Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Factors Related To Icu Admissions Of Childhood Cancer Patients In Tertiary Preferred Hospital In The Private Sector Of India, Harleen Marwah, Ramandeep Arora

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

This study was performed to assess the predictive factors of Intensive Care Units (ICU) admission in newly diagnosed pediatric oncologic patients and in patients under ongoing oncologic treatment. Methods used to explore the research question included a retrospective analysis of children admitted to the ICU of the MAX Saket Superspecialty Hospital between March 1, 2013 and May 2018 in order to identify those patients with an oncologic condition who were admitted to an ICU. This subgroup was further evaluated for factors associated to ICU admissions, including: diagnosis, risk factors, complications leading to Pediatric ICU (PICU) admission, PICU therapy, and mortality …

Intimate Partner Violence Curriculum At Gw, Brynne Ichiuji, Jim Blatt

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Domestic violence is identified as a global epidemic, where 1 in 3 women throughout the world will experience physical and/or sexual violence (WHO 2013). Medical education research around the world has included DV curriculum studies to determine how to most effectively train medical students to understand, screen, and manage DV (Wathen et al. 2009)(Daniel and Milligan 2013)(Ogunsiji and Clisdell 2017). However, the published studies target varying healthcare specialities, trainee age groups, and study design, thus rendering comparison of specific curriculum inclusions statistically unattainable. Instead, this literature review identified common themes in the conclusions drawn from various studies to isolate reasonable, …

Survey Of Medical Student Perceptions And Preparedness On The Study Of Medical Cannabis During Medical School, Abraham Benavides, Mikhail Kogan, Nicholas Gregorio, Puneet Gupta

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Introduction: Professional education on medical cannabis lags behind growing public interest and increasing legal availability of medical and recreational cannabis; most US adults now have access to some form of legalized cannabis. The Cannabis as Medicine Interest Group (CANMIG) at GW SMHS believes that future physicians should be adequately prepared to handle patients’ questions about cannabis as it relates to their health and well-being. This study investigated the extent to which medical students wish to learn about medical cannabis and assessed their subjective preparedness to counsel patients on this topic.

Methods: One-hundred and five allopathic medical students completed an online …

Glygen: Computational And Informatics Resources And Tools For Glycosciences Research, Jeet Vora, Raja Mazumder

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Although ongoing technical advances are accelerating the pace and sophistication of data acquisition in glycoscience, the transformation of these data to glycobiology knowledge, insight, and understanding is slowed by the limited number of tools that facilitate their integration with biological knowledge. Thus, to fill in the critical gaps, there is a need for a broadly relevant and sustainable glycoinformatics resource that can provide tools and data to address specific glycoscience questions. GlyGen is an integrated, extendable and cross-disciplinary glycoinformatics resource that will facilitate knowledge discovery in basic and translational glycobiology by integrating multidisciplinary data and knowledge from diverse resources. It …

Florida Red Tide Exposure: Analyzing The Respiratory Effects Experienced By The Gulf Coast Population, Katrina Zdanowicz, Cindy Liu

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background: Florida red tide occurs in the Gulf of Mexico annually and has been linked to complaints of negative respiratory symptoms. Little is known about the exact association and long term effects of the exposure. Objectives: We applied the Navigation Guide to conduct a systematic review of the existing body of literature on Florida red tide exposure and respiratory effects. Methods: We applied inclusion criteria to studies found through searches of 5 scientific databases. Included studies were analyzed for risk of bias and overall strength and quality of evidence. Included studies provided self-reported symptoms and quantitative measurements of pulmonary function …

Effects Of Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury On Cytochrome P450 Activity, Milleah Sawtelle

Senior Honors Projects

Approximately 2 million people worldwide and more than 670,000 Americans are affected by end-stage renal diseases (ESRD). The current standard of care for ESRD is kidney transplantation. However, the surgical procedure of kidney transplantation inherently involves ischemia, which interrupts blood flow and reduces oxygen, during kidney graft preservation. The ischemic period is followed by reperfusion (the restoration of blood flow to the transplanted graft), resulting in varying degrees of ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. I/R injury is a leading cause of both organ dysfunction and graft failure. Furthermore, kidney I/R injury has been shown to cause remote organ damage, especially …

