Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Intra-Ethnic Diversity In Ischemic Heart Disease And Stroke Mortality Among Hispanics In The United States, Karen Elizabeth Callahan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Hispanics are the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States (US), comprising 17% of the total US population in 2014, and projected to increase to 28.6% by 2060. Yet, the intra-ethnic heterogeneity for the second and fourth leading causes of death among Hispanic populations, heart disease and stroke, has never been comprehensively studied. We examined ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke mortality among distinct Hispanic subgroups: Caribbean Hispanics (including Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans), Mexicans, Central Americans and South Americans, comparing their mortality with non-Hispanic whites (NHWs).

Methods: Five years (2008-2012) of death certificate data from Florida and …

Results Of A Nine Month Home-Based Physical Activity Intervention For People Living With Hiv., Jason R. Jaggers, Joanna M. Snead, Felipe Lobelo, Gregory A. Hand, Wesley D. Dudgeon, Vivek K. Prasad, Stephanie Burgess, Steven N. Blair

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to test the feasibility of a home-based moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) program for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) currently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: 68 participants recruited for a 9-month home-based PA intervention aimed to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease for PLWHA taking ART. All participants received an educational weight loss workbook and a pedometer for self-monitoring of physical activity. The intervention group received elastic Therabands® for strength training in addition to telephone based behavioral coaching. Clinical assessments were conducted at baseline and each follow-up which also included psychometric questionnaires and PA …

Mechanical Properties Of Natural Chitosan/Hydroxyapatite/Magnetite Nanocomposites For Tissue Engineering Applications, Fatemeh Heidari, Mehdi Razavi, Mohammad E. Bahrololoom, Reza Bazargan-Lari, Daryoosh Vashaee, Hari Kotturi, Lobat Tayebi

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Chitosan (CS), hydroxyapatite (HA), and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) have been broadly employed for bone treatment applications. Having a hybrid biomaterial composed of the aforementioned constituents not only accumulates the useful characteristics of each component, but also provides outstanding composite properties. In the present research, mechanical properties of pure CS, CS/HA, CS/HA/magnetite, and CS/magnetite were evaluated by the measurements of bending strength, elastic modulus, compressive strength and hardness values. Moreover, the morphology of the bending fracture surfaces were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an image analyzer. Studies were also conducted to examine the biological response …

Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Predict Executives’ Intentions To Hire Psychologists In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Robert M. Tolliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health psychologists with training in integrated care are ideal candidates to work in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). However, despite the large documented need for more behavioral health providers in FQHCs, psychologists are underrepresented in this setting compared to other behavioral health professions. The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine the specific beliefs that are most relevant to executives’ intentions to hire psychologists, 2) determine how executives’ perceived control over hiring psychologists varies by several demographic variables, and 3) examine how well the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predicts executives’ intentions to hire psychologists. Method: Executives (N …

Relationship Between Morphogenesis And Secretion In The Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus Nidulans, Lakshmi Preethi Yerra

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Filamentous fungi have a long history in biotechnology for the production of food ingredients, pharmaceuticals and enzymes. The advancements made in recent years have earned filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus species a dominant place among microbial cell factories. Although the model fungus A. nidulans has been extensively studied, the genetic and regulatory networks that underlie morphogenesis and development have yet to be fully characterized. The Rho GTPases (Cdc42 and RacA) are one of the most important regulators of the morphogenetic processes among diverse eukaryotic organisms. Although the functions of these GTPases are relatively well-characterized, little is known about their …

Characterization Of The Role Of Host And Dietary Factors In The Establishment Of Bacteria In The Gastrointestinal Tract, Janina A. Krumbeck

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Probiotic bacteria and synbiotics are used as therapeutic and prophylactic agents. The majority of probiotic and synbiotic applications contain bacterial strains that are allochthonous to the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Accordingly, many bacterial strains do not survive digestion, or are not capable of persisting and competing the resident gut microbiota, and are therefore washed out of the GI tract shortly after the treatment is discontinued. This might reduce the health effects of these treatments. Therefore, research is needed to address the ecological challenges that probiotic strains encounter in the GI tract in order to develop probiotic regimens. Determining which ecological …

