Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Individualized Homoeopathy Versus Placebo In Essential Hypertension: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial, Subhranil Saha, Munmun Koley, Seikh Hossain, Malay Mundle, Shubhamoy Ghosh, Goutam Nag, Achintya Datta, Prasanta Rath

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy

Background: Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disorder posing a major public health challenge to the population. Homoeopathy, although widely used in hypertension, is assumed to have nothing but placebo effects and its specific clinical effects are frequently ascribed as implausible. Aims: To evaluate whether individualized homoeopathy can produce any significant effect different from placebo in essential hypertension by comparing the lowering of blood pressure between groups. Settings and Design: A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial was conducted at the Outpatient Clinic of the Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathy Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal. Material and Methods: Out of …

Preference Testing As Environmental Enrichment Assessment For Laboratory Mice, Navakanit Sachanonta, Waridtha Sa-Ngeunreung, Somchai Sa-Ing-Kaew, Raywadee Butraporn

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

In the field of biomedical research, a wide variety of environmental enrichment items are available for laboratory mice to fulfill its physiological and behavioral needs which influence the outcome of animal experiments. However, to take a decision on the most suitable enrichment, researchers are likely to consider the cost of enrichment item more than animal preference and animal well-being. To develop a suitable environmental enrichment program for mice in Laboratory Animal Center, National Institute of Health (LAC-Thai NIH), we evaluated mouse preference for cages containing different types of nesting material and enrichment device. We carried out a simple preference test …

Comparison Of Repetitive Sequence-Based Polymerase Chain Reaction (Rep-Pcr) And Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (Pfge) For Genetic Characterization Of Arcobacter Spp., Panvipa Phasipol, Nipa Chokesajjawatee, Taradon Luangtongkum

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Arcobacter has been associated with foodborne illness in humans. Recently, this organism has been receiving more attention as a pathogen of public health concern. The contamination of Arcobacter is frequently observed in foods of animal origin especially poultry products; however, the source of contamination as well as the molecular epidemiology of Arcobacter is not clearly understood. In the present study, we compared the use of repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for genetic characterization of Arcobacter. Thirty Arcobacter butzleri isolates from retail chicken carcasses and 3 Arcobacter reference strains were typed with rep-PCR and PFGE. …

Experimental Assessment Of The Impact Of Asymptomatic Gas Emboli On The Vessel Wall, Linxia Gu, Eric L. Cutler

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Quantitative evaluation of shear stress in the vessel wall due to the presence of asymptomatic gas emboli is lacking. The goal of this work was to assess the impact of chronic asymptomatic gas emboli on the risk of atherosclerosis through a custom-built cardiovascular flow simulator. Gas bubbles were created by forced air from a syringe pump. The influences of embolism injection rate, pulse rate, and time-averaged flow rate on the wall mean shear stress were investigated at resting and elevated heart rate conditions. The recorded pressure and volumetric flow rate from 24 experimental settings with four repetitions each were used …

Increased Expression Of Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor In Aged Mesenchymal Stem Cells Impairs Their Therapeutic Efficacy For Attenuating Myocardial Infarction Injury., Hongliang Liang, Huiyuan Hou, Wei Yi, Guodong Yang, Chunhu Gu, Wayne Bond Lau, Erhe Gao, Xinliang Ma, Zifan Lu, Xufeng Wei, Jianming Pei, Dinghua Yi

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

AIMS: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can ameliorate myocardial infarction (MI) injury. However, older-donor MSCs seem less efficacious than those from younger donors, and the contributing underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we determine how age-related expression of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) affects MSC therapeutic efficacy for MI.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Reverse transcriptase-polymerized chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses revealed dramatically increased PEDF expression in MSCs from old mice compared to young mice. Morphological and functional experiments demonstrated significantly impaired old MSC therapeutic efficacy compared with young MSCs in treatment of mice subjected to MI. Immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that administration of …

Visual Outcome Of Cataract Surgery, Farzeen Khalid Hashmi, Qazi Assad Khan, Tanveer Anjum Chaudhry, Khabir Ahmad

Department of Surgery Docs

The aim of this study was to assess whether the visual outcome of cataract surgery in the institution was in accordance with the World Health Organization recommendations. In this retrospective case series, all patients who underwent cataract surgery by a single surgeon from January 2009 till June 2011 were included. Date were collected from medical records on age, gender, visual acuity and causes of sub-optimal outcome. The main outcome was best-corrected visual acuity in the operated eye, measured 4 – 6 weeks after surgery. Data on visual outcome was grouped using WHO's classification. Of the 495 eyes that underwent cataract …

