Life Sciences Commons^™

Acquired Craniosynostosis In A Patient With Iatrogenic Vitamin D Intoxication, Wesley Eichorn, Kristi Vanderkolk Md

Research Day

Introduction: Craniosynostosis, which refers to premature fusion of cranial sutures, is an uncommon diagnosis in the pediatric patient, occurring with an incidence of approximately 1 in 2,000 individuals. It is most often associated with X-Linked hypophosphatemic rickets. The implications of craniosynostosis, especially with a delayed diagnosis, are severe. Case Report: MJ is an African American male born at term via cesarean section with an unremarkable immediate postnatal period. He was diagnosed with rickets at the age of 7 months but treatment was not immediately initiated. He presented again at age 9 months with an upper respiratory infection and failure to …

Benefit Of Ultrasound Curriculum Development For Family Medicine Residents, Nithin Natwa, Uzair Munshey, Duncan Vos, Robert Baker

Research Day

Introduction/Purpose: Musculoskeletal problems comprise some of the most common reasons for ambulatory care encounters in the United States, accounting for 8.3% of the 1.2 billion visits per year according to the CDC. Musculoskeletal Ultrasound use has become more common in primary care for diagnosis and therapeutics. In Family Medicine Residency (FMR) Programs there is a deficiency of a structured, competency-based musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK US) training despite its growing popularity. Currently, there is no formalized requirement for Ultrasound education as in other residency programs in spite of its benefit. Methods: We received a positive response on our needs analysis survey for …

Childhood Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension: A Case Report, Nathaniel Balmert, Joseph Prahlow

Research Day

Introduction: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized as average pulmonary artery pressure of greater than 25mm Hg at rest. Childhood idiopathic pulmonary hypertensions (CIPH) is distinguishable from PAH by the absence of family history or underlying disease. Symptoms of CIPH include dyspnea, exercise limitation, and syncope. Common organ-specific changes include right ventricular hypertrophy and right ventricular strain. We present the case of a 6-year-old girl presenting with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension aggravated by esophageal intubation. Methods: This case is from the files of one of the authors, a forensic pathologist. Case Report and Discussion: Diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension when …

Enhancing Childrens Social-Emotional Learning Skills Through Mindfulness Practices, Shun Yi Wan, Stephanie Chang, Jordan Fenlon, Amrith Shettigar, Mckenzie Johnson, Sam Lealofi

Research Day

Background: The Kalamazoo Eastside neighborhood has been subject to a great deal of economic and functional instability, particularly impacting the youth. Local demographic studies indicate that 90% of children are eligible for free or reduced lunch due to low income, 58% of households are single-female households, and 29% of parents do not have a high school diploma. Eastside Youth Strong (EYS) is a local organization focused on improving the lives of these children. This study will be investigating the EYS afterschool program’s mindfulness initiative. Purpose: Social and emotional learning were chosen to be studied because these skills are critical for …

Delivery Of Health Education In Adolescents With Behavioral Health Challenges, Ashley Akkal, Ransome Eke Md, Phd, Sulin Wu, Amy Rechenberg, Michael Madrid, Jose Lopez-Vera, Duncan Vos

Research Day

BACKGROUND Adolescents with behavioral health issues tend to have inadequate access to health education, and are thus less aware of the importance of personal and dental hygiene, exercise, and healthy diet and lifestyle habits. Due to this disparity, this population has been known to harbor a higher prevalence of STI’s, drug and alcohol abuse, physical altercations, juvenile detention, and suicide attempts. PURPOSE The overall objective of this study was to examine the effect of integrating a health science curriculum in this population. METHODS Participants aged 5-17 years old were recruited and assigned to either control or science groups by Family …

A Case Of Native Valve Staphylococcus Epidermidis Endocarditis With Cardiac Abscess Formation, Emily Cordes, Chris Jacob, Mark Loehrke

Research Day

Introduction: Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most common commensal bacteria of the skin; however it can be pathogenic and is the most frequent cause of medical device associated endocarditis. It is also a well-known cause of endocarditis in IV drug abuse (IVDA). However, in individuals without obvious disruption of the skin barrier, it is a relatively rare, but emerging entity of native valve endocarditis. Coagulase negative staphylococci account for only 1-5% of community acquired native valve infective endocarditis and most resolve with treatment. We report a case of a 56 year old male with an aggressive strain of community acquired Staphylococcus …

Challenges In The Diagnosis And Management Of Pediatric Pulmonary Tuberculosis In Madagascar, Emily Cordes, Richard Roach

