Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Early Results Of Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy: An Analysis With Emphasis On Research Strategies To Improve Treatment Delivery And Outcomes., Kosj Yamoah, Kwamena Beecham, Sarah E Hegarty, Terry Hyslop, Timothy Showalter, Joel Yarney

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is scant data regarding disease presentation and treatment response among black men living in Africa. In this study we evaluate disease presentation and early clinical outcomes among Ghanaian men with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). METHODS: A total of 379 men with prostate cancer were referred to the National Center for Radiotherapy, Ghana from 2003 to 2009. Data were collected regarding patient-and tumor-related factors such as age, prostate specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score (GS), clinical stage (T), and use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). For patients who received EBRT, freedom from biochemical failure (FFbF) …

Preconditioning Induces Sustained Neuroprotection By Down Regulation Of Ampk, Louise D. Mccullough, Venugopal Reddy Venna, Jun Li, Sharon E. Benashski, Sami Tarabishy

UCHC Articles - Research

Abstract Background and Purpose—Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) induces endogenous neuroprotection from a subsequent ischemic injury. IPC involves down-regulation of metabolic pathways. As Adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a critical sensor of energy balance and plays a major role in cellular metabolism, its role in IPC was investigated.

Methods—A brief 3 minute middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was employed to induce IPC in male mice 72 hours prior to 90 minute MCAO. Levels of AMPK and pAMPK, the active form of the kinase, were assessed after IPC. A pharmacological activator or inhibitor of AMPK was utilized to determine the …

Lipophilic Stinging Nettle Extracts Possess Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Are Not Cytotoxic And May Be Superior To Traditional Tinctures For Treating Inflammatory Disorders., Tyler A. Johnson, Johann Sohn, Wayne D Inman, Leonard F. Bjeldanes, Keith Rayburn

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Extracts of four plant portions (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of Urtica dioica (the stinging nettle) were prepared using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) involving water, hexanes, methanol and dichloromethane. The extracts were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities in an NF-κB luciferase and MTT assay using macrophage immune (RAW264.7) cells. A standardized commercial ethanol extract of nettle leaves was also evaluated. The methanolic extract of the flowering portions displayed significant anti-inflammatory activity on par with a standard compound celastrol (1) but were moderately cytotoxic. Alternatively, the polar extracts (water, methanol, ethanol) of the roots, stems and leaves displayed moderate …

Hd-Cnv: Hotspot Detector For Copy Number Variants., Jenna L Butler, Marjorie Elizabeth Osborne Locke, Kathleen A Hill, Mark Daley

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

SUMMARY: Copy number variants (CNVs) are a major source of genetic variation. Comparing CNVs between samples is important in elucidating their potential effects in a wide variety of biological contexts. HD-CNV (hotspot detector for copy number variants) is a tool for downstream analysis of previously identified CNV regions from multiple samples, and it detects recurrent regions by finding cliques in an interval graph generated from the input. It creates a unique graphical representation of the data, as well as summary spreadsheets and UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) Genome Browser track files. The interval graph, when viewed with other software …

Loss Of Dystrophin Staining In Cardiomyocytes: A Novel Method For Detection Early Myocardial Infarction, Satwat Hashmi, Suhail Al-Salam

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most frequent diagnosis made in majority of sudden death cases subjected to clinical and medicolegal autopsies. When sudden death occurs at a very early stage of MI, traditional macroscopic examination, or histological stains cannot easily detect the myocardial changes. For this reason we propose a new method for detecting MI at an early stage. Murine model of MI was used to induce MI through permanent ligation of left anterior descending branch of left coronary artery. Five groups of C57B6/J mice were used for inducing MI, which includes 20 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, four hours …

Design, Physicochemical Characterization, And Optimization Of Organic Solution Advanced Spray-Dried Inhalable Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (Dppc) And Dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine Poly(Ethylene Glycol) (Dppe-Peg) Microparticles And Nanoparticles For Targeted Respiratory Nanomedicine Delivery As Dry Powder Inhalation Aerosols, Samantha Ann Meenach, Frederick G. Vogt, Kimberly W. Anderson, J. Zach Hilt, Ronald C. Mcgarry, Heidi M. Mansour

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Novel advanced spray-dried and co-spray-dried inhalable lung surfactant-mimic phospholipid and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)ylated lipopolymers as microparticulate/nanoparticulate dry powders of biodegradable biocompatible lipopolymers were rationally formulated via an organic solution advanced spray-drying process in closed mode using various phospholipid formulations and rationally chosen spray-drying pump rates. Ratios of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine PEG (DPPE-PEG) with varying PEG lengths were mixed in a dilute methanol solution. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the smooth, spherical particle morphology of the inhalable particles. The size of the particles was statistically analyzed using the scanning electron micrographs and SigmaScan® software and were determined to be 600 …

