Digital Commons Network^™

Text-Based Reminders: Pathways To Improve Hemoglobin A1c And Fasting Blood Glucose Levels Of People With T2 Diabetes Mellitus, David Bamidele Alao

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

Research studies have shown that self-monitoring blood glucose levels is a cornerstone in DM management. Various studies have shown that a text message intervention effectively reminds people with T2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) to check their blood glucose levels at home. Text message reminders successfully encourage medication adherence, blood glucose self-monitoring, and lifestyle changes (Xiqian et al., 2019). Through the beneficial effects on HgbA1c and blood glucose, text-based reminders have been demonstrated to improve blood glucose self-monitoring, essential to managing diabetes.

Purpose

This project aims to evaluate the effects of the 12-week text-based reminder intervention on the patient's blood sugar …

Oral Health And Older Adults: A Narrative Review, Martin S. Lipsky, Tejasvi Singh, Golnoush Zakeri, Man Hung

Institute on Aging Publications

Oral health’s association with general health, morbidity, and mortality in older adults highlights its importance for healthy aging. Poor oral health is not an inevitable consequence of aging, and a proactive, multidisciplinary approach to early recognition and treatment of common pathologies increases the likelihood of maintaining good oral health. Some individuals may not have regular access to a dentist, and opportunities to improve oral health may be lost if health professionals fail to appreciate the importance of oral health on overall well-being and quality of life. The authors of this narrative review examined government websites, the American Dental Association Aging …

Guidance For Assessment Of The Inflammation Etiologic Criterion For The Glim Diagnosis Of Malnutrition: A Modified Delphi Approach., Gordon L Jensen, Tommy Cederholm, Maria D Ballesteros-Pomar, Renee Blaauw, M Isabel T D Correia, Cristina Cuerda, David C Evans, Ryoji Fukushima, Juan Bernardo Ochoa Gautier, M Cristina Gonzalez, Andre Van Gossum, Leah Gramlich, Joseph Hartono, Steven B Heymsfield, Harriët Jager-Wittenaar, Renuka Jayatissa, Heather Keller, Ainsley Malone, William Manzanares, M Molly Mcmahon, Yolanda Mendez, Kris M Mogensen, Naoharu Mori, Maurizio Muscaritoli, Guillermo Contreras Nogales, Ibolya Nyulasi, Wendy Phillips, Matthias Pirlich, Veeradej Pisprasert, Elisabet Rothenberg, Marian De Van Der Schueren, Han Ping Shi, Alison Steiber, Marion F Winkler, Charlene Compher, Rocco Barazzoni

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

BACKGROUND: The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) approach to malnutrition diagnosis is based on assessment of three phenotypic (weight loss, low body mass index, and reduced skeletal muscle mass) and two etiologic (reduced food intake/assimilation and disease burden/inflammation) criteria, with diagnosis confirmed by fulfillment of any combination of at least one phenotypic and at least one etiologic criterion. The original GLIM description provided limited guidance regarding assessment of inflammation, and this has been a factor impeding further implementation of the GLIM criteria. We now seek to provide practical guidance for assessment of inflammation.

METHODS: A GLIM-constituted working group with …

Intracranial Volume Is Driven By Both Genetics And Early Life Exposures: The Sol-Inca-Mri Study, Tamar Sofer, Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Wassim Tarraf, Paola Filigrana, Carmen R Isasi, Shakira F Suglia, Robert Kaplan, Kent Taylor, Martha L Daviglus, Fernando D Testai, Donglin Zeng, Jianwen Cai, Myriam Fornage, Hector M González, Charles Decarli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Intracranial volume (ICV) reflects maximal brain development and is associated with later-life cognitive abilities. We quantified ICV among first- and second-generation Hispanic and Latino adults from the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Cognitive Aging - MRI (SOL-INCA-MRI), estimated ICV heritability, and tested its associations with previously reported genetic variants, both individually and as a genetic risk score (GRS). We also estimated the association of ICV with early life environmental measures: nativity or age of immigration and parental education. The estimated heritability of ICV was 19% (95% CI, 0.1%-56%) in n=1781 unrelated SOL-INCA-MRI individuals. Four of 10 tested genetic variants were associated …

Girth-Based Administered Activity For Pediatric 99mtc-Dmsa Spect, Ye Li, Justin L Brown, Jingyan Xu, Junyu Chen, Michael Ghaly, Monet Dugan, Xinhua Cao, Yong Du, Frederic H Fahey, Wesley Bolch, George Sgouros, Eric C Frey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Pediatric molecular imaging requires a balance between administering an activity that will yield sufficient diagnostic image quality while maintaining patient radiation exposure at acceptable levels. In current clinical practice, this balance is arrived at by the current North American Consensus Guidelines in which patient weight is used to recommend the administered activity (AA).

