Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Eco-Social Analysis Of An East African Agro-Pastoral System: Management Of Tsetse And Bovine Trypanosomiasis, Johann Baumgärtner, Gianni Gilioli, Getachew Tikubet, Andrew Paul Gutierrez

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A key constraint for development of many East African agro-pastoral communities is African animal trypanosomiasis or nagana caused by Trypanosoma spp. and vectored by species of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.). Suppression of trypanosomiasis through trapping of tsetse fly populations was conducted from 1995 to 2005 at and near Luke, Southwest Ethiopia. Odor baited mass trapping technology was used to suppress adult fly populations to very low levels while tryponocidal drugs were used to treat trypanosome infections in cattle. Data on ecological, economic and social variables were collected and analyzed in the context of eco-social dynamics in the community. The bio-economic …

Effect Of Sex Hormones On Neuromuscular Control Patterns During Landing, G. S. Dedrick, P. S. Sizer, J. N. Merkle, T. R. Hounshell, J. R. Mccomb-Robert, S. F. Sawyer, J. M. Brismée, C. R. James

Physical Therapy

No abstract provided.

Addressing Health Care Disparities: A Foot Care Program In An Economically Disadvantaged Community, Perla Zarate Abbott, Annette Etnyre M.S.

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

The concept of social justice emphasizes the need for the basic essentials of life, including health care, for all. Catholic social teaching confirms this with the principles of human dignity, common good and community, and option for the poor and vulnerable. When health care access and quality is compromised, persons with diabetes experience a greater risk for complications including a higher risk for lower extremity amputations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). Poverty and ethnic minority status are accompanied by health care disparities as reflected in a higher incidence of lower extremity amputation in these groups. (Wachtel, 2005). A …

A Critical Disconnect: In Pain Management In The United States, Dr. Jeanette A. Mcneill Ph.D.

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

Disparity in health care, and in particular care for pain related to disease, is a concern for many health professionals as well as those in the general population. Disparities in pain management for vulnerable societal groups, specifically the members of racial and ethnic groups, the poor and the elderly, are violations of the principles of social justice. This paper presents evidence of disparities in management of pain and cancer pain in vulnerable groups, explores the issues, and recommends health professional, individu alignal and system level actions to address disparity in this important area of health care.

Anticipating Mothering In The Mexican Origin Woman, Susan M. Baxley

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Not all women experience pregnancy and motherhood in the same way. There needs to be a greater understanding of how Mexican origin women experience pregnancy and anticipate mothering since Hispanics comprise the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive inquiry was to explore the meaning of attachment, commitment, and preparation during pregnancy as an anticipatory phase of mothering for the Mexican origin woman giving birth in the United States. Culture, the partner, family and friends were also explored as to how they influenced the process of anticipating mothering. Semi-structured interviews provided …

Tu Corazon Y Mi Pasion, Marygrace Hernandez-Leveille

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) continues to be a major public health problem and is the leading cause of death in the United States (US).The estimated cost of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke in the US for 2007 was 431.8 billion dollars. CVD, including CHD and stroke, claims the lives of approximately 500,000 women a year, making it the number one killer of women in the United States and exceeds the number of deaths in men and the next 7 causes of death in women combined.Review of Literature: Few studies have been completed evaluating atherosclerosis, non-invasive cardiovascular testing, ethnic minorities …

African American Grandmother Caregivers: Relationships Among Information Need, Perceived Burden, Perceived Health, And Service Need And Use, Gloria F. Carr

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

African American (AA) grandmothers who parent their grandchildren may experience burden related to these responsibilities. Little is known about perceived caregiver burden and its influence on AA grandmother health and service needs. The purpose of this descriptive, correlational research study was to investigate relationships among personal characteristics, information need, perceived burden, perceived health, service need, and service use in AA grandmothers who are the primary caregivers for one or more of their biological grandchildren. Recruited through churches and community centers, 93 AA grandmothers, ages 36 to 78, participated in this study. These grandmothers were primary caregivers for 211 grandchildren. The …

The Relationship Among Spirituality, Self-Efficacy, And Quality Of Life In Adults With Sickle Cell Disease, Maxine A. Adegbola

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

For the individual with sickle cell disease (SCD), the lifespan is increasing but adults report decreased quality of life (QOL), low self-efficacy, and ineffective coping skills. The care of adult patients with SCD requires a complex multidisciplinary team approach with focus not only on physiological, psychological, and social needs, but also on spiritual needs. Quality of life, spirituality, and self-efficacy have been sparsely and separately studied in individuals with SCD. These three constructs have never been combined in one study in the adult SCD population. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the relationships among spirituality, …