Beach Wheelchair Project, Rory Aronson, Joshua Marcum, Samuel Coyne, Alex Hayes, Alexa Colburn, Max Hessel, Benedikt Strauss, Marvin Rimmele, Marco Pietsch

Mechanical Engineering

The Beach Wheelchair, Sandcrawler, is a machine intended to help give people with disabilities the full beach experience. The non-profit organization Bridge II Sports sponsored this project, and tasked us with developing the design and fabricating a prototype. This chair has several features including a linkage mechanism that raises and lowers a chair relative to an external frame, hand crank drive with Gates Carbondrive belt and sprockets, buoyant Wheeleez balloon tires, and much more.

Realizing The Right To Health Through A Framework Convention On Global Health?, Eric A. Friedman, Jashodhara Dasgupta, Alicia E. Yamin, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article introduces a special issue of Health and Human Rights (volume 15, issue 1) that features articles exploring potential elements of and key questions and issues surrounding the Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH). The FCGH is a proposed global health treaty that would be grounded in the right to health, with the aim of closing domestic and global health inequities. It would set standards and ensure financing for health care and public health services, while also addressing social determinants of health. The FCGH would raise the priority of health in other sectors, ensure effective private sector regulation, and …

Gsx2 Controls Region-Specific Activation Of Neural Stem Cells And Injury-Induced Neurogenesis In The Adult Subventricular Zone, Alejandro Lopez-Juarez, Jennifer Howard, Kristy Ullom, Lindsey Howard, Andrew Grande

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Neural stem cells (NSCs) reside in widespread regions along the lateral ventricle and generate diverse olfactory bulb (OB) interneuron subtypes in the adult mouse brain. Molecular mechanisms underlying their regional diversity, however, are not well understood. Here we show that the homeodomain transcription factor Gsx2 plays a crucial role in the region-specific control of adult NSCs in both persistent and injury-induced neurogenesis. In the intact brain, Gsx2 is expressed in a regionally restricted subset of NSCs and promotes the activation and lineage progression of stem cells, thereby controlling the production of selective OB neuron subtypes. Moreover, Gsx2 is ectopically induced …

Prevalence And Patterns Of Sexting Among Ethnic Minority Urban High School Students, Melissa Fleschler Peskin, Christine M Markham, Robert C Addy, Ross Shegog, Melanie Thiel, Susan R Tortolero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although sexting among U.S. youth has received much popular media attention, there are only limited data on its prevalence among ethnic minority youth. This study, therefore, specifically examined the prevalence and patterns of sexting (sending and/or receiving a nude or semi-nude picture/video or a sexual text-only message) among a sample of black and Hispanic youth. Data from 1,034 tenth graders from a large, urban school district in southeast Texas were used to calculate the prevalence of sexting by gender-race/ethnicity. Overlap among sexting behaviors was also examined. Electronic surveys were administered via an audio-computer-assisted self-interview on laptop computers. Prevalence estimates were …

Genetic And Non-Genetic Predictors Of Line-1 Methylation In Leukocyte Dna, Salman M. Tajuddin, Andre F.S. Amaral, Agustín F. Fernández, Sandra Rodríguez-Rodero, Ramon Maria Rodriguez, Lee E. Moore, Adonina Tardon, Alfredo Carrato, Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Debra T. Silverman, Brian P. Jackson

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Altered DNA methylation has been associated with various diseases.

Objective: We evaluated the association between levels of methylation in leukocyte DNA at long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1) and genetic and non-genetic characteristics of 892 control participants from the Spanish Bladder Cancer/EPICURO study.

Methods: We determined LINE-1 methylation levels by pyrosequencing. Individual data included demographics, smoking status, nutrient intake, toenail concentrations of 12 trace elements, xenobiotic metabolism gene variants, and 515 polymorphisms among 24 genes in the one-carbon metabolism pathway. To assess the association between LINE-1 methylation levels (percentage of methylated cytosines) and potential determinants, we estimated beta coefficients …

Evaluating Tablet Technology In An Undergraduate Nursing Program, Beth Ann Swan, Kellie Smith, Anthony J. Frisby, Kathryn Shaffer, Mary Hanson-Zalot, Julie Becker

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

With the introduction of tablet technology, faculty began asking questions about when, where, and how tables might enhance curriculum opportunities for student learning and faculty teaching strategies beyond their use as personal digital devices and smartphones (Swan, Smith, Frisby, Shaffer, & Hason-Zalot). Personal digital devices (PDDs), including smartphones, had been used by nursing students for the past five years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how tablet technology affected student and faculty teaching-learning processes and outcomes in an accelerated, pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing program.

