Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Writing For Sciences, Michael Coppola

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Vision In An Abundant North American Bird: The Red-Winged Blackbird, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Patrice E. Baumhardt, Luke P. Tyrrell, Amanda Elmore, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Scott J. Werner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian vision is fundamentally different from human vision; however, even within birds there are substantial between species differences in visual perception in terms of visual acuity, visual coverage, and color vision. However, there are not many species that have all these visual traits described, which can constrain our ability to study the evolution of visual systems in birds. To start addressing this gap, we characterized multiple traits of the visual system (visual coverage, visual acuity, centers of acute vision, and color vision) of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), one of the most abundant and studied birds in North America. We …

The Place Of Arbs In Heart Failure Therapy: Is Aldosterone Suppression The Key?, Uma Markan, Samhitha Pasupuleti, Celina M. Pollard, Arianna Perez Bhs Student, Beatrix Aukszi, Anastasios Lymperopoulos

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Since the launch of the first orally available angiotensin II (AngII) type 1 receptor (AT₁R) blocker (ARB) losartan (Cozaar) in the late 1990s, the class of ARBs (or ‘sartans’, short for Angiotensin-RecepTor-ANtagonistS) quickly expanded to include candesartan, eprosartan, irbesartan, valsartan, telmisartan, and olmesartan. All ARBs have high affinity for the AT₁ receptor, expressed in various tissues, including smooth muscle cells, heart, kidney, and brain. Since activation of AT₁R, the target of these drugs, leads, among other effects, to vascular smooth muscle cell growth, proliferation and contraction, activation of fibroblasts, cardiac hypertrophy, aldosterone secretion from the …

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Non-Communicable Disease Risk: A Narrative Review, Catherine M. Phillips, Ling-Wei Chen, Barbara Heude, Jonathan Y. Bernard, Nicholas C. Harvey, Liesbeth Duijts, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Kinga Polanska, Giulia Mancano, Matthew Suderman, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

There are over 1,000,000 publications on diet and health and over 480,000 references on inflammation in the National Library of Medicine database. In addition, there have now been over 30,000 peer-reviewed articles published on the relationship between diet, inflammation, and health outcomes. Based on this voluminous literature, it is now recognized that low-grade, chronic systemic inflammation is associated with most non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as impaired neurodevelopment and adverse mental health outcomes. Dietary components modulate inflammatory status. In recent years, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII^®), a literature-derived …

Increased Dietary Inflammatory Index Is Associated With Schizophrenia: Results Of A Case–Control Study From Bahrain, Haitham Jahrami, Moez Al-Islam Faris, Hadeel Ghazzawi, Zahra Saif, Layla Habib, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Background: Several studies have indicated that chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with the development of schizophrenia. Given the role of diet in modulating inflammatory markers, excessive caloric intake and increased consumption of pro-inflammatory components such as calorie-dense, nutrient-sparse foods may contribute toward increased rates of schizophrenia. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary inflammation, as measured by the dietary inflammatory index (DII^®), and schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 120 cases attending the out-patient department in the Psychiatric Hospital/Bahrain were recruited, along with 120 healthy controls matched on age and sex. The energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was computed …

Low Secondary Risks For Captive Coyotes From A Sodium Nitrite Toxic Bait For Invasive Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Katherine E. Horak, Simon T. Humphrys, Linton D. Staples, David G. Hewitt, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An acute toxic bait is being developed to deliver micro‐encapsulated sodium nitrite (SN) to stimulate severe methemoglobinemia and humane death for invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa), thereby providing a new tool for reducing their populations. During April 2016, we evaluated sensitivity to SN and outcomes of secondary consumption in the ubiquitous mammalian scavenger, coyote (Canis latrans), to determine secondary risks of consuming carcasses of wild pigs that died from consuming the SN toxic bait. At the National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, we first evaluated whether coyotes fed carcasses of domestic pigs killed by consumption of SN …

Sharing Of Injection Drug Preparation Equipment Is Associated With Hiv Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study, Laura J. Ball, Klajdi Puka, Mark Speechley, Ryan Wong, Brian Hallam, Joshua C. Weiner, Sharon Koivu, Michael S. Silverman

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Background: Sharing needles/syringes and sexual transmission are widely appreciated as means of HIV transmission among persons who inject drugs (PWIDs). London, Canada, is experiencing an outbreak of HIV among PWIDs, despite a large needle/syringe distribution program and low rates of needle/syringe sharing.