The Antiplasmodial Activity Of Spermine Alkaloids Isolated From Albizia Gummifera, G. M. Rukunga, F. W. Muregi, F. M. Tolo, S. A. Omar, P. Mwitari, C. N. Muthaura, F. Omlin, W. Lwande, A. Hassanali, J. Githure, F. W. Iraqi, G. M. Mungai, W. Kraus, W. M. Kofi-Tsekpo

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In the present study the methanolic extract of Albizia gummifera was fractionated into various fractions. These fractions were tested against choroquine sensitive (NF54) and resistant (ENT30) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. All other fractions apart from the alkaloidal fraction showed low activity with IC 50 above 3 μg/ml. The alkaloidal fraction exhibited strong activity against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 of 0.16 ± 0.05 and 0.99 ± 0.06 μg/ml, respectively. Five known spermine alkaloids were isolated from the alkaloidal fraction. These alkaloids exhibited activities against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 ranging from 0.09 ± 0.02 to 0.91 ± 0.10 …

The Glossina Proteolytic Lectin (Gpl) Gene Is Expressed Only In Members Of Glossina Species, M. W. Burugu, B. N. Mbatia, E. O. Osir, E. U. Kenya, L. U. Abubakar

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Differentiation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclics in tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) is a crucial step in the establishment of midgut infections. A number of factors have been implicated in the transformation process, including enzymes and lectins or lectin-like molecules. Recently, Glossina proteolytic lectin (Gpl) gene, which encodes a protein with both lectin and trypsin activities has been shown to stimulate transformation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclics in vitro. Using RT-PCR, we show that the induction of Gpl gene expression by blood meal occurs only in Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead, Glossina austeni Newstead, Glossina pallidipes Austen, and not in the Anopheles …

Ancient Schwannoma Presenting As A Thoracic Mass, Muhammad Z Tahir, Saulat H. Fatimi, S. Ather Enam

Department of Surgery Docs

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Ancient schwannoma is a rare variant of schwannoma, histologically showing atypical features that may result in erroneous diagnosis of a malignant tumor. There are only few reported cases in literature.

CASE DESCRIPTION:

We report a case of a 34-year-old man who was found to have giant mediastinal tumor. He underwent thoracotomy to remove the mass, which was proven to be ancient schwannoma on histopathology.

CONCLUSIONS:

Clinical and radiological findings are important aids for further consideration of surgical removal of these potentially respectable tumors with good outcome.

Livestock Farmers' Perception And Epidemiology Of Bovine Trypanosomosis In Kwale District, Kenya, S. O. Ohaga, E. D. Kokwaro, I. O. Ndiege, A. Hassanali, R. K. Saini

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We did cross-sectional surveys in Kwale District, Kenya to determine the epidemiology of bovine trypanosomosis and livestock owners' perceptions of the disease. The surveys involved relative importance of trypanosomosis, examination of the current disease constraints, current control practices and drug-use patterns. Informal meetings were held with farmers and cattle census undertaken. Tsetse-fly densities and trypanosomosis prevalences in cattle were determined. A total of 132 farmers were interviewed. Trypanosomosis, anaplasmosis, East Coast fever, foot-and-mouth diseases were reported to be the major constraints to livestock production. Trypanosomosis was the most important compared to other diseases. Chemotherapy was the most widely used method …

Welcome To Our Newest Senior Scholars

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Smallpox Subunit Vaccine Produced In Planta Confers Protection In Mice, Maxim Golovkin, Sergei Spitsin, Vyacheslav Andrianov, Yuriy Smirnov, Yuhong Xiao, Natalia Pogrebnyak, Karen Markley, Robert Brodzik, Yuri Gleba, Stuart N Isaacs, Hilary Koprowski

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

We report here the in planta production of the recombinant vaccinia virus B5 antigenic domain (pB5), an attractive component of a subunit vaccine against smallpox. The antigenic domain was expressed by using efficient transient and constitutive plant expression systems and tested by various immunization routes in two animal models. Whereas oral administration in mice or the minipig with collard-derived insoluble pB5 did not generate an anti-B5 immune response, intranasal administration of soluble pB5 led to a rise of B5-specific immunoglobulins, and parenteral immunization led to a strong anti-B5 immune response in both mice and the minipig. Mice immunized i.m. with …

H-Ras Inhibits Rhoa/Rock Leading To Decrease In The Basal Tone In The Internal Anal Sphincter, Marcio A.F. De Godoy, Chirag A. Patel, Scott A. Waldman, Motoya Katsuki, Raymond F. Regan, Satish Rattan

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background & Aims: Present studies evaluated the role of H-ras and its implications in the RhoA/Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway in regulating basal tone in the murine internal anal sphincter (IAS).