Purpose: We have previously demonstrated that girth (waist circumference at the level of the kidneys) is better at equalizing image quality than patient weight for pediatric Tc-99m DMSA renal function imaging. However, the correlation between image quality (IQ), AA, and patient girth has not been rigorously …

Acute Gastroenteritis: Emergency Department/Urgent Care Centers, Children's Mercy Kansas City

Clinical Pathways (Formally Known As Care Process Models)

No abstract provided.

Anatomy Of The Female Reproductive Tract Organs Of The Brown Anole (Anolis Sagrei), Bonnie K Kircher, Edward L Stanley, Richard R Behringer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Female reproduction in squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) is highly diverse and mode of reproduction, clutch size, and reproductive tract morphology all vary widely across this group of ~11,000 species. Recently, CRISPR genome editing techniques that require manipulation of the female reproductive anatomy have been developed in this group, making a more complete understanding of this anatomy essential. We describe the adult female reproductive anatomy of the model reptile the brown anole (Anolis sagrei). We show that the brown anole female reproductive tract has three distinct anterior-to-posterior regions, the infundibulum, the glandular uterus, and the nonglandular uterus. The infundibulum has …

An Evaluation Of Bacterial Wilt (Ralstonia Solanacearum) Resistance In A Set Of Tomato Germplasm From The United States Department Of Agriculture, Theresa M. Phiri, Gehendra Bhattarai, Kenani Edward Chiwina, Qiurong Fan, Haizheng Xiong, Ibtisam Alatawi, Ryan Dickson, Neelendra K. Joshi, Alejandro Rojas, Kai-Shu Ling, Ainong Shi

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacterial wilt (BW), caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is one of the devastating diseases in tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The use of resistant cultivars and breeding for genetic resistance is the most effective, economical, and environmentally friendly management strategy for this disease. It is necessary to screen diverse germplasm and cultivated genotypes to identify resistant resources and to develop resistant cultivars in tomatoes to combat the changing pathogen isolates. This study evaluated 40 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tomato accessions for their BW resistance to the R. solanacearum isolate P822 under greenhouse conditions. The tomato plants were inoculated …

2024 4-H Volunteer Leader Conference Workshop Descriptions, Nh 4h Unh Cooperative Extension

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Higher Education, Human Development, And Growing Inequality In Pre-And Post Pandemic Haiti

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

Foodmask: Real-Time Food Instance Counting, Segmentation And Recognition, Huu-Thanh Nguyen, Yu Cao, Chong-Wah Ngo, Wing-Kwong Chan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Food computing has long been studied and deployed to several applications. Understanding a food image at the instance level, including recognition, counting and segmentation, is essential to quantifying nutrition and calorie consumption. Nevertheless, existing techniques are limited to either category-specific instance detection, which does not reflect precisely the instance size at the pixel level, or category-agnostic instance segmentation, which is insufficient for dish recognition. This paper presents a compact and fast multi-task network, namely FoodMask, for clustering-based food instance counting, segmentation and recognition. The network learns a semantic space simultaneously encoding food category distribution and instance height at pixel basis. …

Investigating The Mass Mortality Induced Factors Of Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Radiata) At Abu Dhabi Pearls Farm, Uae, Hamad Ahmed Almansoori

Theses

The aquaculture of shellfish plays a crucial role in enhancing maritime environments by mitigating algal blooms and improving water quality through the filtration of organic matter, nutrients, and bacteria. This study investigated the environmental factors influencing oyster (Pinctada radiata) mortalities through a comprehensive analysis of water quality in Al Mirfa and Al Mughirah farming sites of Abu Dhabi (UAE), from February 2021 to February 2022. To reach such understanding of the main factors led to mass mortalities of cultivated oysters, different monthly sampling and both chemical and biological analyses of the farm water, sediments as well as for both living …

