Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Influence Of Child Feeding Practices And Selected Basic Conditioning Factors On Stunting In Children Between 6 And 24 Months Of Age In Myanmar, Khine-Wai-Wai Phu, Jariya Wittayasooporn, Chuanruedee Kongsaktrakul

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: A cross-sectional predictive study was carried out to examine the influence of child feeding practices on stunting status of children between 6–24 months in Yangon Children Hospital, Myanmar. This study aimed to assess if dependent-care can influence stunting. Methods: Data were collected by anthropometric measurement from a total of 216 children between 6 and 24 months of age. For mothers, structured interview, demographic form, and infant child feeding index were used. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression were carried out. Results: One-fourth of participants exhibited a low score of infant child-feeding practices, whereas median and high score practice accounted …

Effect Of Coral Goniopora Sp Scaffold Application On Human Osteoblast-Like Mg-63 Cell Activity In Vitro, Vera Julia, Basril Abbas, Endang W. Bachtiar, Benny S. Latief, Anne M. Kuijpers-Jagtman

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Coral is an osteo-conductive biomaterial that can act as an alternative scaffold for osteogenesis. In this in vitro study we analyzed the activity of osteoblast-like cells after treatment with the coral Goniopora. Methods: Human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells were incubated in α-minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 300 ng/mL amphotericin B plus 1% penicillin-streptomycin and stored in a 5% CO2 incubator at 37°C. The Goniopora were smashed into size A (20 mesh), B (1–2 mm), and C (200 mesh) particles, sterilized using gamma radiation and applied to cells. Protein and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentrations were evaluated …

Gene Expression Of Selected Apoptotic Markers In Human Oral Squamous Carcinoma Hsc-3 Cell Line Treated With Myrmecodia Pendans Plant Extract, Widya Lestari, Wan N A W Yusry, Siti H. Iskandar, Solachuddin J A Ichwan, Nining I. Irfan, Wastuti H. Suriyah

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Myrmecodia pendans (M. pendans), or Sarang Semut, is an epiphyte with anticancer potential. It was recently reported that it induces apoptotic activity in the human oral squamous carcinoma (HSC-3) cell line. This study aimed to investigate the effect of M. pendans treated samples on the expression of apoptotic markers, Bax and Bcl-2. Methods: M. pendans was purchased from West Papua, Indonesia. The hypocotyl was dried thoroughly and then extracted aqueously. The apoptotic activity was detected via flow cytometry. Bax and Bcl-2 expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Results of our cell cycle analysis reveal that …

Contemporary Nursing In Rural Appalachia: A Hermeneutic Study, Evelyn Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nurses make up a significant source of direct care for individuals, families, and communities. The problematic distribution of nurses and the potential to lose practicing nurses emphasizes the importance of retention and support of nursing professionals, especially in rural locations. One of the best ways to discover what is important to nurses is to ask and listen to the replies.

The focus for this dissertation is the lived experience of registered nurses in a six-county area in three adjoining states in rural South Central Appalachia. The purpose of this study is to interpret and understand the lived experience of contemporary …

Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Mothers’ Experiences Of Psychosocial Care And Communication By Midwives During Childbirth In Nairobi, Kenya, Jane Kabo, Eleanor Holroyd, Grace Edwards, Ahmed Sarki

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Purpose: To clarify sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors associated with mothers’ experiences of psychosocial care and communication by midwives during childbirth in Nairobi, Kenya.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a government national referral hospital. Respondents were 109 systematically sampled mothers who delivered in the study hospital. Mothers’ experiences of intrapartum care were assessed using three subscales from the Experience of Psychosocial Care and Communication during Childbirth Questionnaire (effective communication; emotional support; and respect, care and dignity). Simple and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations between sociodemographic factors, socioeconomic factors and mothers’ experiences of intrapartum care.