Methods: Studies were performed in the IAS from the wild type (H-ras^+/+) and knock-out (H-ras^-/-) mice. The basal tone of smooth muscle strips were measured by isometric force transducers. Length of smooth muscle cells (SMC) isolated from the IAS in the basal state was determined by phase contrast microscopy. Experiments were repeated in the presence of Y 27632 a ROCK inhibitor. Involvement of the RhoA/ROCK machinery …

Comparing The Anatomical Consistency Of The Posterior Superior Iliac Spine To The Iliac Crest As Reference Landmarks For The Lumbopelvic Spine: A Retrospective Radiological Study, J. Mcgaugh, J. M. Brismée, G. S. Dedrick, E. A. Jones, P. S. Sizer

Physical Therapy

No abstract provided.

Translational Research: Bridging The Gap From Research To Practice, A. Lynn Williams

ETSU Faculty Works

Early childhood is a critical period for literacy development and US research has found that 35 per cent of children enter public schools with low levels of the skills needed to learn to read. Visiting US academic Professor Lynn Williams will present a lecture about how children acquire literacy skills on Thursday 8 November at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Campus. Associate Professor Sharynne McLeod, from CSU’s School of Teacher Education, said that Professor Williams has a distinguished career in teaching and writing about speech and language development and disorders in children. “Her lecture, Contexts for facilitating emergent literacy skills, …

Susceptibility Of Non-Target Aquatic Macro-Invertebrates And Vertebrates To Piper Guineense (Piperaceae) And Spilanthes Mauritiana (Asteraceae) Powder In Kilifi District, Kenya, Spala Oduor Ohaga, I. O. Ndiege, S. S. Kubasu, J. C. Beier, C. M. Mbogo

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Powders of Piper guineense and Spilanthes mauritiana, potential mosquito larvicides, were assessed to determine their impact on non-target aquatic macro-invertebrates and vertebrates. Field tests were conducted in Kilifi District Kenya on field populations of damselfly nymph (Gomphilidae), dragonfly nymph (Coenagrionidae), macro-dytiscids, micro-dytiscids (Dystiscidae), notonectids (Notonectidae), freshwater shrimps (Palaemonidae), tadpoles (Ranidae) and tilapia fish (Cichhdae). Artifical habitats were sampled and populations determined before and after application of the plant powder. Four doses (8.571, 5.714, 2.875 and 1.429 g L-1), were used in the trials and mortalities monitored after 24, 48 and 72 h. After 24 h, at 1.429 g L -1 …

Welcome To Our Newest Senior Scholars

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Conference Brochure: 7th Annual Demential Management Conference

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Conferences

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Ethics Of Hiv Prevention Research In Developing Countries, Charles Weijer, Guy Leblanc

Philosophy Presentations

Issues: We present key aspects of our paper, commissioned by UNAIDS in 2005, entitled, “Revisiting the ethics of HIV prevention research in developing countries.” In 2004 and 2005 we witnessed the closure or suspension of three international clinical trials testing tenofovir in the prevention of HIV infection in high risk groups due to the failure to provide free treatment to those who seroconvert during the conduct of the study. We examine critically moral claims for the provision of treatment to those who seroconvert in HIV prevention trials and ask whether it is a matter of moral obligation or moral negotiation? …

Perceived Smoking Environment And Smoking Initiation Among Multi-Ethnic Urban Girls, Tracy R. Nichols, Amanda Birnbaum, Sara Birnel, Gilbert J. Botvin

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose

To examine associations between the perceived smoking environment and smoking initiation among urban multi-ethnic adolescent girls in New York City.

Methods

Self-report surveys completed in grades 7, 8, and 9 assessed girls’ (n = 858) smoking initiation, and perceived smoking environment (family smoking, friends’ smoking, smoking norms, and cigarette availability). Carbon monoxide breath samples were collected from girls using a variation of the bogus pipeline procedure.

Results

Differences were found in smoking prevalence with white girls reporting the highest prevalence of smoking at baseline and the greatest increase in smoking prevalence from seventh to eighth grade. Black girls reported …

Performance Of A Prototype Baited-Trap In Attracting And Infecting The Tick Amblyomma Variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae) In Field Experiments, R. O. Maranga, A. Hassanali, G. P. Kaaya, J. M. Mueke

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Investigations were commenced to study the potential use of the fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and the attraction-aggregation- attachment pheromone (AAAP) for the control of Ambloyomma variegatum as an environmentally friendly technology. The objective of the study was to develop and test a device, which could be used for pheromone and carbon dioxide delivery and infection of ticks with the fungi in an attempt to control the tick populations in the vegetation. Using a pheromone-baited device treated with the fungi mixture, 79% of the ticks released were attracted and exposed to the fungi and of these, 78% died during incubation …

Aquatic Therapy For Clients With Neurological Impairments: An Introductory Manual For Occupational Therapists, Jason C. Kjar

Occupational Therapy Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Closer Look: Signs For Sports, Postsecondary Education Consortium

Course Materials

Featuring vocabulary signs that might be used when teaching or interpreting sports such as football, basketball, baseball, track, and others.

