Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of C5ar-Targeted Nanoparticles For Delivery Of Vaccines, Shailendra Bharadwaj Tallapaka Venkata Sesha

Theses & Dissertations

Since the early attempts of Benjamin Jesty at inducing immunity against smallpox and the pioneering work of Edward Jenner, vaccination has been, and continues to remain, the principal method of protection from diseases. However, most of the successful vaccines have been against pathogens that do not have major mechanisms to evade the immune system. So far, many life-threatening diseases like hepatitis C, HIV infection, malaria etc., have been resistant to existing vaccination strategies. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new vaccination strategies that can generate long-lived protective immunity against such pathogens.

The purpose of this thesis is to …

Nutrition Status In Hospitalized Patients With Copd On Non-Invasive Ventilation, Sara M. Kvien Jensen

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Nutrition is an important aspect of critically ill hospitalized patient care but the lack of consistent nutritional guidelines for sub-critically ill patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) requiring non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) may be putting vulnerable patients at risk. Hand grip strength measurements are an emerging metric for nutritional status.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if hospitalized patients with COPD on NPPV show a difference in handgrip strength as a marker of nutritional status than those hospitalized patients with COPD not requiring NPPV.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study …

Development Of Cxcr4 Inhibitors For Topical Treatment Of Psoriasis, Suthida Boonsith

Theses & Dissertations

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is often associated with systemic comorbidities and impaired skin barrier function. There are several treatment options including topical treatment with immunosuppressants, phototherapy, and systemic therapies using small molecules and biological agents. However, none of them can be regarded as a perfect solution due to their toxicity during chronic use. Recently, the CXCR4/SDF-1 axis was found to play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. AMD3100, a small molecule CXCR4 antagonist can selectively bind to CXCR4 and inhibit skin inflammation, reduce angiogenesis and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Unfortunately, AMD3100 can only be …

Bedtime Fading With Response Cost For Treatment Of Sleep Disturbances In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sela Ann Sanberg

Theses & Dissertations

As many as 82% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience numerous chronic sleep-related problems and at a much higher frequency and severity than their typically developing peers. Behavioral treatments are considered best practice and first-line treatment to address sleep problems. These treatments tend to address one specific sleep-related behavior at a time. Bedtime Fading with Response Cost (BFRC) is a promising intervention that targets a multitude of sleep problems concurrently and has yet to be replicated by more than one investigative team in the home setting with children on the autism spectrum. This study evaluated the effectiveness of …

Sensitive Droplet Digital Pcr Method For Detection Of Tert Promoter Mutations In Cell Free Dna From Patients With Metastatic Melanoma, Ashleigh C. Mcevoy, Leslie Calapre, Michelle Pereira, Tindaro M. Giardina, Cleo Robinson, Muhammad A. Khattak, Tarek M. Meniawy, Antonia L. Pritchard, Nicholas K. Hayward, Benhur Amanuel, Michael J. Millward, Mel R. Ziman Dr, Elin S. Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Currently mainly BRAF mutant circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is utilized to monitor patients with melanoma. TERT promoter mutations are common in various cancers and found in up to 70 % of melanomas, including half of BRAF wildtype cases. Therefore, a sensitive method for detection of TERT promoter mutations would increase the number of patients that could be monitored through ctDNA analysis.

Methods:

A droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay was designed for the concurrent detection of chr5:1,295,228 C > T and chr5:1,295,250 C > T TERT promoter mutations. The assay was validated using 39 melanoma cell lines and 22 matched plasma and …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Georgia Southern Examines Kernel Density Estimation

An Update On The Opioid Epidemic: Perception Vs. Reality, Nicholas E. Hagemeier

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Roles Of Ecdysoneless In Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress And Oncogenesis, Appolinaire A. Olou

Theses & Dissertations

Tumor cells are well known to exhibit ER stress as a result of their altered environment characterized by redox and calcium imbalance, deregulation of protein synthesis to meet their oncogenic demands, and decreased vascularization associated with nutrient limitation and hypoxia, all of which are conducive of ER stress. Accordingly, markers of ER stress signaling response are up-regulated in various cancers. The outcome of ER stress signaling response varies from survival and adaption to apoptosis. Although pro-apoptotic ER stress signaling molecules are up-regulated in cancer, the mechanisms by which cancer cells seem refractory to, or evade, their apoptotic signaling are not …