Validating Indigenous Farmers’ Practice In The Management Of The Fall Armyworm Spodoptera Frugiperda (J. E. Smith) In Maize Cropping Systems In Africa, Saliou Niassy, Evanson Rigan Omuse, John Emanuel Khang’Ati, Ines Bächinger, David Mfuti Kupesa, Xavier Cheseto, Benjamin W. Mbatha, Robert S. Copeland, Samira Abuelgasim Mohamed, Mphatso Gama, Joyce Mulila Mitti, Yeneneh Belayneh, Nicolas Delabays, François Lefort, Sunday Ekesi, Sevgan Subramanian

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Before the invasion of the fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda into Africa, smallholder farmers had been using indigenous practices such as applying fish soup to plants to manage stemborer pests. Although farmers have since begun adapting this practice against FAW, no attempt has been made to scientifically evaluate this practice. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy of applying fish soup to maize plants that were artificially infested with FAW under semi-field conditions. Our results showed that foliar damage is inversely correlated with the concentration of a fish soup and sugar solution, with the highest (100%) concentration resulting in the lowest foliar …

Antimicrobial Tolerance In Salmonella: Contributions To Survival And Persistence In Processing Environments, Tomi Obe, Aaron S. Kiess, Ramakrishna Nannapaneni

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Salmonella remains a top bacterial pathogen implicated in several food-borne outbreaks, despite the use of antimicrobials and sanitizers during production and processing. While these chemicals have been effective, Salmonella has shown the ability to survive and persist in poultry processing environments. This can be credited to its microbial ability to adapt and develop/acquire tolerance and/or resistance to different antimicrobial agents including oxidizers, acids (organic and inorganic), phenols, and surfactants. Moreover, there are several factors in processing environments that can limit the efficacy of these antimicrobials, thus allowing survival and persistence. This mini-review examines the antimicrobial activity of common disinfectants/sanitizers used …

Effects Of Environmental Enrichments On Welfare And Hepatic Metabolic Regulation Of Broiler Chickens, Seong W. Kang, Karen D. Christensen, Michael T. Kidd, Sara K. Orlowski

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aims of this study were to find suitable environmental enrichment (EE) and evaluate the combined effect of two EEs, variable light intensity (VL) lighting program and EH, on mental health and hepatic metabolic regulation in commercial broilers. To find the advantageous EEs for broilers, three different EEs (board, hut, and ramp) were tested in trial 1. EEs were placed and the engagement of birds to EEs, dustbathing behavior, and daily physical activity were observed. Birds treated with huts showed higher engagement than the board- or ramp-treated birds (p < 0.05). The results of dustbathing behavior and daily physical activity indicated that the environmental hut (EH) is the most favorable enrichment for broilers. In the second trial, to test the effect of EHs on mental health and hepatic metabolic conditions, the brain and liver were sampled from the four treatment birds (20 lx_Con, 20 lx_Hut, VL_Con and VL_Hut) on day 42. The lower expression of TPH2 (tryptophan hydroxylase 2) of VL_Hut birds than those of VL_Con and 20 lx_Hut treated birds suggests the combining effect of EHs with the VL lighting program on the central serotonergic homeostasis of broilers. Reduced expressions of TH (tyrosine hydroxylase), GR (glucocorticoid receptor), BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) of VL_Hut treated birds compared to those of VL_Con and 20 lx_Hut birds suggest lower stress, stress susceptibility, and chronic social stress in VL_Hut treated birds. The expression of CPT1A (carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1) increased over three-fold in the liver of VL_Con birds compared to 20 lx_Con birds (p < 0.05). EHs treatment in VL birds (VL_Hut) significantly decreased CPT1A but not in 20 lx birds (20 lx_Hut). The expression of ACCα (acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha) was significantly decreased in VL_Con birds compared to 20 lx_Con birds. There was no significant difference in the hepatic FBPase (fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase), GR, and 11β-HSD1 (11 β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenease-1) expression between 20 lx_Con and VL_Con birds, but EHs significantly stimulated GR in 20 lx_Hut birds, and stimulated FBPase and 11β-HSD1 expression in the VL_Hut birds compared to 20 lx_Con birds, suggesting that the VL lighting program reduced fatty acid synthesis and increased fatty acid β-oxidation in the broilers’ liver and VL_Hut improved the hepatic de novo glucose production. Taken together, the results suggest that the stimulated voluntary activity by EHs in the light-enriched broiler house improved mental health and hepatic metabolic function of broilers and may indicate that the improved hepatic metabolic function contributes to efficient nutritional support for broilers.

