Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Condom Use Self-Efficacy Score And Risky Sexual Behavior Among High School Students In Southern Ethiopia, Gizachew Kebede Bassore, Hadi Danawi, Linda G. Marc, Chinaro Kennedy

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

There is emerging evidence of a rise in new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in Ethiopia. This may partly be explained by an increase in risky sexual behaviors among high school adolescents. The current study was conducted to explore the association between a set of predictor variables (comprehensive HIV knowledge and condom use self-efficacy score) and an outcome variable of risky sexual behavior among high school adolescents in the Angacha District of Southern Ethiopia. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design to answer the research question. Primary data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 374 participants using a stratified …

Magnify Is A Universal Molecular Anchoring Strategy For Expansion Microscopy, Aleksandra Klimas, Brendan R Gallagher, Piyumi Wijesekara, Sinda Fekir, Emma F Dibernardo, Zhangyu Cheng, Donna B Stolz, Franca Cambi, Simon C Watkins, Steven L Brody, Amjad Horani, Alison L Barth, Christopher I Moore, Xi Ren, Yongxin Zhao

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Expansion microscopy enables nanoimaging with conventional microscopes by physically and isotropically magnifying preserved biological specimens embedded in a crosslinked water-swellable hydrogel. Current expansion microscopy protocols require prior treatment with reactive anchoring chemicals to link specific labels and biomolecule classes to the gel. We describe a strategy called Magnify, which uses a mechanically sturdy gel that retains nucleic acids, proteins and lipids without the need for a separate anchoring step. Magnify expands biological specimens up to 11 times and facilitates imaging of cells and tissues with effectively around 25-nm resolution using a diffraction-limited objective lens of about 280 nm on conventional …

Chronic Trem2 Activation Exacerbates Aβ-Associated Tau Seeding And Spreading, Nimansha Jain, Caroline A Lewis, Jason D Ulrich, David M Holtzman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Variants in the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) gene are associated with increased risk for late-onset AD. Genetic loss of or decreased TREM2 function impairs the microglial response to amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, resulting in more diffuse Aβ plaques and increased peri-plaque neuritic dystrophy and AD-tau seeding. Thus, microglia and TREM2 are at a critical intersection of Aβ and tau pathologies in AD. Since genetically decreasing TREM2 function increases Aβ-induced tau seeding, we hypothesized that chronically increasing TREM2 signaling would decrease amyloid-induced tau-seeding and spreading. Using a mouse model of amyloidosis in which AD-tau is injected into the …

Current Topics In Technology-Enabled Stroke Rehabilitation And Reintegration: A Scoping Review And Content Analysis, Katryna Cisek

Articles

Background. There is a worldwide health crisis stemming from the rising incidence of various debilitating chronic diseases, with stroke as a leading contributor. Chronic stroke management encompasses rehabilitation and reintegration, and can require decades of personalized medicine and care. Information technology (IT) tools have the potential to support individuals managing chronic stroke symptoms. Objectives. This scoping review identifies prevalent topics and concepts in research literature on IT technology for stroke rehabilitation and reintegration, utilizing content analysis, based on topic modelling techniques from natural language processing to identify gaps in this literature. Eligibility Criteria. Our methodological search initially identified over 14,000 …

Attitude Of School-Based Nurses Towards Incorporating Advanced Dental Therapist In School Settings: Increasing Access To Care, Sonika Masih, Cynthia A. Degner

Dental Education Department Publications

Objectives: The disparities in access to dental care experienced by children of underserved families have been documented. Despite being largely preventable, oral diseases are highly prevalent. Around 3.5 billion people worldwide live with dental conditions.These conditions are associated with lower academics and missed school days among children. Dental therapy has a long history and is seen in multiple countries. Comparatively, dental therapy is in the early stages of implementation in the United States. Minnesota is the most diverse state to recognize dental therapists to practice in various settings. Commentary showcasing how a dental therapist works in a school-based setting while …

Ur-Ine Good Hands In The Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, Molly Lehatto, Courtney Hastings, Monika Mehlbrech, Christina Szabo

VCU Health Nursing

Purpose:

The purpose of this performance improvement project was to decrease the harm to patients related to catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSICU). Historically, the NSICU had the highest CAUTI rates in our organization with as many as 6 CAUTIs per calendar year quarter. A core group of nurses partnered with providers, hospital infection preventionists and nursing leaders to improve practices for placing, removing, and managing urinary catheters and to implement guidelines for urine testing stewardship.

