Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Patterns Of Mortality In Indigenous Adults In The Northern Territory, 1998–2003: Are People Living In More Remote Areas Worse Off?, Karen Andreasyan, Wendy E. Hoy

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective: ToquantifyIndigenousmortalityintheNorthernTerritorybyremotenessof residence.

Design, setting and participants: Australian Bureau of Statistics mortality data were used to compare rates of death from chronic disease in the NT Indigenous population with rates in the general Australian population over the period 1998–2003. Rates were evaluated by categories of remoteness based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia: outer regional areas (ORAs), remote areas (RAs) and very remote areas (VRAs). Main outcome measures: Mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and renal disease; standardised mortality ratios (SMRs); percentage change in annual death rates; changes in mortality between 1998–2000 and 2001–2003.

Results: In 1998–2000, SMRs for all-cause mortality …

Comparison Of Side Effects With Extended Release Epidural Morphine And Other Analgesic Modalities, Kathleen M. Colfer, Msn, Rn-Bc, Kishor Gandhi, Md, Mph, Robert F. Olszewski, Bs, Deborah A. Colli, Bsn, Rn-Bc

Jefferson Hospital Nurses Week

Opioids are the mainstay of post-operative pain management and may produce side effects that impact patient recovery. Use of Extended Release Epidural Morphine (EREM) has been shown to result in significantly less average morphine usage and to have superior analgesic efficacy than other modes of postoperative pain management. The purpose of this retrospective review was to compare the incidence and onset of side effects of ERE and other post-operative Analgesic regiments.

The Social Strategies And Goals Of Children With Language Impairment And Typically Developing Children, Veronica Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has indicated that children with language impairment (LI) struggle more than children with typical language in their social interactions (Fujiki, Brinton, & Todd, 1999). The purpose of this study was to determine if the social strategies and goals of children with LI varied from those of children with typically developing language. A social goals questionnaire was used to determine the strategies the children verbally indicated that they would use. The children were then asked why they would use the selected strategy. The responses were then separated into goal categories. A chi-square analysis indicated that children with LI varied …

Dosimetric Evaluation Of Heterogeneity Corrections For Rtog 0236: Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Of Inoperable Stage I-Ii Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer., Ying Xiao, Lech Papiez, Rebecca Paulus, Robert Timmerman, William L. Straube, Walter R. Bosch, Jeff Michalski, James M. Galvin

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: Using a retrospective analysis of treatment plans submitted from multiple institutions accruing patients to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0236 non-small-cell stereotactic body radiotherapy protocol, the present study determined the dose prescription and critical structure constraints for future stereotactic body radiotherapy lung protocols that mandate density-corrected dose calculations.

METHOD AND MATERIALS: A subset of 20 patients from four institutions participating in the RTOG 0236 protocol and using superposition/convolution algorithms were compared. The RTOG 0236 protocol required a prescription dose of 60 Gy delivered in three fractions to cover 95% of the planning target volume. Additional requirements were specified …

Genetic Mapping Of Secretion And Functional Determinants Of The Vibrio Cholerae Tcpf Colonization Factor, Shelly J. Krebs, Thomas J. Kirn, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Colonization of the human small intestine by Vibrio cholerae requires the type IV toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). TcpF, which is encoded within the tcp operon, is secreted from the bacterial cell by the TCP apparatus and is also essential for colonization. Bacteria lacking tcpF are deficient in colonization, and anti-TcpF antibodies are protective in the infant mouse cholera model. In order to elucidate the regions of the protein that are required for secretion through the TCP apparatus and for its function in colonization, random mutagenesis of tcpF was performed. Analysis of these mutants suggests that multiple regions throughout the protein influence …

Health Care-Associated Infections: Is There An End In Sight?, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) have emerged as a significant concern in policy as well as clinical circles. An HAI is an infection acquired during treatment for another condition. Some of the HAI-causing bacteria have become drug-resistant; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a familiar example. Tied to perhaps 100,000 deaths and $20 billion in health care costs each year, HAIs have given rise to state laws, legislative proposals at the federal level, public-private initiatives, and work at the hospital system and individual hospital level. However, much remains to be done. This issue brief reviews the prevalence of HAIs and the …