Development Of A Method Of Measuring Nanoparticles Penetration Through Protective Glove Materials Under Conditions Simulating Workplace Use, Patricia Dolez, Ludwig Vinches, Gérald Perron, Toan Vu-Khanh, Philippe Plamondon, Gilles L'Espérance, Kevin Wilkinson, Yves Cloutier, Chantal Dion, Ginette Truchon

Rapports de recherche scientifique

En raison de la croissance exponentielle des applications industrielles des nanotechnologies et de l'augmentation associée des risques d'exposition professionnelle aux nanomatériaux, le principe de précaution a été recommandé. Afin de le mettre en œuvre et même s'ils ne doivent être considérés qu'en dernier recours dans la stratégie de maîtrise des risques, des équipements de protection individuelle contre les nanoparticules doivent être disponibles. Dans le but de combler le manque actuel en termes d'outils et de connaissances dans ce domaine, une méthode de mesure de la pénétration des nanoparticules à travers les matériaux de gants de protection dans des conditions simulant …

Kinetics Of Various Chemical Changes During Storage Of Processed Cheese, H. R. Gupta, K. L. Arora, Prateek Sharma, S. K. Kanawjia

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Three batches of processed cheese (PC) were manufactured by the standard procedure and packed aseptically in polystyrene (Sunpet) pet jars with screw cap of about 200 g capacity and stored at 5, 30 and, 45°C. The PC samples were analysed for proximate composition, selected physico-chemical characteristics and sensory attributes at intervals of 7 days for the product stored at 5°C upto 56 days, 3 days for the product stored at 30°C upto 6 days and 24 days at 45°C till the sample became organoleptically unacceptable. The results revealed that 30°C was conducive for mold growth, due to which the product …

Thoracolumbar Spine Trauma: Review Of The Evidence., George M. Ghobrial Md, Jack Jallo, Md, Phd

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

AIM: The aim of this paper was to provide a comprehensive review of literature regarding the classification systems and surgical management of thoracolumbar spine trauma.

METHODS: A Pubmed search of "thoracolumbar", "spine", "fracture" was used on January 05, 2013. Exclusionary criteria included non-Human studies, case reports, and non-clinical papers. RESULTS. One thousand five hundred twenty manuscripts were initially returned for the combined search string; 150 were carefully reviewed, and 48 manuscripts were included in the review.

DISCUSSION: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has a high prevalence in North America. The thoracolumbar junction is a point of high kinetic energy transfer …

Single Centre Study Of Using Bendamustine In The Treatment Of B-Cell Malignancies, Asif Husain Osmani, Nehal Masood

Department of Radiation Oncology

Objective: To evaluate the experience of bendamustine in the treatment of B-cell malignancies at a tertiary care centre.Methods: The retrospective descriptive analysis included data of all adult patients with B-cell malignancies treated with bendamustine from 2009 to 2011 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Data was analysed using SPSS 17.0. Frequencies and percentages were computed for baseline characteristics, responses and toxicities.Results: Of the 19 patients 15 (79%) were males and 4 (21%) were females.The mean age was 59.53+/-12.14 (with a range of 46-86). Eight (42%) had follicular lymphoma, 6 (32%) had mantle cell lymphoma, 2 (11%) had diffuse large …

Differences In Kinematic Control Of Ankle Joint Motions In People With Chronic Ankle Instability, Kristof Kipp, Rianna M. Palmieri-Smith

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

People with chronic ankle instability display different ankle joint motions compared to healthy people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to control ankle joint motions between a group of people with chronic ankle instability and a group of healthy, matched controls.

