Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cultural Diversity In Healthcare [Radiologic Technology], Lorena Maldonado, Theresa Licari

Open Educational Resources

The Cultural Diversity in Healthcare assignment is designed for the SCX 101 Patient care course. This assignment was first implemented in 2011 and has undergone significant revisions in the past few years from individual presentation to collaborative group presentation in 2013 and the connection to the Health Science First Year Seminar (HSF) assignment in 2018. The most recent revisions made were through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) workshop on Global Learning in Fall 2018. Feedback from the CTL seminar led to the inclusion of the Learning Objectives of the assignment and prompts that direct students to relate their …

Evaluation Of Mitral Apparatus Blood Cyst: A Case Report And Review Of Literature, Dipesh Ludhwani, Belaal Sheikh, Yahya Sheikh

Publications and Research

Intracardiac blood cysts (ICBC) are cardiac pseudoneoplasm commonly seen in infants below two months of age. ICBC typically resolve spontaneously; however, they can sometimes persist in adults and can cause detrimental consequences. A 47-year-old female presented to our facility with complaints of chest pain and was found to have an incidental subvalvular chordal mitral apparatus echolucent mass on transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). A stress echocardiography was performed, which revealed transient left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction in the absence of anginal symptoms. A cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no evidence of increased mass enhancement confirming the diagnosis of a benign …

Etiology And Clinical Patterns Of Uveitis At Three Ophthalmic Clinics In Tajikistan, Sayyora Yuldasheva, Saidbeg Satorov, Shekhratdzon Satorov, Vyacheslav Dushenkov

Publications and Research

A prospective observational study was conducted at three ophthalmic clinics to assess the clinical patterns and etiology of uveitis in the Central Asia Republic of Tajikistan. All patients underwent physical and ophthalmologic examinations. Extensive efforts were made to determine the etiology of uveitis, including workups for Behçet's Disease (BD) and Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) syndrome. All patients were tested for the presence of HLA-B27. Presence and/or history of tuberculosis and syphilis were ruled out. HSV, CMV, Chlamydia trachomatis and HIV antibody titers were determined by ELISA. Uveitis was diagnosed in 51 patient ages 14 to 60 were with women accounted for 60.8%. …

The Development Of Face Morphing Task To Assess Self Other Differentiation, Esen Karan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Self-Other Differentiation (SOD) refers to a developmental process of acquiring a consolidated, integrated, and individuated sense of self. SOD develops at a) perceptual (e.g., facial perception) and b) representational (e.g., traits, mental states, and beliefs) levels. Impairments in representational SOD (R-SOD) are associated with many forms of psychopathology, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD) and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Few studies to date have examined the perceptual aspects of SOD (P-SOD), which are hypothesized to develop from infancy onwards in tandem and in interaction with R-SOD. Given that the human face is one of the key characteristics that humans use to …

Association Of Fish Oil And Physical Activity On Mobility Disability In Older Adults, Anoop T. Balachandran

Publications and Research

Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether long-term fish oil (FO) supplementation is associated with a lower risk of mobility disability and enhances benefits of physical activity (PA). Methods: A total of 1635 sedentary adults age 70 to 89 yr from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders single-blinded randomized,multicenter clinical trial, which compared a structured PA program to a health education program. Primary outcome was incident major mobility disability (MMD), defined by loss of ability to walk 400 m, measured every 6 months for an average of 2.6 yr. Secondary outcomes included persistent mobility disability, Short Physical Performance Battery, …

Patient And Provider Perspectives On Sexual History Taking During Gynecological Care: A Pilot Study In An Academic Family Medical Setting In New York City, Ashley M. Chastain

Dissertations and Theses

Background: In the United States (US), women face a number of serious issues concerning sexual health. Current surveillance data indicates that overall rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing rapidly. While rates of new diagnoses have decreased, the risks of acquiring HIV are still relatively high for some females, specifically Black/African-American women. In New York City (NYC), where this dissertation research was conducted, similar HIV/STI rates exist among females of reproductive age (aged 15-44). Among women in the US, there are also high estimated rates of other sexual health problems, such as sexual anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and intimate …

Activation Of Lxrβ Inhibits Tumor Respiration And Is Synthetically Lethal With Bcl-Xl Inhibition, Trang Thi Thu Nguyen, Chiaki Tsuge Ishida, Enyuan Shang, Chang Shu, Consuelo Torrini, Yiru Zhang, Elena Bianchetti, Maria J. Sanchez-Quintero, Giulio Kleiner, Catarina M. Quinzii, Mike-Andrew Westhoff, Georg Karpel-Massler, Peter Canoll, Markus D. Siegelin

