Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Performance Between Elderly Individuals And Collegiate Athletes On The Immediate Post-Assessment And Cognitive Test, Kevin Van Den Bogaard

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Preventing falls in the elderly population requires a collaborative effort that includes medical treatment, rehabilitation, and environmental modification. Medical assessment of the elderly after a fall is designed to treat the potential conditions associated with the fall, such as broken limbs and trauma to the head resulting in a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Currently, there is no standardized test or protocol accepted across health care facilities to track the cognitive-communicative recovery of elderly patients. A group of elderly individuals deemed healthy and capable of independent living were administered the baseline Immediate Post Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT). This study …

Employers' Perceptions Of Factors Related To The Workforce Development Of Community Health Workers In El Paso, Texas: A Descriptive Study, Aurora Aguirre Polanco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Workforce studies are necessary for regional economic development and for having a diverse workforce that meets the communities' needs. Workforce studies explore the most salient factors of models aimed at balancing economic forces of supply and demand. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are frontline health workers recognized by both the United States (US) Department of Labor (DOL) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). CHWs' service is oriented towards health promotion and disease prevention; they deliver public health interventions.

External and internal factors to the US health care system such as health care and wealth disparities, changing …

Role Of Human Protein Disulfide Isomerase (Pdi) In The Redox Regulation Of Anthrax Receptor 2 (Antxr2), Naima Mohamed Alshrif

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by B. anthracis, a gram-positive and spore-forming bacterium. Anthrax toxin is a tripartite AB toxin composed of a receptor binding/pore-forming moiety, protective antigen (PA), and two catalytic moieties, edema factor (EF) and lethal factor (LF). Anthrax toxin PA binds to cell-surface receptors, where it gets activated by furin, and assembles into a ring-like heptameric structure. The toxin-receptor complex is internalized into endosomes where the acidic pH triggers PA pore formation on the endosomal membrane that translocates the toxin catalytic moieties. Recent study has shown that anthrax toxin receptors play a critical role in …

Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms And Alcohol-Related Outcomes Among Municipal Firefighters: Exploring The Mediational Role Of Drinking Motives And Maladaptive Coping Strategies, Anabel Cardiel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Due to the frequent exposure to traumatic events, the firefighting profession places firefighters at high risk for PTSD symptoms (Berger et al., 2011). Consequently, those experiencing PTSD symptoms are inclined to consume alcohol to cope with related symptoms or to alleviate psychological distress. Two theories that guided this study are the Stress and Coping Theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), and the Self-Medication Hypothesis (Khantzian, 1985). The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol-related outcomes including At-Risk Drinking, Alcohol-Related Outcomes and Alcohol Consumption, in a population of El Paso firefighters (n = 740). …

Insight Into Animal Cloning And The Food Chain: A Qualitative Examination Of Key Opinion Leaders And A Cross Section Of The Irish Public., Cathal Murphy

Masters

The ability to clone elite breeding animals, aimed at addressing the needs of modern food production, had been earmarked as a possibility for the agricultural sector since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996. A ruling by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States in 2008 that permits under-license, the commercial cloning of agricultural animals has seen this possibility realised. No such ruling exists here in Europe, but the FDA policy not to label cloned-derived products, and a history of wariness to food biotechnology in Europe may expedite this debate. With the plethora of issues that cloning …

Assessment Of Fire Safety And Evacuation Management In Nursing Homes, John Moore

Masters

Methodology Seventeen nursing homes in Ireland were recruited to take part in this research.Ownership varies with seven private homes and ten Health Service Executive (HSE) administered homes involved. The homes were surveyed between May 2007 andNovember 2008. The methodology consisted of the following three elements: A building survey to establish fire safety facilities: An analysis of fire related documentation: Interviews with staff to establish existing fire safety procedures. Results None of the seventeen nursing homes showed an adequate ability to prevent fire or evacuate residents to a place of safety. None of the nursing homes carried out adequate fire risk …