Ubiquitous Filter Feeders Shape Open Ocean Microbial Community Structure And Function, Anne W. Thompson, Györgyi Nyerges, Kylee M. Brevick, Kelly Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The mechanism of mortality plays a large role in how microorganisms in the open ocean contribute to global energy and nutrient cycling. Salps are ubiquitous pelagic tunicates that are a well-known mortality source for large phototrophic microorganisms in coastal and high-latitude systems, but their impact on the immense populations of smaller prokaryotes in the tropical and subtropical open ocean gyres is not well quantified. We used robustly quantitative techniques to measure salp clearance and enrichment of specific microbial functional groups in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, one of the largest ecosystems on Earth. We discovered that salps are a previously …

Soft Skills Training For Rohingya And Host Community Youth In Cox’S Bazar, Bangladesh, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ishtiak Morshed, Sigma Ainul, Md. Irfan Hossain, Mohammad Muktadir Hossain, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Ubaidur Rob

Adolescents and Young People

The Population Council, in collaboration with Research, Training and Management International (RTMI) and Underprivileged Children’s Education Program (UCEP), pilot tested a soft skills training intervention in two Rohingya camps and a vocational training center in the host community in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh in 2022. As a follow-up to the pilot program, the Council along with its partners rolled out soft skills training in four Rohingya camps and a vocational training center in the host community in 2023. The purpose of this training was to improve the personal, social, and financial management skills of Rohingya youth, which would be of use …

Adverse Metabolic Phenotypes In Parenterally Fed Neonatal Pigs Do Not Persist Into Adolescence, Sarah K Elefson, Barbara Stoll, Teresa A Davis, Marta L Fiorotto, Samer W El-Kadi, Kenneth Genovese, Thomas Thymann, Per T Sangild, Douglas G Burrin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Nutrition during fetal and neonatal life is an important determinant for the risk of adult-onset diseases, especially type 2 diabetes and obesity.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether total parenteral nutrition (TPN) compared with enteral formula feeding [enteral nutrition (EN)] in term piglets during the first 2 wk after birth would increase the long-term (5-mo) development of metabolic syndrome phenotypes with adverse glucose homeostasis, fatty liver disease, and obesity.

METHODS: Neonatal female pigs were administered TPN (n = 12) or fed enterally with a liquid enteral milk-replacer formula (EN, n = 12) for 14 d. After transitioning TPN pigs …

Genetic Architecture And Biology Of Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes, Soo Heon Kwak, Shylaja Srinivasan, Ling Chen, Jennifer Todd, Josep M Mercader, Elizabeth T Jensen, Jasmin Divers, Amy K Mottl, Catherine Pihoker, Rachelle G Gandica, Lori M Laffel, Elvira Isganaitis, Morey W Haymond, Lynne L Levitsky, Toni I Pollin, Jose C Florez, Jason Flannick, Progress In Diabetes Genetics In Youth (Prodigy) Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The prevalence of youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) and childhood obesity has been rising steadily1, producing a growing public health concern1 that disproportionately affects minority groups2. The genetic basis of youth-onset T2D and its relationship to other forms of diabetes are unclear3. Here we report a detailed genetic characterization of youth-onset T2D by analysing exome sequences and common variant associations for 3,005 individuals with youth-onset T2D and 9,777 adult control participants matched for ancestry, including both males and females. We identify monogenic diabetes variants in 2.4% of individuals and three exome-wide significant ( …

