Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Sleep Duration Is Associated With Vitamin D Deficiency In Older Women Living In Macao, China: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study, Xiaoying Liu, Liang Ke, Jacky Ho, Myriam Abboud, Elias Mpofu, Tara C. Brennan-Speranza, Rebecca S. Mason, Kaye E. Brock

All Works

© 2020 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Chinese women are known to have both a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) /l). Associations between sleep duration and circulating 25OHD have recently been reported but, to our knowledge, these associations have not been studied in older Chinese populations. We thus investigated whether sleep duration was associated with vitamin D status in …

First Age- And Gender-Matched Case-Control Study In Australia Examining The Possible Association Between Toxoplasma Gondii Infection And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Busselton Health Study, Aus Molan, Kazunori Nosaka, Michael Hunter, Jinxia Zhang, Xiaoni Meng, Manshu Song, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

An emerging field of research is starting to examine the association of infectious pathogens with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). An understudied parasite of interest is Toxoplasma gondii. Globally, very few studies have been conducted to investigate this association. Additionally, very little data exists on the prevalence of T. gondii in the general Australian population. Our group sought to determine the prevalence, association, and risk factors between T. gondii infection and T2DM from a representative Australian human population. Through a cross-sectional, age-A nd gender-matched case-control study, 150 subjects with T2DM together with 150 control subjects from the Busselton Health Study …

Definitions, Sources And Self-Reported Consumption Of Regionally Grown Fruits And Vegetables In Two Regions Of Australia, Katherine Kent, Stephanie Godrich, Sandra Murray, Stuart Auckland, Lauren Blekkenhorst, Beth Penrose, Johnny Lo, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Regional food systems are complex networks, with numerous retail sources that underpin a local economy. However, evidence is limited regarding how consumers define, identify, and source regionally grown fresh fruits and vegetables (RGFFV). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tasmania (TAS) and South Western Australia (SWA) to compare how RGFFV are defined, identified and sourced by consumers, including self-reported consumption of selected RGFFV. Survey data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and t-tests. Results (TAS n = 120, SWA n = 123) identified that consumers had mixed perceptions of how RGFFV are defined, including produce sold at farmers markets, or …

Static Stretch And Dynamic Muscle Activity Induce Acute Similar Increase In Corticospinal Excitability, Jules Opplertid, Christos Paizis, Athina Papitsa, Anthony J. Blazevich, Carole Cometti, Nicolas Babault

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Even though the acute effects of pre-exercise static stretching and dynamic muscle activity on muscular and functional performance have been largely investigated, their effects on the corticospinal pathway are still unclear. For that reason, this study examined the acute effects of 5×20 s of static stretching, dynamic muscle activity and a control condition on spinal excitability, corticospinal excitability and plantar flexor neuromuscular properties. Fifteen volunteers were randomly tested on separate days. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to investigate corticospinal excitability by recording the amplitude of the motorevoked potential (MEP) and the duration of the cortical silent period (cSP). Peripheral nerve …

Parasitic Infections Represent A Significant Health Threat Among Recent Immigrants In Chicago, Jesica A. Herrick, Monica Nordstrom, Patrick M. Maloney, Miguel Rodriguez, Kevin Naceanceno, Gloria Gallo, Rojelio Mejia, Ron Hershow

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Parasitic infections are likely under-recognized among immigrant populations in the USA. We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate if such infections have health impacts among recent immigrants in Chicago and to identify predictive factors for parasitic infections. A total of 133 recent immigrants were enrolled, filling out a standardized medical questionnaire and providing blood and stool samples. Appriximately 12% of subjects (15/125) who provided a blood or stool sample for testing were found to have evidence of current or prior infection with a pathogenic parasite, of which Toxocara spp. (8 subjects, 6.4%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (5 subjects, 4%) were most …

Healthcare Practitioners’ Views Of Social Media As An Educational Resource, Adam G. Pizzuti, Karan H. Patel, Erin K. Mccreary, Emily Heil, Christopher M. Bland, Eric Chinaeke, Bryan L. Love, P Brandon Bookstaver

Faculty Publications

Social media is increasingly utilized as a resource in healthcare. We sought to identify perceptions of using social media as an educational tool among healthcare practitioners. An electronic survey was distributed to healthcare administrators, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physicians, and physician assistants f hospital systems and affiliated health science schools in Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Survey questions evaluated respondents' use and views of social media for educational purposes and workplace accessibility using a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Nurses (75%), pharmacists (11%), and administrators (7%) were the most frequent respondents. Facebook® (27%), Pinterest® …

Coaching Women On The Impact Of Alcohol Intake On Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review, Amy Maloney