An Analysis Of Providers’ Perceived Barriers To Contraceptive Access And Reproductive Healthcare, Ashley Weadick

Senior Honors Projects

The field of Reproductive Healthcare covers nearly every aspect of women’s health. Even during non-reproductive years, Reproductive Healthcare is important for women because it provides medical care often essential to their lives before and after child-bearing years. Contraception is needed by many women before they wish to have children, and after they have any children they choose to have, they may again wish to use contraception or they may require help with postpartum care. One of many reasons why Reproductive Healthcare is so important is because it explains the wide array of options available when it comes to methods of …

To Replace Or Not To Replace? Replacing Short Peripheral Catheters Based On Clinical Indication, Deborah Maier

Masters External Publications

Short peripheral catheters (SPCs) are the most frequently used medical devices in hospital settings. Many hospital policies state that SPCs be replaced at 96 hours, which can be unnecessary and costly. A pre–post quality improvement initiative was implemented following complications surrounding removal of timed SPCcatheters compared with those removed by clinical indication, using the Visual Infusion Phlebitis (VIP) scale. Data collected included patient demographics, SPC characteristics, nursing time, and product use. SPCs replaced based on clinical indication remained intact longer and had fewer complications than those in the group with routinely replaced SPCs. Decreasing SPC replacements by use of clinical …

Advance Health Care Directive Campaign, Linda M. Schwartz Mde, Ahip, Cm

Department of Education

This interactive ebook encourages the development of an advance healthcare directive for people of all ages. Too often, they are seen as only being needed by people who are old or sick when everyone over the age of 18 should have one. Through interactive information screens, videos, mouse-over terms and glossary, you can explore the benefits of advance directives and how to choose the person who will speak for you if you cannot. An easy-to-use form for you to download and fill out is available. You just need to complete and print it, sign it with your witnesses and share …

Notch Inhibitors And The Bet Inhibitor Jq-1 Decrease The Growth Of Primary Tumor Cells Derived From A Novel Mouse Model Of C11orf95-Rela Induced Brain Tumor, Ericka Randazzo, Jesse Dunnack, Justin Fang, Joseph Loturco Phd

University Scholar Projects

Brain tumors are the most common childhood solid malignancy, and because of remarkable advances in treating many cancers outside of the brain, they have become the leading cause of cancer mortality in children. Ependymomas are a class of brain tumors which can be further subdivided into three groups based upon their location and genetic features. Of the three classes, supratentorial ependymomas are the only subgroup known to be marked by an oncogenic driver gene, which consists of a fusion mutation between the C11orf95 and RELA genes. C11orf95-RELA positive tumors are the most aggressive and lethal of …

Transition In Occupations Of Refugees During Resettlement, Jacqueline-Elizabeth Cantrell, Kimberley K. Banuelos, Adam Chan, Jennifer H. Daine

Occupational Therapy | MSOT Capstone Projects

Purpose: In 2016, there were 22.5 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2017). California resettled just over 5,000 of those 85,000 (Igielnik & Krogstad, 2017). Limited research has been conducted in the United States (U.S.) focusing on the refugee experience; furthermore, there is a significant gap in research regarding the impact of the refugee experience on the occupations of refugees as they transition to living in the U.S. Smith (2012) explored the adaptation of cultural weaving among Karen refugees to maintain their previous occupations and the impact of daily weaving on their lives within Western culture; however, the study focused only …

Assistive Technology And The Impact Of Occupations, Chelsea Golding, Chantelle Bond, Vhernna Fernandez, Eizelle Barrientos

Occupational Therapy | MSOT Capstone Projects

Objective: The purpose of this research was to empirically examine the occupational impact of assistive technology - AT (with a specific focus on word prediction, text to speech and speech recognition) from the perspectives of the end user, family and school personnel (e.g. teachers, therapists & specialists) across various contexts (e.g. home, school, community).

Method: Qualitative data included semi-structured interviews, audio and video recordings, and records reviews. The data was coded and analyzed using a constant comparison method to identify themes pertaining to the occupational use of AT and thusly the impact to overall occupational performance.