Objective: To determine whether sharing of injection drug preparation equipment (IDPE) is associated with HIV infection.

Methods: Between August 2016 and June 2017, individuals with a history of injection drug use and residence in London were recruited to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and HIV testing.

Results: A total of 127 participants were recruited; 8 were excluded because of …

Foodai: Food Image Recognition Via Deep Learning For Smart Food Logging, Doyen Sahoo, Hao Wang, Ke Shu, Xiongwei Wu, Hung Le, Palakorn Achananuparp, Ee-Peng Lim, Hoi, Steven C. H.

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An important aspect of health monitoring is effective logging of food consumption. This can help management of diet-related diseases like obesity, diabetes, and even cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, food logging can help fitness enthusiasts, and people who wanting to achieve a target weight. However, food-logging is cumbersome, and requires not only taking additional effort to note down the food item consumed regularly, but also sufficient knowledge of the food item consumed (which is difficult due to the availability of a wide variety of cuisines). With increasing reliance on smart devices, we exploit the convenience offered through the use of smart phones …

Innovative Solutions For State Medicaid Programs To Leverage Their Data, Build Their Analytic Capacity, And Create Evidence-Based Policy, Lauren Adams, Susan Kennedy, Lindsay Allen, Andrew Barnes, Tom Bias, Dushka Crane, Paul Lanier, Rachel Mauk, Shamis Mohamoud, Nathan Pauly, Jeffery C. Talbert, Cynthia Woodcock, Kara Zivin, Julie Donohue

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

As states have embraced additional flexibility to change coverage of and payment for Medicaid services, they have also faced heightened expectations for delivering high-value care. Efforts to meet these new expectations have increased the need for rigorous, evidence-based policy, but states may face challenges finding the resources, capacity, and expertise to meet this need. By describing state-university partnerships in more than 20 states, this commentary describes innovative solutions for states that want to leverage their own data, build their analytic capacity, and create evidence-based policy. From an integrated web-based system to improve long-term care to evaluating the impact of permanent …

Effective Statistical Energy Function Based Protein Un/Structure Prediction, Avdesh Mishra

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are an important component of living organisms, composed of one or more polypeptide chains, each containing hundreds or even thousands of amino acids of 20 standard types. The structure of a protein from the sequence determines crucial functions of proteins such as initiating metabolic reactions, DNA replication, cell signaling, and transporting molecules. In the past, proteins were considered to always have a well-defined stable shape (structured proteins), however, it has recently been shown that there exist intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which lack a fixed or ordered 3D structure, have dynamic characteristics and therefore, exist in multiple states. Based on …

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Its Relationship With Cervical Carcinogenesis Risk In Korean Women: A Case-Control Study, Sundara Raj Sreeja, Hyun Yi Lee, Minji Kwon, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert, Mi Kyung Kim

Faculty Publications

Several studies have reported that diet’s inflammatory potential is related to chronic diseases such as cancer, but its relationship with cervical cancer risk has not been studied yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII^®) and cervical cancer risk among Korean women. This study consisted of 764 cases with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)1, 2, 3, or cervical cancer, and 729 controls from six gynecologic oncology clinics in South Korea. The DII was computed using a validated semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Odds ratios and 95% CI were calculated using multinomial …

Evaluation Of The Influence Of Additional Beam Filtration On Image Quality And Patient Dose In X-Ray Fluoroscopy Procedures, Justin Ngaile, Peter Msaki, Ramadhani Kazema, Jerome Mwimanzi, Mechris Mango

Tanzania Journal of Science

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of additional filtration on radiation dose and image quality for patients during hysterosalpingography (HSG) and retrograde urethrography (RUG) procedures. The influence of filtering on image quality for each phantom thickness was made using a combination of different filter thicknesses. Entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) rates to Perspex phantom were measured using a solid state detector for various added combination of filter materials. Fluoroscopic image contrast was assessed using a Leeds TOR-18FG test object with a range of filter materials and phantom thicknesses. Phantom studies demonstrated that the use of additional …

