Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Sodium Chloride Affects Growth In Taro, Inny Mareko, Ian Gurr, Ms

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Salt-water intrusion due to rising sea levels may negatively affect wetland taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] production in low-lying Pacific islands. Measurements of water electrical conductivity (EC) values in taro producing wetlands on Aunu’u Island, American Samoa, ranged from 0.34 – 6.60 mS/cm.

In the lab, the growth of taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, cv. Samoa 2] at different concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) was evaluated in a hydroponic system. Taro was grown at seven NaCl concentrations: 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mM, representing EC values of 0.34, 0.63, 0.95, 1.53, 2.71, 4.82, 8.99 mS/cm, …

Wellness From Diabetes: Community Health And Diabetes Assessment, Kelly Lorennij, Alexander Hirata, Ma, Emily Gifford, Mph

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with a prevalence rate of 37.37%, the highest in the world. T2DM dominates Majuro, the country’s capital, as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, despite efforts of health care workers, local community organizations, and government.

Income and education are social determinants of health. The correlations between good health and high income, and between good health and high education level, are positive. However, there is a continuous growth of T2DM incidence and prevalence on Majuro. Therefore, we hypothesized that there is no significant difference …

Prevalence Of Oral Cancer In Adolescents Related To Areca (Betel) Nut Chewing, Using Tobacco And Other Additives In Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands: A Review Of Literature, Eloise Lopez, Rosa Tudela, Bsn, Msn, Rn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Oral cancer can involve the lip, tongue, mouth and pharynx. It is the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide. One of the leading causes of Oral Cancerin the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is chewing betel nut with tobacco and other additives. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) linked areca nut, betel quid with tobacco and betel quid without tobacco as carcinogenic to humans.

Areca nut, also known as betel nut comes from the areca palm tree. The use of areca nut is common throughout the Pacific, and is widespread in Papua New …

The Recuperating Ability Of Cauliflower Coral (Pocillopora Damicornis) And Staghorn Coral (Acropora Sp.) To Temperature Stress, Diana Lopera, Roy Adsit, Bs

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Rising temperatures of the world’s waters place our coral reefs under stress, which can lead to coral bleaching, where corals expel their zooxanthellae. With the alarming rates of the depletion of coral reefs over the last 30 years, it is crucial to comprehend the corals’ ability to recover from stressful situations. In this experiment, we will investigate the recuperating ability of the corals Pocillopora Damicornis and Acropora sp. by exposing them to elevated temperatures that causes these corals to “stress”, and then measure their rate of recovery through the comparison of color pigmentations with healthy corals. Terminal branch samples will …

Unhealthy Eating Habits In The Marshall Islands Result From Deteriorating Reef Systems, Josephine Lalita, Lyla Lemari, Aa

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Small Island nations such as the Marshall Islands (RMI) have limited resources. In order to provide food to its population of about 60,000, the Marshallese have had to replace traditional food with foreign imports. A result of this is the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The most common NCD is diabetes. Diabetic patients are encouraged to follow strict diets that include mostly traditional, local food such as fish; however, because of environmental factors, fish populations are threatened.

The objective of this study was to understand the relationship between healthy reefs, healthy fish populations and the health of communities …

Isolated Cardiomyocytes From Transgenic Mouse Hearts Show Tissue-Specific Mtor Overexpression, Regina Kuhia, Takashi Matsui, Md, Phd, Jason K. Higa, Phd, Naaiko Yorichika, Ms, Briana K. Shimada, Ba

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key downstream effector of insulin that plays an important role in glucose uptake and cardioprotection. We previously used transgenic (Tg) mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of mTOR driven by the murine alpha-myosin heavy chain promoter to demonstrate that mTOR protects the heart against acute MI by inhibiting necrosis in cardiac cells (cardiomyocyte, CM). Since the heart consists of multiple cell types, including CMs and fibroblasts, protein assays with tissue lysates from the whole heart alone cannot demonstrate tissue specific protein expression in transgenic mice.

