Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Elevated Cardiovascular Risk Among Adults With Obstructive And Restrictive Airway Functioning In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study Of The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey From 2007-2010, Earl S. Ford, Anne G. Wheaton, David M. Mannino, Letitia Presley-Cantrell, Chaoyang Li, Janet B. Croft

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Reasons for the excess risk for cardiovascular disease among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remain unclear. Our objective was to examine the cardiovascular risk profile for adults with obstructive and restrictive impairments of lung functioning in a representative sample of adults from the United States.

METHODS: We used data from adults aged 20-79 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2010 and had a pulmonary function test. The severity of obstructive impairment was defined by adapting the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria.

RESULTS: Among 7249 participants, 80.9% had …

Treatment Of Klebsiella Pneumoniae Carbapenemase (Kpc) Infections: A Review Of Published Case Series And Case Reports, Grace C. Lee, David S. Burgess

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

The emergence of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs) producing bacteria has become a significant global public health challenge while the optimal treatment remains undefined. We performed a systematic review of published studies and reports of treatment outcomes of KPC infections using MEDLINE (2001-2011). Articles or cases were excluded if one of the following was fulfilled: no individual patient data provided, no treatment regimen specified, no treatment outcome specified, report of colonization, or greater than three antibiotics were used to treat the KPC infection. Data extracted included patient demographics, site of infection, organism, KPC subtype, antimicrobial therapy directed at KPC-infection, and treatment …

Effects Of Exercise On Ampk Signaling And Downstream Components To Pi3k In Rat With Type 2 Diabetes, Shicheng Cao, Bowen Li, Xuejie Yi, Bo Chang, Beibei Zhu, Zhenzhen Lian, Zhaoran Zhang, Gang Zhao, Huili Liu, He Zhang

Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center Faculty Publications

Exercise can increase skeletal muscle sensitivity to insulin, improve insulin resistance and regulate glucose homeostasis in rat models of type 2 diabetes. However, the potential mechanism remains poorly understood. In this study, we established a male Sprague-Dawley rat model of type 2 diabetes, with insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction, which was induced by a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin to replicate the pathogenesis and metabolic characteristics of type 2 diabetes in humans. We also investigated the possible mechanism by which chronic and acute exercise improves metabolism, and the phosphorylation and expression of components of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and …

Transforming The Healthcare Response To Intimate Partner Violence And Taking Best Practices To Scale, Michele R. Decker, Shannon Frattaroli, Brigid Mccaw, Ann L. Coker, Elizabeth Miller, Phyllis Sharps, Wendy G. Lane, Mahua Mandal, Kelli Hirsch, Donna M. Strobino, Wendy L. Bennett, Jacquelyn Campbell, Andrea Gielen

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among adolescent and adult women, with significant physical, sexual, and mental health consequences. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine's Clinical Preventive Services for Women consensus report recommended universal screening for violence as a component of women's preventive services; this policy has been adopted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These policy developments require that effective clinic-based interventions be identified, easily implemented, and taken to scale.

METHODS: To foster dialogue about implementing effective interventions, we convened a symposium entitled "Responding to Violence Against Women: Emerging Evidence, Implementation Science, and Innovative Interventions," on …

Fak Is A Critical Regulator Of Neuroblastoma Liver Metastasis, Sora Lee, Jingbo Qiao, Pritha Paul, Kathleen L. O'Connor, B. Mark Evers, Dai H. Chung

Surgery Faculty Publications

Neuroblastomas express increased levels of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R). However, the exact molecular mechanisms involved in GRP-R-mediated cell signaling in neuroblastoma growth and metastasis are unknown. Here, we report that focal adhesion kinase (FAK), as a critical downstream target of GRP-R, is an important regulator of neuroblastoma tumorigenicity. We found that FAK expression correlates with GRP-R expression in human neuroblastoma sections and cell lines. GRP-R overexpression in SK-N-SH cells increased FAK, integrin α3 and β1 expressions and cell migration. These cells demonstrated flatter cell morphology with broad lamellae, in which intense FAK expression was localized to the leading edges of …

Practice Effects In A Longitudinal, Multi-Center Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Clinical Trial, Erin L. Abner, Brandon C. Dennis, Melissa J. Mathews, Marta S. Mendiondo, Allison Caban-Holt, Richard J. Kryscio, Frederick A. Schmitt, John J. Crowley

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Practice effects are a known threat to reliability and validity in clinical trials. Few studies have investigated the potential influence of practice on repeated screening measures in longitudinal clinical trials with a focus on dementia prevention. The current study investigates whether practice effects exist on a screening measure commonly used in aging research, the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS).

