Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Updates On Epigenetic Alterations To Brca1: Chemosensitivities, Haley Blum

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) is a human tumor suppressor gene encoding the BRCA1 protein that maintains genomic integrity. Molecular events may contribute to the loss of BRCA1 function, contributing to site specific tumorigenesis. Loss of BRCA1 function may arise from mutation or epigenetic events. Germline mutations of BRCA1 have been thoroughly implicated in heritable breast and ovarian cancers. More recently, sporadic breast cancer has been shown to be driven by epigenetic alterations to the BRCA1 promoter region, specifically methylation. Breast carcinomas that present with BRCA1 promoter methylation have been associated with triple negative breast cancers, as well …

An Exploration Of Why Healthcare Professionals Under-Report Observed Patient Aggression, Sydney Bonta

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

An Exploration of Why Healthcare Professionals Under-Report Observed Patient Aggression

Authors: Sydney Bonta & Lisa L. Scherer, Ph.D.

Advisor: Lisa L. Scherer, Ph.D.

According to the 2011 US Bureau of Justice Statistics report, medical professionals experienced the third highest proportion of workplace violence (WPV), with violence primarily emanating from patient. In a national survey of nurses employed in hospitals, 76% stated that they had encountered some sort of violence in their workplace (Speroni, Fitch, Dawson, Dugan, Atherton, & Leesburg, 2014). Similarly, patient aggression against physicians has long been a problem (Morrison, Lantos, Levinson, 1998). Despite this widespread exposure to WPV …

The Effect Of Arm Swing On Countermovement Vertical Jump Performance, Arash Mohammadzadeh Gonabadi

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Vertical jumping is one of the popular ways to evaluate ankle-knee efficiency in athletic population. Arm swing can play a crucial role in enhancing vertical jump performance. This study aimed to address the differences in kinetic and kinematic parameters during countermovement jump motion with arm swing (AS) and no arm swing (NAS). We used OpenSim to examine the efficacy of AS in reducing the impulse applied to the body and changes in range of lower limb joint angles at landing instant. We calculated the maximum vertical peak of the ground reaction force and impulse generated at landing in two different …

Visual Contributions To Balance Control During Gait, Kyle Brozek

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

We propose to isolate the contributions of continuous OF to the orthogonal relationship between balance and gait control during treadmill walking using a series of conditions. Manipulating the direction of OF using a CAREN (Motek Medical, Amsterdam, Netherlands) virtual reality treadmill environment will isolate these visual contributions in human subjects as they walk. We plan to tease out the effect of OF direction on the relationship between gait and balance control by having healthy young adults perform a series of treadmill walking trials while immersed in a VR environment. This will be done by manipulating the direction of walking and …

Temporal Step Coordination While Walking With A Single-Point Cane, Monica Barajas

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

TEMPORAL STEP COORDINATION WHILE WALKING WITH A SINGLE-POINT CANE

Monica Barajas, Russel Buffum, Tyler Hamer, Brian A. Knarr

University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE

Stroke is the primary cause of long-term adult disability in the United States. Some physical limitations that a stroke survivor may encounter are foot drop, unilateral muscle weakness, limited coordination and muscle movement, among other effects that may directly affect gait. To address weakness and poor coordination post-stroke, a cane is commonly used. While a cane can help with balance, coordinating steps with an additional device can prove difficult to learn and may alter natural …

Division I Collegiate Male Basketball Player Post-Surgical Cai With Bone Spur Excision: A Case Report, Jacqueline Gutierrez

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A Division I basketball player planted his foot and injured his ankle. He had a significant history of repeated lateral ankle sprains and was evaluated as having a grade 2 ankle sprain. He was referred for imaging revealing significant damage to a variety of tissues including a talar osteochondral defect and joint degeneration. He opted for surgical repair, however, post-surgical rehabilitation did not improve the athlete and a secondary procedure was necessary to correct complications. The initial procedure was successful to repair ligamentous stability of the joint. But was not sufficient to fully restore the joint to full function.