Findings: Six themes were …

Identification Of Molecules By Spectral Imaging, Qamar Alshammari

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

Spectral imaging is a powerful technique which uses the wavelength to identify/quantify the exact location and amount of the molecules. It facilitates the identification of materials and studying their properties through analyzing the way they interact with light. The study of light interaction with elements is called spectroscopy; spectroscopy examines how light behaves in the target and recognizes materials based on their spectral signatures. Spectral signatures can be compared to fingerprints which can be used to identify a person; spectral signatures can be used to identify materials. Therefore, we hypothesize that identifying the exact location and quantity of molecules present …

Rationale And Design Of The Hip Fracture Accelerated Surgical Treatment And Care Track (Hip Attack) Trial: A Protocol For An International Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating Early Surgery For Hip Fracture Patients, Flavia K. Borges, Mohit Bhandari, Ameen Patel, Victoria Avram, Ernesto Guerra-Farfán, Alben Sigaman, Masood Umer, Maria Tiboni, Anthony Adili, John Neary

Section of Orthopaedic Surgery

Introduction: Annually, millions of adults suffer hip fractures. The mortality rate post a hip fracture is 7%-10% at 30 days and 10%-20% at 90 days. Observational data suggest that early surgery can improve these outcomes in hip fracture patients. We designed a clinical trial-HIP fracture Accelerated surgical TreaTment And Care tracK (HIP ATTACK) to determine the effect of accelerated surgery compared with standard care on the 90-day risk of all-cause mortality and major perioperative complications.
Methods and Analysis: HIP ATTACK
is a multicentre, international, parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will include patients ≥45 years of age and diagnosed …

Freehand Pedicle Screw Fixation: A Safe Recipe For Dorsal, Lumbar And Sacral Spine, Muhammad Junaid, Ali Afzal, Anisa Kalsoom, Syed Sarmad Bukhari

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To determine outcome of freehand pedicle screw fixation for dorsal, lumbar and sacral fractures at a tertiary care centre in the developing world.
Methods: A retrospective review was performed of 150 consecutive patients who underwent pedicle screw fixation from January 1, 2012 to 31^st December 2017. A total of 751 pedicle screws were placed. Incidence and extent of cortical breach by misplaced pedicle screw was determined by review of intra-operative and post-operative radiographs and/or computed tomography.
Results: Among the total 751 free hand placed pedicle screws, four screws (0.53%) were repositioned due to a misdirected trajectory towards the …

Comparison Of The Sofa And Qsofa Scores In Predicting In-Hospital Mortality Among Adult Critical Care Patients With Suspected Infection., Mohammed Said

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Background: Sepsis is global health priority and the commonest cause of death in critical care. SEPSIS 3 criteria introduced in 2016 is the latest tool in diagnosing sepsis, uses qSOFA and SOFA scores in place of the SIRS based definition for better prediction of mortality in patients with suspected infections. Their performance in predicting mortality in critical care units outside high- income countries remains largely unknown. Objective: We compared the SOFA and qSOFA scores in predicting the hospital mortality of adult critical care patients admitted with suspected infection at the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: We did a …

Magnitude Of Screening For Gestational Diabetes Mellitus In An Urban Setting In Tanzania, Akampa Mukuve

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine

Background: Medical screening detects risk factors for disease or presence of disease in otherwise well persons in order to intervene early and reduce morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy it is important to detect conditions which may harm the mother and fetus during antenatal care (ANC). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one such condition which causes adverse effects during pregnancy, acutely and in the long term. There is lack of consensus on uniform screening and diagnostic guidelines for GDM both internationally and locally. Furthermore, there is evidence that recommendations in antenatal care guidelines are not routinely performed by health care providers …

Complementary Feeding Practices And Their Determinants In Infants And Young Children On Follow Up At A Private Tertiary Hospital In Nairobi, Catherine Muthoni

Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: More than a third of all deaths in children under five years of age worldwide, are linked to maternal and child under-nutrition. Appropriate complementary feeding is one of the interventions with the greatest potential for reduction of nutrition-related diseases and mortalities, yet uptake of the recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) infant and young child feeding practices in Kenya remains low. Despite provision of nutrition education at Aga Khan University Hospital- Nairobi (AKUH-N), both growth faltering and over-weight trends have been observed, pointing to both under- and over-nutrition. Objectives: This study investigated caregivers' knowledge , attitude and practice (KAP) of …