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Alcohol intake among women has increased in recent years. Women’s bodies metabolize alcohol differently when compared to men and are at increased risk for adverse effects, both physically and mentally. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to explore the evidence related to the impact of coaching in primary care on drinking behaviors and over-all well-being of women. Four databases including PsycInfo, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Plus with full text, and Gender Studies Database were searched using a variety of key words. Studies were included if they focused on female alcohol use and abuse, interventions specific to female alcohol …

Comparing Romosozumab And Alendronate In The Treatment Of Osteoporosis In Postmenopausal Women, Taylor Johnshoy

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

The purpose of this literature review is to determine if there is a statistical difference in the safety and efficacy between romosozumab, the prototypical drug in the new drug class sclerostin inhibitors, versus alendronate, the prototypical bisphosphonate, in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. A comprehensive literature review was performed searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Access Medicine from the last five years. Works chosen for review were limited to articles published in English, full-text articles, clinical trials, randomized control trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Items were excluded after reviewing abstracts due to material not directly comparing the treatment modalities. The research presented …

Global Survey On Pancreatic Surgery During The Covid-19 Pandemic., A. Oba, T. F. Stoop, M. Löhr, T. Hackert, N. Zyromski, W. H. Nealon, M. Unno, R. D. Schulick, M. H. Al-Musawi, M. Del Chiaro, +6 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to clarify the role of pancreatic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic to optimize patients' and clinicians' safety and safeguard health care capacity. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA:The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacts health care systems worldwide. Cancer patients appear to have an increased risk for adverse events when infected by COVID-19, but the inability to receive oncological care seems may be an even larger threat, particularly in case of pancreatic cancer. METHODS:An online survey was submitted to all members of seven international pancreatic associations and study groups, investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pancreatic surgery …

Quality Of Life Of Adults With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury In Mainland China: A Cross-Sectional Study, Fengshui Chang, Haixia Xie, Qi Zhang, Mei Sun, Yuhui Yang, Gang Chen, Huifang Wang, Chengyue Li, Jun Lu

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic spinal cord injury in mainland China.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: A total of 247 adults ≥ 1 year post-SCI in mainland China.

Methods: The World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the add-on modules on disability-related QoL (WHOQOL-DIS) were used to assess quality of life. Anxiety/depression was measured using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety/Depression Scale. Quality of life was compared with that of reference populations from China, Korea, the international field trial (23 countries). Multivariate linear regression was conducted to determine the factors that might …

Investigating The Effects Of Brainstem Neuronal Adaptation On Cardiovascular Homeostasis., James H Park, Jonathan Gorky, Babatunde Ogunnaike, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, James S Schwaber

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Central coordination of cardiovascular function is accomplished, in part, by the baroreceptor reflex, a multi-input multi-output physiological control system that regulates the activity of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems via interactions among multiple brainstem nuclei. Recent single-cell analyses within the brain revealed that individual neurons within and across brain nuclei exhibit distinct transcriptional states contributing to neuronal function. Such transcriptional heterogeneity complicates the task of understanding how neurons within and across brain nuclei organize and function to process multiple inputs and coordinate cardiovascular functions within the larger context of the baroreceptor reflex. However, prior analysis of brainstem neurons revealed …

Kinematic And Coordination Variability In Runners With And Without Patellofemoral Pain, Jessica Mutchler, Klarie Macias, Barry Munkasy, Samuel J. Wilson, John C. Garner Iii, Li Li

Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Background: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common overuse injury that has been suggested to cause abnormal gait kinematics and variability in runners with PFP. Conflicting results have been presented as to the variability of joint kinematics and joint coordination. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the variability of lower extremity kinematics and joint coordination in the presence of PFP and exertion. Methods: Six female runners with PFP and matched controls (CON) ran at a self-selected pace on an instrumented treadmill until exertion or pain criteria was met. Sixteen anatomical retroreflective markers and seven tracking clusters were placed …

Evaluation Of Mitochondrial Dna Copy Number Estimation Techniques, Ryan J Longchamps, Christina A Castellani, Stephanie Y Yang, Charles E Newcomb, Jason A Sumpter, John Lane, Megan L Grove, Eliseo Guallar, Nathan Pankratz, Kent D Taylor, Jerome I Rotter, Eric Boerwinkle, Dan E Arking

Journal Articles

Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), a measure of the number of mitochondrial genomes per cell, is a minimally invasive proxy measure for mitochondrial function and has been associated with several aging-related diseases. Although quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is the current gold standard method for measuring mtDNA-CN, mtDNA-CN can also be measured from genotyping microarray probe intensities and DNA sequencing read counts. to conduct a comprehensive examination on the performance of these methods, we use known mtDNA-CN correlates (age, sex, white blood cell count, Duffy locus genotype, incident cardiovascular disease) to evaluate mtDNA-CN calculated from qPCR, two microarray platforms, as well …

