Digital Commons Network^™

Is Preexisting Inflamed Jaw Marrow A “Hidden” Co-Morbidity Affecting Outcomes Of Covid-19 Infections? – Clinical Comparative Study, Johann Lechner, Robert E Mcmahon, Jerry E Bouquot, Florian Notter, Fabian Schick

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Exceedingly high levels of the chemokine CCL5/RANTES have been found in fatty degenerated osteonecrotic alveolar bone cavities (FDOJ) and aseptic ischemic osteolysis of the jaw (AIOJ) from toothless regions. Because CCL5/RANTES seems to have a prominent role in creating the COVID-19 “cytokine storm”, some researchers have used the monoclonal antibody Leronlimab to block the CCR5 on inflammatory cells.

Objective: Is preexisting FDOJ/AIOJ jaw marrow pathology a “hidden” co-morbidity affecting some COVID-19 infections? To what extent does the chronic CCL5/RANTES expression from preexisting FDOJ/AIOJ areas contribute to the progression of the acute cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients?

Methods: Authors report …

Developing A National Implementation Strategy To Accelerate Uptake Of Evidence-Based Family Caregiver Support In Us Cancer Centers, J Nicholas Odom, Heather M Young, Katherine Sterba, Timothy S Sannes, Susan Reinhard, Chandylen L Nightingale, Diane Meier, Tamryn F Gray, Betty Ferrell, Maria E Fernandez, Heidi Donovan, Kayleigh Curry, Erin R Currie, Tara Bryant, Marie A Bakitas, Allison J Applebaum

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Characterize key factors and training needs of U.S. cancer centers in implementing family caregiver support services.

METHODS: Sequential explanatory mixed methods design consisting of: (1) a national survey of clinicians and administrators from Commission-on-Cancer-accredited cancer centers (N = 238) on factors and training needed for establishing new caregiver programs and (2) qualitative interviews with a subsample of survey respondents (N = 30) to elicit feedback on survey findings and the outline of an implementation strategy to facilitate implementation of evidence-based family caregiver support (the Caregiver Support Accelerator). Survey data was tabulated using descriptive statistics and transcribed interviews were analyzed …

Risk Of Depression In Persons With Alzheimer's Disease: A National Cohort Study, Casey Crump, Weiva Sieh, Barbara G Vickrey, Alexis C Edwards, Jan Sundquist, Kristina Sundquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a risk factor and possible prodromal symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but little is known about subsequent risk of developing depression in persons with AD.

METHODS: National matched cohort study was conducted of all 129,410 persons diagnosed with AD and 390,088 with all-cause dementia during 1998-2017 in Sweden, and 3,900,880 age- and sex-matched controls without dementia, who had no prior depression. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for major depression through 2018.

RESULTS: Cumulative incidence of major depression was 13% in persons with AD and 3% in controls. Adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities, …

A Qr Code For The Brain: A Dynamical Systems Framework For Computing Neurophysiological Biomarkers, William Bosl, Michelle Bosquet Enlow, Charles Nelson

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Measuring Real-Time Medication Effects From Electroencephalography, William Bosl, Aarti Sathyanarayana, Rima El Atrache, Michele Jackson, Sarah Cantley, Latania Reece, Claire Ufongene, Tobias Loddenkemper, Kenneth Mandl

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

N Y State Dent J January 2024

The New York State Dental Journal

In the January 2024 issue, the reader will find the following feature articles:

• When One Door Closes, Another Opens
• Oral Manifestations of Metastatic Diseases: A Clinical and Histologic Analysis of Seven Cases
• Dentistry Transformed: An Overview of Artificial Intelligence’s Role in Dental Care
• Unlocking the Future of Dentistry: A Summary of AI and Augmented Intelligence in Dentistry from ADA’s White Paper
• Diagnostic Detail: Understanding the Impact of Tooth Rotation in Correcting Mucogingival Defects

This issue includes regular columns with regional news impacting the New York membership including: editorial and perspectives columns, legal, association activities, component news, continuing education opportunities, and …