Publications and Research

Liver-X-receptor (LXR) agonists are known to bear anti-tumor activity. However, their efficacy is limited and additional insights regarding the underlying mechanism are necessary. By performing transcriptome analysis coupled with global polar metabolite screening, we show that LXR agonists, LXR623 and GW3965, enhance synergistically the anti-proliferative effect of BH3 mimetics in solid tumor malignancies, which is predominantly mediated by cell death with features of apoptosis and is rescued by exogenous cholesterol. Extracellular flux analysis and carbon tracing experiments (U-¹³C-glucose and U-¹³C-glutamine) reveal that within 5 h, activation of LXRβ results in reprogramming of tumor cell metabolism, leading …

Modeling Interval Timing By Recurrent Neural Nets, Theodore Raphan, Eugene Dorokhin, Andrew R. Delamater

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study was to take a new approach in showing how the central nervous system might encode time at the supra-second level using recurrent neural nets (RNNs). This approach utilizes units with a delayed feedback, whose feedback weight determines the temporal properties of specific neurons in the network architecture. When these feedback neurons are coupled, they form a multilayered dynamical system that can be used to model temporal responses to steps of input in multidimensional systems. The timing network was implemented using separate recurrent “Go” and “NoGo” neural processing units to process an individual stimulus indicating the …

A Mixed-Methods, Randomized Clinical Trial To Examine Feasibility Of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Management And Diabetes Risk Reduction Intervention For African Americans With Prediabetes, Cheryl L. Woods-Giscombe, Susan A. Gaylord, Yin Li, Carrie E. Brintz, Shrikant I. Bangdiwala, John B. Buse, John D. Mann, Chanee Lynch, Pamela Phillips, Sunyata Smith, Karyn Leniek, Laura Young, Saada Al-Barwani, Jeena Yoo, Keturah Faurot

Publications and Research

African Americans have disproportionately high rates of stress-related conditions, including diabetes and diabetes-related morbidity. Psychological stress may negatively influence engagement in risk-reducing lifestyle changes (physical activity and healthy eating) and stress-related physiology that increase diabetes risk. ,is study examined the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial comparing a novel mindfulness-based stress management program combined with diabetes risk-reduction education versus a conventional diabetes risk-reduction education program among African American adults with prediabetes and self-reported life stress. Participants were recruited in collaboration with community partners and randomized to the mindfulness- based diabetes risk-reduction education program for prediabetes (MPD; n = 38) or …

Cc Chemokine Ccl1 Receptor Ccr8 Mediates Conversion Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Embryoid Bodies Expressing Foxp3+Ccr8+ Regulatory T Cells, Nasreen Haque, Tuteja Akaash, Niloufar Haque

Publications and Research

Embryoid bodies (EBs) are three dimensional aggregates of pluripotent stem cells primarily used to investigate morphogenesis and cell toxicity, are also attractive tools in regenerative medicine. While embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent cells (IPSCs) have been shown to form EBs in mouse, primate and humans, EB formation have not been previously demonstrated in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here we show that rat MSCs form EBs; which express regulatory T cell (Treg) marker Foxp3 and CC chemokine CCL1 receptor CCR8. We show a novel method for formation of EBs from MSCs under stress and demonstrate that the induction of …

Developing Physician Educational Competencies For The Management Of Female Genital Cutting: A Call To Action, Holly G. Atkinson, Amaris Geisler

Publications and Research

Female genital cutting (FGC), also called female genital mutilation, is defined as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious, or other nontherapeutic reasons.” FGC can have significant health consequences, including multiple physical and psychological complications, throughout the life course. Despite violating numerous human rights and existing legal prohibitions, the practice continues. In the United States, FGC is becoming increasingly prevalent, however, physicians are not routinely trained to care for these patients. Despite the evidence of the need, there is a woeful lack of …

Activation Of Lxr Receptors And Inhibition Of Trap1 Causes Synthetic Lethality In Solid Tumors, Trang Thi Thu Nguyen, Chiaki Tsuge Ishida, Enyuan Shang, Chang Shu, Elena Bianchetti, Georg Karpel-Massler, Markus D. Siegelin

Publications and Research

Cholesterol is a pivotal factor for cancer cells to entertain their relentless growth. In this case, we provide a novel strategy to inhibit tumor growth by simultaneous activation of liver-X-receptors and interference with Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-associated Protein 1 (TRAP1). Informed by a transcriptomic and subsequent gene set enrichment analysis, we demonstrate that inhibition of TRAP1 results in suppression of the cholesterol synthesis pathway in stem-like and established glioblastoma (GBM) cells by destabilizing the transcription factor SREBP2. Notably, TRAP1 inhibition induced cell death, which was rescued by cholesterol and mevalonate. Activation of liver X receptor (LXR) by a clinically validated …

