Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Primary Care-Based Educational Interventions To Decrease Risk Factors For Metabolic Syndrome For Adults With Major Psychotic And/Or Affective Disorders: A Systematic Review, Cynthia Nover, Sarah S. Jackson

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

Individuals with major psychotic and/or affective disorders are at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome due to lifestyle- and treatment-related factors. Numerous pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have been tested in inpatient and outpatient mental health settings to decrease these risk factors. This review focuses on primary care-based non-pharmacological (educational or behavioral) interventions to decrease metabolic syndrome risk factors in adults with major psychotic and/or affective disorders.

Methods

The authors conducted database searches of PsychINFO, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, as well as manual searches and gray literature searches to identify included studies.

Results

The authors were …

Table Of Contents, Michele Harmon

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of Novel Azetidines, Amber Thaxton

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Azetidine is a four-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring that has recently received a great deal of attention as a molecular scaffold for the design and preparation of biologically active compounds. Structure-activity studies employing functionalized azetidines have led to the development of variety of drug molecules and clinical candidates encompassing a broad spectrum of biological activities.

Herein, the synthesis a novel series of 3-aryl-3-arylmethoxyazetidines is described. Selected 3-aryl-3-arylmethoxyazetidines were evaluated for their binding affinity to multiple monoaminergic transporters for the potential treatment of methamphetamine addiction. It was discovered that this scaffold exhibits high binding affinity (nM) for both the serotonin and dopamine …

Dose Dependent Effects Of Caffeine On Cognitive Performance And Neuronal Activation, Stephan Albrecht, Helen Morris, Michelle Vieyra

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Many students assume that the more caffeine you drink, the better your cognitive performance. Over-consumption of caffeine has many negative effects, so if there are no dose related cognitive benefits to large amounts of caffeine, then college students should limit their intake. This study looked at whether ingesting a medium dose (200 mg) versus a lower dose (100 mg) of caffeine improved short term memory as measured by Flanker and n-back tests, compared to a control group. In addition, we looked at whether larger doses of caffeine produced a difference in neuronal activation during these tests as measured by functional …

Fourier Analysis Of Phase Resetting Curves Of Neural Oscillators, Robert A. Raidt, Sorinel A. Oprisan

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

We investigated the impact of changes in biologically relevant control parameters, such as the shape of an external perturbation or the conductance values of an individual model neuron, on the shape of the phase resetting curve (PRC) of that neuron. For that purpose, PRCs were generated for groups of Morris-Lecar (ML) model neurons with different conductance values but similar firing periods (within 0.005ms) using external rectangular, triangular, or trapezoidal perturbations of varying areas. These PRCs were numerically described and analyzed as a series of coefficient values using a Fourier Discrete Sine Transform (DST). We found that changes in the shape …

Modeling Fecal Bacteria In Oregon Coastal Streams Using Spatially Explicit Watershed Characteristics, Paul Bryce Pettus

Dissertations and Theses

Pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms, are causing the majority of water quality impairments in U.S., making up ~87% of this grouping's violations. Predicting and characterizing source, transport processes, and microbial survival rates is extremely challenging, due to the dynamic nature of each of these components. This research built upon current analytical methods that are used as exploratory tools to predict pathogen indicator counts across regional scales. Using a series of non-parametric methodologies, with spatially explicit predictors, 6657 samples from non-estuarine lotic streams were analyzed to make generalized predictions of regional water quality. 532 frequently sampled sites in …

Situational Awareness/Triage Tool For Use In A Chemical, Biological, Radiological Nuclear Explosive (Cbrne) Environment, John N. Scarlett, Heather L. Gallup, David A. Smith

AFIT Patents

A method of managing patient care and emergency response following a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Explosive (CBRNE) attack and maintaining compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The method including identifying each patient with a unique patient identifier, the identifier based upon the geospatial location of the patient, the geospatial location including at least the latitude and longitude of the patient when first treated, the unique patient identifier being part of patient data. Providing a collection point of patient data to form a patient data database where in the patient location data may be used to …

Design And Synthesis Of Novel Sultams As Non-Nucleoside Inhibitors Of Hiv Reverse Transcriptase, Brian Chadwick Lecroix

Doctoral Dissertations

The compound 2-methyl-3-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1,2-benzisothiazole 1,1-dioxide (NSC 108406) was identified as an HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor by the National Cancer Institute. Using this lead, the Baker group has developed a series of analogues with various groups at the 3-position that show a spectrum of biological activities. In the end, the substituents used could not compare to the biological activity of the inhibitor efavirenz (Sustiva^® [trademark]), and so it was decided to synthesize sultams with alkylethynyl substituents at the 3-position of the sultams in an attempt to mimic the activity of efavirenz.