Feri: A Multitask-Based Fairness Achieving Algorithm With Applications To Fair Organ Transplantation, Can Li, Dejian Lai, Xiaoqian Jiang, Kai Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Liver transplantation often faces fairness challenges across subgroups defined by sensitive attributes such as age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. Machine learning models for outcome prediction can introduce additional biases. Therefore, we introduce Fairness through the Equitable Rate of Improvement in Multitask Learning (FERI) algorithm for fair predictions of graft failure risk in liver transplant patients. FERI constrains subgroup loss by balancing learning rates and preventing subgroup dominance in the training process. Our results show that FERI maintained high predictive accuracy with AUROC and AUPRC comparable to baseline models. More importantly, FERI demonstrated an ability to improve fairness without sacrificing accuracy. …

Acceptability Of Anal Human Papillomavirus Home Self-Sampling And Clinician Sampling Among Sexual And Gender Minority Individuals In Milwaukee, Wisconsin: The Prevent Anal Cancer Self-Swab Study, Jenna Nitkowski, Anna R Giuliano, Tim Ridolfi, Elizabeth Chiao, Maria E Fernandez, Vanessa Schick, Michael D Swartz, Jennifer S Smith, Alan G Nyitray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Anal cancer has disproportionately high incidence among sexual minority men. We compared acceptability of home versus clinic human papillomavirus (HPV) anal swabbing.

Methods: The Prevent Anal Cancer Self-Swab Study recruited sexual and gender minority individuals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Eligible participants were randomized to a home or clinic arm. Home participants received a mailed anal HPV self-sampling kit. Clinic participants attended a clinic appointment where a clinician collected an anal HPV swab. We examined acceptability (overall thoughts, comfort with method, pain, and future willingness to swab) of home versus clinic swabbing using postswab survey responses.

Results: A total of 191 …

Characteristics And Quality Of Life Of People Living With Comorbid Disorders In Substance Use Recovery Residences, Elizabeth O Obekpa, Sheryl A Mccurdy, Kathryn R Gallardo, Serena A Rodriguez, Cecilia Ganduglia Cazaban, H Shelton Brown, James J Yang, J Michael Wilkerson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality; however, research on physical and mental health comorbidities and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people taking medication for OUD (MOUD) and living in recovery residences is sparse. We investigated the prevalence of comorbidities and examined which EQ-5D-5L HRQoL dimensions are most affected by these comorbidities.

METHODS: Data were collected from 358 residents living in 14 Texas-based recovery residences from April 2021 to June 2023. The EQ-5D-5L descriptive system comprises five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression). Each dimension has five levels of perceived problems, dichotomized into …

Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccination In Males: Associations Of Hpv-Related Knowledge And Perceptions With Hpv Vaccination Intention Among Korean Mothers Of Boys, Jihye Choi, Paula Cuccaro, Christine Markham, Sooyoun Kim, Irene Tamí-Maury

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates among males are suboptimal worldwide. In South Korea, little is known about parents' intention to vaccinate boys against HPV. Therefore, we examined the associations of HPV-related knowledge and perceptions with vaccination intention among Korean mothers of boys.

METHODS: From August to December 2021, eligible mothers were surveyed about HPV-related knowledge, perceptions, and intention to vaccinate their sons against HPV. Mothers were categorized into no intention, contemplating, and intention to vaccinate groups. Using analysis of variance, we compared the groups' scores on the scales measuring HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. We conducted a multinomial logistic …

A Randomized Controlled Study Of Auricular Point Acupressure To Manage Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy: Study Protocol, Nada Lukkahatai, Michael V Nguyen, Jingyu Zhang, Yu-Min Cho, Chitchanok Benjasirisan, Heijingzi Monica Jia, Claudia M Campbell, Jennifer Kawi, Hulin Wu, Hongyu Wang, Rupsikha Bora, Johannes Thrul, Constance M Johnson, Thomas J Smith

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN) significantly impacts cancer patients, leading to functional disability, diminished quality of life, and increased healthcare costs amid the ongoing opioid crisis. Auricular point acupressure (APA), a non-invasive and non-pharmacological alternative, has shown potential for alleviating the pain, numbness, and tingling associated with CIN. This study aims to assess the efficacy of APA for CIN symptoms and physical function and to examine the mechanisms underlying APA's effects on CIN.