To determine whether our hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged rat mTOR transgene is …

Starch-Based Diet And Type 2 Diabetes, Rosper John Jr, Tetaake Y. Ting

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The starch based diet was discovered and developed by Dr. John McDougal who claimed that a diet consisting of 70% starch, 20% vegetable and 10% fruit while eliminating meat, fat and diary products has helped his patients reverse their diabetes. In this study, we will re-examine the effect of this diet on blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. We hypothesize that eating on a starch-based diet improves insulin sensitivity in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

A survey of 10 selected type 2 diabetes diagnosed individuals was conducted. Each individual was interviewed and given the option to participate in …

Aspartame: An Investigation Of The Use Of Artificial Sweeteners, Carlson John, Alvin Page, Bsc

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in many foods and beverages. Aspartame is two hundred times sweeter than regular sugar. Many people prefer to use artificial sweeteners like aspartame as it does not affect blood sugar in the same way as natural sweeteners, does not promote tooth decay, and has been shown to be beneficial in weight control. However, it has also been linked with the development or aggravation of diabetes mellitus, convulsions, headaches, depression, hypertension, arthritis, and other medical conditions. We hypothesize that natural sweeteners are healthier than artificial sweeteners, like Splenda.

Artificial sweeteners …

The Genetic And Environmental Etiology Of Schizophrenia In Palau, Elora James, William Byerley, Md, Christopher U. Kitalong, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has been affecting people throughout the world. There is an established worldwide 1% average prevalence of schizophrenia; however there are high degrees of variability between different regions. Palau, an oceanic nation located in Micronesia, has an abnormally high prevalence rate of schizophrenia at 1.99%. When separated by gender, women have abnormal prevalence rate of 1.24%, while the men have a high prevalence rate of 2.77%, which is over twice the average worldwide. There has been a plethora of research conducted over the years to determine the genetic and environmental etiology …

Antibacterial Activity Of Extracts From Physalis Peruviana (Poha Berry), Rachel Higaki, Leng C. Chang, Phd, Mayuramas Sang-Ngern

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Physalis Peruviana (Pp) L., a member of Solanaceae family, has been used traditionally since Columbian times, particularly to treat various diseases. It is native to Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. Pp is known for its high amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibers. Several species in Solanaceae have been shown to exhibit antibacterial properties against gram-positive and gram­negative bacteria.

In Hawai'i, Poha berry fruits are eaten fresh and used for jams. For this experiment, Physalis peruviana whole plants and fruits were collected and further extracted. Both crude methanol extract of aerial (PpA) and 70% ethanol extract of fruits (PpF) from Pp …

Species Diversity And Population Structure In Worm-Snails Of The Dendropoma Genus In Palau, Masasinge Hideos, Julien Lorion, Phd, Kelutel Yoshiwo

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This report is a preliminary analysis of the mitochondrial genetic diversity of worm-snails (Gastropods, Vermetidae) in Palau. Worm-snails are suspension-feeding gastropods that have tubular uncoiled shells attached to the substrate. Some aggregate to form reefs of their own, forming mats along the water’s edge. There are here used as a model to understand connectivity of populations across Palau.

Samples were collected at 12 different areas with a total of 199 samples overall. Samples were dissected to extract DNA and a fragment of the COI mtDNA gene was then amplified by PCR and sequenced. Pairwise genetic distances were calculated with the …

Banded Application Of Phosgard 0-40-0 To A Representative Area In Guam’S Pago Watershed, Victoria Flisco, Laura Biggs, Phd, Bart Lawrence, Mohammad Golabi, Phd, Joseph Casila

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Water quality and coral reef health in Guam are greatly affected by surface runoff from sedimentation. Mitigation strategies (i.e. tree planting) are difficult to implement in highly degraded settings. We propose to conduct research testing mitigation strategies focusing on ameliorative soil enrichment. We hypothesize that increasing the soils’ resiliency in Guam’s Pago Watershed by banded application of Phosgard 0-40-0 will address critical soil fertility deficiencies (i.e. phosphorus, organic matter, and pH levels). Subsequent landscape scale mitigation projects on Guam may better address reduction from the damaging energy in surface water runoff resulting in extreme soil erosion and sedimentation. These actions …