Description:

Significance: In 2020, the NSICU had 12 CAUTIs, the highest number of CAUTIs in the entire …

Simple Polystyrene Microfluidic Device For Sensitive And Accurate Sers-Based Detection Of Infection By Malaria Parasites, Maria Joao Oliveira, Soraia Caetano, Ana Dalot, Filipe Sabino, Tomas Calmeiro, Elvira Fortunato, Rodrigo Martins, Eulalia Pereira, Miguel Prudencio, Hugh Byrne, Ricardo Franco, Hugo Aguas

Articles

Early and accurate detection of infection by pathogenic microorganisms, such as Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is critical for clinical diagnosis and ultimately determines the patient’s outcome. We have combined a polystyrene-based microfluidic device with an immunoassay which utilises Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to detect malaria. The method can be easily translated to a point-of-care testing format and shows excellent sensitivity and specificity, when compared to the gold standard for laboratorial detection of Plasmodium infections. The device can be fabricated in less than 30 min by direct patterning on shrinkable polystyrene sheets of adaptable three-dimensional microfluidic chips. To validate …

Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares Coupled With Raman Microspectroscopy: New Insights Into The Kinetic Response Of Primary Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells To Cisplatin, Valentina Notarstefano, Alessia Belloni, Paolo Mariani, Giulia Orilisi, Giovanna Orsini, Elisabetta Giorgini, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman MicroSpectroscopy (RMS) is a powerful label-free tool to probe the effects of drugs at a cellular/ subcellular level. It is important, however, to be able to extract relevant biochemical and kinetic spectroscopic signatures of the specific cellular responses. In the present study, a combination of Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used to analyse the RMS data for the example of exposure of primary Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells (OSCC) to the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Dosing regimens were established by cytotoxicity assays, and the effects of the drug on cellular spectral profiles were monitored …

Infiltrating Cd8+ T Cells Exacerbate Alzheimer’S Disease Pathology In A 3d Human Neuroimmune Axis Model, Jefin Jose, Devam Purohit

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

In this study, Jorfi et al. employed a neuroimmune axis model containing neurons, astrocytes, and microglia to examine the role of immune cells in Alzheimer's disease. Jorfi et al. found that T cells selectively infiltrated the BRAIN compartment of the neuroimmune axis model as compared to B cells and monocytes. Jorfi et al. further found that CD8+ T cells demonstrated heightened cytotoxicity in the Alzheimer's disease brain, illuminating the role of immune cells in neurodegeneration. Upon further examination, the CXCR3-CXCL10 signaling pathway was found to have an important role in inflammation.

Everything Won’T Be Okay: The Impact Of Therapists’ Justification Of The Mental Healthcare System On Their Racially Minoritized Patients, Rachel Ruth Buxbaum

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Despite advances in mitigating explicit biases, research finds that therapists’ implicit bias has not significantly decreased in magnitude or impact on their clinical work over the past several decades. This bias propels, among other harms, misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis, weaker therapeutic alliances, poorer quality of care, and re-activation of racialized trauma among patients of color. Because of these disparities, many individuals develop experience-based cultural mistrust toward the healthcare system, which clinicians often misinterpret as psychopathology, perpetuating the mistreatment-to-mistrust cycle. This dissertation was the first to apply system justification theory to clinical process research, investigating whether and how therapists’ justification of the …

Effects Of Disulfiram On The Metabolome Of Mrsa, Surya Teja Naidu

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Disulfiram, known as Antabuse®, is an oral drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Previous studies have indicated that disulfiram (DSF) exhibits antibacterial effects, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Our study delves into the antibacterial mechanism of DSF in MRSA through High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) metabolomics, investigating the underlying mechanism of DSF effects on thiamine and amino acid metabolism. Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) plays a crucial role as a cofactor for critical enzymes such as transketolase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. These enzymes are integral to the carbohydrate metabolism process within bacterial cells. TPP also contributes …