Reliability Of Pressure Ulcer Rates: How Precisely Can We Differentiate Among Hospital Units, And Does The Standard Signal-Noise Reliability Measure Reflect This Precision?, Vincent S. Staggs, Emily Cramer

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Hospital performance reports often include rankings of unit pressure ulcer rates. Differentiating among units on the basis of quality requires reliable measurement. Our objectives were to describe and apply methods for assessing reliability of hospital-acquired pressure ulcer rates and evaluate a standard signal-noise reliability measure as an indicator of precision of differentiation among units. Quarterly pressure ulcer data from 8,199 critical care, step-down, medical, surgical, and medical-surgical nursing units from 1,299 US hospitals were analyzed. Using beta-binomial models, we estimated between-unit variability (signal) and within-unit variability (noise) in annual unit pressure ulcer rates. Signal-noise reliability was computed as the ratio …

A Comparison Of Cervical And Trunk Musculoskeletal Characteristics Between Female And Male Army Helicopter Pilots, Takashi Nagai, Karen A. Keenan, John P. Abt, Timothy C. Sell, Brian W. Smalley, Michael D. Wirt, Scott M. Lephart

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Introduction: Neck pain (NP) and low back pain (LBP) are prevalent among military helicopter pilots. Although there have been few studies on sex differences in the NP/LBP prevalence in this population, females are shown to be at a greater risk of NP/LBP in civilian studies. This disparity may be due to musculoskeletal characteristics differences that predispose females for NP/LBP. The purpose of this study was to compare cervical and trunk musculoskeletal characteristics between male and female pilots. Methods: A total of 8 female pilots (Age: 27.6 ± 4.2yrs, HT: 166.1 ± 7.7cm, WT: 67.9 ± 10.6kg) were tested, and they …

Peer Pressure And Family Smoking Habits Influence Smoking Uptake In Teenage Boys Attending School: Multilevel Modeling Of Survey Data., Shafquat Rozi, Sadia Mahmud, Gillian Lancaster, Nida Zahid

Community Health Sciences

Introduction:

Among young teens, about one in five smokes worldwide. Adolescents spend a considerable amount of their time in school, and the school environment is therefore important for child health practices and outcomes.

Objectives:

We aimed to investigate the impact on smoking behavior of the school environment and the personal characteristics of male teenage students attending schools in Pakistan, taking into account the survey sampling structure.

Methods:

A two-stage cluster sampling with stratification was employed, and we interviewed 772 male secondary school students. We adopted random effect and generalizing estimating equation models.

Results:

Peer pressure in particular had a strong …

Cordycepin Promotes Apoptosis By Modulating The Erk-Jnk Signaling Pathway Via Dusp5 In Renal Cancer Cells, Jung-Hoo Hwang, Jong Cheon Joo, Dae Joon Kim, Eunbi Jo, Hwa-Seung Yoo, Kyung-Bok Lee, Soo Jung Park, Ik-Soon Jang

School of Medicine Publications

Constitutive activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK)-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling commonly occurs in tumors. The activation of ERK promotes cell proliferation, whereas that of JNK induces cell apoptosis. However, the apoptotic mechanism of ERK-JNK signaling in cancer is not well understood. Recently, we identified that apoptosis and activation of the JNK signaling pathway were induced after cordycepin treatment in human renal cancer, suggesting that JNK signaling might contribute to TK-10 cell apoptosis. We investigated the apoptotic effects of cordycepin by evaluating the activation of the ERK-JNK signaling pathway in renal cancer TK-10 cells. We found that cordycepin downregulated …

Quiet Time For Mechanically Ventilated Patients In The Medical Intensive Care Unit, Natalie S. Mcandrew, Jane Leske, Jill L. Guttormson, Sheryl Talcott Kelber, Kaylen Moore, Sylvia Dabrowski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: Sleep disruption occurs frequently in critically ill patients. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of quiet time (QT) on patient sedation frequency, sedation and delirium scores; and to determine if consecutive QTs influenced physiologic measures (heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure and respiratory rate).

