Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Immersing Healthcare Students In The Patient Experience Can Improve Diabetes Attitudes And Increase Empathy, Jana L. Wardian Phd, Jannelle Reynolds, Leah M. Stade, Tessa Wells

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Evaluating Medical Student Confidence And Competency Related To Dermatologic Morphology And The Effect Of An Educational Module And Summary Document, Grant Starkey, Megan Arthur

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Infection Prevention And Control (Ipc) Education Using Xr (Mixed Reality) For Small And Rural Healthcare Facilities, Morgan Shradar, Tess Mckinney, Jody Scebold, Lauren Hinkle, Angela Vasa

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

The Effects Of A Clinician Educator Community Of Practice On Wellness Of Internal Medicine Graduate Medical Trainees, Cory Rohlfsen, Michelle Howell Smith

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Creating An E-Learning Module: Reality Of Children Experiencing Social Determinants Of Health, Jana L. Wardian Phd, Leah M. Stade

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Bruxism Oral Appliances: A Guide By Students For Students, Julie Marshall

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Student Wellness Using A Lifestyle Medicine Approach For Self, Classmates, Patients And Communities, Betsy J. Becker, Teresa Cochran, Tessa Wells, Nicole M. Sleddens, Kathleen G. Volkman

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Psychometrics And The Future Of The Critical Thinking Self-Assessment Scale, Lynnette Stamler Dr., Louise Laframboise, Teresa Barry Hultquist, Kevin A. Kupzyk

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Lecture, Online, Flipped, And Blended: A Mixed Methods Study On Sonography Student Outcomes & Perceptions, Tanya M. Custer, Kim Michael, Kathryn Wampler, Lea Lambing

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Effectiveness Of A Hybrid Social Determinants Of Health Experience, Aleisha Nabower, Melanie Menning, Susan Evans, Nathaniel Goodrich, Jenenne A. Geske, Jennifer Liu

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Teaching Physicists Effective Patient Communication Through Elearning, Megan Hyun, Kyle J. Gallagher, Sam Hendley, Diane Schott, Sarah Wisnoskie, Dandan Zheng

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

This is a published abstract from the UNMC Spotlight on Scholarship 2022.

Reducing "Treble" With Performance Focused Music Programs In Medical School: A Student Driven Needs Assessment To Clarify Participation Barriers Amongst Undergraduate Medical Students, Alexander Tu, Tiffany Truong, Kristy J. Carlson Phd, Matthew J. Brooks Dma, Jayme R. Dowdall Md

EMET Projects

Integration of the arts into medical education has numerous benefits, including reducing burnout and producing empathetic physicians. Investment in arts-related activities has expanded considerably. However, funding remains a common limitation for further integration of arts into medical education. Clarifying student preferences and barriers to music programs can optimize such limited resources to best suit medical student needs.

Effective Emodule Design For First-Year Medical Student Anatomy Curricula, Taylor J. Kratochvil Ms, Kaeli K. Samson Ma, Mph, Kari L. Nelson Phd, Travis L. Mccumber Phd

EMET Projects

Introduction: It is critical to evaluate student experience with any newly integrated educational resource. In 2018, a Distal Upper Limb (DUL) Anatomy eModule was developed for first-year medical students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who have historically identified the DUL as a region of difficulty. This mixed methods study sought to (1) evaluate learner perception of the eModule relative to other resources, and (2) identify eModule content and features that students found valuable.