Methods: This is a three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial protocol. Patients aged 18 and older who are experiencing CIN are randomly assigned to one of the three groups: …

A Comparative Study Of Venezuelan Immigrants’ Pre- And Post-Migration Concerns For Their Children In The United States And Colombia, Aigerim Alpysbekova, Pablo Montero-Zamora, Mary H Soares, Carolina Scaramutti, Sumeyra Sahbaz, Maria Duque, Tara Bautista, Maria Fernanda Garcia, Christopher P Salas-Wright, Mildred M Maldonado-Molina, Melissa M Bates, Augusto Pérez-Gómez, Juliana Mejía Trujillo, Eric C Brown, Seth J Schwartz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Research suggests that forced migration may lead to cultural stress and psychological distress. However, little is known about immigrant parents' pre- and post-migration concerns for their children's welfare. The present study examined the concerns of Venezuelan parents who migrated to the United States versus those who migrated to Colombia, and whether post-migration concerns were related to cultural stressors, mental health, and cultural identity. A sample of 609 Venezuelan immigrants completed surveys and responded to an open-ended prompt asking about pre- and post-migration concerns for children's welfare. Lack of safety was the most common pre-migration concern for Venezuelans in the U.S., …

Joint Problem-Solving Orientation, Mutual Value Recognition, And Performance In Fluid Teamwork Environments, Michaela Kerrissey, Zhanna Novikov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Joint problem-solving orientation (JPS) has been identified as a factor that promotes performance in fluid teamwork, but research on this factor remains nascent. This study pushes the frontier of understanding about JPS in fluid teamwork environments by applying the concept to within-organization work and exploring its relationships with performance, mutual value recognition (MVR), and expertise variety (EV).

METHODS: This is a longitudinal, survey-based field study within a large United States healthcare organization

RESULTS: Our results affirm a moderated mediation model wherein JPS enhances performance, both directly and through MVR; EV serves as a moderator in the JPS-MVR relationship. JPS …

Optimizing Microbe-Infected Mosquito Release: A Stochastic Model For Malaria Prevention, Steeven Belvinos Affognon, Henri E.Z. Tonnang, Philip Ngare, Benard Kipchumba Kiplangat, Shirley Abelman, Jeremy K. Herren

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Malaria remains a critical public health challenge in Africa, demanding innovative control strategies. This study introduces a novel approach using Microsporidia MB-infected mosquitoes and stochastic optimal control within a Lévy process framework to regulate mosquito release strategies. The primary goal is to optimize Microsporidia MB prevalence within mosquito populations to disrupt Plasmodium transmission to humans. By incorporating Lévy noise into the modeling process, we capture the inherent randomness of mosquito dynamics, improving intervention accuracy. The model, guided by the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation, optimizes release protocols while accounting for key environmental factors like seasonality and temperature fluctuations. Results show that intervention …

A Single-Centre Registry In Impella-Supported High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention — Our 5 Year Experience, Karen Pui Shan Shek, Jonathan Gabriel Sung, Ling Ling Ip, Ho Lam, Ping Wa Yam

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Background

Complex, high-risk and indicated PCI with impaired left ventricular function remains a challenge. The Impella device offers hemodynamic support during HR-PCI to maintain organ perfusion. There are trials and registries on experience with Caucasians. However, Asian data have been limited.

Methods

In this single-centre, retrospective and observational registry, 38 patients underwent elective or urgent HR-PCI with the Impella® CP between June 2018 and June 2023 in Tuen Mun Hospital. Primary feasibility end points were successful device implantation, freedom from unstable ventricular arrhythmia and cardiac arrest. Primary safety end points were 30-day mortality and MACCE. Secondary safety end points were …

Screening For Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Ray Tw Lum, Jacky Yk Ho, Simon Cy Chow, Takuya Fujikawa, Randolph Hl Wong

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is a silent disease with indolent progression, but it is potentially lethal once its complication with acute aortic syndrome occurred. Hypertension, smoking and atherosclerosis had all along been recognized as the major risk factors for the etiology of TAA. However, with the advancement in genomic technology, we have gained a better understanding on the contribution of the hereditary components in the genetically triggered thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (GTAAD). From the literature, around 20% of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) have a positive family history. Therefore, if these atrisk patients can be identified …

Traumatic Tricuspid Regurgitation And Right Coronary Artery Dissection, Kan Chung Yan Joyce, Wong Chun Kit Martin

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation and coronary artery dissection are rare complications of blunt chest trauma. We report a case of acute severe traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation and right coronary artery dissection in a young male patient with unremarkable medical history after a road traffic accident.

