Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Needle Exchange Programs For The Prevention Of Hepatitis C Virus Infection In People Who Inject Drugs: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis, Stephen M. Davis, Shay Daily, Alfgeir L. Kristjansson, George A. Kelley, Keith Zullig, Adam Baus, Danielle Davidov, Melanie Fisher

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Background: Previous research on the effectiveness of needle exchange programs (NEP) in preventing hepatitis C virus (HCV) in people who inject drugs (PWID) has shown mixed findings. The purpose of this study was to use the meta-analytic approach to examine the association between NEP use and HCV prevention in PWIDs. Methods: Study inclusion criteria were (1) observational studies, (2) PWIDs, (3) NEP use, (4) HCV status ascertained by serological testing, (5) studies published in any language since January 1, 1989, and (6) data available for measures of association. Studies were located by searching four electronic databases and cross-referencing. Study quality …

Easi-Crispr: A Robust Method For One-Step Generation Of Mice Carrying Conditional And Insertion Alleles Using Long Ssdna Donors And Crispr Ribonucleoproteins., Rolen M Quadros, Hiromi Miura, Donald W Harms, Hisako Akatsuka, Takehito Sato, Tomomi Aida, Ronald Redder, Guy P Richardson, Yutaka Inagaki, Daisuke Sakai, Shannon M Buckley, Parthasarathy Seshacharyulu, Surinder K Batra, Mark A Behlke, Sarah A Zeiner, Ashley M Jacobi, Yayoi Izu, Wallace B Thoreson, Lisa D Urness, Suzanne L Mansour, Masato Ohtsuka, Channabasavaiah B Gurumurthy

Journal Articles: Munroe-Meyer Institute

BACKGROUND: Conditional knockout mice and transgenic mice expressing recombinases, reporters, and inducible transcriptional activators are key for many genetic studies and comprise over 90% of mouse models created. Conditional knockout mice are generated using labor-intensive methods of homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells and are available for only ~25% of all mouse genes. Transgenic mice generated by random genomic insertion approaches pose problems of unreliable expression, and thus there is a need for targeted-insertion models. Although CRISPR-based strategies were reported to create conditional and targeted-insertion alleles via one-step delivery of targeting components directly to zygotes, these strategies are quite inefficient. …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) In The Veteran Population: An Education Simulation For Nursing Students, Deven Jennings, Stacie Hunsaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The veteran population receives health care in various locations outside of Veteran Affairs facilities. Current research supports that 18-30% of veterans suffer from PTSD. Census records show that in 2013, 19.3 million veterans living in the US, this means that nearly 3.5-5.8 million American veterans suffer from PTSD currently (Census.gov, 2014). The need for nurses to become more familiar with PTSD and specific nursing care related to PTSD is necessary to care for the diverse population we find in many health care settings. The purpose of this project was to create a simulated educational experience for nursing students in order …

Risk Factors For Heart Failure In Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: The Cric (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) Study., Jiang He, Michael Shlipak, Amanda Anderson, Jason A Roy, Harold I Feldman, Radhakrishna Reddy Kallem, Radhika Kanthety, John W Kusek, Akinlolu Ojo, Mahboob Rahman, Ana C Ricardo, Elsayed Z Soliman, Myles Wolf, Xiaoming Zhang, Dominic Raj, Lee Hamm

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background Heart failure is common in patients with chronic kidney disease. We studied risk factors for incident heart failure among 3557 participants in the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) Study.

Methods and Results Kidney function was assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using serum creatinine, cystatin C, or both, and 24‐hour urine albumin excretion. During an average of 6.3 years of follow‐up, 452 participants developed incident heart failure. After adjustment for age, sex, race, and clinical site, hazard ratio (95% CI) for heart failure associated with 1 SD lower creatinine‐based eGFR was 1.67 (1.49, 1.89), 1 SD lower cystatin …

The Acute Effects Of Beetroot Powder And Arginine Supplementation On Blood Pressure In Normotensive Adults, Lauryn Mundt, Stephanie Risaliti, Tiffany Teerawatananont

Loma Linda University Research Reports

PURPOSE. Hypertension is one of the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in America. Beetroot is high in nitrates that could potentially be beneficial for hypertension. Beetroot comes in many forms including juice, juice concentrate, powdered, and encapsulated. The most studied form of beetroot is beetroot juice. Our study examined the encapsulated form of beetroot powder. L-arginine supplementation has also been suggested to have a strong association with blood pressure due to the nitric oxide pathway. The purpose of this graduate student research study was to investigate the effects of beetroot powder and …