Longitudinal Sensitivity Of Alzheimer's Disease Severity Staging, Julia S Benoit, Wenyaw Chan, Linda Piller, Rachelle Doody

Journal Articles

Understanding Alzheimer's disease (AD) dynamics is essential in diagnosis and measuring progression for clinical decision-making; however, clinical instruments are imperfect at classifying true disease stages. This research evaluates sensitivity and determinants of AD stage changes longitudinally using current classifications of "mild," "moderate," and "severe" AD, using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), and the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) thresholds. Age and pre-progression rate were significant determinants of AD progression using MMSE alone to stage AD, and pre-progression was found to impact disease progression with CDR-SB. Sensitivity of these instruments for identifying clinical stages of …

A Head-To-Head Comparison Of The Efficacy And Safety Of Ixekizumab And Adalimumab In Biological-Naïve Patients With Active Psoriatic Arthritis: 24-Week Results Of A Randomised, Open-Label, Blinded-Assessor Trial., Philip Mease, Josef S Smolen, Frank Behrens, Peter Nash, Soyi Liu Leage, Lingnan Li, Hasan Tahir, Melinda Gooderham, Eswar Krishnan, Hong Liu-Seifert, Paul Emery, Sreekumar G Pillai, Philip S Helliwell

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVES: To compare efficacy and safety of ixekizumab (IXE) to adalimumab (ADA) in biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug-naïve patients with both active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and skin disease and inadequate response to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARDs).

METHODS: Patients with active PsA were randomised (1:1) to approved dosing of IXE or ADA in an open-label, head-to-head, blinded assessor clinical trial. The primary objective was to evaluate whether IXE was superior to ADA at week 24 for simultaneous achievement of a ≥50% improvement from baseline in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR50) and a 100% improvement from baseline in the …

Prospective Molecular Profiling Of Circulating Tumor Cells From Patients With Melanoma Receiving Combinatorial Immunotherapy., Selena Y Lin, Shu-Ching Chang, Stella Lam, Romela Irene Ramos, Kevin Tran, Shuichi Ohe, Matthew P Salomon, Ali Asgar S Bhagat, Chwee Teck Lim, Trevan D Fischer, Leland J Foshag, Christine L Boley, Steven J O'Day, Dave Hoon

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Blood molecular profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can enable monitoring of patients with metastatic melanoma during checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy (CII) and in combination with targeted therapies. We developed a microfluidics-based CTC platform to explore CTC profiling utility in CII-treated patients with melanoma using a melanoma messenger RNA (mRNA)/DNA biomarker panel.

METHODS: Blood samples (n = 213) were collected prospectively from 75 American Joint Committee on Cancer-staged III/IV melanoma patients during CII treatment and those enriched for CTCs. CTC profiling was performed using 5 known melanoma mRNA biomarkers and BRAF V600E DNA mutation. CTC biomarker status associations with clinical …

Transcriptional And Immunohistological Assessment Of Immune Infiltration In Pancreatic Cancer., Brady Bernard, Venkatesh Rajamanickam, Christopher Dubay, Brian D. Piening, Emilio Alonso, Zeljka Jutric, Ephraim Tang, Pippa Newell, Paul D Hansen, Terry R Medler, Andrew J Gunderson, Kristina H Young, Carlo Bifulco, Joanna Pucilowska, Marka R Crittenden, Michael J. Gough

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is characterized by a complex tumor environment with a wide diversity of infiltrating stromal and immune cell types that impact the tumor response to conventional treatments. However, even in this poorly responsive tumor the extent of T cell infiltration as determined by quantitative immunohistology is a candidate prognostic factor for patient outcome. As such, even more comprehensive immunophenotyping of the tumor environment, such as immune cell type deconvolution via inference models based on gene expression profiling, holds significant promise. We hypothesized that RNA-Seq can provide a comprehensive alternative to quantitative immunohistology for immunophenotyping pancreatic cancer. We performed RNA-Seq …

Classifying Heterogeneous Presentations Of Ptsd Via The Default Mode, Central Executive, And Salience Networks With Machine Learning., Andrew A Nicholson, Sherain Harricharan, Maria Densmore, Richard W J Neufeld, Tomas Ros, Margaret C Mckinnon, Paul A Frewen, Jean Theberge, Rakesh Jetly, David Pedlar, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

Intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs), including the default mode network (DMN), the central executive network (CEN), and the salience network (SN) have been shown to be aberrant in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of the current study was to a) compare ICN functional connectivity between PTSD, dissociative subtype PTSD (PTSD+DS) and healthy individuals; and b) to examine the use of multivariate machine learning algorithms in classifying PTSD, PTSD+DS, and healthy individuals based on ICN functional activation. Our neuroimaging dataset consisted of resting-state fMRI scans from 186 participants [PTSD (n = 81); PTSD + DS (n = 49); and …