Redirection Of The Immune Response To Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Infection, Anna G. Staudacher

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a leading cause of community- and healthcare-associated infections and has a propensity to form biofilms. Biofilm infections are recalcitrant to host immune-mediated clearance as well as antibiotics, making them exceptionally difficult to eradicate. The biofilm environment has been shown to skew the host immune response towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype, characterized by alternatively activated macrophages, recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and minimal neutrophil and T cell infiltrates. Our laboratory has attempted to redirect the host immune response towards one that would favor bacterial clearance by employing strategies to augment pro-inflammatory mechanisms. One such …

Patient-Centered Medical Home Adoption In School-Based Health Centers, Abbey Gregg

Theses & Dissertations

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is promoted as a primary care delivery design that can improve health care quality and patient outcomes while controlling health care costs. To achieve PCMH recognition, primary care providers must implement practice-level changes in order to deliver care that is comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, high quality, and whole-person oriented. This practice transformation requires advanced use of health information technology, staff investment in quality improvement and care coordination, and significant investments of both financial and human resources to support these activities. As a safety-net provider, school-based health centers (SBHCs) serve vulnerable children that typically experience barriers to …

Dnmt3a Haploinsufficiency Provokes Hematologic Malignancy Of B-Lymphoid, T-Lymphoid, And Myeloid Lineage In Mice, Garland Michael Upchurch

Theses & Dissertations

DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) is a master epigenetic regulator of benign and malignant hematopoiesis. To dissect the biological consequences of homozygous and heterozygous Dnmt3a inactivation in malignant hematopoiesis, we generated Dnmt3a homozygous null (Dnmt3a^Δ/Δ) and Dnmt3a heterozygous (Dnmt3a^+/–) mice and compared the presentations of hematologic malignancies between cohorts. Bi-allelic inactivation of Dnmt3a results in the presentation of mature lymphoid neoplasms resembling chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; B220⁺CD19⁺CD5⁺; 88% penetrance (37/42)) and CD8+ peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL; TCRβ⁺CD3⁺CD8⁺CD4^—; 40% penetrance (17/42)). …

Structural Violence And Gender-Based Violence In The United States, Sarbinaz Z. Bekmuratova

Theses & Dissertations

Three components of the dissertation project examined the relationship between three different constructs of structural violence and women’s experience of different violence types in their lifetime in the United States. The violence types examined in the study included psychological aggression, coercive control and entrapment, physical violence, stalking, sexual violence, and rape. 2010 National Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Survey with the final sample size of 9,827 was used for all three portions of the study to analyze the association of structural violence with six types of violence. Additional datasets used were Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s Status of Women …

Effect Of Flibanserin Treatment On Body Weight In Premenopausal And Postmenopausal Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: A Post Hoc Analysis., Susan G Kornstein, James A Simon, Stuart C Apfel, James Yuan, Krista A Barbour, Robert Kissling

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

Background: Flibanserin, a 5-HT_1A agonist and 5-HT_2A antagonist, is indicated for the treatment of acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. This post hoc analysis evaluated the effect of flibanserin treatment on body weight in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with HSDD.

Materials and Methods: This analysis included three 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of flibanserin 100 mg each bedtime (qhs) in premenopausal women, a similarly designed study in postmenopausal women, and a 52-week, open-label extension study in premenopausal women.