Methods: The DUL eModule was made available to first-year medical students in 2019 (n= 132), 2020 (n=131), and 2021 (n=131) as a voluntary, …

Zoom In To Fitness: A Novel Way Of Bringing Fitness Experts To Seniors, Tessa Wells, Jenna Boyd, Gabriel Fisher, Victoria Kranz, Mckenzi Petricko

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Participants will discover a how a local educational institution was able to think creatively and bring much-needed programming to local seniors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Participants will also experience first-hand how a virtual physical activity session can be delivered safely and effectively in the comfort of the senior’s own living environment or a group fitness room environment. Participants will be asked to think creatively of possible community partners, as well as possible barriers and facilitators to implementing this innovative wellness strategy. Information will be presented regarding additional activities that could be presented in this format such …

A Step Forward For Patients In The Icu: An Integrative Review Of Early Mobility Interventions And Associated Outcome Measures, Christina Bach

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Gender-Specific Effects On Muscle Activation During Incline Treadmill Walking: A Virtual Perturbation Study For Future Astronauts, Jie Hao, Robin High, Ka-Chun Siu

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Introduction Microgravity-induced muscle atrophy is a critical issue for astronauts in spaceflight [1]. To overcome neuromuscular deconditioning, combining virtual reality (VR) with treadmill training protocol could be a promising countermeasure for astronauts to enhance muscle activities and maximize the training effect [2]. Our previous study [3] found the presence of visual perturbation significantly increased muscle activation while walking on incline treadmill, compared with no visual perturbation; surprisingly, we found females had more pronounced muscle responses than males. Based upon these findings, this study aimed to investigate the effects of different visual rotation speeds and different types of visual perturbation on …

Mitochondrial Redox Environments Predict Sensorimotor Brain-Behavior Dynamics In Adults With Hiv., Rachel K. Spooner, Brittany K. Taylor, Iman M. Ahmad, Kelsey Dyball, Katy Emanuel, Jennifer O'Neill, Maureen Kubat, Susan Swindells, Howard S. Fox, Sara Bares, Kelly L. Stauch, Matthew C. Zimmerman, Tony W. Wilson

Journal Articles: Infectious Diseases

Despite virologic suppression, people living with HIV (PLWH) remain at risk for developing cognitive impairment, with aberrations in motor control being a predominant symptom leading to functional dependencies in later life. While the neuroanatomical bases of motor dysfunction have recently been illuminated, the underlying molecular processes remain poorly understood. Herein, we evaluate the predictive capacity of the mitochondrial redox environment on sensorimotor brain-behavior dynamics in 40 virally-suppressed PLWH and 40 demographically-matched controls using structural equation modeling. We used state-of-the-art approaches, including Seahorse Analyzer of mitochondrial function, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure superoxide levels, antioxidant activity assays and dynamic magnetoencephalographic …

Free Cholesterol Accelerates Aβ Self-Assembly On Membranes At Physiological Concentration, Mohtadin Hashemi, Siddhartha Banerjee, Yuri L. Lyubchenko

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

The effects of membranes on the early-stage aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ) have come to light as potential mechanisms by which neurotoxic species are formed in Alzheimer's disease. We have shown that direct Aβ-membrane interactions dramatically enhance the Aβ aggregation, allowing for oligomer assembly at physiologically low concentrations of the monomer. Membrane composition is also a crucial factor in this process. Our results showed that apart from phospholipids composition, cholesterol in membranes significantly enhances the aggregation kinetics. It has been reported that free cholesterol is present in plaques. Here we report that free cholesterol, along with its presence inside the …

Expanding The Landscape Of Amino Acid-Rich Antimicrobial Peptides: Definition, Deployment In Nature, Implications For Peptide Design And Therapeutic Potential, Aaron P. Decker, Abraham F. Mechesso, Guangshun Wang

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Unlike the α-helical and β-sheet antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), our knowledge on amino acid-rich AMPs is limited. This article conducts a systematic study of rich AMPs (>25%) from different life kingdoms based on the Antimicrobial Peptide Database (APD) using the program R. Of 3425 peptides, 724 rich AMPs were identified. Rich AMPs are more common in animals and bacteria than in plants. In different animal classes, a unique set of rich AMPs is deployed. While histidine, proline, and arginine-rich AMPs are abundant in mammals, alanine, glycine, and leucine-rich AMPs are common in amphibians. Ten amino acids (Ala, Cys, Gly, His, …