Previous research analyzed the proposed novel sultams in the modeling …

Assessing The Indoor Tanning Behaviors And Risk Of Skin Cancer Among Illinois Wesleyan University Students, Ellen Cornelius '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this research is to assess the indoor tanning behaviors of students at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) in Bloomington, Illinois and formulate strategies to reduce students’ risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is widespread, and is the second most common cancer among people aged 15-24 years. There is strong evidence to support that many skin cancer cases seen today could have been avoided if the individual had never used an indoor tanning device. Research suggests the use of indoor tanning devices is popular among college-aged females in the US, thus persuading this demographic to reduce their indoor tanning …

Progression Magazine, 2013 Winter, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Targeting Inflammation Using Salsalate In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Effects On Flow-Mediated Dilation (Tinsal-Fmd)., Allison B Goldfine, J Stewart Buck, Cyrus Desouza, Vivian Fonseca, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Steven E Shoelson, Kathleen A. Jablonski, Mark A Creager, The Tinsal-Fmd Team

GW Biostatistics Center

OBJECTIVE: To test whether inhibiting inflammation with salsalate improves endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted an ancillary study to the National Institutes of Health-sponsored, multicenter, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of salsalate in targeting inflammation to improve glycemia in patients with T2D. Flow-mediated, endothelium-dependent dilation (FMD) and endothelium-independent, nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) of the brachial artery were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months following randomization to either salsalate 3.5 g/day or placebo. The primary end point was change in FMD at 6 months.

RESULTS: A total …

Multiple Hypotheses Testing Procedures In Clinical Trials And Genomic Studies, Qing Pan

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

We review and compare multiple hypothesis testing procedures used in clinical trials and those in genomic studies. Clinical trials often employ global tests, which draw an overall conclusion for all the hypotheses, such as SUM test, Two-Step test, Approximate Likelihood Ratio test (ALRT), Intersection-Union Test (IUT), and MAX test. The SUM and Two-Step tests are most powerful under homogeneous treatment effects, while the ALRT and MAX test are robust in cases with non-homogeneous treatment effects. Furthermore, the ALRT is robust to unequal sample sizes in testing different hypotheses. In genomic studies, stepwise procedures are used to draw marker-specific conclusions and …

Transcending Microbial Source Tracking Techniques Across Geographic Borders: An Examination Of Human And Animal Microbiomes And The Integration Of Molecular Approaches In Pathogen Surveillance In Brazil And The United States, Amber Mae Koskey

Theses and Dissertations

Waterborne illnesses, attributed to the ingestion or contact with contaminated water, present a significant global health concern. Surface water sources can be impacted by wide array of pollution inputs, but fecal pollution generates the most significant and acute threat to human health. Therefore, the detection of fecal bacteria in surface water sources remains an important public health objective. Current surface water monitoring employs the use of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) including E. coli and enterococci as proxies for pathogenic organisms carried in fecal pollution. These traditional indicators, detected by culture-based microbiological methods, do not discriminate fecal sources from another. New …

Research: South Dakota State University, Winter 2013, Christie Delfanian, Matt Landwehr

Research: South Dakota State University

CONTENTS:

South Dakota expertise integral part of Landsat [Page] 1
West Nile: Researchers help public health officials combat West Nile virus [page] 2
Health care: arteries, corticosteroids, concussions, and preemies [Page] 4
Oilseeds [Page] 6
Undergraduate Research [Page] 8
Organ donation key to helping Native Americans on dialysis [Page] 10
Researchers meet challenge of increased competition: 2012 measurements [Page] 11

Factors Associated With Parental Decision Making And Childhood Vaccination, Zuwen Qiu-Shultz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In order to better understand factors affecting immunization status, logistic regression was used to assess the association of various socio-demographic factors and whether parents would have their child immunized if not a state mandate. Factors included in the study were race, household income, number of children in the household, number of adults in the household, if the child had a primary provider, if the child had a health check-up in the last twelve months, and medical insurance status of the child. The combined Nevada Kindergarten Health Survey Result of 2009-2010 (Year Two) and 2010-2011 (Year Three) conducted by the Nevada …

Phosphate Esters, Thiophosphate Esters And Metal Thiophosphates As Lubricant Additives, David W. Johnson, John E. Hils

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Phosphate esters, thiophosphate esters and metal thiophosphates have been used as lubricant additives for over 50 years. While their use has been extensive, a detailed knowledge of how they work has been a much more recent development. In this paper, the use of phosphate esters and thiophosphate esters as anti-wear or extreme pressure additives is reviewed with an emphasis on their mechanism of action. The review includes the use of alkyl phosphates, triaryl phosphates and metal containing thiophosphate esters. The mechanisms of these materials interacting with a range of iron and steel based bearing material are examined.