Commonly Integrated Epigenetic Modifications Of Differentially Expressed Genes Lead To Adaptive Resistance In Cancer., Abdullah Al Emran, Diego M Marzese, Dinoop R Menon, Heinz Hammerlindl, Farzana Ahmed, Erika Richtig, Pascal Duijf, Dave S B Hoon, Helmut Schaider

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

A Two-Way Interactive Text Messaging Application For Low-Income Patients With Chronic Medical Conditions: Design-Thinking Development Approach, Monika Marko-Holguin, Stephanie Luz Cordel, Benjamin William Van Voorhees, Joshua Fogel, Emily Sykes, Marian Fitzgibbon, Anne Elizabeth Glassgow

Publications and Research

Background: Two-way interactive text messaging between patient and community health workers (CHWs) through mobile phone SMS (short message service) text messaging is a form of digital health that can potentially enhance patient engagement in young adults and families that have a child with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease, and asthma. These patients have complex needs, and a user-centered way can be useful for designing a tool to address their needs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to utilize the user-centered approach of design thinking to develop a two-way interactive communication SMS text messaging tool …

The Health Care Costs Of Financial Exploitation In Maine, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Yvonne Jonk Phd, Deborah Thayer Mba, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Charles A. Smith Phd, Erika C. Ziller Phd

Disability & Aging

This study sought to determine the Medicare and Medicaid costs experienced by dual eligible older adults in Maine for whom Maine Adult Protective Services (APS) substantiated allegations of elder financial exploitation and to compare them to those of Maine’s general older population. The analysis is an important step forward in estimating the medical costs associated with elder abuse.

Elder financial exploitation may result in significant public burden on Medicare and Medicaid, shouldered by taxpayers. Efforts to detect, investigate, prosecute, and mitigate this abuse will benefit not only the victims, but also the financial stewardship of these public programs.

Mouse Genome-Wide Association And Systems Genetics Identifies Lhfp As A Regulator Of Bone Mass., Larry D Mesner, Gina M Calabrese, Basel Al-Barghouthi, Daniel M. Gatti, John P Sundberg, Gary A Churchill, Dana A Godfrey, Cheryl L Ackert-Bicknell, Charles R Farber

Faculty Research 2019

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a strong predictor of osteoporotic fracture. It is also one of the most heritable disease-associated quantitative traits. As a result, there has been considerable effort focused on dissecting its genetic basis. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of inbred strains to identify associations influencing BMD. This analysis identified a significant (P = 3.1 x 10-12) BMD locus on Chromosome [email protected] Mbp that replicated in two separate inbred strain panels and overlapped a BMD quantitative trait locus (QTL) previously identified in a F2 intercross. The association mapped to a 300 Kbp …

The Effects Of A Dementia Simulation Experience On Attitudes Towards People With Dementia, Micah Huckabee

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: The neurodegenerative effects of dementia resulting in cognitive and behavioral impairments is plausibly one of the reasons for a societal stigma towards individuals with dementia. Societal stigmas are associated with decreased life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and decreased psychological well-being for stigmatized individuals. In an effort to improve attitudes towards individuals with dementia, this study utilized a dementia simulation to measure attitudinal changes after a dementia simulation. Methods: There were 33 participants in this study (13 male and 20 female) between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants completed a Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS) survey, and then they dressed in …

Determining The Prevalence Of Injuries, Musculoskeletal Symptoms, And Stressors In Athletic Training Students, Brett Frazier

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Athletic training is one of the youngest and most rapidly growing professions in the medical field. One of the most prevalent problems with this young profession is the lack of information in the literature about injury, illness, and symptom reporting throughout the course of their career. The purpose of this study was to determine the self-reported prevalence of clinical-related injury, and musculoskeletal disorders/dysfunctions in current athletic training students. I hypothesized that the low back, neck, hand, and knee would be the most frequently affected body areas. Athletic training students from the University of Arkansas were recruited to take this survey. …

Implications Of Running Shoe Degradation On Overuse Injury Incidence In Ncaa Division 1 Female Distance Runners, Rachel Nichwitz