METHODS: The PREADViSE trial is a clinical intervention study evaluating the efficacy of vitamin E and selenium for Alzheimer's disease prevention. Participants are screened annually for incident dementia with the MIS. Participants with baseline and three consecutive follow-ups who made less …

Inla Promotes Dissemination Of Listeria Monocytogenes To The Mesenteric Lymph Nodes During Food Borne Infection Of Mice, Elsa N. Bou Ghanem, Grant S. Jones, Tanya Myers-Morales, Pooja D. Patil, Achmad N. Hidayatullah, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Intestinal Listeria monocytogenes infection is not efficient in mice and this has been attributed to a low affinity interaction between the bacterial surface protein InlA and E-cadherin on murine intestinal epithelial cells. Previous studies using either transgenic mice expressing human E-cadherin or mouse-adapted L. monocytogenes expressing a modified InlA protein (InlA(m)) with high affinity for murine E-cadherin showed increased efficiency of intragastric infection. However, the large inocula used in these studies disseminated to the spleen and liver rapidly, resulting in a lethal systemic infection that made it difficult to define the natural course of intestinal infection. We describe here a …

Association Of Intimate Partner Violence And Childhood Sexual Abuse With Cancer-Related Well-Being In Women, Ann L. Coker, Diane R. Follingstad, Lisandra S. Garcia, Corrine M. Williams, Timothy N. Crawford, Heather M. Bush

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Limited evidence suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV) may be associated with poorer cancer outcomes. We hypothesized that timing and type of IPV as well as childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may negatively affect depression, perceived stress, and cancer-related well-being.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of women diagnosed with either breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer in the prior 12 months included in the Kentucky Cancer Registry. Consenting women were interviewed by phone (n=553). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to determine the association between IPV (37% lifetime prevalence) and type, timing, and the range of correlated cancer-related well-being …

Expanding Delivery System Research In Public Health Settings: Lessons From Practice-Based Research Networks, Glen P. Mays, Rachel A. Hogg

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Delivery system research to identify how best to organize, finance, and implement health improvement strategies has focused heavily on clinical practice settings, with relatively little attention paid to public health settings-where research is made more difficult by wide heterogeneity in settings and limited sources of existing data and measures. This study examines the approaches used by public health practice-based research networks (PBRNs) to expand delivery system research and evidence-based practice in public health settings.

METHODS: Practice-based research networks employ quasi-experimental research designs, natural experiments, and mixed-method analytic techniques to evaluate how community partnerships, economic shocks, and policy changes impact …

Longitudinal Documentation Of Serum Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein And Patient-Reported Outcomes In Collegiate Soccer Athletes Over The Course Of An Athletic Season, Johanna M. Hoch, Carl G. Mattacola, Heather M. Bush, Jennifer M. Medina Mckeon, Timothy E. Hewett, Christian Lattermann

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (sCOMP) is a biomarker for cartilage degradation. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) are used to document postinjury recovery and may be used to prospectively identify changes in the course of a season. It is unknown what effect intense, continuous physical activity has on sCOMP levels and PRO values in athletes over the duration of a soccer season.

HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to longitudinally document sCOMP levels and to determine whether changes in PROs occur in collegiate soccer athletes during a season. The hypotheses tested were that sCOMP levels and PRO scores would remain …

Escherichia Coli Recg Functionally Suppresses Human Bloom Syndrome Phenotypes, Michael W. Killen, Dawn M. Stults, William A. Wilson, Andrew J. Pierce

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Defects in the human BLM gene cause Bloom syndrome, notable for early development of tumors in a broad variety of tissues. On the basis of sequence similarity, BLM has been identified as one of the five human homologs of RecQ from Escherichia coli. Nevertheless, biochemical characterization of the BLM protein indicates far greater functional similarity to the E. coli RecG protein and there is no known RecG homolog in human cells. To explore the possibility that the shared biochemistries of BLM and RecG may represent an example of convergent evolution of cellular function where in humans BLM has evolved to …

Gene Expression Analysis Of A Murine Model With Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling Compared To End-Stage Ipah Lungs, Kayoko Shimodaira, Yoichiro Okubo, Eri Ochiai, Haruo Nakayama, Harutaka Katano, Megumi Wakayama, Minoru Shinozaki, Takao Ishiwatari, Daisuke Sasai, Naobumi Tochigi, Tetsuo Nemoto, Tsutomu Saji, Katsuhiko Kamei, Kazutoshi Shibuya