Research Day

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Madagascar. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, the estimated incidence of TB was 57,000 and 11,000 of those cases were of patients less than 14 years old. Of the reported cases, 89% were bacteriologically confirmed. However, it is well established that bacteriologic confirmation of TB in children is especially difficult. Therefore, the incidence of TB in the pediatric population in Madagascar, and likely worldwide, is under estimated. We report a case of a 4 year old male that illustrates the challenges in diagnosis and management …

Widening The Differential: A Case Of Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Disguised As A Fever Of Unknown Origin, Emily Cordes

Research Day

Introduction: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an under recognized, aggressive inflammatory disease characterized by excessive activity of histiocytes and lymphocytes. According to the HLH-2004 guidelines, five of the following eight criteria must be met to diagnose HLH: fever >38.5¡ã C, splenomegaly; cytopenias affecting ¡Ý two cell lines; hypertriglyceridemia/hypofibrinogenemia; evidence of hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow, spleen or lymph nodes; hyperferritinemia; low NK cell activity; or high levels of soluble CD25. Once a diagnosis of HLH is established, investigations for infectious, malignant or autoimmune etiologies must be pursued. We report a case of fever of unknown origin (FUO) that presented multiple times …

Social Determinants - Impacting Or Causing Disparities In Patient Care?, Shaena Faye Freeman Md, Kristi Vanderkolk Md

Research Day

Health disparities secondary to social factors including socioeconomic status, race, gender and ethnicity are well known to the health community and are a troubling issue in the United States. Social determinants are defined by the WHO as the structural “conditions people are born, live, grow, work and age in…determined by wealth distribution and available resources…that are mostly responsible for health inequalities.” We present here the case of TL, a 49 year old African American female who presented to the emergency department three times with atypical coronary disease symptoms in the setting of recent NSTEMI with subsequent 3 vessel CABG. At …

Cryptococcal Empyema: A Rare Manifestation Of Disease, Mohamed Mortagy, Larry Lutwick, Stephen Breisach

Research Day

Introduction: Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast that is generally acquired by man from the environment via the respiratory route. Despite this route of acquisition, overt pulmonary infection is uncommonly diagnosed and the disease is usually manifest as a subacute meningitis which is mostly manifest in individuals who are celluarly immunoincompetent such as those on cancer chemotherapy, receiving anti-solid organ rejection medications and those with HIV/AIDS. Infection of the pleural space with C. neoformans is quite uncommon. We report a non-immunosuppressed man who was found to have infection of the pleural in the wake of bacterial empyema who was successfully …

Infection-Associated Mycobacterium Fortuitum Infection, Dennis T. Huang, Larry Lutwick

Research Day

Introduction: Mycobacterial species are unusual causes of skin and soft tissue infections and can be difficult to diagnose in the absence of consideration as they often require specific culture media and longer incubation times. We report a Mycobacterium fortuitum subcutaneous abscess in a diabetic related to medication injection that was initially diagnosed without specialized media or prolonged incubation times. Case Report: A 48 year old diabetic female developed a progressive subcutaneous swelling in the tissues of the right lower abdominal wall where she had been injecting liraglutide. Because of continued enlargement "to almost egg size" with pain, she was empirically …

Acute Hypoxic Respiratory Failure As A Complication Of A Urinary Tract Infection During Pregnancy: A Case Presentation, Manpreet S. Narwal, Susan Jevert-Eichorn, Narinder Nina Clair

Research Day

Urinary tract infections (UTI), as well as asymptomatic bacteriuria, have the potential to cause serious morbidity during pregnancy making it imperative to identify and treat them promptly. If left untreated, a UTI can lead to pyelonephritis and sepsis. More importantly, UTIs are independently associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), premature rupture of membranes (PROM), preterm delivery, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), preeclampsia, and cesarean delivery. We report the case of NC, a 19 year old G1P0 at 36 weeks and 3 days GA who presented to the hospital with concern for rupture of membranes with associated back and …

Determining Best Practices Of Peer Mediation Methods In Kalamazoo Public Schools, Melanie Bourgeau, Dagan Hammar, Neil Hughes, Sarah Kemp, Sydney Spitler, Cathy L. Kothari Phd

Research Day

Determining Best Practices of Peer Mediation methods in Kalamazoo Public Schools Melanie Bourgeau, Dagan Hammar, Neil Hughes, Sarah Kemp, Sydney Spitler, Catherine Kothari BACKGROUND Peer mediation is a method of conflict resolution in which a conflict between two people or groups is guided by a fellow student in order to reach an agreement. Peer mediation has been shown to be an effective tool in helping students resolve conflict and how to respond to future conflicts. This has led to a reduction in school violence and suspensions in schools that have adopted this method. Several methods have been employed in the …