Method: A prospective study of a quiet time protocol was conducted with 72 adult patients on mechanical ventilation.

Setting: A Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) in the Midwest region of the United States.

Results: Sedation was given less frequently after QT (p = 0.045). Those who were agitated prior …

Dissemination And Spread Of New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase-1 Superbugs In Hospital Settings, Erum Khan, Seema Irfan, Binish Arif Sultan, Amna Nasir, Rumina Hasan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective:
To find out frequency of isolation of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and the predominantly responsible metallo-beta-lactamasegene in a hospital setting.
Methods:
The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2009 to June 2012 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised non-duplicate clinical carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae isolates obtained from different collection units across Pakistan. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion screening of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae was confirmed by minimum inhibitory concentration using E-test. Polymerase chain reaction assay was performed to detect blaKPC, blaNDM-1, blaIMP, and blaVIM genes. In addition variable number tandem repeat typing was performed on selected cluster of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1- positive …

Three Siblings With Familial Non-Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Series, Muhammad Owais Rashid, Naeemul Haq, Saad Farooq, Zareen Kiran,, Sabeehuddin Siddique, Shahid Pervez, Najmul Islam

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: In 2015, thyroid carcinoma affected approximately 63,000 people in the USA, yet it remains one of the most treatable cancers. It is mainly classified into medullary and non-medullary types. Conventionally, medullary carcinoma was associated with heritability but increasing reports have now begun to associate non-medullary thyroid carcinoma with a genetic predisposition as well. It is important to identify a possible familial association in patients diagnosed with non-medullary thyroid carcinoma because these cancers behave more destructively than would otherwise be expected. Therefore, it is important to aggressively manage such patients and screening of close relatives might be justified. Our case …

The Precarious Health Of Young Mexican American Men In South Texas, Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, 2004–2015, Gordon P. Watt, Kristina Vatcheva, Derek M. Griffith, Belinda M. Reininger, Laura Beretta, Michael Fallon, Joseph B. Mccormick, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction

Hispanic men have higher rates of illness and death from various chronic conditions than do non-Hispanic men. We aimed to characterize the health of Mexican American men living on the US–Mexico border in South Texas and elucidate indications of chronic disease in young men.

Methods

We sampled all male participants from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, an ongoing population-based cohort of Mexican Americans in Brownsville, Texas. We calculated descriptive statistics and stratified the sample into 3 age groups to estimate the prevalence of sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical factors by age group and evaluated differences between age groups.

Results

Obesity …

Standard Post-Stroke Care: Far From Reality In Pakistan., Shahvaiz Magsi, Adeel Khoja, Mansoor Ali Merchant Rameez

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Serum Ferritin's Relationship To Training Reduction Among College Distance Runners, Taylor John Thompson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Iron deficiency (ID), measured as serum ferritin (SF), has been found in 31% and 57% of elite male and female athletes respectively. In distance runners, ID has been found to affect up to 41% of men and 82% of women. There are significant health consequences of ID such as decreased bone mineral density, altered thyroid function, immune suppression, and fatigue. Purpose: To determine if there is a relationship between ID and training reductions due to injury, illness, and fatigue in collegiate distance runners. Hypothesis: Because ID affects bone health, fatigue, thyroid, and immune function, it is …