Neuroadaptations In The Cellular And Postsynaptic Group 1 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Mglur5 And Homer Proteins Following Extinction Of Cocaine Self-Administration, M. Behnam Ghasemzadeh, Preethi Vasudevan, Christopher Mueller, Chad Seubert, John R. Mantsch

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

This study examined the role of group1 metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5 and associated postsynaptic scaffolding protein Homer1b/c in behavioral plasticity after three withdrawal treatments from cocaine self-administration. Rats self-administered cocaine or saline for 14 days followed by a withdrawal period during which rats underwent extinction training, remained in their home cages, or were placed in the self-administration chambers in the absence of extinction. Subsequently, the tissue level and distribution of proteins in the synaptosomal fraction associated with the postsynaptic density were examined. Cocaine self-administration followed by home cage exposure reduced the mGluR5 protein in nucleus accumbens (NA) shell and dorsolateral …

Resampling And Editing Of Mischarged Trna Prior To Translation Elongation, Jiqiang Ling, Byung Ran So, Srujana S. Yadavalli, Hervé Roy, Shinichiro Shoji, Kurt Fredrick, Karin Musier-Forsyth, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Faithful translation of the genetic code depends on the GTPase EF-Tu delivering correctly charged aminoacyl-tRNAs to the ribosome for pairing with cognate codons. The accurate coupling of cognate amino acids and tRNAs by the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases is achieved through a combination of substrate specificity and product editing. Once released by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, both cognate and near-cognate aminoacyl-tRNAs were considered to be committed to ribosomal protein synthesis through their association with EF-Tu. Here we show instead that aminoacyl-tRNAs in ternary complex with EF-Tu•GTP can readily dissociate and rebind to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. For mischarged species, this allows resampling by the product editing …

Bonding Orthodontic Brackets To Stainless Steel Crowns, Daniel Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare shear bond strengths of brackets bonded to stainless steel crowns using various orthodontic adhesives and surface conditioning techniques. One hundred and twenty mandibular first molar stainless steel crowns were randomly divided into groups: (1): Aluminablasting + Metal Primer + Assure; (2): Aluminablasting + Silane Coupling Agent + Transbond; (3): Diamond Bur Abrasion + Metal Primer + Assure; (4): Diamond Bur Abrasion + Silane Coupling Agent + Transbond; (5: control): Acid Etching + Metal Primer + Assure; (6: control): Acid Etching + Silane Coupling Agent + Transbond. Bond strength was tested using a …

Analysis Of Randomized Comparative Clinical Trial Data For Personalized Treatment Selections, Tianxi Cai, Lu Tian, Peggy H. Wong, L. J. Wei

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Automated Identification Of Adverbial Clauses In Child Language Samples, Jessica Celeste Clark

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, computer software has been used to assist in the analysis of clinical language samples. However, this software has been unable to accurately identify complex syntactic structures such as adverbial clauses. Complex structures, including the adverbial clause, are of interest in child language due to differences in the development of this structure between children with and without language impairment. The present study investigated the accuracy of new software, called Cx, in identifying adverbial clauses. Two separate collections of language samples were used. One collection included 10 children with language impairment, 10 age-matched peers, and 10 language-matched peers. A …

Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms Across Tuberculosis Clinical Spectrum In Pakistani Patients., Ambreen Ansari, Najeeha Talat, Bushra Jamil, Zahra Hasan, Tashmeem Razzaki, Ghaffar Dawood, Rabia Hussain

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:Pakistan ranks 7(th) globally in terms of tuberculosis (TB) disease burden (incidence 181/100000 pop./yr, prevalence of 329/pop./yr). Reports from different populations show variable associations of TB susceptibility and severity with cytokine gene polymorphisms. Tuberculosis clinical severity is multi-factorial and cytokines play a pivotal role in the modulation of disease severity. We have recently reported that the ratio of two key cytokines (IFNgamma and IL10) show significant correlation with the severity spectrum of tuberculosis. The objective of the current study was to analyze the frequency of cytokine gene polymorphisms linked to high and low responder phenotypes (IFNgamma +874 T(hi)-->A(lo) …