Evolutionary Enhancement Of Zika Virus Infectivity In Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Yang Liu, Jianying Liu, Senyan Du, Cheng-Feng Qin, Penghua Wang, Pei-Yong Shi, Gong Cheng

NYMC Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) remained obscure until the recent explosive outbreaks in French Polynesia (2013-2014) and South America (2015-2016). Phylogenetic studies have shown that ZIKV has evolved into African and Asian lineages. The Asian lineage of ZIKV was responsible for the recent epidemics in the Americas. However, the underlying mechanisms through which ZIKV rapidly and explosively spread from Asia to the Americas are unclear. Non-structural protein 1 (NS1) facilitates flavivirus acquisition by mosquitoes from an infected mammalian host and subsequently enhances viral prevalence in mosquitoes. Here we show that NS1 antigenaemia determines ZIKV infectivity in its mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, which …

Detection Of Healthcare-Associated Infectious Disease Outbreaks With A Special Look At Clostridium Difficile Infection In Long-Term Care Facilities, Almea Matanock

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and a public health priority. However, standard procedures and comprehensive guidelines for HAI outbreak detection and response are still needed. This hybrid thesis describes what is known about HAI outbreaks in the introduction, reviews the HAI outbreaks reported to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), in the first paper, and then in the second paper examines how established methods for detecting infectious disease outbreaks perform in identifying Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) outbreaks in long-term care facilities (LTCF) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and finally, it closes with our overall …

The Association Of The Cumulative/Lifetime Duration Of Breast Feeding And The Development Of Post Menopausal Breast Cancer. Results From Adventist Health Study-2., Sozina D. Katuli, Synove F. Knutsen, Raymond Knutsen, Keiji Oda, Ronald Mataya, Gary E. Fraser

Faculty Publications

Background:Breast cancer affect more than 3.5 million women in the USA1. In 2017 there were 63,410 new cases of breast cancer. Seventy eight percent of these were post menopause women1. Breast feeding has been reported to be among several factors attributing breast cancer in the USA5. However limited research information exist the relationship between the duration of breast feeding and post menopause cancer3. In this study we evaluated the association of two indicators of breast feeding; the initiation of breast feeding (ever breastfed) and duration (cumulative month) of duration of breast feeding among Adventist women in USA and Canada. …

Bendablesound: An Elastic Multisensory Surface Using Touch-Based Interactions To Assist Children With Severe Autism During Music Therapy, Franceli L. Cibrian, Oscar Peña, Deysi Ortega, Monica Tentori

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Neurological Music Therapy uses live music to improve the sensorimotor regulation of children with severe autism. However, they often lack musical training and their impairments limit their interactions with musical instruments. In this paper, we present our co-design work that led to the BendableSound prototype: an elastic multisensory surface encouraging users to practice coordination movements when touching a fabric to play sounds. We present the results of a formative study conducted with 18 teachers showing BendableSound was perceived as “usable” and “attractive”. Then, we present a deployment study with 24 children with severe autism showing BendableSound is “easy to use” …

Fine Particles In Homes Of Predominantly Low-Income Families With Children And Smokers: Key Physical And Behavioral Determinants To Inform Indoor-Air-Quality Interventions, Neil E. Klepeis, John Belletierre, Suzanne C. Hughes, Benjamin Nguyen, Vincent Berardi, Sandy Liles, Saori Obayashi, C. Richard Hofstetter, Elaine Blumberg, Melbourne F. Hovell

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Children are at risk for adverse health outcomes from occupant-controllable indoor airborne contaminants in their homes. Data are needed to design residential interventions for reducing low-income children's pollutant exposure. Using customized air quality monitors, we continuously measured fine particle counts (0.5 to 2.5 microns) over a week in living areas of predominantly low-income households in San Diego, California, with at least one child (under age 14) and at least one cigarette smoker. We performed retrospective interviews on home characteristics, and particle source and ventilation activities occurring during the week of monitoring. We explored the relationship between weekly mean particle counts …