Estimating Variations In Metabolic Cost Within The Stride Cycle During Level And Uphill Walking, Arash Mohammadzadeh Gonabadi

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Indirect calorimetry provides the average cost of a stride cycle and prevents from identifying which part of the gait cycle causes increased metabolic cost in patients, however, recent simulation methods allow estimating the time profile of metabolic cost within the stride cycle. In this study, we compare the estimations of the time profile of the metabolic cost of two simulation methods for level and uphill walking. We used kinematic, kinetic and electromyography data from level and uphill walking (one participant) to estimate the time profiles of metabolic cost using the muscle-level metabolic model of Umberger using electromyography and kinematic data …

Diagnostic Accuracy Of Instrumented Helmets To Assess Concussions In High School Football Athletics, Alyssa Irby

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Approximately 300,000 high school students experience a concussion yearly and are the third most common injury for youth football players accounting for 9.6% of all injuries. The current concussion monitoring systems are subjective and rely heavily on symptom recognition by players and coaches. Instrumented helmets fill a gap when subjective monitoring systems fail to recognize concussions. The purpose of this study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of instrumented helmets and the effectiveness of alerting for a concussion in a youth population. Fifty-five football players from a local high school during the 2018 season who wore instrumented helmets participated. Impact …

An Investigation Of Stimulants: Reviewing Their Effects On The Brain, Including Memory And Microglia, Michael Douchey

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Stimulants are a class of drugs that have a variety of effects on the brain, including changes in receptor activity in the brain areas responsible for- memory, attention, emotion, motor control, and the reward pathway. Stimulants may be generally classified by their availability. For example, prescription stimulants, which include drugs such as methylphenidate (Concerta™, Ritalin™) and mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall™), must be prescribed by medical professionals. Another regulated stimulant, albeit one available without a prescription, is nicotine; a highly addictive chemical that is age-restricted by the U.S. federal government. Nicotine is found in tobacco products, and in tobacco-free alternatives including …

3d Prosthetics Effects On Standing Posture In Unilateral Upper Limb Deficient Children, Keaton Young

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

3D Prosthetics Effects on Standing Posture in Unilateral Upper Limb Deficient Children

Keaton Young

Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Introduction

Upper Limb Reduction Deficiency (ULD) is a congenital disability that affects the upper limb, which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1,500 babies are born with ULD in the United States yearly ^1,2. Prior research has focused on functional treatment of the upper limbs but has lacked observance of the effects that prosthetics and limb loss incur to the trunk. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the acute effects …

Left Achilles Tendon Rupture In A Male Collegiate Soccer Player, Benjamin Welch

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

ABSTRACT

Objective: To present the case of an Achilles tendon rupture including surgical repair and rehabilitation in a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, male, soccer athlete.

Background: While attempting to perform a backflip following a match victory, the athlete jumped up and experienced a gunshot sound and feeling on his posterior, distal, left leg. On-field evaluation included a positive Thompson Test for Achilles tendon (AT) rupture. Post injury imaging revealed a coinciding diagnosis.

Differential Diagnosis: AT strain, calcaneal fracture, fibula fracture, Shepard’s fracture

Treatment: Open surgery technique to repair the tear followed by rehabilitation protocol beginning with rest and …

The Energy Paradox Of The Ankle-Foot Complex During Human Walking, Nikolaos Papachatzis, Kota Takahashi

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) is a multiarticular muscle that possesses the potential to alter foot’s functional and mechanical behavior, since it performs multiple significant functions during walking (e.g supports the medial longitudinal arch of the foot).The purpose of this study was to determine if the functional changes of the FHL are associated with the foot’s adaptations to the mechanical demands of walking. Backward walking is an experimental method capable of altering how the forces propagate underneath the foot and disrupting the mechanical function of the FHL muscle. We hypothesized that: (1) the muscle activity of the FHL will increase during …

The Utility Of 3d Printing As A Method Of Pre-Operative Planning For Pediatric Skull Surgeries, David Salazar

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Salazar Oral Presentation

Perceptions Of Physical Activity While Breastfeeding: 
A Mixed Methods Approach, Kailey Snyder

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Background: Being physically active and breastfeeding can greatly support a new mother’s physiological and psychological health. However, within the United States, only 35% of women are maintaining their pre-pregnancy physical activity after childbirth and only 31% of infants are being breastfed at 12 months of age. Preliminary investigations suggest barriers such as lack of time and knowledge hinder a breastfeeding woman’s ability to be physically active however more research is needed. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore women’s perceptions of physical activity while breastfeeding. Methods: This mixed methods study utilized quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) measures, both …

Synthesis Of A Sulfur Variant For Treatment Of Trypanosomiasis, Carlos Vera-Esquivel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Previous work in our lab has found diphenyl ether benzylamines showed a successful response with a micromolar concentration of our lead compound to treat the deadly Trypanosamiosis rhodesience. Furthermore, mammalian cell lines saw promising resistance towards damages. The goal of this study was to synthesize a diphenyl thio benzylamine variant. This variant was more active toward T. b. rhodesience but showed more toxicity to both rat 10 (IC₅₀ mM) and human cell lines (HFF, HC-₀₄, U-₂ OS, and HEK₂₉₃). The selectivity index (ratio of toxicity to activity in the same concentration units (SI)) …