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to analyze the impact of the degradation in footwear, due to increased mileage, on the incidence of overuse injuries in the female distance runners on the Arkansas Cross-Country team over the course of four weeks. Methods: Eight female participants over the age of 18 from the University of Arkansas women’s cross-country team that trained in a neutral-ride running shoe were recruited. Each week subjects recorded their mileage and completed a pain survey over the FOOT, LOWER-LEG, KNEE, UPPER-LEG, HIPS, and LOWER BACK while midsole thickness of their training shoes was measured …

Consent And Contraceptives: An Investigation Of Dyadic Processes Within Sexual Relationships, Kelli N. Murray

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

To form healthy and satisfying sexual relationships, couples must implement effective sexual communication. Prior research mainly focuses on the female perspective when looking at communication about important relational aspects (e.g., sexual consent and contraceptive decision-making), but studies have indicated that sexual decisions are often made by both people in a dyad. To obtain an accurate idea of how dyadic sexual communication functions, both partners’ perspectives are needed. We investigated the dyadic practices and satisfaction regarding consent communication and contraceptive decision-making among sexually active dyads (N = 37) who were recruited through flyers and an electronic campus newsletter. Dyads individually, …

Motor And Sensory Characterization Of A Mouse Model Of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2o Disease, Swaran Nandini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dynein is an essential motor protein required for the maintenance and survival of cells. Dynein forms a motor complex to carry intracellular cargoes like organelles, growth factors, peptides, and hormones along the microtubules inside the cells. In neurons, the dynein is the retrograde motor protein that moves cargoes from the neuronal tip to the neuronal soma along the length of an axon. Dynein has an established role in neuronal nuclear migration, transport of neuronal survival signals and growth factors, organelle positioning inside neurons etc. Hence, it is not very surprising that numerous mutations in dynein have been reported in association …

The Impact Of Palm Cooling Gloves On Cardiovascular, Thermoregulatory, Metabolic, Perceptual, And Ergogenic Responses Produced From Rowing Ergometry., Ian O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Subjects (n = 34) did three rowing workouts of up to eight 2- minute stages separated by 45-60 second rests. Cardiovascular, ergogenic, thermoregulatory, perceptual and metabolic responses to workouts may be aided by intermittent palm cooling. Subjects received one of the following treatments per workout in a randomized sequence: no palm cooling, intermittent palm cooling during workouts, or palm cooling applied intermittently during workouts and post-exercise recovery. Methods: Palm cooling entailed intermittent cold (8-11o C) against the palmar surface of subject’s hands. Workouts began with 10 minutes of rest, followed by a 10-minute low- intensity warm-up and the workout, concluding …

Development Of Bar-Peptide Nanoparticles And Electrospun Fibers For The Prevention And Treatment Of Oral Biofilms., Mohamed Yehia Mahmoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Periodontal diseases are globally prevalent inflammatory disorders that affect ~47% of U.S adults. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) has been identified as a “keystone” pathogen that disrupts host-microbe homeostasis and contributes to the initiation and progression of periodontitis. Pg associates with oral streptococci in supragingival plaque and this interaction represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention. Previously our group developed a peptide (designated BAR), that potently inhibits Pg/Streptococcus gordonii (Sg) adherence in vitro and Pg virulence in a murine model of periodontitis. While efficacious, BAR (SspB Adherence Region) provided transient inhibition and required higher concentrations of BAR to disrupt established …

Silencing The Guca2a-Gucy2c Tumor Suppressor Axis In Cin, Serrated, And Msi Colorectal Neoplasia., Babar Bashir, Dante J. Merlino, Jeff A. Rappaport, Esteban Gnass, Juan P. Palazzo, Ying Feng, Eric R R. Fearon, Adam E. Snook, Scott A. Waldman

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) initiate through distinct mutations, including in APC pathway components leading to tubular adenomas (TAs); in BRAF, with epigenetic silencing of CDX2, leading to serrated adenomas (SAs); and in the DNA mismatch repair machinery driving microsatellite instability (MSI). Transformation through the APC pathway involves loss of the hormone GUCA2A that silences the tumor-suppressing receptor GUCY2C. Indeed, oral hormone replacement is an emerging strategy to reactivate GUCY2C and prevent CRC initiation and progression. Moreover, retained expression by tumors arising from TAs has established GUCY2C as a diagnostic and therapeutic target to prevent and treat metastatic CRC. Here, we defined …