Securing Information Technology In Healthcare, Denise Anthony, Andrew T. Campbell, Thomas Candon, Andrew Gettinger, David Kotz, Lisa A. Marsch, Andrés Molina-Markham, Karen M. Page, Sean W. Smith, Carl A. Gunter, M. Eric Johnson

Dartmouth Scholarship

Information technology (IT) has great potential to improve healthcare quality while also improving efficiency, and thus has been a major focus of recent healthcare reform efforts. However, developing, deploying and using IT that is both secure and genuinely effective in the complex clinical, organizational and economic environment of healthcare is a significant challenge. Further, it is imperative that we better understand the privacy concerns of patients and providers, as well as the ability of current technologies, policies, and laws to adequately protect privacy. The Securing Information Technology in Healthcare (SITH) workshops were created to provide a forum to discuss security …

Scanned Ion Beam Therapy For Thoracic Tumors, John Gordon Eley

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Although frequently cured of Hodgkin lymphoma, adolescents and young adults can develop radiation induced second cancers. These patients could potentially benefit from scanned ion radiotherapy yet likely would require motion mitigation strategies. In theory, four-dimensional (4D) optimization of ion beam fields for individual motion states of respiration can enable superior sparing of healthy tissue near moving targets, compared to other motion mitigation strategies. Furthermore, carbon-ion therapy can sometimes provide greater relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for cell sterilization in a target but nearly equivalent RBE in tissue upstream of the target, compared to proton therapy. Thus, we expected that for some …

Radiogenic Second Cancer Risk Differences In Female Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Treated With Proton Versus Photon Radiotherapies, Kenneth L. Homann

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) is the most common cancer diagnosis of young adults in the United States. Advances in curative treatments for HL, including the use of photon radiation therapy (RT) techniques, have increased 10 year survival rates to approximately 90% among young patients. These RT treatments, however, contribute to an increased incidence of radiogenic second cancer (RSC) formation to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor volume relative to the general population. These RSCs are the leading cause of death among long-term HL survivors. Proton therapy has been shown to reduce the therapeutic dose, and therefore, the risk of developing a …

Evaluation Of Vdr-Coactivator Inhibitors Using Biochemical And Cell-Based Assays, Athena Marie Baranowski

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EVALUATION OF VDR–COACTIVATOR INHIBITORS USING BIOCHEMICAL AND CELL–BASED ASSAYS

by

Athena Baranowski

The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2013

Under the Supervision of Dr. Alexander Arnold

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a ligand–dependent transcription factor, which belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily. VDR–mediated gene regulation is governed by coregulators (coactivators and corepressors). VDR coregulator binding inhibitors (CBIs), which were discovered using high throughput screening (HTS), were evaluated using cell–based assays and biochemical assays to determine their ability to inhibit the interaction between VDR and steroid receptor coactivator–2 (SRC–2). Determining their ability to inhibit the VDR–SRC–2 interaction can lead to the …

Dynamic Queue Management For Hospital Emergency Room Services, Kar Way Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The emergency room (ER) – or emergency department (ED) – is often seen as a place with long waiting times and a lack of doctors to serve the patients. However, it is one of the most important departments in a hospital, and must efficiently serve patients with critical medical needs. In the existing literature, addressing the issue of long waiting times in an ED often takes the form of single-faceted queue-management strategies that are either from a demand perspective or from a supply perspective. From the demand perspective, there is work on queue design such as priority queues, or queue …

Developing A Presumptive Test For Select Synthetic Cannabinoids, Carrie Snyder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic cannabinoids (SC's) began to gain popularity around the world in 2009. Since then, many of the compounds have been outlawed and methods developed to detect them and their metabolites using mass spectrometry. Our work investigated the possibility of developing a colorimetric presumptive test. The SC JWH-019 was synthesized and its ketone targeted as a possible reaction site. Many SC's contain ketones and thus a reaction at this site would be applicable to many of the compounds. Since JWH-019 is costly and time consuming to synthesize, much of the experimental work was done using benzophenone (BP). BP contains a diaryl …

An Evaluation Of The Consistency Of Imrt Patient-Specific Qa Techniques, Elizabeth M. Mckenzie

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

To ensure the integrity of an intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment, each plan must be validated through a measurement-based quality assurance (QA) procedure, known as patient specific IMRT QA. Many methods of measurement and analysis have evolved for this QA. There is not a standard among clinical institutions, and many devices and action levels are used. Since the acceptance criteria determines if the dosimetric tools’ output passes the patient plan, it is important to see how these parameters influence the performance of the QA device. While analyzing the results of IMRT QA, it is important to understand the variability …