Methods

Kinematic data were collected from 11 people with chronic ankle instability and 11 matched control subjects as they performed a single-leg land-and-cut maneuver. Three-dimensional ankle joint angles were calculated from 100 ms before, to 200 ms after landing. Kinematic control of the three rotational ankle joint degrees of freedom was investigated by …

Has The Foundation For Physical Therapy Advanced The Body Of Knowledge?, Sheila Schindler-Ivens, Jan Struhar, Martha G. Jermé

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Speed And Agility Training The Mustang Way: The Development Of An Instructional Dvd For Cal Poly Athletes' Summer Training, Gary D. Heron

Master's Theses

SPEED AND AGILITY TRAINING THE MUSTANG WAY:

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL DVD FOR CAL POLY ATHLETES’ SUMMER TRAINING

Gary Douglas Heron

The purpose of this project was to create an instructional DVD of speed and agility training for Cal Poly student-athletes. The DVD is for athletes’ use when they are away from campus during summer break and contains information about the same drills and information the strength and conditioning coaches provided while athletes were on campus. The project was filmed and edited by the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach for Cal Poly intercollegiate athletics. The DVD contains 74 …

Navy Seal Prosthetic Hand, Devon Patrick Augustus

Master's Theses

Prosthetic development recently has focused mainly on myoelectrically controlled electric hands despite a majority of upper extremity amputees actively choosing body powered devices. Myoelectric hands utilize a small electric pulse generated in muscles when flexing as a signal to the hand to close. Finger flexion in these devices is controlled by electromechanical servos, requiring no strength input from the user. Body powered devices use a cable attached to a shoulder harness which causes mechanical closure of the device via tension placed on a control cable by a shoulder shrug motion or arm extension. Outfitting of active duty service personnel has …

Urban Agriculture Stormwater Management In California Cities, Rachel L. Cohen

Master's Theses

Cities within California are beginning to incorporate urban agriculture into their land use designations. Prompted by residents and local organizations, cities are hoping to capture the benefits that urban agriculture provides. Research has shown that urban agriculture renews and beautifies neighborhoods, provides healthy food choices, increases public health, has the potential to help with stormwater runoff, creates jobs, and fosters community. In the last few years, several California cities have made headlines as they have adopted new zoning codes that include urban agriculture.

In reviewing these new zoning codes and exploring the topic of urban agriculture, it became evident that …

Associations Between Alcohol Consumption And Fasting Blood Glucose In Young Adults, Julie Ann Lucca

Master's Theses

Current research shows moderate alcohol consumption is associated with decreased risk of diabetes and excessive consumption or binge drinking can cause insulin resistance and diabetes. In 2010, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United Statesand was responsible for significant health complications: blindness, kidney failure, and limb amputations, and is a large national economic burden. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) is a tool used to help diagnose diabetes. Abnormally high FBG, ≥100 mg/dl, is indicative of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Few studies have observed diabetic prevalence among young adults or college students. Studying young adults can help provide added …

High School Athletic Directors Perceptions Of Athletic Trainer's Professional Knowledge And Competence Based On Attire, Raechel N. Cunningham

Master's Theses

Very little research is available to identify how attire in the athletic training field impacts perceptions of professional knowledge and competence. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of attire on high school athletic directors’ perceptions of an athletic trainer’s professional knowledge and competence. The researcher emailed a questionnaire to ninety-four high school athletic directors from the state of California. The questionnaire measured the effect of attire on the perceptions of skills, knowledge, approachability, experience, education level, overall competence, and representation of an athletic trainer and focused on the difference between khaki attire, professional attire, and workout …

Indices Of Myocardial Contractility, Anusak Kijtawornrat

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Myocardial contractility is defined as the velocity of cycling of heavy meromyosin cross-bridges. Contractility may be defined also as the velocity of myocardial fiber shortening or change in ventricular dimension during contraction when the fiber shortens or the ventricle contracts against no load. In the clinic; however, myocardial contractility may be estimated by some parameters of systolic function adjusted for the degree of stretch on the fibers (the preload) just before contraction begins and the hindrance to ejection of blood (the afterload). Excitation-contraction coupling is a physicochemical process during which electrophysiological changes (initiated by depolarization of the cell) translate to …

Effects Of Myogenic Factor 5 (Myf5) Gene On Carcass And Meat Quality Of Mong Cai Pigs, Thi Kim Khang Nguyen, Trong Ngu Nguyen

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of Myogenic Factor 5 gene (MYF5) on carcass and meat quality of Mong Cai pigs. PCR-RFLP was applied to genotype 100 animals at three loci defined as MYF5/Hin1II, MYF5/HaeIII and MYF5/MspI. Results showed that MC pigs had two genotypes at each locus namely CD and DD,EF and EE, and GH and HH for the MYF5/Hin1II, MYF5/HaeIII and MYF5/MspI loci, respectively. The frequencies of DD, EE and HH were predominant (0.78-0.94) in the population. In addition, association analysis of three loci revealed that animals carrying CD genotype provided higher dressing percentage …

