance use disorders (SUDs) take an enormous toll on US Veterans and civilians alike. Existing empirically supported interventions vary by substance and demonstrate only moderate efficacy. Non-invasive brain stimulation represents an innovative treatment for SUDs, yet aspects of traditional neurostimulation may hinder its implementation in SUD populations. Synchronised transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) uses rotating rare earth magnets to deliver low-field stimulation synchronised to an individual's alpha peak frequency that is safe for at-home administration. The current trial aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of sTMS, as well as the safety of at-home sTMS administration for substance-disordered Veterans.

Methods …

Loss-Of-Function KCa2.2 Mutations Abolish Channel Activity, Young-Woo Nam, Mohammad Asikur Rahman, Grace Yang, Razan Orfali, Meng Cui, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Small-conductance Ca²⁺-activated potassium channels subtype 2 (K_Ca2.2, also called SK2) are operated exclusively by a Ca²⁺-calmodulin gating mechanism. Heterozygous genetic mutations of K_Ca2.2 channels have been associated with autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorders including cerebellar ataxia and tremor in humans and rodents. Taking advantage of these pathogenic mutations, we performed structure-function studies of the rat K_Ca2.2 channel. No measurable current was detected from HEK293 cells heterologously expressing these pathogenic K_Ca2.2 mutants. When co-expressed with the K_Ca2.2_WT channel, mutations of the pore-lining amino acid residues (I360M, Y362C, G363S …

Special Issue - Reflection, Fiona Malone, Cormac Hugh Macmahon

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

In reading the papers in this edition of IJAP, these closing reflections outline the case for transformation in accounting, economics, and finance education. Indeed, as subsets of business education, there is strong evidence that all three disciplines (and their respective professional practices) have significant and specific roles to play in climate action, restoring nature and tackling inequality in the coming decades. Whilst big business suffered a crisis of legitimacy in the wake of the global financial crisis, its remarkably positive response and that of its educators to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has helped to restore credibility.

When we …

Extracellular Matrix (Ecm) And Fibrosis In Adipose Tissue: Overview And Perspectives, Kai Sun, Xin Li, Philipp E Scherer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Fibrosis in adipose tissue is a major driver of obesity-related metabolic dysregulation. It is characterized by an overaccumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) during unhealthy expansion of adipose tissue in response to over nutrition. In obese adipose-depots, hypoxia stimulates multiple pro-fibrotic signaling pathways in different cell populations, thereby inducing the overproduction of the ECM components, including collagens, noncollagenous proteins, and additional enzymatic components of ECM synthesis. As a consequence, local fibrosis develops. The result of fibrosis-induced mechanical stress not only triggers cell necrosis and inflammation locally in adipose tissue but also leads to system-wide lipotoxicity and insulin resistance. A better understanding …