Sensitivity To Probabilistic Orthographic Cues To Lexical Stress In Adolescent Speakers With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Typical Peers, Joanne Arciuli, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Lexical stress refers to the opposition of strong and weak syllables within polysyllabic words and is a core feature of the English prosodic system. There are probabilistic cues to lexical stress present in English orthography. For example, most disyllabic English words ending with the letters “-ure” have first-syllable stress (e.g., “pasture”, but note words such as “endure”), whereas most ending with “-ose” have second-syllable stress (e.g., “propose”, but note examples such as “glucose”). Adult native speakers of English are sensitive to these probabilities during silent reading. During testing, they tend to assign first-syllable stress when reading a nonword such as …

Constrained Optimal Control For A Multi-Group Discrete Time Influenza Model, Paula Andrea Gonzalez Parra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

During the last decades, mathematical epidemiological models have been used to understand the dynamics of infectious diseases and guide public health policy. In particular, several continuous models have been considered to study single in uenza outbreaks and the impact of dierent control policies. In this dissertation, a discrete time model is introduced in order to study optimal control strategies for in uenza transmission; since epidemiological data is collected on discrete units of time, a discrete formulation is more ecient. From a mathematical point of view, continuous time model are easier to analyze, however, the numerical solution of discrete-time models is …

Disparities In Park Availability, Features, And Characteristics By Social Determinants Of Health Within A U.S.-Mexico Border Urban Area, Amir Kamel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Parks have been shown to be a key feature in the built environment that promote physical activity and positively influence health. However, a number of studies have highlighted that park availability, park features (e.g., park facilities, amenities, and aesthetic features), and park characteristics (e.g., quality/safety concerns of the park and surrounding neighborhood) are not equally distributed across neighborhoods in the U.S, specifically areas of low socioeconomic status and diverse racial/ethnic composition. The overall aim of this study was to examine and describe park availability, park features, and park characteristics, and determine their association with two social determinants of health …

Assessing Cortical Electrophysiologic And Behavioral Activity In Individuals With Aphasia And Participants With No Brain Damage Responding To Spoken Sentence Length Messages, Patricia Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, six individuals with aphasia and twelve participants with no brain damage responded to spoken sentence length messages using a modified version of the Revised Token Test (McNeil & Prescott, 1978) while cortical activation was recorded using event related potentials (ERP). ERP is a non-invasive imaging procedure that measures cortical activation reflected in the electrical activity that is produced at the level of the cortex in response to internal or external stimulus.

Participants were presented with a visual display that provided eight different token arrangements per trial that were displayed on the computer screen. Spoken messages that increased …

A Comparison Of The Basics Harm Reduction Approach And Personalized Normative Feedback For Reducing Alcohol-Related Behaviors Among Municipal Firefighters, Stormy Miracle Monks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Firefighting is a hazardous occupation due to the nature of firefighting duties including frequent exposure to traumatic events. Firefighters have been shown to cope with stress by drinking alcohol (Bacharach, Bamberger, & Doveh, 2008). Indeed, studies of firefighters have found that roughly 30% report being problem drinkers (Boxer & Wild, 1993) and 47% of firefighters have a diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence (North, Tivis, McMillen, Pfefferbaum, Spitznagel et al., 2002). Despite high rates of alcohol use, most firefighters receive inadequate training regarding alcohol and other risky behaviors. Furthermore, fire departments rarely act proactively regarding problems like alcohol consumption.