Hypoxic Stress In Athletes With Sickle Cell Trait, Samantha Elizabeth Reynolds

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine various changes of blood measures in select athletes with sickle cell trait due (SCT) to exercise at different simulated altitudes (n=2). Previous studies have determined that athletes with sickle cell trait have complications in diminished oxygen environments, along with the potential for a lower oxygen carrying capacity with exertion. The study used a Hypoxico Altitude Training System in order to alter the oxygenated environment, and the subjects were evaluated at 2,470, 5,000 and 8,370 feet elevations. Arterial oxygen saturations were measured with pulse oximetry. The study demonstrated that these athletes with sickle …

Evaluating The Risk To Ostomy Patients Working With Uranium Using The Icrp Biokinetic Model For The Gastrointestinal Tract, Sara Taylor

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ICRP has published two biokinetic models providing a basis for radiation dose assessment due toradionuclides incorporated inside the gastrointestinal tract. These models are a sufficient tool to assess the committed dose equivalent for occupational exposures to workers assuming normal anatomy. The colostomy is becoming a more prevalent procedure. A colostomy permanently or temporarily bypasses a portion of colon to allow rest and healing. There are four different colostomies; ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid and an ileostomy. As a patient’s strength returns, they can return to normal daily activities, including returning to work. Therefore, as an ostomy patient returns to …

Effects Of Human Maternal Placentophagy On Postpartum Maternal Affect, Health, And Recovery, Sharon Marie Young

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Postpartum ingestion of the afterbirth by the mother, or maternal placentophagy, is a common behavior among eutherian mammals, including non-human primates, with humans as a rare exception. Despite the conspicuous absence of placentophagy in the cross-cultural ethnographic record, the practice appears to be gaining popularity among a small but growing number of advocates in various industrialized contexts who claim that the practice provides benefits to the postpartum mother, namely the relief and prevention of postpartum blues and depressive symptoms, improved breast milk production, and enhanced bonding with their infant. Because the placenta serves as an endocrine organ throughout pregnancy and …

New Insight Into The Protrusions And Paddles That Link Lens Fiber Cells., Sue Menko

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Prebiotics On Gut Bacterial Communities And Healing Of Induced Colitis In Mice, Krystyn Elizabeth Davis

Master's Theses

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) cause chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and debilitating symptoms in those suffering from the diseases. After inducing colitis in a mouse model using Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS), prebiotics inulin and oligofructose enriched inulin (OEI) were used as treatments to determine their effects on the gut microbial community, physiological healing process, and immune response in the mice after initial inflammation and before subsequent inflammation, or relapse. The treatment with inulin led to an increase in regulatory T cell number, but this increase was not as significant as the increase induced by the OEI. Inulin increased the …

Efficacy Of A Novel Intranasal Zinc Solution On The Microbiome, Health, And Growth Performance Of High-Risk, Newly Received Stocker Cattle, Makenzie Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if using an intranasal zinc (Zn) solution would impact health and growth performance of high-risk stocker cattle. Male beef calves (n = 239; 3 arrival dates [block]; initial BW = 276 ± 2.4 kg) were stratified by arrival gender and BW and assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: 1) treated with 3 ml of a Zn solution containing 36.24 mg of Zn administered intranasally, or 2) control, in which calves were not treated. Calves were observed daily and if exhibiting signs of morbidity and a rectal temperature ≥ 40° C they were …

Neuroanatomical Maps And Taste Reactivity To Sweet, Umami, And Bitter Taste In The Pbn Of C57bl/6j Mice, Jennifer Marie Saputra

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Humans can distinguish at least five different taste qualities, sour, salty, bitter, sweet, and umami (the savory taste of certain amino acids). In neuroscience research, behavioral testing is used to measure the ability of rodents (including inbred mice) to discriminate between the different taste qualities. Taste reactivity and two-bottle preference are behavioral tests that are utilized to investigate different aspects of taste. These tests involve either voluntary or forced consumption of taste stimuli, respectively. Either test can be used to infer the preference and palatability of the stimulus consumed by an animal.