Consumer Adoption Of Health Information Systems, Sankara Subramanian Srinivasan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At nearly 18 percent of the country's GDP, the U.S. healthcare industry continues to wrestle with growing cost and a quality of care that does not match the increased spending. The dominant focus to date has been on promoting Health IT (HIT) system implementation and digitizing health records at the provider's end, with scant attention to the role of the patient in the healthcare process. The source of inefficiency in the healthcare system is not only on account of shortcomings at the provider's end but also due to non-compliance (such as failing to adhere to medication advice and follow-up visits) …

Molecular Level Interaction Of Human Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 (Hfgf-1) With Phloridzin, Rammohan Paripelly

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of growth factors which includes twenty three proteins. FGFs work as modulators for various cellular activities like mitosis, differentiation and survival. Among the FGF family, human fibroblast growth factor-1 (hFGF-1), which is also known as acidic fibroblast growth factor, is a potent angiogenic agent, involved in the formation of new blood vessels in various tissues. hFGF-1 is regarded as a prototype of the FGF family. It serves as one of the potential targets in tumor inhibition and obesity due to its involvement in new blood vessel formation in cancerous regions and adipose tissues. …

Formulation Development Of A Polymer-Drug Matrix With A Controlled Release Profile For The Treatment Of Glaucoma, Eric W. Tsoi

Master's Theses

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States accounting for 9-12% of all cases of blindness. Currently, the front line treatment for glaucoma are prostaglandins that may have to be taken up to several times a day. Even with proper treatment, roughly 11% of the patients using the treatment are non-compliant and lose their vision. In this project, ForSight Laboratories has developed a pharmaceutical drug delivering implant with the capability of sustaining long-term release of a prostaglandin as a new way to treat the condition. This project reports the product development of a polymer drug matrix with …

Improving Patient Length-Of-Stay In Emergency Department Through Dynamic Queue Management, Kar Way Tan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Francis Chun Yue Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Addressing issue of crowding in an Emergency Department (ED) typically takes the form of process engineering or single-faceted queue management strategies such as demand restriction, queue prioritization or staffing the ED. This work provides an integrated framework to manage queue dynamically from both demand and supply perspectives. More precisely, we introduce intelligent dynamic patient prioritization strategies to manage the demand concurrently with dynamic resource adjustment policies to manage supply. Our framework allows decision-makers to select both the demand-side and supply-side strategies to suit the needs of their ED. We verify through a simulation that such a framework improves the patients' …

Balancing The Presentation Of Information And Options In Patient Decision Aids: An Updated Review, Purva Abhyankar, Robert J. Volk, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Paulina Bravo, Angela Buchholz, Elissa Ozanne, Dale C. Vidal, Nananda Col, Peep Stalmeier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Standards for patient decision aids require that information and options be presented in a balanced manner; this requirement is based on the argument that balanced presentation is essential to foster informed decision making. If information is presented in an incomplete/non-neutral manner, it can stimulate cognitive biases that can unduly affect individuals’ knowledge, perceptions of risks and benefits, and, ultimately, preferences. However, there is little clarity about what constitutes balance, and how it can be determined and enhanced. We conducted a literature review to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to balancing the presentation of information and options.

Revealing The Ubiquitous Effects Of Quantum Entanglement-Toward A Notion Of God Logic, Wen-Ran Zhang, Karl E. Peace

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Following Spinoza-Einstein’s interpretation of God or nature, the notion “God Logic” is proposed. This notion is to serve as an elicitation for a consistent set of necessary criteria for: 1) developing the logical foundation of quantum gravity as envisaged by Einstein, 2) revealing the ubiquitous effects of quantum entanglement as suggested by Roger Penrose, and 3) programming the universe as proposed by Seth Lloyd. An evolving set of eleven criteria is proposed for the notion. The possibility of inventing such a logical system is analyzed. A supersymmetrical candidate logic of negative-positive energy dynamic equilibrium is introduced and assessed against the …

Investigation Of The Structure And Dynamics Of Regioisomeric Eu³⁺ And Gd³⁺ Chelates Of Nb-Dotma: Implications For Mri Contrast Agent Design, Benjamin Charles Webber

Dissertations and Theses

The detection of disease and abnormal pathology by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been aided significantly by the use of gadolinium (Gd³⁺)-based contrast agents (CAs) over the past three decades. MRI and MRI CAs play a critical role in diagnosing tumors and diseases of the central nervous system. The agents used clinically have been shown to safely increase MRI contrast despite the toxicity of Gd³⁺, owing to the high kinetic and thermodynamic stability of these chelates. However, current CAs enhance contrast at a small fraction of what is theoretically possible. This leads to the necessity of …