Results: In a pooled analysis of premenopausal women, mean baseline body mass index (BMI) was 27.0 kg/m …

Engaging Medical Students In Problem-Based Search And Study Of The Biomedical Literature., Zhiyong Han, Samantha L Margulies, Divya Kurian, Joshua M Jabaut, Akshita Mehta, Ramzi Dudum, Huberta Koudoro, Ria S Roberts, Jay Lee, Jonathan Li, Hieu T Nguyen, Mark Elliott

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Thyroid Function And Ischemic Heart Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Jie V. Zhao, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

To clarify the role of thyroid function in ischemic heart disease (IHD) we assessed IHD risk and risk factors according to genetically predicted thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) positivity. Separate-sample instrumental variable analysis with genetic instruments (Mendelian randomization) was used in an extensively genotyped case (n = 64,374)-control (n = 130,681) study, CARDIoGRAMplusC4D. Associations with lipids, diabetes and adiposity were assessed using the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium Results (n = 196,475), the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis case (n = 34,380)-control (n = 114,981) study, and the Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits (body …

Differences In Neighborhood Social Cohesion And Aerobic Physical Activity By Latino Subgroup, Rosenda Murillo, Sandra Echeverria, Elizabeth Vasquez

Publications and Research

Previous research has examined the role of neighborhood social cohesion in physical activity outcomes; however, less is known about this relationship across Latino subgroups. The purpose of our study was to examine the association between neighborhood social cohesion and aerobic leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among Latino adults and to determine whether these associations differ by Latino subgroup. We used cross-sectional 2013–2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data on Latinos originating from 5 countries/regions (i.e., Latinos of Puerto Rican, Mexican/Mexican-American, Cuban/Cuban-American, Dominican and Central or South American origin) aged ≥18 years (n=11,126). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations …

Histone/Protein Deacetylase 11 Targeting Promotes Foxp3+ Treg Function., Jianbing Huang, Liqing Wang, Satinder Dahiya, Ulf H Beier, Rongxiang Han, Arabinda Samanta, Joel Bergman, Eduardo M Sotomayor, Edward Seto, Alan P Kozikowski, Wayne W Hancock

Medicine Faculty Publications

Current interest in Foxp3+ T-regulatory (Treg) cells as therapeutic targets in transplantation is largely focused on their harvesting pre-transplant, expansion and infusion post-transplantation. An alternate strategy of pharmacologic modulation of Treg function using histone/protein deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) may allow more titratable and longer-term dosing. However, the effects of broadly acting HDACi vary, such that HDAC isoform-selective targeting is likely required. We report data from mice with constitutive or conditional deletion of HDAC11 within Foxp3+ Treg cells, and their use, along with small molecule HDAC11 inhibitors, in allograft models. Global HDAC11 deletion had no effect on health or development, and compared …

Estimates Of Burden And Consequences Of Infants Born Small For Gestational Age In Low And Middle Income Countries With Intergrowth-21(St) Standard: Analysis Of Cherg Datasets., Anne Cc Lee, Naoko Kozuki, Simon Cousens, Gretchen A Stevens, Hannah Blencowe, Mariangela F Silveira, Ayesha Sania, Heather E Rosen, Christentze Schmiegelow, Linda S Adair, Abdullah H Baqui, Fernando C Barros, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Laura E Caulfield, Parul Christian, Siân E Clarke, Wafaie Fawzi, Rogelio Gonzalez, Jean Humphrey, Lieven Huybregts, Simon Kariuki, Patrick Kolsteren, John Lusingu, Dharma Manandhar, Aroonsri Mongkolchati, Luke C Mullany, Richard Ndyomugyenyi, Jyh Kae Nien, Dominique Roberfroid, Naomi Saville, Dianne J Terlouw, James M Tielsch, Cesar G Victora, Sithembiso C Velaphi, Deborah Watson-Jones, Barbara A Willey, Majid Ezzati, Joy E Lawn, Robert E Black, Joanne Katz

Global Health Faculty Publications

Objectives To estimate small for gestational age birth prevalence and attributable neonatal mortality in low and middle income countries with the INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard.