Comparative Transmissibility Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants Delta And Alpha In New England, Usa, Rebecca Earnest, Rockib Uddin, Nicholas Matluk, Nicholas Renzette, Katherine J. Siddle, Christine Loreth, Gordon Adams, Christopher H. Tomkins-Tinch, Mary E. Petrone, Jessica E. Rothman, Mallery I. Breban, Robert Tobias Koch, Kendall Billig, Joseph R. Fauver, Chantal B.F. Vogels, Sarah Turbett, Kaya Bilguvar, Bony De Kumar, Marie L. Landry, David R. Peaper, Kevin Kelly, Greg Omerza, Heather Grieser, Sim Meak, John Martha, Hannah H. Dewey, Susan Kales, Daniel Berenzy, Kristin Carpenter-Azevedo, Ewa King, Richard C. Huard, Sandra C. Smole, Catherine M. Brown, Timelia Fink, Andrew S. Lang, Glen R. Gallagher, Pardis C. Sabeti, Stacey Gabriel, Bronwyn L. Macinnis, New England Variant Investigation Team, Ryan Tewhey, Mark D. Adams, Daniel J. Park, Jacob E. Lemieux, Nathan D. Grubaugh

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant quickly rose to dominance in mid-2021, displacing other variants, including Alpha. Studies using data from the United Kingdom and India estimated that Delta was 40-80% more transmissible than Alpha, allowing Delta to become the globally dominant variant. However, it was unclear if the ostensible difference in relative transmissibility was due mostly to innate properties of Delta's infectiousness or differences in the study populations. To investigate, we formed a partnership with SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programs from all six New England US states. By comparing logistic growth rates, we found that Delta …

Lineage Abundance Estimation For Sars-Cov-2 In Wastewater Using Transcriptome Quantification Techniques, Jasmijn A. Baaijens, Alessandro Zulli, Isabel M. Ott, Ioanna Nika, Mart J. Van Der Lugt, Mary E. Petrone, Tara Alpert, Joseph R. Fauver, Chaney C. Kalinich, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Mallery I. Breban, Claire Duvallet, Kyle A. Mcelroy, Newsha Ghaeli, Maxim Imakaev, Malaika F. Mckenzie-Bennett, Keith Robison, Alex Plocik, Rebecca Schilling, Martha Pierson, Rebecca Littlefield, Michelle L. Spencer, Birgitte B. Simen, Yale Sars-Cov-2 Genomic Surveillance Initiative, William P. Hanage, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Jordan Peccia, Michael Baym

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Effectively monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 mutants is essential to efforts to counter the ongoing pandemic. Predicting lineage abundance from wastewater, however, is technically challenging. We show that by sequencing SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and applying algorithms initially used for transcriptome quantification, we can estimate lineage abundance in wastewater samples. We find high variability in signal among individual samples, but the overall trends match those observed from sequencing clinical samples. Thus, while clinical sequencing remains a more sensitive technique for population surveillance, wastewater sequencing can be used to monitor trends in mutant prevalence in situations where clinical sequencing is unavailable.

Comparative Genomics, Evolutionary Epidemiology, And Rbd-Hace2 Receptor Binding Pattern In B.1.1.7 (Alpha) And B.1.617.2 (Delta) Related To Their Pandemic Response In Uk And India, Chiranjib Chakraborty, Ashish Ranjan Sharma, Manojit Bhattacharya, Bidyut Mallik, Shyam Sundar Nandi, Sang-Soo Lee

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

BACKGROUND: The massive increase in COVID-19 infection had generated a second wave in India during May-June 2021 with a critical pandemic situation. The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a significant factor during the second wave. Conversely, the UK had passed through the crucial phase of the pandemic from November to December 2020 due to B.1.1.7. The study tried to comprehend the pandemic response in the UK and India to the spread of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha, UK) variant and B.1.617.2 (Delta, India) variant.