Development Of A Screening Method For Drugs Of Abuse By Direct Analysis Of Dried Urine Spots Coupled To Mass Spectrometry, Melanie Goldstein

Student Theses

Fast and easy screening procedures are essential in any forensic toxicology laboratory to differentiate negative samples from presumptive positive cases. Immunoassay techniques, such as enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT), are routinely employed as screening procedures. However, these techniques lack specificity (only differentiate group of drugs and not individual compounds) and it is difficult to add new compounds to the panel. Direct analysis of dried urine spots (DUS) by mass spectrometry (MS) offers a novel strategy to overcome these issues. DUS offer an improved storage alternative for biological samples, reducing costs and space requirements. In this work, an original method to …

Effectiveness Of High-Intensity Interval Training For Fitness And Mobility Post Stroke: A Systematic Review., Joshua C. Wiener, Amanda Mcintyre, Scott Janssen, Jeffrey Ty Chow, Cristina Batey, Robert Teasell

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in improving fitness and mobility post stroke. TYPE: Systematic review.

LITERATURE SURVEY: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for articles published in English up to January 2018.

METHODOLOGY: Studies were included if the sample was adult human participants with stroke, the sample size was ≥3, and participants received >1 session of HIIT. Study and participant characteristics, treatment protocols, and results were extracted.

SYNTHESIS: Six studies with a total of 140 participants met inclusion criteria: three randomized controlled trials and three pre-post studies. HIIT protocols ranged …

Data-Driven Surgical Duration Prediction Model For Surgery Scheduling: A Case-Study For A Practice-Feasible Model In A Public Hospital, Kar Way Tan, Francis Ngoc Hoang Long Nguyen, Boon Yew Ang, Jerald Gan, Sean Shao Wei Lam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Hospitals have been trying to improve the utilization of operating rooms as it affects patient satisfaction, surgery throughput, revenues and costs. Surgical prediction model which uses post-surgery data often requires high-dimensional data and contains key predictors such as surgical team factors which may not be available during the surgical listing process. Our study considers a two-step data-mining model which provides a practical, feasible and parsimonious surgical duration prediction. Our model first leverages on domain knowledge to provide estimate of the first surgeon rank (a key predicting attribute) which is unavailable during the listing process, then uses this predicted attribute and …

Data-Driven Decision-Support For Process Improvement Through Predictions Of Bed Occupancy Rates, Kar Way Tan, Qi You Ng, Francis Ngoc Hoang Long Nguyen, Sean Shao Wei Lam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Managing bed utilization and ensuring the supply keeps up with the demand is not an easy task in a large public hospital with many medical disciplines. The bed managers who makes decisions on reserving and allocating beds centrally require high-dimensional data from several hospital information systems supporting emergency room, specialized clinics and bed management processes. In this work, we put together an automated process for cleaning, consolidating and integrating data from several hospital information systems to several reports required by the bed managers to analyse the bed occupancy situations across more than thirty medical disciplines. To prevent bed crunch situations …

Factors Associated With Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Nevada, Julia Lorraine Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a rare immune-mediated illness with symptoms that range from difficulty swallowing to food impaction of the esophagus. Most published studies have been documented among patients residing in cool regions with significant annual rainfall. No published studies to our knowledge have been performed examining the healthcare utilization trends of EoE in Nevada. Utilizing two unique databases, the factors associated with EoE healthcare utilization patterns in Nevada were examined. All analyses were performed in R version 3.5.1. This study included a demographic and regional analysis identifying risk factors associated with having an EoE healthcare visit in Nevada. Several …

Investigating The Effects Of Social And Temporal Dynamics In Fitness Games On Children's Physical Activity, Ankita Samariya