A Genome-Wide In Vivo Crispr Screen Identifies Essential Regulators Of T Cell Migration To The Cns In A Multiple Sclerosis Model, Jefin Jose

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

Kendirli et al. (2023) used a CRISPR screen to determine the proteins involved in T cell migration into the CNS in multiple sclerosis. Overall, eighteen facilitators and five brakes to T cell infiltration into the CNS were identified. Kendirli et al. specifically identified ITGA4, FERMT3, and HSP90B1 to make up the adhesion module, CXCR3, GNAI2, and TBX21 to make up the chemotaxis module, and GRK2 and S1PR2 to make up the egress module. This study demonstrated the ability of a CRISPR screen to identify elements in a disease process and thus identify targets for future multiple sclerosis therapies.

How Does The Ergogenic Benefits, Consumption, And Overall Perspective Of Caffeine Differ Between Athletes In Different Sports?, Steven Laflamme

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Caffeine has been a very popular ergogenic aid that has been widely used by athletes at all levels of sports performance (Pickering & Grgic, 2019). The effects of caffeine have shown performance-enhancing symptoms among athletes along with multiple cognitive benefits such as reaction time and overall mood during exercise. According to McArdle, Katch, and Katch (2015), caffeine acts as a stimulant for the central nervous system. It acts as a blocker for adenosine receptors and allows for more neuron firing in the brain as well as increased blood flow from the heart to other body systems. In interest of caffeine’s …

Ct-Guided Lung Biopsy In The Detection Of Lung Cancer, Brooke Lininger

Student Research Poster Presentations 2023

CT-Guided lung Biopsy in the Detection of Lung Cancer

Student Researcher: Brooke Lininger

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elaine Halesey Ed., R.T. (R)(QM)(ARRT)

Abstract

This project explains computed tomography(CT)-guided lung biopsies in the detection of lung cancer. The project discusses CT, CT-guided lung biopsies, statistics, steps of the procedure, indications, contraindications, complications, pulmonary nodules, fine vs. core needle, as well as future advancements. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer in the world. There are many factors that contribute to lung cancer such as smoking or being exposed to smoke. There are also three different types of lung cancer. CT-guided …

Exploring The Transition From General Ultrasound To Veterinary Ultrasound: Challenges And Opportunities, Kali Foltz, Juliette Myers

Student Research Poster Presentations 2023

Objective: The objective of the interview and research study was to identify the various challenges and opportunities that may be presented to an individual seeking a transition from human to veterinary ultrasound.

Methods: An interview was conducted between two senior sonography students and one experienced veterinary sonographer.

Results: The interview and research provided information and detail on the transition process, what a sonographer should know prior to the transition, and what benefits and obstacles a sonographer may encounter.

Effects Of An Occupation-Based Social And Life Skills Session On The Strength Of Intimate Partner Violence Victims’ Generalized Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Sierra Moes

OT Student Capstones

Background: Prior research has identified occupational therapy as a profession poised to provide interventions to enhance the recovery of intimate partner violence victims. The present study aimed to implement a program to affect the generalized self-efficacy beliefs of intimate partner violence victims residing in Autumn House Emergency Crisis Shelter.

Methodology: The Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale was administered before and after a total of seven individual/group sessions to a sample of adults residing at the shelter over the course of the occupational therapy program. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing a one-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and paired T-test Cronbach’s alpha to establish whether the …

Wound Care Training Using Simulation: Impacts On Clinical Knowledge, Skill Performance, And Satisfaction Among Skilled Nursing Facility Staff, Anna Sue Moody, Vorachai Sribanditmongkol

College of Health Sciences Posters

Impaired skin integrity, wound formation, and infections are significant health concerns. Therefore, competent wound care is essential for skilled nursing facility residents in long-term care. To recoup losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, one skilled, nursing facility in North Carolina increased admissions from other facilities from 59% to 68%, which resulted in a surge of residents with pre-existing and complex wounds. High staff turnover and inconsistent wound care practices were also observed. Research suggests that healthcare institutions with high attrition may experience degradations of clinical knowledge, skill proficiency, and safe, quality nursing care delivery. Evidence supports the use of simulation-based …