Determining The Antibacterial Efficacy Of Ylang Ylang (Cananga Odorata) Plant Extract On Staphylococcus Aureus, Maria T. Dizon, Johnny Aldan, Bsn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) plant extract is highly popular among the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) and is frequently used in local medicine. This can be attributed to its properties as an antiseptic, antidepressant, antiseborrheic, hypotensive, sedative, and nervine substance. It is also used in aromatherapy treatments, perfume, and cosmetic products all over the world. The key chemical constituents of the Ylang Ylang are linalool, germacrene, geranyl acetate, methyl benzoate, and p-cresyl methyl ether, which all contribute to its medicinal effects. With the presence of antibacterial properties, it may be used as an alternative to conventional …

Comparison Of Three Mosquito Traps For Lymphatic Filariasis Molecular Xenomonitoring In American Samoa Villages, Louisa Crawley, Mark Schmaedick, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a mosquito-borne disease caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, which is endemic in American Samoa. The effort to eliminate LF has been highly successful, and is now in the monitoring phase to ensure continued progress. One of the monitoring methods is molecular xenomonitoring (MX) using PCR to detect W. bancrofti DNA in mosquitoes. Currently MX uses BG Sentinel traps to collect the LF vector Aedes polynesiensis. But the BG Sentinel traps catch relatively few Ae. polynesiensis, and most of those captured have not yet fed on blood. Gravid traps target mosquitoes that have already fed on …

Banded Application Of Geojute® Barriers To A Representative Area In Guam’S Pago Watershed, Joseph L. Casila, Laura Biggs, Phd, Victoria Flisco, Bart Lawrence

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Coral reefs around Guam are faced with multiple threats including soil erosion and sedimentation. In several of Guam’s southern watersheds, infertile soil upland has significantly deterred the growth of erosion-mitigating vegetation. Additionally, sediments that wash down to sea reduce the ability of coral reefs to thrive. The need to ameliorate the ecosystem decline related to erosion and sedimentation is particularly patent and pertinent in Pago Watershed. To inform restoration efforts, this research will identify the efficiency of GeoJute® barriers as a method of erosion control. Factoring cost, labor, and effectiveness in containing sediment, GeoJute® barriers are hypothesized as a practical …

Effect Of Stocking Density On The Growth, Survival, And Settlement Of Sandfish Sea Cucumber (Holothuria Scabra), Quilan Cantero, Manoj Nair, Phd, Justino Smith

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The US Affiliated Pacific Islands of Micronesia have several commercially important species of sea cucumbers in their water including the sandfish sea cucumbers, Holothuria scabra. Due to their commercial importance, they have been widely exploited and are in the danger of being extinct.

The College of Micronesia Land Grant Program has undertaken the development of hatchery-based sandfish sea cucumber farming technology for local community based economic development, future commercialization, and restocking the depleted stocks in the wild.

In this regard, an experiment was conducted to find out the effect of different stocking densities on the growth, survival, and settlement of …

Determining The Antibacterial Efficacy Of Ylang Ylang (Cananga Ordorata) Plant Extract On Esherichia Coli, Noemi Caacbay, Hervin Jacinto, Md, Rn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Esherichia coli (E.coli) is a bacterium with high prevalence in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. Discovered in 1885, E. coli is part of normal gut bacteria flora. However, some strains can be pathogenic and may also lead to serious infection. For instance, the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 produces a Shiga toxin, a toxin also produced by the bacterium Shigella dysenteriae, and can cause dysentery in humans. This pathogen is notorious for causing illness, hospitalizations, and deaths annually.

The objective of our research is to determine the antibacterial effectiveness of the Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) and …

West Nile Virus And Pattern Recognition Receptors, Jordan Boswell, Verma Saguna, Phd, Chih-Yun Lai

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

West Nile Virus (WNV), RNA virus is a member of the flaviviridae family that causes flu like symptoms in infected individuals, however in 1-2% cases, it causes severe neurological diseases such as encephalitis. There is no antiviral or vaccine approved so far to prevent WNV disease, therefore research to understand immune pathology is very important.

Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRR) are proteins that are expressed by cells to detect virus infection and play an important role in the innate immune system. When a PRR such as Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) and Nod-Like Receptors (NLR) detects a replicating virus, signals are sent out …

Mapping Snail Spatial Distribution In Guam’S Rivers, Anna Katrina Aragon, Timothy Righetti, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The family Hydrobiidae, otherwise known as the common mud snail, can be further classified into more specific divisions—and can live in both fresh and brackish water. One example, New Zealand Mud Snails are considered to be a nuisance to the environment because of two recognizable characteristics: its ability to reproduce quickly in high densities, and its capability to survive in many environmental conditions, which allow them to negatively influence the ecosystem’s food-chain and even alter the physical features of its surroundings. Also because of these traits, the family is able to withstand diverse environmental factors, which in turn allow …

Water Borne Diseases In The Rmi During The Years 2004-2015, Patricia Andrew, Abraham Hicking

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Water borne diseases in the Marshall Islands contribute to one of the heavy burdens on the government’s medical expenses for hospitals in the country. These diseases are preventable. Expenses are therefore unnecessary as these can be eliminated or reduced dramatically if proper education and awareness is done regarding water and sanitation issues. These are common issues that government in developing and poor countries take for granted. Little is provided and supported in terms of finance, infrastructure and political commitment.

Gastroenteritis is listed as the highest recorded cases among all other water borne related diseases such as typhoid, amebiasis, giardiasis and …

Igniting Passion For Science Across A Vast Ocean: Nurturing A New Generation Of Pacific Island Scientists, George Hui, Danielle Clements

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This article introduces the work that was done through the Coordinating Center at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.

Low Alcohol Beneficial Effects On The Cardiac Function During Cardiac Hypertrophy, Kiera Williams, Georges E. Haddad, Phd, Sima Tarzami, Phd, Mustafa Baker

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Chronic low alcohol exposure has been shown clinically to have beneficial cardiac effects; whereas chronic high alcohol consumption can lead to heart failure. We have previously shown that cardiac inotropy is closely related to the activation of the survival PI3K/Akt.

This study aimed to determine the effects of chronic low and high alcohol on cardiac function as well as to determine if low alcohol can alleviate the development of volume-overload-dependent (shunt) cardiac hypertrophy.

Littermate adult rats were put on a 3-months isocaloric Lieber-Decarli liquid diet with either low alcohol (LA: 5mM) or high alcohol (HA: 100mM) levels. The rats were …

Withaferin-A In Ameliorating The Effects Of High Glucose On Inflammatory And Phagocytic Response Of Mouse Macrophages, Trae Whyte, Satyesh K. Sinha, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Rapidly increasing rates of diabetes mellitus (DM) throughout the world represent an emerging epidemic with profound consequences including diabetic nephropathy (DN). Studies indicate that mj-mediated inflammation correlates with the development of DN. Macrophages exhibit pro- (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotypes. Therefore, in the present study, we tested our hypothesis that high glucose suppresses the M2 phenotype and phagocytosis, leading to aberrant cytokine release, and that withaferin-A (an anti-inflammatory molecule) will reduce the pro-inflammatory response of macrophages.

We cultured J-774A.1 macrophage-like cells (ATCC) in RPMI 1640. After reaching 70-80% confluence, the cells were serum starved for 18 hours. Cells were then …

Living Donor Kidney Transplantation: A Focus On The Socioecological Model To Determine Why Hispanics/Latinos Have A Disproportionate Amount Of Kidney Transplants When Compared To Other Ethnic Groups, Melissa Wenceslao, Amy D. Waterman, Phd, Crystal Kynard-Amerson, Mph, Aubre Parnicky, Msw

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Health disparities, especially kidney transplantation disparities, are prevalent in the Hispanic/Latino community. In order to decrease existing kidney transplantation disparities in the Hispanic/Latino community, culturally tailored education surrounding living donor kidney transplants needs to be improved.