Y27632, A Rho-Activated Kinase Inhibitor, Normalizes Dysregulation In Alpha1-Adrenergic Receptor-Induced Contraction Of Lyon Hypertensive Rat Artery Smooth Muscle., Maria Regina Freitas, Masumi Eto, Jason A Kirkbride, Christa Schott, Jean Sassard, Jean-Claude Stoclet

Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Faculty Papers

RhoA-activated kinase (ROK) is involved in the disorders of smooth muscle contraction found in hypertension model animals and patients. We examined whether the alpha1-adrenergic receptor agonist-induced ROK signal is perturbed in resistance small mesentery artery (SMA) of Lyon genetically hypertensive (LH) rats, using a ROK antagonist, Y27632. Smooth muscle strips of SMA and aorta were isolated from LH and Lyon normotensive (LN) rats. After Ca(2+)-depletion and pre-treatment with phenylephrine (PE), smooth muscle contraction was induced by serial additions of CaCl(2). In LH SMA Ca(2+) permeated cells to a lesser extent as compared with LN SMA, while CaCl(2)-induced contraction of LH …

Today - March 9, 2009, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- School of Pharmacy celebrates major step in achieving six-year ACPE accreditation
-- SAHP speech-language pathology and audiology department changes its name
-- Big Hearts for Little Hearts guild event ‘Dressing Up Red’ celebrates heart recipients as ‘walking miracles'
-- Arrowhead Credit Union raises $8,026 for Children’s Hospital
-- School of Nursing celebrates student nurses with dedication
-- National Social Work Month celebrates the work of those who serve as a bridge between the medical community and patients
-- Commission on Dental Accreditation site review approves and praises LLU School of Dentistry
-- Medical radiography students ‘come …

Controlling Hazardous Noise And Dust Within The Industrial Workforce Using A Simple Barrier, Daniel D. Sweeney

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) has experienced a dramatic increase in hearing loss claims since 2001. Additionally, many operations within the USAF expose personnel to hazardous dust levels. Likewise, the US mining industry has difficulties controlling hazardous noise and dust exposures in underground mining. Specifically, studies have shown that coal mine longwall shearer operators are routinely exposed to noise levels at 151 percent of the allowable dose and approximately 20 percent exceed regulatory dust levels. An above ground full scale model of the underground shearing operation was developed to test the feasibility of mounting a permanent partial barrier on …

Modeling Thermal Inactivation Of Bacillus Spores, Emily A. Knight

Theses and Dissertations

This research models and analyzes methods to damage Bacillus anthracis spores through heat treatment. AFIT researchers have developed methods to characterize the effects of heating spores to high temperatures and for short durations similar to the thermal pulse of conventional weapon detonation. This research models the current experiment and evaluates the rate of thermal diffusion throughout the spores. A micro-model of the effects of dry and wet heating on a spore is presented. Heating a spore energizes adsorbed, absorbed, and chemically bound water molecules. These energized molecules have greater mobility within the spore, as well as between the spore and …

Validation D’Une Méthode D’Analyse Exploratoire De La Population Mycologique Par Utilisation De Trappes À Spores, Geneviève Marchand, Yves Cloutier, Carole Pépin, Daniel Drolet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Carotid Lumen Surface Morphology Using Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging, Bernard Chiu, Vadim Beletsky, J David Spence, Grace Parraga, Aaron Fenster

Medical Biophysics Publications

Carotid plaque surface irregularity and ulcerations play an important role in the risk of ischemic stroke. Ulcerated or fissured plaque, characterized by irregular surface morphology, exposes thrombogenic materials to the bloodstream, possibly leading to life- or brain-threatening thrombosis and embolization. Therefore, the quantification of plaque surface irregularity is important to identify high-risk plaques that would likely lead to vascular events. Although a number of studies have characterized plaque surface irregularity using subjective classification schemes with two or more categories, only a few have quantified surface irregularity using an objective and continuous quantity, such as Gaussian or mean curvature. In this …

Reconstructability Analysis In Biomedical Research, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This talk explains reconstructability analysis (RA), a graphical modeling methodology based in information theory & graph theory which overlaps more familiar machine learning & statistical methods such as log-linear models & Bayesian networks. The talk reports on the use of RA in a recent bioinformatics study of human gene (SNP) - disease (diabetes) association & epistasis & in some other biomedical applications of RA.