A Review Of Transcatheter Ablation For The Treatment Of Avnrt In Children, Keegan Colletier, Sulin Wu, Stephanie Van Alsten, Brittany Chow

Research Day

Background: Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is an arrhythmia due to re-entrant rhythm within the region of the atrioventricular (AV) node, which accounts for most supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) cases in children. There are two main pathways involved for the re-entrant rhythm, slow and fast pathways, with different anatomic locations and involvement in the circuit associated with AVNRT. AVNRT is rare in newborns, but an increase of prevalence throughout childhood was previously reported.Study Objective/Purpose: Currently, Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is the primary method for the treatment of AVNRT in pediatrics. However, multiple modalities with varying efficacies can also be utilized. In this …

Newsletters 2016-2017, Mandarin Garden Club

Mandarin Garden Club Scrapbooks

Scrapbook includes images, club news and ribbons. Newsletters housed separate. Cover material: Plastic. Size: 11.5" x 11 x 2.5".

Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Herbaceous Vascular Flora Of Forested Seep Wetlands In Winneshiek County, Iowa, Usa, Elizabeth A. Lynch, Anna Burke Weckwerth

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Forested seep wetlands dominated by skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) occur frequently in the Canoe Creek watershed of the Upper Iowa River, but this type of wetland has not been described systematically in the upper Midwest. The goal of this study is to document the herbaceous plant flora of five seeps. Although individual seeps are small (200-500 m²), they provide habitat for a high number of plant species. Five seeps with total area less than 0.2 ha supported more than 120 native vascular herbaceous taxa, 20 of which have a coefficient of conservatism (C-value) of 7 or …

A Statistical, Spatial, And Hydrologic Comparison Of Gauge-Based And Mpe-Based Rainfall Measurements, Richard Bernatz

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Gauge-based and multi-sensor precipitation estimation (MPE) data are compared on hourly, daily, monthly and event time scales at site locations over a 12-year period. Gauge data is collected at 16 sites within a 950 km2 portion of the Upper Iowa River in northeast Iowa. Average relative MPE bias is positive for all but the event time scale, and has a magnitude of less than 0.10 for all scales. Gauge and MPE average correlation coefficients range from 0.73 on the hourly scale to 0.92 on the event and monthly scales. The MPE relative bias standard deviation decreases from 1.70 mm on …

A Vascular Flora Of The Kiavah Wilderness, Scodie Mountains, Kern County, California, Erika M. Gardner

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Congress designated the Kiavah Wilderness in 1994 under the California Desert Protection Act. It is located in the Scodie Mountains in Kern County, ca. 24 km (15 mi) east of Lake Isabella and 24 km (15 mi) west of Ridgecrest, and encompasses a total of 137 mi² (354 km²) with elevations ranging from 1000 to 2200 m (3500–7294 ft). The Wilderness is ecologically important because it occurs in a transition zone between two floristic provinces, the Sierra Nevada of the California Floristic Province and the Mojave Desert of the Desert Province. It is of cultural significance because …

Plant Phenology And Water Relations In A Saline Pan-Dune Mosaic In The Western Mojave Desert, M. Rasoul Sharifi, William N. Brostoff, Philip W. Rundel

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

An extensive mosaic of small clay pans and low stable dunes exists within Edwards Air Force Base in the western Mojave Desert of California. This pan-dune ecosystem, positioned between the large Rosamond and Rogers dry lakes on the old Pleistocene lakebed of Lake Thompson, provides an opportunity to study the seasonal patterns in growth and flowering phenology and water relations in a saltbush scrub community dominated by a mix of C₃ and C₄ species. C₃ shrubs initiated vegetative growth in February, with current shoot and leaf production largely ceasing in most species by mid-April. The deeply rooted …

The Role Of Oxidation-Sensitive Nociception And Epigenetics In Endometriosis-Associated Pain, Kristeena Ray Wright

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Endometriosis is an enigmatic disease that is associated with severe symptoms and consequences such as total hysterectomy. Upwards of 10% of women of reproductive age have endometriosis, most of whom are afflicted with chronic pelvic pain and/or infertility. Despite many treatment options available to endometriosis patients, there is no cure for this condition and recurrence of symptoms is extremely common. In CHAPTER 1, we describe the mechanisms involved in endometriotic pain and the currently available treatment strategies. Our laboratory has provided evidence for the role of oxidative stress in the etiology of endometriosis and its associated pain. In this dissertation …

Importance Of Maintaining The Diverse Tallgrass Prairie, Shelley Kosola

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Drought On Suspended Load In South Dakota Tributaries, Bethany Vazquez

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Fish On Aquatic Insects, Tyler Seidel

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.