In order to understand the basis of taste …

The Roles Of Nuclear Receptor Nr4a1 In Cancer Cell Proliferation And Skeletal Muscle Differentiation, Alexa Farmer

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Nuclear receptors (NRs) constitute a major class of drug targets in the treatment of various cancer types. NRs respond to cellular signals and become activated upon ligand binding to transcriptionally modulate expression of target genes. NR4A1 (Nur77) is a member of the NR4A family of nuclear receptors and displays an oncogenic profile in many cancer models. It is often upregulated in adult solid malignancies and is known to promote cell proliferation and survival. Knockdown studies of NR4A1 in cancer cell lines results in decreased cell growth and angiogenesis and increased apoptosis, suggesting NR4A1 is an oncogenic protein. Due to the …

Evaluating The Therapeutic Effect Of An Hsp90 Inhibitor In Mouse Models Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Bin Wang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The excessive accumulation of amyloid peptides (Aβ) represents one major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is most notably characterized by synaptic dysfunction. Strategies targeting heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibition have been widely investigated in the treatment of cancer for over two decades. Its application in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases however, has emerged more recently in the last decade. The role of the Hsp90 chaperone in clearing misfolded protein aggregates has been well established (in vitro only), but its function in synaptic activity remains elusive.

In our study, we utilized a widely used Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-AAG …

Antibiotic Drug Discovery With An Eye Towards Overcoming Drug Resistance, Daniel Towner Hoagland

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

As a species, humans have become ever reliant on the use of antibiotics to facilitate our everyday lives. The widespread emergence of resistance to currently used antibiotics is commonly attributed to an over use in our society. Such resistance, coupled with a lack of innovation and production of novel antibiotic drugs, threatens to return humanity to an era similar to one before the discovery of the first antibiotics. The need to find new agents to be used in this fight is paramount, as well as learning from our recent failures to produce such compounds. This document will highlight my efforts …

Association Between High Endocardial Unipolar Voltage And Improved Left Ventricular Function In Patients With Ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Ki Park, Dejian Lai, Eileen M Handberg, Lem Moyé, Emerson C Perin, Carl J Pepine, R David Anderson

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We know that endocardial mapping reports left ventricular electrical activity (voltage) and that these data can predict outcomes in patients undergoing traditional revascularization. Because the mapping data from experimental models have also been linked with myocardial viability, we hypothesized an association between increased unipolar voltage in patients undergoing intramyocardial injections and their subsequent improvement in left ventricular performance.

For this exploratory analysis, we evaluated 86 patients with left ventricular dysfunction, heart-failure symptoms, possible angina, and no revascularization options, who were undergoing endocardial mapping. Fifty-seven patients received bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMC) injections and 29 patients received cell-free injections of a …

Coronary-Cameral Fistula Caused By Guidewire Trauma And Resolved By Coil Embolization, Suvro Banerjee, Soumya Patra

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

A 57-year-old woman presented with effort angina. A coronary angiogram revealed critical 2-vessel disease, for which she subsequently underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. During angioplasty, a coronary guidewire-inadvertently passed into the right ventricle through the septal branches of the posterior descending coronary artery-caused a coronary artery-to-right ventricular fistula. This fistula was successfully closed percutaneously by coil embolization. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case in which a coronary artery-to-right ventricular fistula caused by a guidewire was managed successfully by coil embolization.

Advanced Interventional Therapy For Radiation-Induced Cardiovascular Disease, Daisy C Nieto

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

This report describes the case of a 61-year-old woman who presented with dyspnea, aortic stenosis, and coronary artery disease-typical side effects of radiation therapy for Hodgkin lymphoma. A poor candidate for surgery, she underwent successful high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention and subsequent transcatheter aortic valve replacement. This report highlights some of the cardiovascular-specific sequelae of radiation therapy for cancer treatment; in addition, possible directions for future investigations are discussed.

Underuse Of Oral Anticoagulants For Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: Past, Present, And Future, Ramsey M Wehbe, Ajay Yadlapati

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.