Mechanisms Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression, Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, Trisheena Harricharaan, Jeannette Huaman, Anna Galuza, Oluwatoyin Odumuwagun, Yin Tan, Grace X. Ma, Minhhuyen T. Nguyen

Publications and Research

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with a very poor prognosis. In the United States, there has been only minimal improvement in the prognosis for HCC patients over the past 15 years. Details of the molecular mechanisms and other mechanisms of HCC progression remain unclear. Consequently, there is an urgent need for better understanding of these mechanisms. HCC is often diagnosed at advanced stages, and most patients will therefore need systemic therapy, with sorafenib being the most common at the present time. However, sorafenib …

Dietary Polyphenols, Resveratrol And Pterostilbene Exhibit Antitumor Activity On An Hpv E6-Positive Cervical Cancer Model: An In Vitro And In Vivo Analysis, Kaushiki Chatterjee, Sumit Mukherjee, Jonathan Vanmanen, Probal Banerjee, Jimmie E. Fata

Publications and Research

Human papilloma virus (HPV)-induced cervical cancer is one of themost frequent cancers in women residing in underdeveloped countries. Natural compounds like polyphenols continue to be of scientific interest as non-toxic effective alternative treatments. Our previous work showed the efficacy of two polyphenols, resveratrol, and pterostilbene on human HeLa cells. Here we explored the in vitro anti-cancer activity and in vivo anti-tumor potential of these two structurally similar compounds on HPV oncogene E6 and E7 positive murine TC1 cells. In vitro analysis confirmed the cytotoxic potential of both resveratrol and pterostilbene compounds with each having a low IC50 value and each …

Effects Of The Kcnq Channel Opener Ezogabine On Functional Connectivity Of The Ventral Striatum And Clinical Symptoms In Patients With Major Depressive Disorder, Aaron Tan, Sara Costi, Laurel S. Morris, Nicholas T. Van Dam, Marin Kautz, Alexis E. Whitton, Allyson K. Friedman, Katherine A. Collins, Gabriella Ahle, Nisha Chadha, Brian Do, Diego A. Pizzagalli, Dan V. Iosifescu, Eric J. Nestler, Ming-Hu Han, James W. Murrough

Publications and Research

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, yet current treatment strategies remain limited in their mechanistic diversity. Recent evidence has highlighted a promising novel pharmaceutical target—the KCNQ-type potassium channel—for the treatment of depressive disorders, which may exert a therapeutic effect via functional changes within the brain reward system, including the ventral striatum. The current study assessed the effects of the KCNQ channel opener ezogabine (also known as retigabine) on reward circuitry and clinical symptoms in patients with MDD. Eighteen medication-free individuals with MDD currently in a major depressive episode were enrolled in an open-label study and …

Effects Of Vitamin D3 And Its Chemical Analogs On The Growth Of Hodgkin’S Lymphoma, In Vitro, Rajendra Ghardbaran, Bo Zhang, Luis Valerio, Onyekwere Onwumere, Madeline Wong, Jason Mighty, Stephen Redenti

Publications and Research

Objective: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) activities have been noted for a number of B cell malignancies which showed varying sensitivities to vitamin D3 (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, VD3, calcitriol) and its synthetic analogs. The objective of this study was to address the potential effects of VD3 and vitamin D3 analogs (VDAs) on the growth of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL), a malignant pathology of B cell origin, in vitro.

Results: Immunofluorescence staining showed the expression of VDR by primary Hodgkin’s (H) and Reed–Sternberg (RS)—HRS-tumor cells in HL histological sections. Western blot analyses revealed expression of VDR in the HL cell lines Hs445, HDLM2, KMH2, …

Dual Complementary Liposomes Inhibit Triple-Negative Breast Tumor Progression And Metastasis, Peng Guo, Jiang Yang, Daxing Liu, Lan Huang, Gillian Fell, Jin Huang, Marsha A. Moses, Debra T. Auguste

Publications and Research

Distinguishing malignant cells from non-neoplastic ones is a major challenge in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment. Here, we developed a complementary targeting strategy that uses precisely matched, multivalent ligand-receptor interactions to recognize and target TNBC tumors at the primary site and metastatic lesions. We screened a panel of cancer cell surface markers and identified intercellular adhesion molecule–1 (ICAM1) and epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) as optimal candidates for TNBC complementary targeting. We engineered a dual complementary liposome (DCL) that precisely complements the molecular ratio and organization of ICAM1 and EGFR specific to TNBC cell surfaces. Our in vitro mechanistic studies …