Website Usage And Weight Loss In A Free Commercial Online Weight Loss Program: Retrospective Cohort Study, Kevin O Hwang, Jing Ning, Amber W Trickey, Christopher N Sciamanna

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Online weight loss programs are increasingly popular. However, little is known about outcomes and associations with website usage among members of free online weight loss programs.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cohort study examined the association between website usage and weight loss among members of a free commercial online weight loss program (SparkPeople).

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a systematic random sample of members who joined the program during February 1 to April 30, 2008, and included follow-up data through May 10, 2010. The main outcome was net weight change based on self-reported weight. Measures of website usage included …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Georgia Southern Examines Self-Injury

Soluble Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (Sher2) As A Potential Risk Assessment, Screening, And Diagnostic Biomarker Of Lung Adenocarcinoma, Abby L. Cosentino-Boehm, Jacqueline M. Lafky, Tammy M. Greenwood, Kimberly D. Kimbler, Marites C. Buenafe, Yuxia Wang, Adam J. Branscum, Ping Yang, Nita J. Maihle, Andre T. Baron

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Here, we evaluated the potential clinical utility of soluble human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (sHER2) for the risk assessment, screening, and diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using an unmatched case-control study design. Serum sHER2 concentrations were measured by immunoassay in 244 primary NSCLC cases and 218 healthy controls. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, logistic regression models, and receiver operating characteristic plots were used to assess whether sHER2 is associated with lung cancer. Median serum sHER2 concentrations are higher in patients with adenocarcinoma than squamous cell carcinoma …

Pragmatic Skill Differences In Second Born Children And Those Without Siblings, Crystal Toombs

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the pragmatic skills possessed by second born children to those of children without siblings. Participants for this investigation were 56 fourth-grade children. Participants were identified through questionnaires distributed through area public schools. Based on the information obtained from the parent completed questionnaires, participants were assigned to one of two groups, depending on the presence of siblings. The classroom teachers of each participant then completed a Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (PLSI), an instrument used to rate pragmatic skills exhibited by children, as they compared to other children of the same age and gender. The data obtained from the …

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Self-Injury

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - January 13, 2013, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the January 13, 2013 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler

Contents Include

• USA College of Medicine's Class of 2014 learns how to stay safe when using social media

• USA College of Medicine Scientist Receives Grant from the American Heart Association

• Next Week's DSS - Dr. Loren Wold

Family Caregivers: The Primary Providers Of Assistance To People With Functional Limitations And Chronic Impairments, Carol O'Shaughnessy

National Health Policy Forum

An extensive body of research conducted over the past several decades has documented that family or other unpaid caregivers provide the majority of care to people who need assistance because of functional limitations or multiple and complex chronic conditions. Families play a central role not only in assisting impaired family members with personal care needs, but also in helping them coordinate health care and supportive services, and, increasingly, providing and/or supervising home-based medical care. This paper presents background information on family caregiving, briefly describes federal programs that provide direct assistance to caregivers, and discusses possible future policy and practice directions.

Defining A Simplified Pharmacophore For Simocyclinone D8 Inhibition Of Dna Gyrase, Lauren Gaskell

Theses and Dissertations

The type II topoisomerase subfamily of enzymes has been clinically targeted by the widely used, broad-spectrum quinolone class of antibacterials. Due to emerging drug-resistant strains of bacteria, the quinolones’ effectiveness is threatened. The natural product simocyclinone D8 (SD8) has shown the ability to inhibit the type II topoisomerase, DNA gyrase, even when mutated to be resistant to the quinolones. In order to determine the pharmacophore required for SD8 binding to DNA gyrase, 16 compounds were synthesized. These compounds were then tested by surface plasmon resonance for their ability to inhibit the DNA – DNA gyrase binding interaction. It was found …

Focused Anticoagulation Service In Family Medicine Residencies, Ivy A. Click, Emily Flores, Leonard Brian Cross, Douglas Rose

ETSU Faculty Works

A report on the creation of a new program to improve family medicine residents' understanding, and quality of care, of anticoagulation patients. Patients requiring anticoagulation therapy pose unique issues requiring a systematic approach to their care, balancing the potential benefit from therapy with possible adverse events. Here, we describe a model that helps to standardize both the care received by patients on anticoagulation therapy as well as the training of family medicine residents caring for those patients. A team-based model of care (family medicine residents, clinical pharmacists, and nurses) is used to achieve the goals of improved care and education. …