METHODS: This study was performed in three directions to understand the pandemic response of the two emerging variants. First, …

T-Lymphocyte Tyrosine Hydroxylase Regulates T H 17 T-Lymphocytes During Repeated Social Defeat Stress, Safwan K. Elkhatib, Cassandra M. Moshfegh, Gabrielle F. Watson, Adam J. Case

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder which results in deleterious changes to psychological and physical health. Patients with PTSD are especially susceptible to life-threatening co-morbid inflammation-driven pathologies, such as autoimmunity, while also demonstrating increased T-helper 17 (T_H17) lymphocyte-driven inflammation. While the exact mechanism of this increased inflammation is unknown, overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system is a hallmark of PTSD. Neurotransmitters of the sympathetic nervous system (i.e., catecholamines) can alter T-lymphocyte function, which we have previously demonstrated to be partially mitochondrial redox-mediated. Furthermore, we have previously elucidated that T-lymphocytes generate their own catecholamines, and strong …

Zip8-Mediated Intestinal Dysbiosis Impairs Pulmonary Host Defense Against Bacterial Pneumonia, Derrick R. Samuelson, Deandra R. Smith, Kelly C. Cunningham, Todd A. Wyatt, Sannette C. Hall, Daryl J. Murry, Yashpal S. Chhonker, Daren L. Knoell

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. An increased susceptibility is due, in part, to compromised immune function. Zinc is required for proper immune function, and an insufficient dietary intake increases the risk of pneumonia. Our group was the first to reveal that the Zn transporter, ZIP8, is required for host defense. Furthermore, the gut microbiota that is essential for lung immunity is adversely impacted by a commonly occurring defective ZIP8 allele in humans. Taken together, we hypothesized that loss of the ZIP8 function would lead to intestinal dysbiosis and impaired host defense against pneumonia. To …

Sars-Cov-2 Dysregulates Neutrophil Degranulation And Reduces Lymphocyte Counts, Abenaya Muralidharan, Todd A. Wyatt, St. Patrick Reid

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has given rise to one of the largest pandemics, affecting millions worldwide. High neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios have been identified as an important correlate to poor recovery rates in severe COVID-19 patients. However, the mechanisms underlying this clinical outcome and the reasons for its correlation to poor prognosis are unclear. Furthermore, the mechanisms involved in healthy neutrophils acquiring a SARS-CoV-2-mediated detrimental role are yet to be fully understood. In this study, we isolated circulating neutrophils from healthy donors for treatment with supernates from infected epithelial cells and direct infection with SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Infected epithelial cells …

Aldehyde Trapping By Adx-102 Is Protective Against Cigarette Smoke And Alcohol Mediated Lung Cell Injury, Carmen A. Ochoa, Claire Nissen, Deanna Mosley, Christopher Bauer, Destiny Jordan, Kristina L. Bailey, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Most individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders smoke cigarettes. Large concentrations of malondialdehyde and acetaldehyde are found in lungs co-exposed to cigarette smoke and alcohol. Aldehydes directly injure lungs and form aldehyde protein adducts, impacting epithelial functions. Recently, 2-(3-Amino-6-chloroquinolin-2-yl)propan-2-ol (ADX-102) was developed as an aldehyde-trapping drug. We hypothesized that aldehyde-trapping compounds are protective against lung injury derived from cigarette smoke and alcohol co-exposure. To test this hypothesis, we pretreated mouse ciliated tracheal epithelial cells with 0–100 µM of ADX-102 followed by co-exposure to 5% cigarette smoke extract and 50 mM of ethanol. Pretreatment with ADX-102 dose-dependently protected against smoke and …

Surface Modification Of Biodegradable Microparticles With The Novel Host-Derived Immunostimulant Cpdi-02 Significantly Increases Short-Term And Long-Term Mucosal And Systemic Antibodies Against Encapsulated Protein Antigen In Young Naïve Mice After Respiratory Immunization, Jacob E. Parriott, Jason P. Stewart, D. David Smith, Stephen M. Curran, Christopher D. Bauer, Todd A. Wyatt, Joy A. Phillips, Elizabeth Lyden, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Joseph A. Vetro Phd