Community Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives On Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Use Among Black Women, Kayla Pitchford, Sylvia Shangani, Charlotte Dawson, Kristin Heron

College of Sciences Posters

The most at-risk population among women for HIV diagnosis in the U.S. are Black women, who account for 61% of all new HIV cases. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a safe and effective HIV prevention method for people at risk of HIV acquisition. Despite being disproportionately affected by HIV, Black women’s knowledge, perceived benefits, and uptake of PrEP remain low. The socio-ecological model may be useful for understanding why there is a low uptake of PrEP among Black women by examining the complex interplay between individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. The current study used the socio-ecological framework to explore provider …

Effects Of Meditation On Chronic Pain Management Among Older Adults, Katelyn R. Forsell

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The older adult population is expected to continue to grow. This population is more susceptible to facing chronic health conditions that often contribute to pain. Pain affects many aspects of an individual's life and can be debilitating, affecting physical and mental wellbeing. Chronic pain among older adults is often not well managed. Mindfulness meditation is a holistic healing modality that literature supports for pain mitigation (Creswell & Khoury, 2019). This scholarly project provided mindfulness meditation sessions to older adults in an independent and assisted living facility setting to help educate and guide them in reducing chronic pain. Pain reduction scores …

Opioid Task Force Highly Successful In Training Residents In Naloxone Use, Center For Human Services Research, University At Albany

Health and Healthcare Services Reports and Research Briefs

Aiming to limit the increase in deaths from opioid overdose to 25% of current levels, the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force (“the Task Force”) began a campaign in 2015 to, among other goals, increase the number of individuals trained to administer Naloxone in the tri-county area. This training is a critical need in these rural counties where there are low numbers of professional first responders dispersed over a wide geographic area. The Task Force also used these trainings to promote the importance of follow-up care after the administration of Naloxone, thus aiming to prevent opioid overdose deaths and facilitate a first …

Is Biological Death Final? Recomputing The Drake-S Equation For Postmortem Survival Of Consciousness, Adam J. Rock, James Houran, Patrizio E. Tressoldi, Brian Laythe

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This participatory team science project extended Laythe and Houran’s (2022) prior application of a famous probabilistic argument known as the ‘Drake equation’ to the question of postmortem survival. Specifically, we evaluated effect sizes from peer-reviewed, empirical studies to determine the maximum average percentage effect that ostensibly supports (i.e., "anomalous effects") or refutes (i.e., "known confounds") the survival hypothesis. But unlike the earlier application, this research included a study-specific estimate of the hypothesized variable of ‘living agent psi’ via a new meta-analysis of empirical studies (N = 17) with exceptional subjects vs participants from the general population. Our updated analysis found …

The Varieties Of Afterlife Experience: Epistemological And Cultural Implications, Everton De Oliveira Maraldi

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

When parapsychologists talk about survival, they are usually implying personal survival, that is, a process in which memories, motivations, and personality characteristics of a given person somehow persist after bodily death. Are there other conceptions of survival (and of personal identity) that deserve further scientific examination? My purpose with this brief commentary is to expand on Rock et al’s approach by urging survivalists to discuss and investigate further the many different conceptions of (and explanations for) survival. I propose we critically reflect on our theoretical assumptions and their epistemological and cultural consequences.

Good, Bad, Or Not-Even-Wrong Science And Mathematics In Transpersonal Psychology: Comment On Rock Et Al.'S "Is Biological Death Final?", Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Rock et al. (this issue) used a Drake-like equation to provide an estimate of the mathematical likelihood of survival of consciousness after death based on combining a number of probability guestimates. Although it is refreshing to see a mathematical paper within transpersonal psychology, as this subdiscipline of psychology suffers from a shortage of quantitative research, it is uncertain whether this contribution is good, bad, or not-even-wrong science. The original Drake equation, and its derivative Drake-like equation spinoffs, have been criticized for combining numbers that produce results that lack meaning and thereby perhaps can be seen as using pseudomathematics. This concern …

Book Review: The Myth Of Normal: Trauma, Illness, And Healing In A Toxic Culture, By Gabor Maté And Daniel Maté, Nicholas Grant Boeving

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

No abstract provided.