Protocol For Surveying Bat Use Of Lava Tube Caves During Winter In Craters Of The Moon National Monument And Preserve, Standard Operating Procedures, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Kathleen Slocum, Todd Stefanic, Shawn Thomas, Meghan Lonneker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Background

The Upper Columbia Basin Network I&M (Inventory and Monitoring) program and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are collaborating to monitor winter bat use in Arco Tunnel, which is a safely accessed cave in the northern portion of the monument that consistently has been found with the largest number of bats (~30/year) among the set of caves recently inventoried. The standard operating procedures documented here and the methods described in the associated protocol narrative will also be used to periodically inventory other caves within the monument and surrounding preserve as park resources and safety (winter environmental and …

First Definitive Fossil Of An Oestroid Fly (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea) And The Dating Of Oestroid Divergences, Pierfilippo Cerretti, John O. Stireman Iii, Thomas Pape, James E. O'Hara, Marco A. Marinho, Knut Rognes, David A. Grimaldi

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Calyptrate flies include about 22,000 extant species currently classified into Hippoboscoidea (tsetse, louse, and bat flies), the muscoid grade (house flies and relatives) and the Oestroidea (blow flies, bot flies, flesh flies, and relatives). Calyptrates are abundant in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, often playing key roles as decomposers, parasites, parasitoids, vectors of pathogens, and pollinators. For oestroids, the most diverse group within calyptrates, definitive fossils have been lacking. The first unambiguous fossil of Oestroidea is described based on a specimen discovered in amber from the Dominican Republic. The specimen was identified through digital dissection by CT scans, which provided morphological …

A New Tachinid Genus And Species Record For North America: Iceliopsis Borgmeieri Guimarães, John O. Stireman Iii, Jane E. Dell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Iceliini are a small, enigmatic New World tribe of Tachininae consisting of three genera, Icelia RobineauDesvoidy, Iceliopsis Guimarães, and Erviopsis Townsend, and five recognized species (Guimarães 1976). All known species are exclusively Neotropical in distribution with the exception of Icelia triquetra (Olivier), which ranges from Brazil, through Central America, and as far north as New York state (O’Hara & Wood 2004). Members of the tribe are generally medium-sized (ca. 7–12 mm), elongate, yellowish or grayish in color, and resemble Dexiini or Leskiini in general appearance. Species of Iceliini are relatively rarely collected and there is but a single host …

A Novel Approach For Classifying Gene Expression Data Using Topic Modeling, Soon Jye Kho, Himi Yalamanchili, Michael L. Raymer, Amit Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Understanding the role of differential gene expression in cancer etiology and cellular process is a complex problem that continues to pose a challenge due to sheer number of genes and inter-related biological processes involved. In this paper, we employ an unsupervised topic model, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to mitigate overfitting of high-dimensionality gene expression data and to facilitate understanding of the associated pathways. LDA has been recently applied for clustering and exploring genomic data but not for classification and prediction. Here, we proposed to use LDA inclustering as well as in classification of cancer and healthy tissues using lung cancer …

Genomic Vs. Non-Genomic Role Of The Ahr In Human Immunoglobulin Expression, Nasser Alhamdan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (Igh) in various animal models is regulated by numerous regulatory elements including the 3'Igh regulatory region (3'IghRR). Several transcription factors are involved in modulating the 3'R including the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). The AhR is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates the transcription of genes involved in the metabolism of environmental toxicants such as TCDD. TCDD binds AhR and regulates immunoglobulin (Ig) expression in B cells. This modulation appears to be directly mediated by binding of the AhR to dioxin response elements (DRE) within the 3'IghRR. In human B cells, IgG secretion inhibited by TCDD …

Cx43 Expression Increases In Response To Increased Temperature Incubation In The Developing Chicken Embryonic Brain, Erick A. Barrios

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

We used the chicken embryo model to examine whether altered incubation temperature during chicken embryo development would alter the protein expression of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), hsp90, and connexin 43 (cx43) in the brain. We incubated eggs in either optimal (37.6° C, Con), increased (39.6° C, +2), or decreased (35.6° C, -2) temperature conditions until they reached embryonic day 16 (E16). The -2 condition significantly increased incidence of embryonic mortality. As shown in the literature, the development of the eggs was accelerated or decelerated due to increased or decreased temperature respectively. To control for this, we incubated eggs at …