Can An Exercise-Based Educational And Motivational Intervention Be Durably Effective In Changing Compliance To Physical Activity And Anthropometric Risk In People With Type 2 Diabetes? A Follow-Up Study, Francesca Gallè, Jesse C. Krakauer, Nir Krakauer, Giuliana Valerio, Giorgio Liguori

Publications and Research

Aims. A nine-month motivational exercise-based intervention was previously offered to subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D). A year after the end of the intervention, compliance to physical activity (PA) and anthropometric indices of participants were analyzed to evaluate the durability of its effects. Methods. PA levels, expressed as total energy expenditure per week, were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Changes in Body Mass Index (BMI), A Body Shape Index (ABSI), Hip Index (HI) z-scores, the relative mortality risk related to each of these measures, and a combined Anthropometric Risk Index (ARI) were also evaluated. Results. Of a …

Deep Learning Based Medical Image Analysis With Limited Data, Jiaxing Tan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Deep Learning Methods have shown its great effort in the area of Computer Vision. However, when solving the problems of medical imaging, deep learning’s power is confined by limited data available. We present a series of novel methodologies for solving medical imaging analysis problems with limited Computed tomography (CT) scans available. Our method, based on deep learning, with different strategies, including using Generative Adversar- ial Networks, two-stage training, infusing the expert knowledge, voting based or converting to other space, solves the data set limitation issue for the cur- rent medical imaging problems, specifically cancer detection and diagnosis, and shows very …

Effects Of Am80 Compared To Ac261066 In A High Fat Diet Mouse Model Of Liver Disease, Marta Melis, Xiao-Han Tang, Steven E. Trasino, Viral M. Patel, Daniel J. Stummer, Jose Jessurun, Lorraine J. Gudas

Publications and Research

The roles of retinoids in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain unclear and a better understanding may lead to therapies that prevent or limit NAFLD progression. We examined the actions of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) agonists- AM80 for RARαand AC261066 for RARβ2- in a murine model of NAFLD. We fed wild type C57Bl/6 mice a chow or a 45% high fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks, followed by 4 additional weeks with the HFD+AM80; HFD +AC261066; or HFD. The HFD+AM80 group showed greater hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance compared to other groups. Histopathological evaluation of the livers showed the highest degree …

Microrna-4719 And Microrna-6756-5p Correlate With Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression Through Interleukin-24 Regulation, Dibash K. Das, Leah Persaud, Moira Sauane

Publications and Research

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with localized PCa is nearly 100%, yet for those diagnosed with aggressive PCa, it is less than 30%. The pleiotropic cytokine Interleukin-24 (IL-24) has been shown to specifically kill PCa cells compared to normal cells when overexpressed in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Despite this, the mechanisms regulating IL-24 in PCa are not well understood. Since specific microRNAs (miRNAs) are dysregulated in PCa, we used miRNA target prediction algorithm tools to identify miR-4719 and miR-6556-5p as …

Clinic-Based Delivery Of The Young Men’S Health Project (Ymhp) Targeting Hiv Risk Reduction And Substance Use Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol For A Type 2, Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness Trial, Jeffrey T. Parsons, Tyrel Starks, Sitaji Gurung, Demetria Cain, Jonathan Marmo, Sylvie Naar

Publications and Research

Background: Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately at risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Adapting and testing the effectiveness of the Young Men’s Health Project (YMHP), an efficacious intervention designed to reduce substance use and condomless anal sex (CAS) among YMSM, at clinics in Miami, Detroit, and Philadelphia has the potential to reduce HIV and STI disparities among urban YMSM.

Objective: This study (Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions [ATN] 145 YMHP) aims to adapt YMHP for clinic and remote delivery by existing clinic staff and compare their effectiveness in real-world adolescent HIV clinics. …

Mold, Allergic Diseases And Asthma: Assessing The Validity And Usefulness Of Indoor Air Sampling As A Tool In Providing Health Protective Advice To Occupants, William M. Sothern

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Asthma is a major health problem throughout the world, disproportionately affecting occupants of low-income housing, and exposure to damp and moldy living conditions is recognized as a significant risk factor for asthma and other respiratory diseases. However, there are no authoritative health guidance values (HGV's) for airborne mold, and current scientific thought holds that the establishment of such guidelines is not practicable. Nonetheless, environmental practitioners take air samples for mold as a routine component of their indoor environmental investigations and use the laboratory results as a tool together with other findings to guide recommendations for health protective actions. The …