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Generating long-lived mucosal and systemic antibodies through respiratory immunization with protective antigens encapsulated in nanoscale biodegradable particles could potentially decrease or eliminate the incidence of many infectious diseases, but requires the incorporation of a suitable mucosal immunostimulant. We previously found that respiratory immunization with a model protein antigen (LPS-free OVA) encapsulated in PLGA 50:50 nanoparticles (~380 nm diameter) surface-modified with complement peptide-derived immunostimulant 02 (CPDI-02; formerly EP67) through 2 kDa PEG linkers increases mucosal and systemic OVA-specific memory T-cells with long-lived surface phenotypes in young, naïve female C57BL/6 mice. Here, we determined if respiratory immunization with LPS-free OVA encapsulated in …

Post-Endotoxin Exposure-Induced Lung Inflammation And Resolution Consequences Beneficially Impacted By Lung-Delivered Il-10 Therapy, Jill A. Poole, Rohit Gaurav, Aaron Schwab, Amy J. Nelson, Angela Gleason, Debra J. Romberger, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Although lung diseases typically result from long-term exposures, even a robust, one-time exposure can result in long-lasting consequences. Endotoxin is a ubiquitous environmental/occupational inflammatory agent often used to model airway inflammation. Using a murine model, the return to lung homeostasis following high dose inhalant lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10-100 μg) exposure were delineated over 2 weeks. LPS-induced rapid weight loss, release of proinflammatory mediators, and inflammatory cell influx with prolonged persistence of activated macrophages CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ and recruited/transitioning CD11c^intCD11b⁺ monocyte-macrophages out to 2 weeks. Next, lung-delivered recombinant (r) interleukin (IL)-10 was intratracheally administered for 3 doses initiated …

Quantifying The Impact Of Immune History And Variant On Sars-Cov-2 Viral Kinetics And Infection Rebound: A Retrospective Cohort Study, James A. Hay, Stephen M. Kissler, Joseph R. Fauver, Christina Mack, Caroline G. Tai, Radhika M. Samant, Sarah Connolly, Deverick J. Anderson, Gaurav Khullar, Matthew Mackay, Miral Patel, Shannan Kelly, April Manhertz, Isaac Eiter, Daisy Salgado, Tim Baker, Ben Howard, Joel T. Dudley, Christopher E. Mason, Manoj Nair, Yaoxing Huang, John Difiori, David D. Ho, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Yonatan H. Grad

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: The combined impact of immunity and SARS-CoV-2 variants on viral kinetics during infections has been unclear.

METHODS: We characterized 1,280 infections from the National Basketball Association occupational health cohort identified between June 2020 and January 2022 using serial RT-qPCR testing. Logistic regression and semi-mechanistic viral RNA kinetics models were used to quantify the effect of age, variant, symptom status, infection history, vaccination status and antibody titer to the founder SARS-CoV-2 strain on the duration of potential infectiousness and overall viral kinetics. The frequency of viral rebounds was quantified under multiple cycle threshold (Ct) value-based definitions.

RESULTS: Among individuals detected …

Ifn-Γ Attenuates Eosinophilic Inflammation But Is Not Essential For Protection Against Rsv-Enhanced Asthmatic Comorbidity In Adult Mice, Abenaya Muralidharan, Md Bashir Uddin, Christopher Bauer, Wenzhe Wu, Xiaoyong Bao, Keer Sun

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

The susceptibility to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in early life has been associated with a deficient T-helper cell type 1 (Th1) response. Conversely, healthy adults generally do not exhibit severe illness from RSV infection. In the current study, we investigated whether Th1 cytokine IFN-γ is essential for protection against RSV and RSV-associated comorbidities in adult mice. We found that, distinct from influenza virus, prior RSV infection does not induce significant IFN-γ production and susceptibility to secondary Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in adult wild-type (WT) mice. In ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice, RSV super-infection increases airway neutrophil recruitment and inflammatory lung damage …