Design Secondary analysis of data from the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG), including 14 birth cohorts with gestational age, birth weight, and neonatal follow-up. Small for gestational age was defined as infants weighing less than the 10th centile birth weight for gestational age and sex with the multiethnic, INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard. Prevalence of small for gestational age and neonatal mortality risk ratios were calculated and pooled among these datasets at the regional level. …

Development And Validation For A Mobile Speech-In-Noise Audiometric Task, Tommy Peng

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Traditional speech-in-noise hearing tests are performed by clinicians with specialized equipment. Furthermore, these tasks often present contextually weak sentences in background babble, which are poor representations of real-world situations. This study proposes a mobile audiometric task, Semantic Auditory Search, which uses the Android platform to bypass the need for specialized equipment and presents multiple tasks of two competing real-world conversations to estimate the user’s speech-in-noise hearing ability. Through linear regression models built from data of seventy-nine subjects, three Semantic Auditory Search metrics have been shown to have statistically significant (p < 0.05) with medium effects sizes for predicting QuickSIN SNR50. The internal consistency of the task was also high, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88 or more across multiple metrics. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that Semantic Auditory Search can accurately and reliably perform as an automated speech-in-noise hearing test. It also has tremendous potential for extension into automated tests of cognitive function, as well.

Estimates Of Burden And Consequences Of Infants Born Small For Gestational Age In Low And Middle Income Countries With Intergrowth-21st Standard: Analysis Of Cherg Datasets, Anne C C Lee, Naoko Kozuki, Simon Cousens, Gretchen A. Stevens, Hannah Blencowe, Mariangela F. Silveira, Ayesha Sania, Heather E. Rosen, Christentze Schmiegelow, Linda S. Adair, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Objectives: To estimate small for gestational age birth prevalence and attributable neonatal mortality in low and middle income countries with the INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard.
Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG), including 14 birth cohorts with gestational age, birth weight, and neonatal follow-up. Small for gestational age was defined as infants weighing less than the 10th centile birth weight for gestational age and sex with the multiethnic, INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard. Prevalence of small for gestational age and neonatal mortality risk ratios were calculated and pooled among these datasets at the regional level. …

Inflammation And Bone Mineral Density: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Jian V. Huang, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

Osteoporosis is a common age-related disorder leading to an increase in osteoporotic fractures and resulting in significant suffering and disability. Inflammation may contribute to osteoporosis, as it does to many other chronic diseases. We examined whether inflammation is etiologically relevant to osteoporosis, assessed from bone mineral density (BMD), as a new potential target of intervention, or whether it is a symptom/biomarker of osteoporosis. We obtained genetic predictors of inflammatory markers from genome-wide association studies and applied them to a large genome wide association study of BMD. Using two-sample Mendelian randomization, we obtained unconfounded estimates of the effect of high-sensitivity C-reactive …

09-05-2017 Notice Of Hsc Committee Meeting, Patrice Martin

HSC Committee (A subcommittee of the UNM Board of Regents)

No abstract provided.

Cabazitaxel In The Treatment Of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Patient Selection And Special Considerations., Sheel Patel, Jean Hoffman-Censits

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Cabazitaxel is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) refractory to docetaxel. With the advent of new antiandrogen therapies, immune-based treatments, and radioactive-targeted therapy, there are now multiple effective and approved agents for this disease state. The optimal sequencing of these agents is unclear as there are no large-scale head-to-head comparisons. Clinicians must familiarize themselves with the most recent studies as well as drug toxicities to determine the best treatment option for their patients. In this review, we focus on the development of cabazitaxel for mCRPC, evaluate its efficacy, and highlight key strategies …

Past, Present And Future Of Surgical Meshes: A Review, Karen Baylón, Perla Rodríguez-Camarillo, Alex Elías-Zúñiga, Jose Antonio Díaz-Elizondo, Robert Gilkerson, Karen Lozano

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Surgical meshes, in particular those used to repair hernias, have been in use since 1891. Since then, research in the area has expanded, given the vast number of post-surgery complications such as infection, fibrosis, adhesions, mesh rejection, and hernia recurrence. Researchers have focused on the analysis and implementation of a wide range of materials: meshes with different fiber size and porosity, a variety of manufacturing methods, and certainly a variety of surgical and implantation procedures. Currently, surface modification methods and development of nanofiber based systems are actively being explored as areas of opportunity to retain material strength and increase biocompatibility …

Resilience And Coping In The Adolescent And Young Adult With Type 1 Diabetes, Debra L. Messinger

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

There is a need to understand the roles coping strategies play in enhancing resilience in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes between the ages of 18-30. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between and among positive, protective coping strategies (courageous coping), negative coping strategies (defensive coping), and resilience. The Resilience in Illness Model (Haase, Kinter, Monahan, & Robb, 2014) was the theoretical model which guided this research.