Biomarkers Of Maternal And Fetal Exposure To Organochlorine Pesticides Measured In Pregnant Hispanic Women From Brownsville, Texas, Ken Sexton, Jennifer J Salinas, Thomas J Mcdonald, Rose M Z Gowen, Rebecca P Miller, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Biomarkers of organochlorine pesticides were measured in both venous and umbilical cord blood from 35 pregnant Hispanic women living in Brownsville, Texas, USA. Gas chromatography with an electron capture detector was used to analyze specimens for 30 individual pesticides or their metabolites. Results indicate that blood concentrations were relatively low for most individual compounds, but that high-end (upper 10th percentile) values for total DDT were comparatively high. Although health effects associated with measured blood concentrations are uncertain, there is concern that fetal exposure to low levels of these OC compounds, either individually or in combination, might contribute to subsequent health …

The Role Of Dax-1 In Regulating Pluripotency In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Anthony Torres

Master's Theses

The orphan receptor Dax-1 is highly expressed in pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells and shows a correlative reduction in expression as these cells differentiate. While it is known that Dax-1 is expressed in pluripotent mouse ES cells, the precise function of Dax-1 in these cells is not as well understood. Recent studies employing RNA interference (RNAi) to specifically reduce the expression of the Dax-1 gene in mouse ES cells found that upon the knock down of Dax-1, ES cells differentiated. These findings indicate that Dax-1 functions in a novel role in the maintenance of a relatively undifferentiated state in ES …

Computational Analysis Of Rho Gtpase Cycling, Cibele Vieira Falkenberg, Leslie M. Loew

UCHC Articles - Research

The Rho family of GTPases control actin organization during diverse cellular responses (migration, cytokinesis and endocytosis). Although the primary members of this family (RhoA, Rac and Cdc42) have different downstream effects on actin remodeling, the basic mechanism involves targeting to the plasma membrane and activation by GTP binding. Our hypothesis is that the details of GTPase cycling between membrane and cytosol are key to the differential upstream regulation of these biochemical switches. Accordingly, we developed a modeling framework to analyze experimental data for these systems. This analysis can reveal details of GDI-mediated cycling and help distinguish between GDI-dependent and -independent …

The Santa Clara, 2013-01-10, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Ihoc Summary For Providers - Improving Health Outcomes For Children In Maine And Vermont, Joanie Klayman Lcsw, Amy Dix, Kevin S. Flanigan Md

Population Health & Health Policy

In February 2010, Maine and Vermont were awarded a five-year child health quality improvement grant. The project focuses on using quality measures and information technology to improve health outcomes for children. The goal is to improve timely access to quality care for children who are insured by Medicaid.

Public Health Expenditures, Public Health Delivery Systems, And Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This seminar examines a series of approaches for estimating the health and economic effects attributable to public health expenditures in the U.S., along with a novel method for estimating economies of scale and scope in the delivery of public health services. The use of instrumental-variables techniques and network analytic methods are described in these research approaches.

Iud Discontinuation Rates, Switching Behavior, And User Satisfaction: Findings From A Retrospective Analysis Of A Mobile Outreach Service Program In Pakistan, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Ghulam Mustafa, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, Mohsina Bilgrami

Community Health Sciences

Background: In Pakistan, the uptake rate for the intrauterine device (IUD) is very low at 2.5%. The most popular modern contraceptive methods in Pakistan are female sterilization and use of condoms. The Marie Stopes Society established its mobile outreach service delivery program with the aim of increasing use of modern quality contraceptive services, including the long-term reversible IUD, by women living in hard-to-reach areas. The present study attempts to assess IUD discontinuation rates and associated factors, including switching behavior and level of satisfaction with this type of service delivery.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional approach, we contacted 681 women who had …

Parsley, Rachel, B. 1991 (Fa 593), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper and two transcripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project FA 593. Paper titled “Folk Medicine in the Mammoth Cave Area” written by Rachel Parsley for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Parsley details folk remedies and folk medicine of the communities in the Mammoth Cave Region of south central Kentucky. Parsley’s research centers around interviews with her father, Andrew G. Parsley, Jr., and an Edmonson County resident, Bertha Skaggs, a well-known local practitioner of folk remedies. In addition to her interviews, Parsley relies on information collected by a …