Implementation Of Patient Mobility Assessment Tool: A Clinical Nurse Leader Initiative Towards Improved Patient And Nurse Health Outcomes, Janet Lopez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Early ambulation during hospitalization has been recognized as a fundamental and logical intervention to reduce patients functional decline and muscle weakness. Recently, our healthcare system is encouraging nurses to become more actively involved in assessing patient’s mobility status and managing their mobilization. However, since the high nursing workload affects the time that a nurse can assign per task, more often than not they have little time to accurately assess patient’s mobility status; Presenting a safety concern for nurses and patients. In an effort to ease this challenge, the Patient Mobility Assessment Tool (PMAT) is introduced as an efficient nurse-driven …

Geospatial And Negative Binomial Regression Analysis Of Culex Nigripalpus, Culex Erraticus, Coquillettidia Perturbans, And Aedes Vexans Counts And Precipitation And Land Use Land Cover Covariates In Polk County, Florida, Joshua P. Wright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although mosquito monitoring systems in the form of dry-ice bated CDC light traps and sentinel chickens are used by mosquito control personnel in Polk County, Florida, the placement of these are random and do not necessarily reflect prevalent areas of vector mosquito populations. This can result in significant health, economic, and social impacts during disease outbreaks. Of these vector mosquitoes Culex nigripalpus, Culex erraticus, Coquillettidia perturbans, and Aedes vexans are present in Polk County and known to transmit multiple diseases, posing a public health concern. This study seeks to evaluate the effect of Land use Land cover …

Fear Not, Huntington’S Disease Families – Pope Francis Has Our Backs, Kenneth P. Serbin

At Risk for Huntington's Disease

No abstract provided.

Clinical Applications Of Pd-L1 Bioassays For Cancer Immunotherapy, Delong Liu, Shuhang Wang, Wendy Bindeman

NYMC Faculty Publications

Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has emerged as a biomarker that can help to predict responses to immunotherapies targeted against PD-L1 and its receptor (PD-1). Companion tests for evaluating PD-L1 expression as a biomarker of response have been developed for many cancer immunotherapy agents. These assays use a variety of detection platforms at different levels (protein, mRNA), employ diverse biopsy and surgical samples, and have disparate positivity cutoff points and scoring systems, all of which complicate the standardization of clinical decision-making. This review summarizes the current understanding and ongoing investigations regarding PD-L1 expression as a potential biomarker for clinical outcomes …

Pharmacist Intervention On The Stroke Team In The Emergency Department, Keith Johnson, Mary James, Samuel N. John

Research Day

Introduction:

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) remains the only medication proven to positively affect outcomes in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. tPA is given intravenously (IV) and dosed based on the patient’s weight. The national goal Door-to-needle (DTN) time is less than 60 minutes. The primary objective of this review is to assess the door-to-needle time in patients receiving tPA for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke when a pharmacist is present to mix tPA versus when a pharmacist is not present.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective chart review to gather data on the administration of tPA at Gwinnett Medical …

The Role Of Caveolin-1 Deficient Human Mammary Fibroblasts On Chemotherapy Resistance In Breast Cancer Cells, Katherine Keck, Abigail Hielscher

Research Day

Chemotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments of various breast cancers; however, it has been shown that carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) induce chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer cells (BCCs). Previous research has shown that the downregulation of caveolin-1 (cav-1), a structural component of membrane caveolae, promotes a CAF-like phenotype in stromal cells. This study was performed to evaluate the effect that downregulation of caveolin-1 in mammary fibroblasts imparts on chemotherapy resistance in BCCs. To determine the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of chemotherapy agents on BCCs, MDA-MB-231 (MDA) and MCF-7 BCCs were treated for 24 and 48 hours with …

Xanthohumol Stimulates The Secretion Of Catecholamines And Induces M2 Polarization In Raw 264.7 Macrophages, Janaiya Samuels, Stephen Alvarez, Huy Dinh, Rangaiah Shashidharamurthy, Srujana Rayalam

Research Day

Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer effects of xanthohumol (XN), a prenylated chalcone extracted from common hop plants, are gaining attention and research has been expanding on the beneficial effects of this compound. In this study, we have investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of XN using a mouse monocytic cell line, RAW 264.7. We hypothesized that the anti-inflammatory effects of XN are due to M2 polarization of macrophages which, in turn, is mediated partly through the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. RAW 264.7 cells were treated with either 0.1% DMSO or XN at varying concentrations for 24hrs. Cell culture supernatant was …