Development And Application Of Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (Rt-Lamp) For Feline Coronavirus Detection, Somporn Techangamsuwan, Araya Radtanakatikanon, Roongroje Thanawongnuwech

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Mutated feline coronavirus (FCoV) causes a highly fatal disease in cats, named feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Common FIP clinical signs represent an accumulation of fluid in the thorax and/or abdomen. Screening tests currently rely on fluid analysis with cytologic examination to differentiate cellular components. Accordingly, accurate ante-mortem diagnosis is prerequisite for effective treatment strategies. This study focused on developing a rapid diagnostic tool for FCoV by using reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). Clinical samples composed of bodily fluids, plasma and feces were obtained from FIP-suspected cats (n = 63), apparent healthy cats living with (n = 12) and without …

Production Of Black Goat Using Laparoscopic Artificial Insemination And Embryo Transfer, Nitira Anakkul, Junpen Suwimonteerabutr, Theerawat Tharasanit, Saritvich Panyaboriban, Sarawanee Khunmanee, Natthakarn Thanomsuksinchai, Mongkol Techakumphu1

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Laparoscopic artificial insemination (LAI) and embryo transfer (ET) were used to produce cross-bred blackcolored goat. In Experiment 1, LAI with frozen-thawed semen of black buck (Australian Melaan) was performed in 75% Saanen cross-bred does (white color, n = 70). The total numbers of 68 kids were born from 50 does. The skin colors of kids born were black (10.29%), white (39.71%) and other colors (50%). In Experiment 2, two cross-breeding programs were tested including program I: frozen semen of Australian Melaan inseminated to Black Bengal female (n = 7) and program II: frozen semen of Black Bengal inseminated to 50% …

Prevalence Of Salmonella Enterica, Escherichia Coli And Staphylococcus Aureus In Raw Meat In Thai Self-Service Style Restaurants In Khon Kaen Municipality, Sunpetch Angkititrakul, Arunee Polpakdee, Rungtip Chuanchuen

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

One hundred and fifty eight raw meat samples were collected from 33 Thai self-service style restaurants in Khon Kaen municipality during July-October 2011. The fresh meat included pork, beef and chicken and was provided for self-grilling or boiling. All the samples were examined for contamination of three major foodborne pathogens including Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using standard protocol. High prevalence of S. enterica (44%), E. coli (60%) and S. aureus (25%) was observed. Seventy-seven percent of the samples were positive for at least one of the three pathogens, while only 8% were found to carry all three …

Implications Of Cat Ownership Statistics And Social Changes: A Longitudinal Study In Taiwan From 2001 To 2009, Li Huan Chen, Ting Wei Chang, Meng Chih Tung, Chang Young Fei, I Tsun Chiang

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Pet ownership statistics in Taiwan had not been investigated until Animal Protection Act was announced on November 4, 1998. This longitudinal study aims to investigate the demographic information of household cats in Taiwan and discuss its implications with social changes from 2001 to 2009 biennially. Household cats were surveyed biennially by randomly dialed telephone survey. A structured questionnaire was designed to obtain household demographics and population-associated data on pet ownership. Related social changes data were obtained from the Statistical Yearbook of the Ministry of Interior, Taiwan. Results showed that household cat ownership increased from 2001 to 2009, but the average …

The Case For Investing In Family Planning In The Pacific: Costs And Benefits Of Reducing Unmet Need For Contraception In Vanuatu And The Solomon Islands, Elissa C. Kennedy, Sean Mackesy-Buckley, Sumi Subramaniam, Andreas Demmke, Rufina Latu, Annette Sachs Robertson, Kabwea Tiban, Apisai Tokon, Stanley Luchters

Population Health, East Africa

Background: Unmet need for family planning in the Pacific is among the highest in the world. Better understanding of required investments and associated benefits of increased access to family planning in the Pacific may assist prioritisation and funding.

Methods: We modelled the costs and associated health, demographic and economic impacts of reducing unmet need for family planning between 2010-2025 in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Baseline data were obtained from census reports, Demographic and Health Surveys, and UN agency reports. Using a demographic modelling program we compared a scenario of "no change in unmet need" with two distinct scenarios: 1) …