Study Design And Methods: Us Study To Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention To Reduce Risk (Us Pointer), Laura D Baker, Heather M Snyder, Mark A Espeland, Rachel A Whitmer, Miia Kivipelto, Nancy Woolard, Jeffrey Katula, Kathryn V Papp, Jennifer Ventrelle, Sarah Graef, Marcus A Hill, Scott Rushing, Julia Spell, Laura Lovato, Deborah Felton, Benjamin J Williams, Mina Ghadimi Nouran, Rema Raman, Tiia Ngandu, Alina Solomon, Sharon Wilmoth, Maryjo L Cleveland, Jeff D Williamson, Katherine L Lambert, Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Claire E Day, Christy C Tangney, Darren R Gitelman, Olivia Matongo, Terrianne Reynolds, Valory N Pavlik, Melissa M Yu, Ashley S Alexander, Richard Elbein, Ann Marie Mcdonald, Stephen Salloway, Rena R Wing, Susan Antkowiak, Martha Clare Morris, Maria C Carrillo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: The U.S. study to protect brain health through lifestyle intervention to reduce risk (U.S. POINTER) is conducted to confirm and expand the results of the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) in Americans.

METHODS: U.S. POINTER was planned as a 2-year randomized controlled trial of two lifestyle interventions in 2000 older adults at risk for dementia due to well-established factors. The primary outcome is a global cognition composite that permits harmonization with FINGER.

RESULTS: U.S. POINTER is centrally coordinated and conducted at five clinical sites (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03688126). Outcomes assessments are completed at baseline and …

Nonchromosomal Birth Defects And Risk Of Childhood Acute Leukemia: An Assessment In 15 000 Leukemia Cases And 46 000 Controls From The Childhood Cancer And Leukemia International Consortium, Philip J Lupo, Tiffany M Chambers, Beth A Mueller, Jacqueline Clavel, John D Dockerty, David R Doody, Friederike Erdmann, Sameera Ezzat, Tommaso Filippini, Johnni Hansen, Julia E Heck, Claire Infante-Rivard, Alice Y Kang, Corrado Magnani, Carlotta Malagoli, Erin L Marcotte, Catherine Metayer, Helen D Bailey, Ana M Mora, Evangelia Ntzani, Eleni Th Petridou, Maria S Pombo-De-Oliveira, Wafaa M Rashed, Eve Roman, Joachim Schüz, Catharina Wesseling, Logan G Spector, Michael E Scheurer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although recent studies have demonstrated associations between nonchromosomal birth defects and several pediatric cancers, less is known about their role on childhood leukemia susceptibility. Using data from the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium, we evaluated associations between nonchromosomal birth defects and childhood leukemia. Pooling consortium data from 18 questionnaire-based and three registry-based case-control studies across 13 countries, we used multivariable logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between a spectrum of birth defects and leukemia. Our analyses included acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 13 115) and acute myeloid leukemia …

Pulsatile Leucine Administration During Continuous Enteral Feeding Enhances Skeletal Muscle Mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 Signaling And Protein Synthesis In A Preterm Piglet Model, Marko Rudar, Agus Suryawan, Hanh V Nguyen, Shaji K Chacko, Caitlin Vonderohe, Barbara Stoll, Douglas G Burrin, Marta L Fiorotto, Teresa A Davis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Continuous feeding does not elicit an optimal anabolic response in skeletal muscle but is required for some preterm infants. We reported previously that intermittent intravenous pulses of leucine (Leu; 800 μmol Leu·kg–1·h–1 every 4 h) to continuously fed pigs born at term promoted mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activation and protein synthesis in skeletal muscle.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to determine the extent to which intravenous Leu pulses activate mTORC1 and enhance protein synthesis in the skeletal muscle of continuously fed pigs born preterm.

METHODS: Pigs delivered 10 d preterm was advanced to full oral feeding >4 …

Circadian Dysfunction Induces Nafld-Related Human Liver Cancer In A Mouse Model, Jennifer Padilla, Noha M Osman, Beatrice Bissig-Choisat, Sandra L Grimm, Xuan Qin, Angela M Major, Li Yang, Dolores Lopez-Terrada, Cristian Coarfa, Feng Li, Karl-Dimiter Bissig, David D Moore, Loning Fu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Chronic circadian dysfunction increases the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the underlying mechanisms and direct relevance to human HCC have not been established. In this study, we aimed to determine whether chronic circadian dysregulation can drive NAFLD-related carcinogenesis from human hepatocytes and human HCC progression.