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Obesity in children has more than doubled in the last four decades. A variety of fitness technologies such as activity trackers, exergames, and mobile applications are available to promote physical activity, but few are designed adequately to meet children's specific needs. In my initial research, I found that children prefer having social interaction, a narrative, and flexibility while interacting with such technologies. Other research has shown that persuasive displays encouraged adults towards physical activity. As a part of this work, a collection of mobile applications, collectively known as KidFit Suite were developed. These applications encourage children to be physically active …

Law Library Blog (August 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Commissioning Of Micro-Cube Thermoluminescent Dosimeters For Small Field Dosimetry Quality Assurance In Radiotherapy, Brandon Luckett

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Small field dosimetry presents complications and uncertainties that could be circumvented by using detectors which are smaller than the radiation field. This study evaluates the reproducibility and accuracy of TLD micro-cubes for use in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) remote auditing quality assurance (QA) for treatment centers participating in clinical trials. This study tested the hypothesis that TLD micro-cubes could be commissioned to evaluate small field dosimetry, and provide reproducibility within 3%, as well as assure agreement between measured dose and calculated doses to within 5%.

The aims of this thesis were to characterize and commission TLD micro-cubes as well as to …

Successful Shot Locations And Shot Types Used In Ncaa Men’S Division I Basketball, Olivia D. Perrin

All NMU Master's Theses

The primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of court location (distance and angle from basket) and shot types used on shot success in NCAA Men’s DI basketball during the 2017-18 season. A secondary purpose was to further expand the analysis based on two additional factors: player position (guard, forward, or center) and team ranking. All statistical analyses were completed in RStudio and three binomial logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors that influence shot success; one for all two and three point shot attempts, one for only two point attempts, and one for only …

An Information Theory Model For Optimizing Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Acquisitions, Drew Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) is a powerful group of imaging techniques with a growing number of clinical applications, including synthetic image generation in post-processing, automatic segmentation, and diagnosis of disease from quantitative parameter values. Currently, acquisition parameter selection is performed empirically for quantitative MRI. Tuning parameters for different scan times, tissues, and resolutions requires some measure of trial and error. There is an opportunity to quantitatively optimize these acquisition parameters in order to maximize image quality and the reliability of the previously mentioned methods which follow image acquisition.

The objective of this work is to introduce and evaluate a …

Modeling Proton Relative Biological Effectiveness Using Monte Carlo Simulations Of Microdosimetry, Mark A. Newpower

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Proton therapy is a radiotherapy modality that can offer a better physical dose distribution when compared to photon radiotherapy by taking advantage of the Bragg peak, a narrow region of rapid energy loss. Proton therapy is also known to offer an enhanced relative biological effectiveness (RBE) compared to photons. In the current clinical standard, RBE is fixed at 1.1 at all points along the proton beam, meaning protons are assumed to require 10% less dose than photons to achieve target coverage and organ at risk (OAR) sparing. However, there is mounting clinical evidence, and a significant number of in vitro …

Quantifying Uncertainty In A Measurement-Based Assessment Of Relative Biological Effectiveness In Carbon Ion Radiotherapy, Shannon Hartzell

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

One of the largest inconsistencies in dose delivered during carbon ion therapy is due to uncertainties in relative biological effectiveness (RBE), a value that is calculated via one of several clinically implemented algorithms. This study investigates the uncertainty in measured microdosimetric parameters for RBE calculation by the Microdosimetric Kinetic Model (MKM), Repair Misrepair Fixation model (RMF), and Local Effect Model I (LEM) using a Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC).

Microdosimetric spectra, kinetic energy spectra, and dose fragment contributions were calculated using Monte Carlo (GEANT IV) for monoenergetic and SOBP carbon beams of clinical energy. From microdosimetric spectra, lineal energy values …

Association Of Copy Number Variations With Chronic Hepatitis B In Chinese Population, Fang Niu

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

With one third of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection population of the world, chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) has become a top burden in China. CHB is a lifelong infection with HBV which can cause serious health problems, like cirrhosis, liver cancer or even death. HBV infection is known to result in various clinical conditions, including asymptomatic HBV carriers to chronic hepatitis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Several studies have shown that host genetic susceptibility could be an important factor that determines these various outcomes of HBV infection. Many Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and Copy Number Variations (CNVs) have been associated …