Coronary Revascularization Options For Females: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Tayyab Hussain Shah

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The totality of evidence for revascularization decisions between coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of multivessel coronary artery disease comes from predominantly male patients. Although societal guidelines do not provide sex specific recommendations, growing evidence suggests that revascularization outcomes may not be consistent between sexes. This study evaluates outcomes of CABG versus PCI in female patients with multivessel disease (MVD) and/or left main disease (LMD). We conducted a systematic search to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the long-term outcomes after PCI versus CABG in MVD and/or LMD. We extracted female specific data …

Defining Psychological Resilience And Determining Long-Term Mental And Physical Health Outcomes In Male And Female West Point Graduates, Melissa Thomas

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

We examined what defines psychological resilience in graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a special population that was selected and trained to adapt and excel in the face of risk factors that can adversely affect mental and physical health. We also assessed self-reported mental and physical health in this population and compared these data to other veteran and civilian populations to lay the groundwork for further investigations into the relationship of resilience to health outcomes. The aims of this study were to: 1) employ a novel approach to operationalizing psychological resilience, defined as adapting well and …

Effects Of A Strength Training Intervention And Quality Of Life: Case Study On A Sedentary Adult Female, Lucas Frazier

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of the project is to evaluate physiological and quality of life changes in a

sedentary, senior-aged (55 or older) female using a six-week strength training

intervention. This case study will instruct how to perform a push-pull-legs split

routine by going to the gym three times per week. Prior to the six week intervention,

both quantitative and qualitative variables will be collected to assess baseline data,

including the subject’s resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, grip strength, one-

repetition maximum on seven whole body exercises (dumbbell bicep curl, tricep

pushdown, barbell bench press, wide-grip lat pull-down, seated dumbbell press, …

Exogenous Flupirtine As Potential Treatment For Cln3 Disease, Katia Maalouf, Joelle Makoukji, Sara Saab, Nadine J. Makhoul, Angelica V. Carmona, Nihar Kinarivala, Noël Ghanem, Paul C. Trippier, Rose-Mary Boustany

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

CLN3 disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting children. Hallmarks include brain atrophy, accelerated neuronal apoptosis, and ceramide elevation. Treatment regimens are supportive, highlighting the importance of novel, disease-modifying drugs. Flupirtine and its new allyl carbamate derivative (compound 6) confer neuroprotective effects in CLN3-deficient cells. This study lays the groundwork for investigating beneficial effects in Cln3^Δex7/8 mice. WT/Cln3^Δex7/8 mice received flupirtine/compound 6/vehicle for 14 weeks. Short-term effect of flupirtine or compound 6 was tested using a battery of behavioral testing. For flupirtine, gene expression profiles, astrogliosis, and neuronal cell counts were determined. Flupirtine improved neurobehavioral parameters in …

Somatic Symptoms And Binge Eating In Women's Daily Lives, Kelly A. Romano, Kristin E. Heron, Kathryn E. Smith, Ross D. Crosby, Scott G. Engel, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Raina D. Pang, Tyler B. Mason

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective

The present study aimed to determine whether the momentary severity of women's somatic symptoms was concurrently and prospectively associated with their engagement in binge eating in naturalistic settings.

Method

Thirty women (M_age = 34.13, SD = 13.92) who had engaged in binge eating at least once over the month prior to study entry completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol. During each of the 14 days, participants received five semi-random surveys via text message that assessed momentary somatic symptom severity (i.e., headaches, stomachaches/pain, chest/heart pain, faintness/dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue) and disordered eating behaviors. Generalized estimating equations …

The Emerging Spectrum Of Cardiopulmonary Pathology Of The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19): Report Of 3 Autopsies From Houston, Texas, And Review Of Autopsy Findings From Other United States Cities, Louis Maximilian Buja, Dwayne A Wolf, Bihong Zhao, Bindu Akkanti, Michelle Mcdonald, Laura Lelenwa, Noah Reilly, Giulia Ottaviani, M Tarek Elghetany, Daniel Ocazionez Trujillo, Gabriel M Aisenberg, Mohammad Madjid, Biswajit Kar

Journal Articles

This paper collates the pathological findings from initial published autopsy reports on 23 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from 5 centers in the United States of America, including 3 cases from Houston, Texas. Findings confirm that COVID-19 is a systemic disease with major involvement of the lungs and heart. Acute COVID-19 pneumonia has features of a distinctive acute interstitial pneumonia with a diffuse alveolar damage component, coupled with microvascular involvement with intra- and extravascular fibrin deposition and intravascular trapping of neutrophils, and, frequently, with formation of microthombi in arterioles. Major pulmonary thromboemboli with pulmonary infarcts and/or hemorrhage occurred in …