The …

Phonological Memory Associations Of Language Impairment In Bilingual Children, Marcela Susa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Knowledge-based assessments of language impairments have been found to contain bias for assessing performance in bilingual children from diverse cultural backgrounds. As an alternative, measures related to performance of phonological working memory are becoming more popular for bilingual children. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how bilingual children with language impairment (BILI) would perform on nonword repetition and sentence repetition when compared to typically developing peers (BITD). Also, the current study investigated the extent to which the nonword repetition task and sentence repetition task were associated with each other in bilingual (English-Spanish) children. Results demonstrated that typically …

Decorin Expression, Straw-Like Structure, And Differentiation Of Human Costal Cartilage, Michael W. Stacey, Janna Grubb, Anthony Asmar, Julie Pryor, Hani Elsayed-Ali, Ali Beskok, Diganta Dutta, Annie Fecteau, Alice Werner, Dennis A. Darby, Robert Kelly

Bioelectrics Publications

Costal cartilage is much understudied compared with the load-bearing cartilages. Abnormally grown costal cartilages are associated with the inherited chest wall deformities pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum resulting in sunken and pigeon chests, respectively. A lack of understanding of the ultrastructural and molecular biology of costal cartilage is a major confounder in predicting causes and outcomes of these disorders. This study analyzed the structure of marginal human costal cartilage (ribs 6-10) through scanning electron and atomic force microscopes and identified the presence of straw-like structures running longitudinally. We also demonstrated that chondrocytes tend to occur singly or as doublets and …

Effectiveness Of Insulin Pump Use In Controlling Blood Glucose In Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Patients, Nadia M. Saad

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Absence Of Altered Expression Of Optineurin In Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients., Khaled K Abu-Amero, Taif Anwar Azad, George L Spaeth, Jonathan Myers, L Jay Katz, Marlene Moster, Thomas M Bosley

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: To investigate the expression level of the optineurin gene (OPTN) in the blood of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients to determine if altered expression is playing a role in primary open angle glaucoma systemically.

METHODS: Patients (n=47) were eligible for inclusion if they met standard clinical criteria for POAG, including age greater than 40 years, intraocular pressure ≥21 mmHg in at least one eye before treatment, normal-appearing anterior chamber angles bilaterally on gonioscopy, and optic nerve injury characteristic of POAG. Control subjects (n=27) were recruited who were free from glaucoma by examination. DNA from patient was sequenced to …

Sigmoid Volvulus In Pregnancy And Puerperium: A Surgical And Obstetric Catastrophe Report Of A Case And Review Of The World Literature, Muhammad R. Khan, Sameer Ur Rehman

Department of Surgery Docs

Sigmoid volvulus is a rare surgical complication occurring in pregnancy and puerperium. Only 84 cases of sigmoid volvulus in pregnancy have been reported in the English literature so far. We have reviewed the available literature on this subject and present another case recently managed at our institution. The available literature suggests that over the years, there has been an improvement in the maternal and fetal outcome for this critical condition, but delay in presentation and a further delay in diagnosis remain a challenge for the treating physicians. Our patient was a 30-week pregnant lady, who presented late with 6days history …

Cardioprotection Of Controlled And Cardiac-Specific Over-Expression Of A(2a)-Adenosine Receptor In The Pressure Overload., Eman A Hamad, Weizhong Zhu, Tung O Chan, Valerie Myers, Erhe Gao, Xue Li, Jin Zhang, Jianliang Song, Xue-Qian Zhang, Joseph Y Cheung, Walter Koch, Arthur M Feldman

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Adenosine binds to three G protein-coupled receptors (R) located on the cardiomyocyte (A(1)-R, A(2A)-R and A(3)-R) and provides cardiac protection during both ischemic and load-induced stress. While the role of adenosine receptor-subtypes has been well defined in the setting of ischemia-reperfusion, far less is known regarding their roles in protecting the heart during other forms of cardiac stress. Because of its ability to increase cardiac contractility and heart rate, we hypothesized that enhanced signaling through A(2A)-R would protect the heart during the stress of transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Using a cardiac-specific and inducible promoter, we selectively over-expressed A(2A)-R in FVB …

Orphan Nuclear Receptor Nur77 Regulates Androgen Receptor Gene Expression In Mouse Ovary., Anyi Dai, Guijun Yan, Qinyuan He, Yue Jiang, Qun Zhang, Ting Fang, Lijun Ding, Jianxin Sun, Haixiang Sun, Yali Hu