Evaluation Of The Diagnostic Performance Of Nucleocapsid Antigen For Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection, Doaa Fathy Ahmed, Amal Ahmed Mohamed, Manar S. Fouda, Sara A. Mekkawy, Randa Ibrahim Ahmed, Omar Mohamoud Azzam, Doaa Ghaith, Ahmed El-Kasses, Mostafa Omran

Trends in advanced sciences and technology

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) was identified as the aetiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The SARS-COV-2 genome encodes four structural proteins include spike (S) protein, envelope (E) protein, membrane (M) protein, and nucleocapsid (N) protein. nucleocapsid protein is one of the predominantly expressed structural proteins and has been confirmed as an ideal target for early diagnostic detection in SARS-COV-2 infection. In the current study, the diagnostic performance of Nucleocapsid antigen in severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 infected individuals is evaluated in Egypt. Patients and Methods: All human individuals’ samples (n= 106) were collected from El …

Emotional Eating, Nutritional Knowledge, And Socioeconomic Status As Predictors Of Body Mass Index, Tifani Buss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is an ill-health condition that can lead to other ill-health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, asthma, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Obesity is also a condition that does not discriminate regarding age, gender, or race/ethnicity. In light of obesity’s status as a global epidemic, efforts for prevention and intervention treatments are needed to improve individuals’ health and quality of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine emotional eating, nutritional knowledge, and socioeconomic status, as predictors of body mass index (BMI). These factors were examined through the lens of general strain …

Missed Medical Appointments And The Effect On Patient Care For African Americans Living With Hiv In Alabama, Perpetua Nazon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative correlational study examined the relationship between the independent variable of missed medical appointments and the dependent variables of race and gender for African American patients living with HIV/AIDS. Previous studies described the major issue that occurs with HIV patients is an increase of missed medical appointments, causing a panic for hospital administrators, who try to implement methods to reduce the rates of missed appointments. The study sample from the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) database covered a total population of 14,521 African American males and females living with HIV in Alabama. Pearson’s …

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Managing Financial Toxicity In Oncology Patients, Katelin Muse

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patients with a cancer diagnosis are counseled at length about the standard of care treatment options, which may include surgery, radiation, anticancer medications, and chemo/immunotherapy through an informed consent process. Unfortunately, the potential economic burden and the accompanying psychological burden is seldom discussed up front. There is a significant need for routine screening and a multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of financial toxicity for the oncology patient. The purpose of this doctoral project was to lead an interprofessional team in the development of a clinical practice guideline for routine financial screening using the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) tool …

Impact Of Traditional Education And Learner-Centered Education On Standardized Tests, Courtney Marie Winslow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a current shortage of approximately 45,000 nurses and nursing faculty to train student nurses, a number that is projected to grow. One proposed method to combat the shortage is to transition from traditional lecture-based classrooms to a learner-centered approach. Asking or requiring faculty to transition an entire nursing program from one teaching method to another without supporting data could be a waste of valuable time and resources. It could also prove detrimental to a program if students were unable to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, and a program was forced to close. The current study examined whether there was …

Quantitative Shotgun Proteomic Analysis Of Bacteria After Overexpression Of Recombinant Spider Miniature Spidrion, Masp1, Kathryn P. Randene

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Spider silk has extraordinary mechanical properties, displaying high tensile strength, elasticity, and toughness. Given the high performance of natural fibers, one of the long-term goals of the silk community is to manufacture large-scale synthetic spider silk. This process requires vast quantities of recombinant proteins for wet-spinning applications. Attempts to synthesize large amounts of native size recombinant spidroins in diverse cell types have been unsuccessful. In these studies, we design and express recombinant miniature black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) MaSp1 spidroins in bacteria that incorporate the NTD and CTD, along with varying numbers of codon-optimized internal block repeats. Following spidroin overexpression, we …

Evaluating The Effects Of Self-Monitoring On Physical Activity Within A Health Coaching Package, Morgan E. Valois