A convenience sample was recruited via diabetes organizations’ Facebook and Forum pages, a College Diabetes Network chapter meeting, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations’ (JDRF) sponsored events. Data …

Stepping In: My Experience Of Embodied Power Through The Relations-Cultural Framework, Sarah C. Rot

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This qualitative embodied artistic inquiry self-study explored how I used my embodied power in an ethical and intentional way as a dance/movement therapist and illustrated how I experienced my embodied power as informed by relational-cultural theory. At the time of the study, I was a 24-year-old, White, female identified, Midwestern, second-year dance/movement therapy and counseling graduate student. Data were collected through five authentic movement sessions with a trained authentic movement practitioner. Data analysis took the form of creative synthesis through embodied writing passages following each authentic movement session. Results included a journey of self-compassion through a growing movement repertoire, which …

Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Arteries Juxtaposed With The Internal Acoustic Meatus And Their Relationship To The Cranial Nerve Vii/Viii Complex., Fernando Alonso, Mohammad W Kassem, Joe Iwanaga, Rod J Oskouian, Marios Loukas, Amin Demerdash, R Shane Tubbs

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Vascular loops in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) and their relationship to cranial nerves have been used to explain neurological symptoms. The anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) has variable branches producing vascular loops that can compress the facial cranial nerve (CN) VII and vestibulocochlear (CN VIII) nerves. AICA compression of the facial-vestibulocochlear nerve complex can lead to various clinical presentations, including hemifacial spasm (HFS), tinnitus, and hemiataxia. The formation of arterial loops inside or outside of the internal auditory meatus (IAM) can cause abutment or compression of CN VII and CN VIII. Twenty-five (50 sides) fresh adult cadavers underwent dissection of …

Coding Of Velocity Storage In The Vestibular Nuclei, Sergei B. Yakushin, Theodore Raphan, Bernard Cohen

Publications and Research

Semicircular canal afferents sense angular acceleration and output angular velocity with a short time constant of ≈4.5 s. This output is prolonged by a central integrative network, velocity storage that lengthens the time constants of eye velocity. This mechanism utilizes canal, otolith, and visual (optokinetic) information to align the axis of eye velocity toward the spatial vertical when head orientation is off-vertical axis. Previous studies indicated that vestibular-only (VO) and vestibular-pause-saccade (VPS) neurons located in the medial and superior vestibular nucleus could code all aspects of velocity storage. A recently developed technique enabled prolonged recording while animals were rotated and …

A Prospective Randomized Study Analyzing Preoperative Opioid Counseling In Pain Management After Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery., Todd H. Alter, Asif M Ilyas

Rothman Institute Papers

PURPOSE: Prescription opioid misuse has become increasingly prevalent in the United States. Preoperative opioid counseling has been proposed to decrease opioid consumption after surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative opioid counseling on patients' pain experience and opioid consumption after carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgery.

METHODS: A prospective comparison of consecutive patients scheduled to undergo CTR surgery was conducted. Patients were randomized to receive either formal preoperative opioid counseling or no counseling. All operations were performed with the same miniopen CTR surgical technique, and the same number of opioids were prescribed after surgery. Daily opioid pill consumption, …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Hiv-Related Services In Buprenorphine Treatment, Hannah K. Knudsen, Jennifer Cook, Michelle R. Lofwall, Sharon L. Walsh, Jamie L. Studts, Jennifer R. Havens

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major risk factor in the acquisition and transmission of HIV. Clinical practice guidelines call for the integration of HIV services in OUD treatment. This mixed methods study describes the integration of HIV services in buprenorphine treatment and examines whether HIV services vary by prescribers’ medical specialty and across practice settings.

Methods: Data were obtained via qualitative interviews with buprenorphine experts (n = 21) and mailed surveys from US buprenorphine prescribers (n = 1174). Survey measures asked about screening for HIV risk behaviors at intake, offering HIV education, recommending all new patients …