Decoding Babel: “Ungrieved Futility” And The Unrecognized Order Of The Depression Research Field, Marty Lynn Cooper

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

The field of depression research and theory is a preparadigmatic potpourri of different orientations without a central, consensus definition of depression. This study attempted to address these issues by investigating the depression sub-literatures (cognitive–behavioral, psychoanalytic, evolutionary, biomedical, phenomenological, existential–humanistic, cybernetic, environmental, and religious–spiritual theories) using a comparative analytic methodology, which allows for comparing disparate fields that do not share a common definitional set by relating them to a third concept, in this study the construct of “ungrieved futility” (UF) as a dynamic model of depression. UF defines the objective and/or subjective experience of the permanent loss of an attachment object …

Potential Benefits Of Mdma-Assisted Conflict Transformation Informed Couple Therapy: Transpersonal Roots And Future Promise, Antonia George, William Sol

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a chemical compound that produces prosocial effects such as an increase in empathy and social bonding. Due to its profoundly prosocial effects, prior to becoming a schedule 1 drug, MDMA was used as an adjunct to individual and couple therapy, which is a practice that deserves critical reexamination and potential revitalization. MDMA has undergone clinical trials in the United States for FDA approval to treat individuals with clinical diagnoses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and autism. Current data demonstrates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has proven successful in treating individuals possessing certain clinical diagnoses; however, there …

Requisite Wisdom: Transpersonal Psychology In The Treatment Of Clinical Depression, Marty Lynn Cooper

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This paper describes the relationship of Transpersonal Psychology (TP) to the theorizing and treatment of clinical depression. It argues that, rather than TP’s being one of many equivalent clinical lenses that can be applied to depression, TP is actually a necessary framework for understanding the phenomenon of depression, and at least in the case of more severe/chronic depressions, it is required to obtain results beyond mere symptom management. The construct “ungrieved futility” is used to essentialize the structural dynamic nature of depression, and the cybernetic perspective on depression is used to explain why depression’s intrinsic structure mandates a TP lens …

Transpersonal Approaches To Clinical Supervision, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Transpersonal psychology can provide unique approaches to clinical supervision by offering an interconnected self-expansive view of the self across time and space, as well as can provide a secular avenue to consider the importance of spirituality without relying on supernatural assumptions. Transpersonal supervisors can challenge conventional notions about what and how supervisees know, and even the nature of being a knower, through providing a more inclusive, perhaps even holistic, vantage that is both critical of mainstream approaches and surpasses their ability to provide a coherent “super” (i.e., going beyond the usual more-myopic understandings) vision. Background on transpersonal psychology related to …

An Examination Of The Sufficiency Of Emergency Planning In New York City Hospitals For Vulnerable Populations Needing Communication Or Language Assistance, Rosemary Mcdonnell

Theses and Dissertations

Background: While all populations are susceptible to certain hazards that may expose their vulnerabilities in a disaster, populations with no or limited English proficiency, sight limitations, and hearing limitations are especially at risk due to communication and language barriers that they consistently experience. Purpose: This study explored the sufficiency of emergency planning that vulnerable populations with communication barriers may receive in a New York City hospital setting. It investigated the emergency plans, procedures, and practices that hospitals have for these specific, at-risk populations. The sufficiency of these were measured in accordance with their ability to meet the appropriate regulatory standards …

Calcium Involvement In The Mechanism Of Action Of Limonene As A Penetration Enhancer For Topical/Transdermal Drug Products, Rucha Suresh Pathak

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The addition of chemical permeation enhancers (CPE) to a topical dermatological formulation is the prevalent approach to improve permeability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) across the stratum corneum. Terpenes have been used as CPEs for a long time since they are safe and non-irritating. Limonene is one such terpene majorly found in essential oils extracted from citrus fruits and many varieties of cannabis. Studies performed using Limonene as PE show that Limonene was able to increase the flux of the drug by many folds. Limonene acts as an agonist to transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) receptor – the activity …