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) continues to be one of the most serious intractable diseases that might start with activation of several triggers representing the genetic susceptibility of a patient. To elucidate what essentially contributes to the onset and progression of IPAH, we investigated factors playing an important role in IPAH by searching discrepant or controversial expression patterns between our murine model and those previously published for human IPAH. We employed the mouse model, which induced muscularization of pulmonary artery leading to hypertension by repeated intratracheal injection of Stachybotrys chartarum, a member of nonpathogenic and ubiquitous fungus in our …

The Long-Term Impact Of Physical And Emotional Trauma: The Station Nightclub Fire, Jeffrey C. Schneider, Nhi-Ha T. Trinh, Elizabeth Selleck, Felipe Fregni, Sara S. Salles, Colleen M. Ryan, Joel Stein

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Survivors of physical and emotional trauma experience enduring occupational, psychological and quality of life impairments. Examining survivors from a large fire provides a unique opportunity to distinguish the impact of physical and emotional trauma on long-term outcomes. The objective is to detail the multi-dimensional long-term effects of a large fire on its survivor population and assess differences in outcomes between survivors with and without physical injury.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: This is a survey-based cross-sectional study of survivors of The Station fire on February 20, 2003. The relationships between functional outcomes and physical injury were evaluated with multivariate regression models …

A Phase Ii Study Of Pulse Dose Imatinib Mesylate And Weekly Paclitaxel In Patients Aged 70 And Over With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Julie E. Bauman, Keith D. Eaton, Sarah G. Wallace, Laurie L. Carr, Sang-Joon Lee, Dennie V. Jones, Hugo Arias-Pulido, Lisa A. Cerilli, Renato G. Martins

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), interstitial hypertension is a barrier to chemotherapy delivery, and is mediated by platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). Antagonizing PDGFR with imatinib may improve intra-tumoral delivery of paclitaxel, increasing response rate (RR).

METHODS: This single-stage, open-label phase II study evaluated pulse dose imatinib and weekly paclitaxel in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 70 with untreated, stage IIIB-IV NSCLC and ECOG performance status 0-2. Primary endpoint was RR. Secondary endpoints included median progression free and overall survival (PFS, OS) and correlatives of PDGFR pathway activation. Baseline Charlson Comorbidity Index …

Envisioning An Oral Healthcare Workforce For The Future, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Health is critical to human well-being. Oral health is an integral component of health. One is not healthy without oral health. As health is essential to human flourishing, it is important that an oral healthcare delivery system and workforce be developed and deployed which can help ensure all citizens have the potential to access oral health care. As such access does not generally exist today, it is imperative to advance the realization of this goal and to develop a vision of an oral healthcare workforce to functionally support access. Public funding of basic oral health care is an important element …

Latexin Is Down-Regulated In Hematopoietic Malignancies And Restoration Of Expression Inhibits Lymphoma Growth, Yi Liu, Dianna Howard, Kyle Rector, Carol Swiderski, Jason Brandon, Lawrence Schook, Jayesh Mehta, J. Scott Bryson, Subbarao Bondada, Ying Liang

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Latexin is a negative regulator of hematopoietic stem cell number in mice. Its dysregulated expression in other tumors led us to hypothesize that latexin may have tumor suppressor properties in hematological malignancies. We found that latexin was down-regulated in a variety of leukemia and lymphoma cell lines as well as in CD34+ cells from the blood and marrow of patients with these malignancies. 5-aza-2'-deoxycytodine treatment and bisulfite sequencing revealed hypermethylation of latexin promoter in tumor cells. Retrovirus-mediated latexin overexpression in A20 mouse lymphoma cells inhibited their in vitro growth by 16 fold and in vivo tumor volume by 2 fold. …

Perlecan Domain V Induces Vegf Secretion In Brain Endothelial Cells Through Integrin Α5Β1 And Erk-Dependent Signaling Pathways, Douglas N. Clarke, Abraham Al Ahmad, Boyeon Lee, Christi Parham, Lisa Auckland, Andrezj Fertala, Michael Kahle, Courtney S. Shaw, Jill Roberts, Gregory J. Bix

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Perlecan Domain V (DV) promotes brain angiogenesis by inducing VEGF release from brain endothelial cells (BECs) following stroke. In this study, we define the specific mechanism of DV interaction with the α(5)β(1) integrin, identify the downstream signal transduction pathway, and further investigate the functional significance of resultant VEGF release. Interestingly, we found that the LG3 portion of DV, which has been suggested to possess most of DV's angio-modulatory activity outside of the brain, binds poorly to α(5)β(1) and induces less BEC proliferation compared to full length DV. Additionally, we implicate DV's DGR sequence as an important element for the interaction …

Development Of Chinese Adolescents: Assessment, Issues, And Intervention, Daniel T. L. Shek, Rachel C. F. Sun, Joav Merrick

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract.