Identifying Important Parameters In The Inflammatory Process With A Mathematical Model Of Immune Cell Influx And Macrophage Polarization, Marcella Torres, Jing Wang, Paul J. Yannie, Shobha Ghosh, Rebecca A. Segal, Angela M. Reynolds

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

In an inflammatory setting, macrophages can be polarized to an inflammatory M1 phenotype or to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype, as well as existing on a spectrum between these two extremes. Dysfunction of this phenotypic switch can result in a population imbalance that leads to chronic wounds or disease due to unresolved inflammation. Therapeutic interventions that target macrophages have therefore been proposed and implemented in diseases that feature chronic inflammation such as diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. We have developed a model for the sequential influx of immune cells in the peritoneal cavity in response to a bacterial stimulus that includes macrophage …

Validation Of A Death Assay For Angiostrongylus Cantonensis Larvae (L3) Using Propidium Iodide In A Rat Model (Rattus Norvegicus), Susan I. Jarvi, John Jacob, Robert T. Sugihara, Israel L. Leinbach, Ina H. Klasner, Lisa M. Kaluna, Kirsten A. Snook, M. Kathleen Howe, Steven H. Jacquier, Ingo Lange, Abigail L. Atkinson, Ashley R. Deane, Chris N. Niebuhr, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a pathogenic nematode and the cause of neuroangiostrongyliasis, an eosinophilic meningitis more commonly known as rat lungworm disease. Transmission is thought to be primarily due to ingestion of infective third stage larvae (L3) in gastropods, on produce, or in contaminated water. The gold standard to determine the effects of physical and chemical treatments on the infectivity of A. cantonensis L3 larvae is to infect rodents with treated L3 larvae and monitor for infection, but animal studies are laborious and expensive and also raise ethical concerns. This study demonstrates propidium iodide (PI) to be a reliable marker of …

Designing The Arriving Refugee Informatics Surveillance And Epidemiology (Arive) System: A Web-Based Electronic Database For Epidemiological Surveillance, William A. Mattingly, Ruth M. Carrico, Timothy L. Wiemken, Robert R. Kelley, Rebecca A. Ford, Rahel Bosson, Kimberley A. Buckner, Julio A. Ramirez

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Objectives: We design and implement the Arriving Refugee Informatics surVeillance and Epidemiology (ARIVE) system to improve the health of refugees undergoing resettlement and enhance existing health surveillance networks.

Materials and Methods: Using the REDCap electronic data capture software as a basis we create a refugee health database incorporating data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Electronic Disease Notification (EDN) system and domestic screening data from refugee health care providers.

Results: Domestic screening and EDN refugee health data have been integrated for 13,824 refugees resettled from 35 different countries into the state of Kentucky from the years 2013-2016.

Discussion: …

Fire Safety Of Rectangular Hollow Section (Rhs) Truss Members With Local Imperfections, Luke Bailey

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This project investigates the effect of local imperfections on RHS truss members at elevated temperatures. The specific model used represents a realistic example of a RHS practical application and shows that local imperfections can have a detrimental effect on overall compressive resistance. Modelling showed that above 400C, a member with a local imperfection will experience global buckling and failure significantly quicker than a member without. In consequence, this paper concludes that all slender RHS members that are defined as a key element should be given suitable fire protection.

Contact Rates With Nesting Birds Before And After Invasive Snake Removal: Estimating The Effects Of Trap-Based Control, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Melia G. Nafus, Page E. Klug, Björn Lardner, M.J. Mazurek, Julie A. Savidge, Robert N. Reed

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive predators are responsible for almost 60% of all vertebrate extinctions worldwide with the most vulnerable faunas occurring on islands. The brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) is a notorious invasive predator that caused the extirpation or extinction of most native forest birds on Guam. The success of avian reintroduction efforts on Guam will depend on whether snake-control techniques sufficiently reduce contact rates between brown treesnakes and reintroduced birds. Mouse-lure traps can successfully reduce brown treesnake populations at local scales. Over a 22-week period both with and without active snake removal, we evaluated snake-trap contact rates for mouse- and bird-lure traps. Bird-lure …