Therapeutic Management Of Lower Extremity Arterial Bypass Graft Occlusion: Case Report, Young Park, Dusty L. Lisi

Research Day

Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease is primarily caused by atherosclerosis and thromboembolic processes that alter the normal functions of the arteries of lower extremities. Surgical revascularization is indicated in patients with limb ischemia without adequate improvement by exercise rehabilitation and pharmacologic therapy and significant limitations of daily activities. Bypass graft occlusion may result due to various reasons such as: technical complication of the graft, thrombosis due to inadequate outflow of blood, myointimal hyperplasia, or progression of atherosclerosis. Intra-arterial thrombolysis is a common method of treatment in lower extremity bypass graft occlusions (Koraen). Results of a prospective, randomized trial demonstrated that …

The Anti-Obesity Effects Of Xanthohumol Are Mediated Partly By The Adenosine Monophosphate-Protein Kinase Signaling Pathway, Janaiya Samuels, Srujana Rayalam

Research Day

Xanthohumol (XN), a flavonoid compound extracted from the hop plant Humulus lupus, has been studied for its anti-cancer and anti-adipogenic effects. In this study, we have investigated the effects of XN on the inhibition of adipogenesis and the induction of browning in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Furthermore, we provide evidence for the first time on the role of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway in XN-induced anti-obesity effects. Browning of white adipose tissue, WAT, is emerging as a novel approach to address obesity. AMPK is activated in response to stress-like exposure to cold and has been shown to induce browning of …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Guggulsterone On The Induction Of Beiging In Mature 3t3-L1 Adipocytes, Janaiya Samuels, Colette Miller, Yusra Azhar, Ashish Parmar, Rangaiah Shashidharamurthy, Srujana Rayalam

Research Day

Phytochemicals have long demonstrated anti-obesity properties in adipocytes. Their ability, however, to induce browning in white adipose tissue is only beginning to emerge. We have recently established that the white adipocyte cell line, 3T3-L1, is capable of beiging under beta-adrenergic conditions. Using this information, we sought to investigate if the plant steroid guggulsterone (GS) can induce beiging in 3T3-L1s. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated using established protocols supplemented with rosiglitazone and thyroid hormone. Direct effects of GS were measured by treating mature 3T3-L1s for 24 hours. Indirect effects were measured by treating mature 3T3-L1s with conditioned media from GS-treated RAW 264.7 …

Appropriateness Of Statin Dose In High Risk Patients Post-Pci/Cabg At Gwinnett Medical Center, Brandon Cunningham, Samuel N. John

Research Day

Title: Appropriateness of Statin Dose in High Risk Patients Post-PCI/CABG at Gwinnett Medical Center

Primary investigator: Brandon Cunningham, PharmD

Mentor: Mary George, PharmD

Background: American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for cholesterol and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) recommend high intensity statins for secondary prevention in high-risk coronary artery disease patients as they have been proven to significantly reduce recurrence of cardiovascular events. Analyses and reports have shown that major gaps still remain in implementation of high-intensity statins in these patients, despite strong guideline recommendations.

Based on these previous analyses and observations in prescribing practices, we decided to …

Retrospective Review Of Maternal And Fetal Outcomes For Indigent Gestational Diabetes Clinic, Sara Wilson Reece, Harish S. Parihar, Mark Martinez

Research Day

This poster presentation will detail the history of indigent gestational diabetes clinic as well as describe methods, results and conclusions for 2 year retrospective chart review for 157 pregestational and gestational Latino diabetes patients. The objective of this review was to determine if there were statistically significant differences in maternal and fetal outcomes between diet only and diet + insulin groups.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Pharmacy Practice Residents In Preceptorship And Academia Through A Postgraduate Year 1 (Pgy-1) Teaching Certificate Program, Samuel N. John

Research Day

The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) School of Pharmacy launched its first residency program in July 2015 and attained full accreditation by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in April 2017. The residency program offers a required teaching certificate to its residents in addition to its focus on the residents clinical development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes of the PCOM Teaching and Learning Curriculum. This program provides its residents training needed to develop their teaching skills by attending mandatory seminars, participating in various teaching experiences (pharmacy practice laboratories, case studies in therapeutics, small and large …

Magnetic Drug Delivery Of Xanthohumol To Adipocytes Using Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles., Irandokht Khaki Najafabadi, Janaiya Samuels, Royce Dansby-Sparks, Srujana Rayalam, Vicky Mody