Sarcopenia, Obesity, And Natural Killer Cell Immune Senescence In Aging: Altered Cytokine Levels As A Common Mechanism, Charles T. Lutz, Lebris S. Quinn

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

Human aging is characterized by both physical and physiological frailty. A key feature of frailty, sarcopenia is the age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass, strength, and endurance that characterize even the healthy elderly. Increases in adiposity, particularly in visceral adipose tissue, are almost universal in aging individuals and can contribute to sarcopenia and insulin resistance by increasing levels of inflammatory cytokines known collectively as adipokines. Aging also is associated with declines in adaptive and innate immunity, known as immune senescence, which are risk factors for cancer and all-cause mortality. The cytokine interleukin-15 (IL-15) is highly expressed in skeletal muscle tissue …

Reflective Journals Of Students Taking A Positive Youth-Development Course In A University Context In Hong Kong, Daniel T. L. Shek, Florence K. Y. Wu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

To promote the holistic development of university students, a course entitled "Tomorrow's Leaders" was developed and offered at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Based on a case study approach, reflective journals of five outstanding students of the course are presented and analyzed (i.e., thick description), with several themes emerging from the reflection. First, the students liked the course, and they identified many positive attributes. Second, the students appreciated the instructors. Third, the students viewed that the course contributed to different aspects of their development. Fourth, some areas of improvements were proposed. In conjunction with other evaluation mechanisms, the present findings …

Validation Of Food Store Environment Secondary Data Source And The Role Of Neighborhood Deprivation In Appalachia, Kentucky, Alison A. Gustafson, Sarah Lewis, Corey Wilson, Stephanie Jilcott-Pitts

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Based on the need for better measurement of the retail food environment in rural settings and to examine how deprivation may be unique in rural settings, the aims of this study were: 1) to validate one commercially available data source with direct field observations of food retailers; and 2) to examine the association between modified neighborhood deprivation and the modified retail food environment score (mRFEI).

METHODS: Secondary data were obtained from a commercial database, InfoUSA in 2011, on all retail food outlets for each census tract. In 2011, direct observation identifying all listed food retailers was conducted in 14 …

Subjective Outcome Evaluation Of The Project P.A.T.H.S. (Extension Phase) Based On The Perspective Of Program Implementer, Daniel T. L. Shek, Lu Yu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

A total of 231 schools participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in 2009/2010 school year. After completion of the Tier 1 Program, subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 3,259 program implementers. Based on the consolidated data with schools as units, results showed that participants had positive perceptions of the program, implementers, and benefits of the program. More than four-fifth of the implementers regarded the program as helpful to the program participants. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived qualities of the program and the program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. Similar to previous studies, compared to implementers' perception about …

Hormonal Induction Of Polo-Like Kinases (Plks) And Impact Of Plk2 On Cell Cycle Progression In The Rat Ovary, Feixue Li, Misung Jo, Thomas E. Curry, Jing Liu

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

The highly conserved polo-like kinases (Plks) are potent regulators of multiple functions in the cell cycle before and during mitotic cell division. We investigated the expression pattern of Plk genes and their potential role(s) in the rat ovary during the periovulatory period. Plk2 and Plk3 were highly induced both in intact ovaries and granulosa cells in vivo after treatment with the luteinizing hormone (LH) agonist, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In vitro, hCG stimulated the expression of Plk2 in granulosa cells, but not Plk3. This induction of Plk2 expression was mimicked by both forskolin and phorbol 12 myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Moreover, …

Family And Personal Adjustment Of Economically Disadvantaged Chinese Adolescents In Hong Kong, Daniel T. L. Shek, Pik Fong Tsui

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This study attempted to examine the relationship between poverty and adolescent developmental outcomes in the family and personal domains in 3,328 Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. Developmental outcomes included positive youth development constructs, problem behaviors, perceived family interaction, and parental parenting. Results showed that adolescents experiencing poverty did not differ from nonpoor adolescents in terms of risk behavior and in most indicators of positive youth development. On the other hand, adolescents with economic disadvantage displayed lower levels of positive identity, family interaction, and perceived paternal parenting than did those without economic disadvantage.