Keywords: Reconstructability Analysis, biomedical research, bioinformatics, categorical data, multivariate statistics, exploratory modeling, confirmatory modeling

Exploring The Phonatory Effects Of External Superior Laryngeal Nerve Paralysis: An In Vivo Model, Christopher Dromey, Nelson Roy, Marshall E. Smith, Jonathan Redd, Skylee Neff, Doug Grennan

Faculty Publications

Objectives/Hypothesis: Little is known regarding the phonatory consequences of unilateral external superior laryngeal nerve (ESLN) paralysis. By selectively blocking the ESLN with lidocaine HCl (with laryngeal electromyography verification), we modeled acute, unilateral cricothyroid (CT) muscle dysfunction to explore possible acoustic, aerodynamic, auditory-perceptual and auto-perceptive effects. Study Design: Prospective, repeated measures, experimental design. Methods: Ten, vocally-normal adult males underwent lidocaine block of the right ESLN. Multiple measures of phonatory function across a variety of vocal tasks/conditions were acquired before and during the block using standard data acquisition and analysis protocols. Results: During ESLN block, phonatory frequency range was significantly reduced with …

Living In Rural New England Amplifies The Risk Of Depression In Patients With Hiv, Siddharth H. Sheth, Paul T. Jensen, Timothy Lahey

Dartmouth Scholarship

The importance of depression as a complication of HIV infection is increasingly understood, and people living in rural areas are at increased risk for depression. However, it is not known whether living in rural areas amplifies the risk of depression in patients with HIV. We compared the prevalence of depression between rural and metropolitan HIV patients seen at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock HIV Program in a retrospective cohort study. Using the validated Rural-Urban Commuting Area Score, we categorized patients as living in small town/rural areas, micropolitan or metropolitan towns. Then, using a multivariate logistic regression model to adjust for demographic factors that …

Group Comparison Of Eigenvalues And Eigenvectors Of Diffusion Tensors, Armin Schwartzman, Robert F. Dougherty, Jonathan E. Taylor

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Religion And Hiv In Tanzania: Influence Of Religious Beliefs On Hiv Stigma, Disclosure, And Treatment Attitudes, James Zou, Yvonne Yamanaka, Muze John, Melissa Watt, Jan Ostermann, Nathan Thielman

Faculty Publications

Background

Religion shapes everyday beliefs and activities, but few studies have examined its associations with attitudes about HIV. This exploratory study in Tanzania probed associations between religious beliefs and HIV stigma, disclosure, and attitudes toward antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

Methods

A self-administered survey was distributed to a convenience sample of parishioners (n = 438) attending Catholic, Lutheran, and Pentecostal churches in both urban and rural areas. The survey included questions about religious beliefs, opinions about HIV, and knowledge and attitudes about ARVs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess how religion was associated with perceptions about HIV, HIV treatment, and …

To See Or Not To See: Prestimulus Α Phase Predicts Visual Awareness, Kyle E. Mathewson, Gabriele Gratton, Monica Fabiani, Diane M. Beck, Tony Ro

Publications and Research

We often fail to see something that at other times is readily detectable. Because the visual stimulus itself is unchanged, this variability in conscious awareness is likely related to changes in the brain. Here we show that the phase of EEG α rhythm measured over posterior brain regions can reliably predict both subsequent visual detection and stimulus-elicited cortical activation levels in a metacontrast masking paradigm. When a visual target presentation coincides with the trough of an α wave, cortical activation is suppressed as early as 100 ms after stimulus onset, and observers are less likely to detect the target. Thus, …