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization recommends that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week. Engaging in physical activity improves long-term health, unfortunately, half of the adults in the United States do not meet the recommended levels. Health coaching is a patient-oriented approach to deliver behavior change interventions that has been shown to increase physical activity and improve health outcomes. Self-monitoring is a component of health coaching, and is a behavior change technique that has been identified as an integral component of health interventions that resulted in improved health outcomes. However, the specific effects …

Transgenerational Effects Of Stress On The Plasma Proteome Of A Marine Mammal, Emily Voelkner

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The physiological stress response enables animals to respond to changes in their environment, and is mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in mammals. Increased activation of the HPA axis by repeated stress during critical life stages like reproduction could affect fitness. Information about a stressor can be communicated to offspring via hormone signals prenatally, or postnatally via milk, and affect offspring development and stress reactivity. Experimentally activating the HPA axis by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) administration results in the synthesis of the major glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, which has well-studied far-reaching effects on growth, metabolism, and immunity. Beyond cortisol levels alone, biomarkers …

Utilizing Ai Integrated Neuroimaging Technology To Expand Upon Machine Learning In Positron Emission Tomography Technology With The Aim Of Detecting Amyloid Beta Biomarkers Early In The Onset Of Alzheimer's., Ethan S. Terman

UROP Posters

Early intervention in Alzheimer's is vital for treatment. The earlier a professional can detect symptoms and make a diagnosis the earlier a prognosis can be implemented. With the prevalence of data in our day-to-day world combined with Artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing both for machine learning can pave the way for more accurate and efficient detection of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. AI combined with Machine learning (ML) increases diagnostic efficiency and reduces human errors, making it a valuable resource for physicians and clinicians alike. With the increasing amount of data processing and image interpretation required, the ability to use AI …

Neurodevelopmental Vulnerability To Gestational Ozone Exposure, Vishnupriya Alavala, Sarah E. Brent, Christopher G. Canal, Joseph Wang, Russell P. Hunter, Matthew J. Campen, Andrew K. Ottens

UROP Posters

Ambient air pollution accounts for about 4.2 million premature deaths annually per the World Health Organization. Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive air pollutant found in smog and is implicated in cellular damage leading to organ dysfunction. Ambient air pollution is associated with neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and cognitive disorders though ozone’s role is unknown. Studies here look at ozone exposure shortly after implantation vs. shortly before term to evaluate differences in neurodevelopmental susceptibility over time.

To inquire on the effects of ozone on the fetal brain, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed once to 0.3 ppm of O3 or filtered air (FA) …

Exploring Belonging And Success In First Generation College Students With Disabilities, Cael Sinclair, Molly Taylor, Sharon Zumbrunn

UROP Posters

As colleges create initiatives to admit and accommodate marginalized students, the struggles of those marginalized students are becoming increasingly impactful and present. Research suggests that students’ sense of social belonging is often connected to student academic success (Connell & Wellborn 1991). However, marginalized students often experience a lower sense of belonging, particularly students who are the first in their families to go to college (Stebleton et al. 2014), and those who identify as disabled (Leake & Stodden 2014). The present study evaluated how the strengths and experiences of first-generation college students with disabilities impacted their belonging and academic success in …

Psu Esi Review (Doe-Psu-0000922-6), Tylor Slay, Jaime Kolln, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A guide to developing an Energy Service Interface (ESI) was created as part of the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium 2.5.2 ESI project. The approach applies device-agnostic and service-oriented ESI principles and leverages documents such as the Interoperability Maturity Model and Common Grid Service Definitions to provide a methodology to review, develop, and update standards and profiles to engage distributed energy resources to provide grid services. This document evaluates the ESI developed by Portland State University’s Power Engineering Group under the Electric Grid of Things project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The evaluation explores the compliance of this specific …

Trust Model Utilization For Energy Grid Communication, N. Sonali Fernando, John M. Acken, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The internet information that is used by the Energy Grid of Things requires both preventative security measures as well as surveillance measures. The preventative security measures include certificates, encryption, and all of the basic security protocols as defined by published standards. The surveillance measures include monitoring information flow activities and evaluating these messages for indications of potential security attacks. We describe in this paper the utilization of a Distributed Trust Model that was developed specifically for monitoring communication within an Energy Grid of Things. The goal for the Distributed Trust Models is to provide a level of aggregate trust that …