Research Day

According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S adults are obese. It is the main risk factor for type-2-diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. Nutraceuticals such as Xanthohumol have shown potential to inhibit adipogeneis, however, their bioavailability has remained controversial. Hence there is a need to develop targeted therapy which will increase the concentration of Xanthohumol on adipose tissues. Currently, magnetic drug delivery has been used to develop targeted therapies where conventional therapies have proven to be less effective. Among various types of nanoparticles ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIO) have found considerable attention …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Tgf-Β Mediated Reduction Of Caveolin-1 Expression Following Cellular Interaction With A Biological Extracellular Matrix, Shelby Sweat, Abigail Hielscher

Research Day

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Though extensive work has been done to address the underlying mechanism of disease in order to develop novel therapeutic agents, only recently has the focus been shifted from breast cancer cells to the tumor microenvironment. Caveolin-1, a membrane protein regulating fibronectin turnover, has been directly implicated in poor prognosis when downregulated. In order to determine whether or not fibronectin works directly to downregulate caveolin-1, we plated human mammary fibroblasts on fibronectin derived from human plasma and observed changes in caveolin-1 at 24 and 48 hours. We found that fibronectin …

Bis-Quaternary Ammonium Cyclophane Compounds That Interact With Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors, Peter A. Crooks, Linda P. Dwoskin, Guangrong Zheng, Sangeetha Sumithran, David Allen, Zhenfa Zheng, Paul Lockman

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

Provided are bis-quaternary ammonium cyclophane compounds which are modulators of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Also provided are methods of using the compounds for modulating the function of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, and for the prevention and/or treatment of central nervous system disorders, substance use and/or abuse, and or gastrointestinal tract disorders.

Healing Touch: Enhancing Quality Of Life, Julia Mccann-Khludenev

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Healing touch (HT) is a non-invasive energy therapy used in the management of symptoms of various health conditions. HT utilization has demonstrated enhanced comfort and relief of symptoms such as chronic pain, post-traumatic-stress, depression, and anxiety. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to promote awareness and appointment compliance rate of HT amongst veterans, and also to determine effectiveness of HT intervention on symptom relief and well-being. The PICO question was: “For Veterans, what is the effect of HT education material and mail notification on appointment compliance rate, and HT delivery on symptom relief and well-being as compared …

Paving The Road To Resilience: A Grounded Theory Pilot Study, Ruchi Shah

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this grounded theory pilot study was to develop a theory about how survival thinking can be fostered into resilience for children from a low socio-economic urban community in Mumbai, India. The study also examined how dance/movement therapy could be utilized to foster these qualities of resilience. Based on experiences with the population, this researcher hypothesized that the children experienced early complex trauma. Data was collected through movement observations of the children, interviews with professionals who have actively worked with them, and the researcher’s reflections of her own body felt experiences after each observation and interview. Data was …

Whole Genome Analysis Of A Schistosomiasis-Transmitting Freshwater Snail., Coen M Adema, Ladeana W Hillier, Catherine S Jones, Eric S Loker, Matty Knight, Patrick Minx, +Several Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Biomphalaria snails are instrumental in transmission of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. With the World Health Organization's goal to eliminate schistosomiasis as a global health problem by 2025, there is now renewed emphasis on snail control. Here, we characterize the genome of Biomphalaria glabrata, a lophotrochozoan protostome, and provide timely and important information on snail biology. We describe aspects of phero-perception, stress responses, immune function and regulation of gene expression that support the persistence of B. glabrata in the field and may define this species as a suitable snail host for S. mansoni. We identify …

Cohort Profile: Seek, Test, Treat And Retain United States Criminal Justice Cohort., Redonna Chandler, Michael S Gordon, Bridget Kruszka, Lauren N Strand, Frederick L Altice, Irene Kuo, +Several Additional Authors

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The STTR treatment cascade provides a framework for research aimed at improving the delivery of services, care and outcomes of PLWH. The development of effective approaches to increase HIV diagnoses and engage PLWH in subsequent steps of the treatment cascade could lead to earlier and sustained ART treatment resulting in viral suppression. There is an unmet need for research applying the treatment cascade to improve outcomes for those with criminal justice involvement.

METHODS: The Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain (STTR) criminal justice (CJ) cohort combines data from 11 studies across the HIV treatment cascade that focused on persons involved …