Molecular Characterization Of A Tsetse Fly Midgut Proteolytic Lectin That Mediates Differentiation Of African Trypanosomes, Laila U. Abubakar, Wallace D. Bulimo, Francis J. Mulaa, Ellie O. Osir

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Differentiation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclic (midgut) forms is an important first step in the establishment of an infection within the tsetse fly. This complex process is mediated by a wide variety of factors, including those associated with the vector itself, the trypanosomes and the bloodmeal. As part of an on-going project in our laboratory, we recently isolated and characterized a bloodmeal-induced molecule with both lectin and trypsin activities from midguts of the tsetse fly, Glossina longipennis [Osir, E.O., Abubakar, L., Imbuga, M.O., 1995. Purification and characterization of a midgut lectin-trypsin complex from the tsetse fly, Glossina longipennis. Parasitol. Res. …

Protein-Protein Interaction Map Of The Trypanosoma Cruzi Ribosomal P Protein Complex, Maximiliano Juri Ayub, Cristian R. Smulski, Benson Nyambega, Natalia Bercovich, Dan Masiga, Martín P. Vazquez, Carlos F. Aguilar, Mariano J. Levin

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The large subunit of the eukaryotic ribosome possesses a long and protruding stalk formed by the ribosomal P proteins. Four out of five ribosomal P proteins of Trypanosoma cruzi, TcP0, TcP1α, TcP2α, and TcP2β had been previously characterized. Data mining of the T. cruzi genome data base allowed the identification of the fifth member of this protein group, a novel P1 protein, named P1β. To gain insight into the assembly of the stalk, a yeast two-hybrid based protein interaction map was generated. A parasite specific profile of interactions amongst the ribosomal P proteins of T. cruzi was evident. The TcP0 …

Detection Of Trypanosomes In Small Ruminants And Pigs In Western Kenya: Important Reservoirs In The Epidemiology Of Sleeping Sickness?, Musa O. Ng'ayo, Zablon K. Njiru, Eucharia U. Kenya, Geoffrey M. Muluvi, Ellie O. Osir, Daniel K. Masiga

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Background: Trypanosomosis is a major impediment to livestock farming in sub-Saharan Africa and limits the full potential of agricultural development in the 36 countries where it is endemic. In man, sleeping sickness is fatal if untreated and causes severe morbidity. This study was undertaken in western Kenya, an area that is endemic for both human and livestock trypanosomosis. While trypanosomosis in livestock is present at high levels of endemicity, sleeping sickness occurs at low levels over long periods, interspersed with epidemics, underscoring the complexity of the disease epidemiology. In this study, we sought to investigate the prevalence of trypanosomes in …

Effects Of Combining The Fungi Beauveria Bassiana And Metarhiziumanisopliae On The Mortality Of The Tick Amblyomma Variegatum (Ixodidae) In Relation To Seasonal Changes, R. O. Maranga, G. P. Kaaya, J. M. Mueke, A. Hassanali

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The effect of formulation, fungal concentration, type and seasonal changes on the mortality of the tick Amblyomma variegatum was investigated. A previous study demonstrated high pathogenicity of strains of the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against the ticks Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Amblyomma variegatum (Kaaya et al. J Invertebr Pathol 1996; 67: 15-20). The present study was undertaken to explore possible additive or synergistic effects of the two fungi on A. variegatum. The effects of oil and water formulations at different concentrations of each fungus and combination of the two on the mortality of A. variegatum in the laboratory and …

El Niño Causes Dramatic Outbreak Of Paederus Dermatitis In East Africa, Ingeborg M.C.J. Van Schayk, Ruben O. Agwanda, John I. Githure, John C. Beier, Bart G.J. Knols

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An outbreak of Paederus sabaeus rove beetles in Kenya during the 1997-1998 El Niño resulted in a dramatic increase of vesicular dermatitis in its capital Nairobi. The beetle, popularly called ‘Nairobi Fly’, contains a potent toxic fluid that causes epidermolysis and acute conjunctivitis. A cross-sectional epidemiological study involving 1,208 Nairobi residents was conducted to determine the health impact of this outbreak. The results showed that one-third of the Nairobi population were infected during this period. The majority of the respondents reported lesions on exposed body parts above the shoulders. Disfiguring, painful blisters and skin rashes in and around the facial …