Lapd Is A Bis-(3′,5′)-Cyclic Dimeric Gmp-Binding Protein That Regulates Surface Attachment By Pseudomonas Fluorescens Pf0–1, Peter D. Newell, Russell D. Monds, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The second messenger cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) regulates surface attachment and biofilm formation by many bacteria. For Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1, c-di-GMP impacts the secretion and localization of the adhesin LapA, which is absolutely required for stable surface attachment and biofilm formation by this bacterium. In this study we characterize LapD, a unique c-di-GMP effector protein that controls biofilm formation by communicating intracellular c-di-GMP levels to the membrane-localized attachment machinery via its periplasmic domain. LapD contains degenerate and enzymatically inactive diguanylate cyclase and c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase (EAL) domains and binds to c-di-GMP through a degenerate EAL domain. We present evidence that LapD …

Ada News - 03/02/2009, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

Established in 1970 as the official newspaper of the American Dental Association, the ADA News serves practicing dentists and others allied to the dental profession in the U.S. and internationally. It is the No. 1 source of news and information about the many benefits and services the ADA delivers to members daily as well as timely information on scientific, social, political and economic developments affecting dentistry and health care.

Associations Between Linguapalatal Contact Patterns And Spectral Moments For /S/, Leslie Leatham Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Both acoustic and palatographic measures have proven to be useful in speech science research. However, it is not known how closely or consistently these two measures are associated with each other. Therefore, this study investigated the association between changes in tongue-to-palate contact patterns and simultaneous changes in acoustic spectral moments for the fricative /s/. Twenty adults were fitted with pseudopalates and repeated VCV nonsense syllables consisting of an initial schwa followed by the target consonant /s/ and ending with one of three corner vowels (/i, ɑ, u/). EPG (electropalatography) data were quantified using three custom numerical indices (s-narrow, s-wide, and …

Paracrine Sonic Hedgehog Signalling By Prostate Cancer Cells Induces Osteoblast Differentiation, Samantha M Zunich, Taneka Douglas, Maria Valdovinos, Tiffany Chang

Dartmouth Scholarship

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and components of its signalling pathway have been identified in human prostate carcinoma and increased levels of their expression appear to correlate with disease progression and metastasis. The mechanism through which Shh signalling could promote metastasis in bone, the most common site for prostate carcinoma metastasis, has not yet been investigated. The present study determined the effect of Shh signalling between prostate cancer cells and pre-osteoblasts on osteoblast differentiation, a requisite process for new bone formation that characterizes prostate carcinoma metastasis.

The Emotional Experiences Of Family Carers In Huntington Disease, Bonnie L. Hennig

Articles - Patient Care

Aim

This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine the emotional experience of caregiving by family carers of people with Huntington disease and to describe strategies they used to deal with that experience.

Background

Huntington disease, commonly diagnosed in young to middle adulthood, is an inherited single gene disorder involving loss of cognitive, motor and neuropsychiatric function. Many family members become caregivers as well as continuing as parents and wage earners. The emotional aspects of caregiving contribute to mental health risks for family members.

Methods

Focus groups were conducted with 42 adult carers of people with Huntington …

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate/Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2 Signaling Induces Cox-2 Expression In Wilms Tumor, Mei-Hong Li, Teresa Sanchez, Timothy Hla, Fernando Ferrer

UCHC Articles - Research

Purpose

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been reported to be ubiquitously expressed in Wilms tumor, the most common malignant renal tumor in children. However, the regulation mechanism of COX-2 expression remains unexplored.

Materials and Methods

Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analysis were performed to detect COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in WiT49 cells upon the stimulation by sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) as well as S1P₂ and COX-2 mRNA expression in 10 fresh frozen Wilms tumor tissues and their matched normal tissues. Overexpression, blockade and downregulation of S1P₂ were performed using adenoviral transduction, S1P₂ antagonist JTE-013 and siRNA transfection, respectively. The …