A Guide To Enterotypes Across The Human Body: Meta- Analysis Of Microbial Community Structures In Human Microbiome Datasets, Omry Koren, Dan Knights, Antonio Gonzalez, Levi Waldron, Nicola Segata, Rob Knight, Curtis Huttenhower, Ruth E. Ley

Publications and Research

Recent analyses of human-associated bacterial diversity have categorized individuals into ‘enterotypes’ or clusters based on the abundances of key bacterial genera in the gut microbiota. There is a lack of consensus, however, on the analytical basis for enterotypes and on the interpretation of these results. We tested how the following factors influenced the detection of enterotypes: clustering methodology, distance metrics, OTU-picking approaches, sequencing depth, data type (whole genome shotgun (WGS) vs.16S rRNA gene sequence data), and 16S rRNA region. We included 16S rRNA gene sequences from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and from 16 additional studies and WGS sequences from …

Ihoc Summary For Members - Helping Your Child’S Doctor Helps Your Child, Joanie Klayman Lcsw, Amy Dix, Kevin S. Flanigan Md

Population Health & Health Policy

IHOC’s goal is to improve the health of children. For example, many children in Maine do not get their vaccines on time. So IHOC will work with doctor’s offices to help more children get their vaccines on time. This will help protect all children in the state, by reducing certain contagious illnesses.

Publications On Chronic Disease In Coal Dependent Communities In Central Appalachia, Susan Meacham, Phd, Suporn Sukpraput, Phd, Thomas Taber Oms I, Diana Metzger

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

CONTEXT:

Agency and nonprofit reports have traditionally been the source of health information in Appalachia. Recently, publications have appeared in the literature associating coal mining, specifically mountain top mining, with numerous chronic health conditions spurring debate among environmental and industry interest groups. Publication quantity and quality were objectively assessed. This article reports on a literature review and analysis of publications on chronic disease in coal dependent communities in Appalachia.

OBJECTIVE:

To conduct a review and analysis of original, peer reviewed research publications on chronic health conditions in communities dependent on coal mining with a focus on central Appalachia and report …

Acclimatization To Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia In Mine Workers: A Challenge To Mountain Medicine In Chile, J. G. Farias, D. Jimenez, J. Osario, A. B. Zepeda, C. A. Figueroa, V. M. Pulgar

Pharmaceutical Sciences

In the past two decades, Chile has developed intense mining activity in the Andes mountain range, whose altitude is over 4,000 meters above sea level. It is estimated that a workforce population of over 55,000 is exposed to high altitude hypobaric hypoxia. The miners work under shift systems which vary from 4 to 20 days at the worksite followed by rest days at sea level, in a cycle repeated for several years. This Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia (CIH) constitutes an unusual condition for workers involving a series of changes at the physiological, cellular and molecular levels attempting to compensate for the …

January 9, 2013, Communication Disorders & Sciences

Faculty Meeting Minutes & Agendas

Meeting minutes of the January 9, 2013 Faculty Committee meeting.

Changes In Natural Killer Cell Activation And Function During Primary Hiv-1 Infection, Vivek Naranbhai, Marcus Altfeld, Salim S. Abdool Karim, Thumbi Ndung’U, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, William H. Carr

Publications and Research

Background: Recent reports suggest that Natural Killer (NK) cells may modulate pathogenesis of primary HIV-1 infection. However, HIV dysregulates NK-cell responses. We dissected this bi-directional relationship to understand how HIV impacts NK-cell responses during primary HIV-1 infection.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Paired samples from 41 high-risk, initially HIV-uninfected CAPRISA004 participants were analysed prior to HIV acquisition, and during viraemic primary HIV-1 infection. At the time of sampling post-infection five women were seronegative, 11 women were serodiscordant, and 25 women were seropositive by HIV-1 rapid immunoassay. Flow cytometry was used to measure NK and T-cell activation, NK-cell receptor expression, cytotoxic and cytokine-secretory functions, …

Lifelong Bilingualism Maintains Neural Efficiency For Cognitive Control In Aging, Brian T. Gold, Chobok Kim, Nathan F. Johnson, Richard J. Kryscio, Charles D. Smith

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Recent behavioral data have shown that lifelong bilingualism can maintain youthful cognitive control abilities in aging. Here, we provide the first direct evidence of a neural basis for the bilingual cognitive control boost in aging. Two experiments were conducted, using a perceptual task-switching paradigm, including a total of 110 participants. In Experiment 1, older adult bilinguals showed better perceptual switching performance than their monolingual peers. In Experiment 2, younger and older adult monolinguals and bilinguals completed the same perceptual task-switching experiment while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed. Typical age-related performance reductions and fMRI activation increases were observed. However, …