Subjective Outcome Evaluation Of The Project P.A.T.H.S. In Different Cohorts Of Students, Daniel T. L. Shek, Cecilia M. S. Ma

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The project P.A.T.H.S. is an indigenously developed positive youth development program in Hong Kong. In the extension phase (2009/2010 school year), subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 231 schools involving 89,068 participants after completion of the curricula-based Tier 1 Program. With schools as the units of analysis, results showed that participants generally had positive perceptions of the program content and implementers, with over four-fifth of the participants regarded the program as helpful to them. There were some significant grade differences in the subjective outcome evaluation findings, although the related effect size was not strong. Multiple regression analyses revealed that …

Student Classroom Misbehavior: An Exploratory Study Based On Teachers' Perceptions, Rachel C. F. Sun, Daniel T. L. Shek

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This study aimed to examine the conceptions of junior secondary school student misbehaviors in classroom, and to identify the most common, disruptive, and unacceptable student problem behaviors from teachers' perspective. Twelve individual interviews with teachers were conducted. A list of 17 student problem behaviors was generated. Results showed that the most common and disruptive problem behavior was talking out of turn, followed by nonattentiveness, daydreaming, and idleness. The most unacceptable problem behavior was disrespecting teachers in terms of disobedience and rudeness, followed by talking out of turn and verbal aggression. The findings revealed that teachers perceived student problem behaviors as …

Postlecture Evaluation Of A Positive Youth Development Subject For University Students In Hong Kong, Daniel T. L. Shek

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the postlecture evaluation by the students taking a course (Tomorrow's Leaders) that attempted to promote their leadership qualities and intrapersonal competencies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Except for the last lecture, students were invited to respond to a 12-item postlecture questionnaire after each lecture. Results showed that the students had positive perceptions of the subject, class, and teacher attributes, and they had positive global evaluation of the teacher and the subject. The postlecture evaluation questionnaire was found to possess good psychometric properties. Multiple regression analyses showed that subject, …

Classroom Misbehavior In The Eyes Of Students: A Qualitative Study, Rachel C. F. Sun, Daniel T. L. Shek

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Using individual interviews, this study investigated perceptions of classroom misbehaviors among secondary school students in Hong Kong (N = 18). Nineteen categories of classroom misbehaviors were identified, with talking out of turn, disrespecting teacher, and doing something in private being most frequently mentioned. Findings revealed that students tended to perceive misbehaviors as those actions inappropriate in the classroom settings and even disrupting teachers' teaching and other students' learning. Among various misbehaviors, talking out of turn and disrespecting teacher were seen as the most disruptive and unacceptable. These misbehaviors were unacceptable because they disturbed teaching and learning, and violated the values …

Modeling Of Pharmacokinetics Of Cocaine In Human Reveals The Feasibility For Development Of Enzyme Therapies For Drugs Of Abuse, Fang Zheng, Chang-Guo Zhan

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

A promising strategy for drug abuse treatment is to accelerate the drug metabolism by administration of a drug-metabolizing enzyme. The question is how effectively an enzyme can actually prevent the drug from entering brain and producing physiological effects. In the present study, we have developed a pharmacokinetic model through a combined use of in vitro kinetic parameters and positron emission tomography data in human to examine the effects of a cocaine-metabolizing enzyme in plasma on the time course of cocaine in plasma and brain of human. Without an exogenous enzyme, cocaine half-lives in both brain and plasma are almost linearly …

Towards Omni-Tomography -- Grand Fusion Of Multiple Modalities For Simultaneous Interior Tomography, Ge Wang, Jie Zhang, Hao Gao, Victor Weir, Hengyong Yu, Wenxiang Cong, Xiaochen Xu, Haiou Shen, James Bennett, Mark Furth, Yue Wang, Michael Vannier

Radiology Faculty Publications

We recently elevated interior tomography from its origin in computed tomography (CT) to a general tomographic principle, and proved its validity for other tomographic modalities including SPECT, MRI, and others. Here we propose "omni-tomography", a novel concept for the grand fusion of multiple tomographic modalities for simultaneous data acquisition in a region of interest (ROI). Omni-tomography can be instrumental when physiological processes under investigation are multi-dimensional, multi-scale, multi-temporal and multi-parametric. Both preclinical and clinical studies now depend on in vivo tomography, often requiring separate evaluations by different imaging modalities. Over the past decade, two approaches have been used for multimodality …