The socioecological model depicts factors that affect a patient’s decision making when deciding on obtaining a living kidney donor transplant. These factors often act as barriers, which are categorized as patient-level factors, provider factors, and system factors. Patient-level factors include family and social networks, provider factors include physician and/or health care provider relationships, and system level factors include health care organization efficiency. Developing patient …

Correlation Between Vacs Index And Frailty In Hiv+ People And How It Affects Cognition And Brain Volume, Aslee Welch, Beau Ances, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes an infection within the immune system and can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) if not properly addressed. While this disease specifically attacks the immune system, it also affects other systems, such as the brain.

One major relationship we will be investigating is between HIV status and the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index, which includes race, sex and other biomarkers such as CD4 count, viral load, hepatitis C infection, and hemoglobin. We hypothesize that there will be a strong correlation between the VACS index and frailty in those with …

Leptin Induces Proliferation And Notch Expression In Pancreatic Cancer, Felice Watson, Ruben Gonzalez-Perez, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) is an aggressive cancer. It develops in a way that causes almost no detectable symptoms, which leads to a rapid progression and a short survival rate.

Researchers have discovered a link between pancreatic cancer (and other cancer types) and obesity. High levels of leptin, an appetite hormone secreted by adipocytes, have been found in obese people. Studies have shown that the absence of leptin in the body or severe leptin resistance can lead to uncontrolled eating and weight gain, hence, its connection to obesity. Consequently, our lab is analyzing the relationship between obesity and leptin and what …

The Association Between Food Insecurity, Glycemic Control, Self-Care, And Quality Of Life In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Allen Walters, Joni S. Williams, Md, Mph, Leonard E. Egede, Md, Ms

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Food insecurity is the inability to obtain adequate nutritious food. Therefore, the study assessed the relationship between food insecurity, glycemic control, self-care behaviors, and quality of life in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Cross sectional study of 356 adults with T2DM recruited from an academic medical center and a veterans affairs medical center. The independent predictor was food insecurity, and the outcomes were glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, self-care behaviors, and quality of life (QOL). Logistic regression was used to assess the independent factors associated with food insecurity. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between food insecurity and …

Effects Of Acculturation On Quality Of Life, Chronic Diseases And Health Behaviors In Persons Of African Ancestry, Danielle Stephenson, Camille Ragin, Phd, Elizabeth Blackman, Mph

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Black population in Philadelphia comprises of a diverse mix of persons with varied ancestry. We have established a non-cancer control registry (CAP3 study) which involves the collection of bio-specimens, epidemiological, lifestyle, quality of life, chronic conditions, culture and cancer prevention behaviors. Currently there are 707 participants enrolled, 95% from the African diaspora. In this study, the acculturation (the degree to which an individual holds onto their cultural norms) of new and pre-enrolled participants (n = 100) will be assessed and evaluations will be made to determine the relationship between acculturation, chronic conditions, health behaviors and quality of life.

Since …

Elucidating The Expression Profile Of Ezh2 Isoforms In Endometriosis: An Immunohistochemical Study, John Soto-Vargas, Idhaliz Flores, Phd, Mariano Colón-Caraballo, Andrés Velázquez-Garcia

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disease that affects 1 out of 10 women of reproductive age causing severe pelvic pain and infertility. Factors including genetics, environment, inflammation, and recently epigenetics have been shown to play roles in the pathophysiology of this disease. Histone methylation is an epigenetic modification that modulates gene expression by causing changes in the chromatin structure. Trimethylation of histone 3 at lysine residue 27 (H3K27me3) is a histone mark related to gene repression. EZH2 is the histone methyltransferase (HMT) responsible of catalyzing H3K27me3. It has been shown that the EZH2 is involved in carcinogenesis; however, the specific …

Glioblastoma Stem Cells, Michael Quintero, Qi Cui, Yanhong Shi, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Glioblastoma multiforme(GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor in humans. GBM accounts for 55% of all primary brain cancers, with a median survival rate of 14.6 months. The grim prognosis of GBM can be attributed to glioma stem cells (GSCs), which initiate tumor formation through the stem-like properties of self-renewal and differentiation. The ability of GSCs to resist radiation and chemotherapy contributes to the high rate of tumor recurrence in GBM patients. Consequently, novel therapies that effectively target the population of GSCs are of vital importance.

A promising is to induce the differentiation of GSCs. Previous studies …