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

The androgen receptor (AR) is a nuclear receptor that is expressed in growing follicles and involved in folliculogenesis and follicle growth. The orphan nuclear receptor, Nur77, also has an important role in steroid signaling and follicle maturation. We hypothesized that AR levels and androgen signaling through AR are regulated by Nur77 in the ovary. In the ovaries of Nur77 knockout mice (n = 5), real-time PCR results showed that the mRNA levels of AR and an androgen signaling target gene, Kitl, were decreased by 35% and 24%, respectively, relative to wild-type mice (n = 5), which suggested transcriptional regulation of …

Microrna-145 Protects Cardiomyocytes Against Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂)-Induced Apoptosis Through Targeting The Mitochondria Apoptotic Pathway., Ruotian Li, Guijun Yan, Qiaoling Li, Haixiang Sun, Yali Hu, Jianxin Sun, Biao Xu

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

MicroRNAs, a class of small and non-encoding RNAs that transcriptionally or post-transcriptionally modulate the expression of their target genes, has been implicated as critical regulatory molecules in many cardiovascular diseases, including ischemia/reperfusion induced cardiac injury. Here, we report microRNA-145, a tumor suppressor miRNA, can protect cardiomyocytes from hydrogen peroxide H₂O₂-induced apoptosis through targeting the mitochondrial pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) demonstrated that the expression of miR-145 in either ischemia/reperfused mice myocardial tissues or H₂O₂-treated neonatal rat ventricle myocytes (NRVMs) was markedly down-regulated. Over-expression of miR-145 significantly inhibited the H₂O₂-induced cellular apoptosis, ROS production, mitochondrial structure disruption as well as the …

Prevalence And Determinants For Overweight And Obesity Among Residents Of A Mining Township In Kitwe, Zambia, In 2011: A Population-Based Survey, Cosmas Zyaambo, Olesegun Babaniyi, Peter Songolo, Adamson S. Muula, Emmanuel Rudatsikira, Victor M. Mukonka, Seter Siziya

Faculty Publications

Background: Obesity and overweight in Africa have been attributed to demogra- phic and nutritional changes that have resulted from urbanization and sedentary lifestyles and increased caloric intake without much physical activities. This has put populations at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, dyslipidemia, and cancer. The objective of this study was to deter- mine the prevalence and associated factors for combined overweight and obesity among residents of a mining town, Kitwe, in Zambia.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted using a modified WHO glo- bal Non Communicable Diseases Surveillance Initiative STEPs 1 and 2 method of …

Papers Of Martha R. Jones Arc1985-008 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

0789: George J. Hill Collection, 1889-2011, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection includes research materials used by Dr. Hill, pertaining to his research interests in medical, military, and New Jersey history, in addition to cancer and leprosy, Dr. Hill's medical specialties. It also includes copies of articles, reports, and abstracts written about Dr. Hill. Additionally, the collection has an assortment of historical pamphlets about leprosy.

An Examination Of Factors Affecting Non-Urgent Use Of Emergency Department Services By Patients With "Universal" Healthcare, Gregory Smith Feltenberger

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the factors affecting non-urgent utilization of emergency department (ED) services by individuals with "universal" healthcare using the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Since Air Force Medical Service beneficiaries have free and unlimited use of the full-range of healthcare services, they are ideally suited for this study. The findings of this research may also apply to other populations with free or low-cost access to healthcare (i.e., universal or single-payer healthcare). Using secondary data extracted from the Air Force Medical Service's electronic health record system at several military hospitals, this study will present …

Cognitive Training With Healthy Older Adults: Investigating The Effectiveness Of The Brain Age Software For Nintendo Ds, Shaun Michael English

Dissertations (1934 -)

An increasing number of empirical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of cognitive training (CT) with healthy, cognitively intact older adults. Less is known regarding the effectiveness of commercially available “brain training” programs. The current study investigated the impact of daily CT presented via the Brain Age® software for Nintendo DS on neurocognitive abilities in a sample of healthy, community-dwelling older adults. Over the six-week study, participants in the CT group completed training activities and were compared to an active control group who played card games on the Nintendo DS. At pre-test and post-test, a wide range of empirically validated neuropsychological …

Does Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation Provide Better Outcomes Than Microfracture In The Repair Of Articular Knee Defects?, Jazmyn Manzouri

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation is more effective than microfracture in the repair of articular knee defects.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary studies published in 2009 and 2010.