METHODS: Chronic jet lag of mice with humanized livers induces spontaneous NAFLD-related HCCs from human hepatocytes. The clinical relevance of this model was analysed by biomarker, pathological/histological, genetic, RNA sequencing, metabolomic, and integrated bioinformatic analyses.

RESULTS: Circadian dysfunction induces glucose intolerance, NAFLD-associated human HCCs, and human …

Preparing Community Health Workers To Empower Latino(A)S With Diabetes: A Real-World Implementation Study, Laura Porterfield, Zuleica Santiago Delgado, Premal G Patel, Michael L Goodman, Kendall M Campbell, Elizabeth M Vaughan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the delivery of diabetes self-management education (DSME) to Latino(a) adults by community health workers (CHWs).

Methods: Investigators developed an evidence-based, bilingual (Spanish/English) diabetes education curriculum and trained 10 CHWs on its content. CHWs then implemented the curriculum in 6-month diabetes group visit programs for low-income Latino(a)s with type 2 diabetes in nonacademic 501(c)3 community clinics. Investigators evaluated efficacy of the training through successful implementation, measured by participant group visit acceptance and attendance.

Results: Participants (n = 70) reported high levels of program satisfaction (3.8/4.0), improvement in quality of life (9.7/10), meeting …

The Human Vaginal Microbiota: From Clinical Medicine To Models To Mechanisms, Samantha Ottinger, Clare M Robertson, Holly Branthoover, Kathryn A Patras

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The composition of the vaginal microbiota is linked to numerous reproductive health problems, including increased susceptibility to infection, pregnancy complications, and impaired vaginal tissue repair; however, the mechanisms contributing to these adverse outcomes are not yet fully defined. In this review, we highlight recent clinical advancements associating vaginal microbiome composition and function with health outcomes. Subsequently, we provide a summary of emerging models employed to identify microbe-microbe interactions contributing to vaginal health, including metagenomic sequencing, multi-omics approaches, and advances in vaginal microbiota cultivation. Last, we review new in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models, such as organoids and humanized …

Number Of Children In The Household Influences Respiratory Morbidities In Children With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia In The Outpatient Setting, Joseph M Collaco, Katharine R Tsukahara, Michael C Tracy, Catherine A Sheils, Jessica L Rice, Lawrence M Rhein, Antonia P Popova, Leif Nelin, Audrey N Miller, Winston M Manimtim, Jonathan C Levin, Khanh Lai, Jacob A Kaslow, Lystra P Hayden, Manvi Bansal, Eric D Austin, Brianna Aoyama, Gangaram Akangire, Amit Agarwal, Natalie Villafranco, Sharon A Mcgrath-Morrow

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a common complication of prematurity, is associated with outpatient morbidities, including respiratory exacerbations. Daycare attendance is associated with increased rates of acute and chronic morbidities in children with BPD. We sought to determine if additional children in the household conferred similar risks for children with BPD.

METHODS: The number of children in the household and clinical outcomes were obtained via validated instruments for 933 subjects recruited from 13 BPD specialty clinics in the United States. Clustered logistic regression models were used to test for associations.

RESULTS: The mean gestational age of the study population was 26.5 …

Predicting And Identifying Factors Associated With Undernutrition Among Children Under Five Years In Ghana Using Machine Learning Algorithms, Eric Komla Anku, Henry Ofori Duah

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background Undernutrition among children under the age of five is a major public health concern, especially in developing countries. This study aimed to use machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict undernutrition and identify its associated factors. Methods Secondary data analysis of the 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was performed using R and Python. The main outcomes of interest were undernutrition (stunting: height-for-age (HAZ) < -2 SD; wasting: weight-for-height (WHZ) < -2 SD; and underweight: weight-for-age (WAZ) < -2 SD). Seven ML algorithms were trained and tested: linear discriminant analysis (LDA), logistic model, support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), ridge regression, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The ML models were evaluated using the accuracy, confusion matrix, and area under the curve (AUC) receiver operating characteristics (ROC). Results In total, 8564 children were included in the final analysis. The average age of the children was 926 days, and the majority were females. The weighted prevalence rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight were 17%, 7%, and 12%, respectively. The accuracies of all the ML models for wasting were (LDA: 84%; Logistic: 95%; SVM: 92%; RF: 94%; LASSO: 96%; Ridge: 84%, XGBoost: 98%), stunting (LDA: 86%; Logistic: 86%; SVM: 98%; RF: 88%; LASSO: 86%; Ridge: 86%, XGBoost: 98%), and for underweight were (LDA: 90%; Logistic: 92%; SVM: 98%; RF: 89%; LASSO: 92%; Ridge: 88%, XGBoost: 98%). The AUC values of the wasting models were (LDA: 99%; Logistic: 100%; SVM: 72%; RF: 94%; LASSO: 99%; Ridge: 59%, XGBoost: 100%), for stunting were (LDA: 89%; Logistic: 90%; SVM: 100%; RF: 92%; LASSO: 90%; Ridge: 89%, XGBoost: 100%), and for underweight were (LDA: 95%; Logistic: 96%; SVM: 100%; RF: 94%; LASSO: 96%; Ridge: 82%, XGBoost: 82%). Age, weight, length/height, sex, region of residence and ethnicity were important predictors of wasting, stunting and underweight. Conclusion The XGBoost model was the best model for predicting wasting, stunting, and underweight. The findings showed that different ML algorithms could be useful for predicting undernutrition and identifying important predictors for targeted interventions among children under five years in Ghana.

The Association Of Hiv-Related Stigma And Psychosocial Factors And Hiv Treatment Outcomes Among People Living With Hiv In The Volta Region Of Ghana: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jerry John Nutor, Akua O. Gyamerah, Henry Ofori Duah, David Ayangba Asakitogum, Rachel G.A. Thompson, Robert Kaba Alhassan, Alison Hamilton

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Stigma and discrimination have been identified as significant barriers to HIV treatment among people living with HIV (PLWH). HIV stigma affects decision to seek HIV testing and early treatment. Evidence shows that HIV stigma undermines antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence by affecting the psychological process such as adjusting and coping with social support. In Ghana, stigma toward PLWH occurs in many ways including rejection by their communities and family members, ostracism, and refusal to engage in social interactions such as eating, sharing a bed, or shaking hands. Therefore. we examined PLWH’s experiences with different forms of HIV-related stigma and the impact …

Circulating Immune Signatures Across Clinical Stages Of Chronic Pancreatitis: A Pilot Study, Rasmus Hagn-Meincke, Phil A Hart, Dana K Andersen, Santhi S Vege, Evan L Fogel, Jose Serrano, Melena D Bellin, Mark D Topazian, Darwin L Conwell, Liang Li, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Asbjørn M Drewes, Stephen J Pandol, Chris E Forsmark, William E Fisher, Dhiraj Yadav, Søren S Olesen, Walter G Park, Consortium For The Study Of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, And Pancreatic Cancer (Cpdpc)

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: This pilot study seeks to identify serum immune signatures across clinical stages of patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of prospectively collected serum samples from the PROspective Evaluation of Chronic Pancreatitis for EpidEmiologic and Translation StuDies-study. CP subjects were categorised into three clinical stages based on the presence/absence of metabolic complications: (1) CP with no diabetes and exocrine pancreatic dysfunction (EPD), (2) CP with either diabetes or EPD, and (3) CP with diabetes and EPD. Blinded samples were analysed using an 80-plex Luminex assay of cytokines/chemokines/adhesion molecules. Group and pairwise comparisons were performed to …

A Municipal Modernity: Women, Architecture, And Public Health In Working-Class New York, 1913–1950, Jessica Fletcher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“A Municipal Modernity” is the first study to analyze the architectural history of the district health centers in New York City that women reformers and their allies founded to address poor health in working-class communities. It reveals that women’s philanthropic adaptive re-use was foundational to the architecture of the public health care in New York and led to a program of municipal district health centers. Philanthropic reformers adapted buildings in the 1910s and 1920s to provide affordable health care for low-income women and children in European immigrant and Black neighborhoods. During the New Deal, municipal officials followed the example set …