DATA SOURCES: Randomized controlled trials comparing Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation and Microfracture found using PubMed, MedLine and Cochrane Database.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Clinical outcome measured by the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). The primary measure of outcome was evaluated using the KOOS questionnaire with subdomains of ADL’s, pain, symptoms, stiffness and quality of life. KOOS data was …

Is Pilates An Effective Treatment For Improving Functional Disability And Pain In Patients With Nonspecific Low Back Pain?, Koren V. Fleming

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is Pilates an effective treatment for improving functional disability and pain in patients with nonspecific low back pain?”

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary studies, two of which were published in 2006 and the other in 2009.

DATA SOURCES: Three single-blind randomized control trials comparing the Pilates method of treatment to a control group that did not receive Pilates intervention were found using PubMed and EBSCOhost databases.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Each of the studies had patients participate in Pilates sessions for six to seven weeks. …

Are Probiotics Safe And Effective In Reducing The Incidence Of Diarrhea In Hiv-Positive Individuals?, Christina K. Horvath

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not probiotics are safe and effective in reducing the incidence of diarrhea in HIV-positive individuals.

Study Design: Systematic review of three English language primary studies, published in 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Data Sources: Three double-blind, randomized, controlled trials published after 1996, comparing administration of probiotics with placebo, were obtained using EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Cochrane databases.

Outcomes Measured: Frequency and consistency of stools. Daily or weekly questionnaires allowed subjects to report perceived severity of symptoms using scales containing descriptive words and figures with corresponding numeric values. Subjects were …

Are Naltrexone Implants More Effective Than Oral Drug And/Or Behavioral Therapy At Reducing Heroin Use In Recovering Heroin Dependent Adults?, Amy K. Makl

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective evidence based medicine review is to determine whether or not a naltrexone implant is more effective than oral drug therapy and/or behavioral therapy at reducing heroin use in recovering heroin dependent adults.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary studies published from 2007 to 2010.

DATA SOURCE: Three randomized controlled trails comparing naltrexone implants to oral naltrexone, methadone, and usual aftercare found using Ovid, Pub med and Cochrane databases

OUTCOME MEASURED: The primary outcomes measured by all three studies all three articles measured frequency of heroin use by self report

RESULTS: Hulse et …

Does Dasatinib Improve Outcomes And Tolerability In Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia As Compared To Imatinib?, Brian Merusi

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not dasatinib improves outcomes and tolerability in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia as compared to imatinib.

Study Design: Review of three English language, non-blinded randomized controlled trials from 2009, 2010, and 2010.

Data Sources: Randomized, controlled, non-blinded clinical trials comparing dasatinib to imatinib or comparing dasatinib once daily vs dasatinib twice daily, found using the PubMed database.

Outcomes measured: Overall survival and progression-free survival were measured at one and two years after initiation of therapy. Safety profiles and incidence of adverse effects were also measured. This is …

Do Inhaled Corticosteroids Cause An Increased Risk For Developing Or Worsening A Patient’S Diabetes Mellitus?, Jarrod R. Luttjohann

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) cause an increased risk for developing or worsening a patient’s diabetes mellitus (DM).

STUDY DESIGN Review of three English language primary studies published in 1993, 2009 and 2010.

DATA SOURCES A nested case-control analysis, a randomized control trial and a prospective randomized, doubleblind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, crossover investigation comparing the onset and/or progression of diabetes mellitus in patients using ICS were found using Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane databases.

OUTCOMES MEASURED Incidence or progression of diabetes was measured using a combination of oral glucose …