Findings: …

Case-Based Insights: Arab Muslim Mothers’ Experiences Of Managing A Child Newly Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, Rachel Cathrine Rossiter, Jennifer Louise Cooper, Suhad Issa Marjei, Sharon Brownie

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Mothers frequently fulfill the role of primary caregiver for children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). A T1DM diagnosis has a significant impact on the child and the wider family unit. The objective is to develop understanding of mothers’ experiences caring for children diagnosed with T1DM in the cultural context of the Middle East to facilitate enhanced health service provision and support. This study used a qualitative design. Data were collected in individual semistructured interviews. Participants were mothers of Arabic descent and Muslim belief who had a child diagnosed with T1DM within the last 12 months. All mothers were …

Biological Pathway Involvement In Melanoma Heterogeneity And Drug-Induced Resistance, Sarah V. Pack

STAR Program Research Presentations

Tumors develop resistance to numerous drug therapies, and this remains a major obstacle in treating many types of non-surgical cancers. Melanoma provides a good model system for studying drug resistance in cancer due to its high propensity to incur resistance after a significant initial response to a drug. Genes that are highly expressed in melanoma cancer cells have been studied, but in order to further understand the collective function of these highly expressed genes we must analyze gene sets, or pathways. A single gene’s function is rarely independent of other genes, and pathway analysis takes this into account.

Our objective …

An Information Theory Model For Optimizing Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Acquisitions, Drew Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) is a powerful group of imaging techniques with a growing number of clinical applications, including synthetic image generation in post-processing, automatic segmentation, and diagnosis of disease from quantitative parameter values. Currently, acquisition parameter selection is performed empirically for quantitative MRI. Tuning parameters for different scan times, tissues, and resolutions requires some measure of trial and error. There is an opportunity to quantitatively optimize these acquisition parameters in order to maximize image quality and the reliability of the previously mentioned methods which follow image acquisition.

The objective of this work is to introduce and evaluate a …

Modeling Proton Relative Biological Effectiveness Using Monte Carlo Simulations Of Microdosimetry, Mark A. Newpower

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Proton therapy is a radiotherapy modality that can offer a better physical dose distribution when compared to photon radiotherapy by taking advantage of the Bragg peak, a narrow region of rapid energy loss. Proton therapy is also known to offer an enhanced relative biological effectiveness (RBE) compared to photons. In the current clinical standard, RBE is fixed at 1.1 at all points along the proton beam, meaning protons are assumed to require 10% less dose than photons to achieve target coverage and organ at risk (OAR) sparing. However, there is mounting clinical evidence, and a significant number of in vitro …

Role Of C-Met And Egfr In Acquired Resistance To Parp Inhibitors In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Clinton Yam

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Triple-negative breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis and treatment options are limited. The Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, olaparib and talazoparib, were recently approved for metastatic breast cancer (including triple-negative breast cancer) in patients with a germline BRCA1/2 mutation. Despite impressive response rates of ~60%, the prolongation in median progression-free survival with PARP inhibitors is modest, suggesting the emergence of resistance. We previously demonstrated that c-MET contributes to intrinsic resistance to PARP inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer. However, whether c-MET plays a role in acquired resistance to PARP inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer remains unclear. Here, we show …

Oxidative Phosphorylation: A Critical Feature And Novel Therapeutic Target In Melanoma Brain Metastases, Grant Fischer

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

We recently showed via RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of clinical samples that melanoma brain metastases (MBMs) have higher expression of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes (including PPARGC1A or PGC1α) than patient-matched extracranial metastases (ECMs). Thus, the central hypothesis of this dissertation is that OXPHOS plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of MBMs.

RNA-seq analysis identified increased expression of OXPHOS genes in intracranial (ICr) vs. subcutaneous (SQ) xenografts of 4 different human melanoma cell lines. Increased OXPHOS in the ICr xenografts was confirmed by direct metabolite analysis and [U-¹³C]-glucose tracing analysis. Together, these studies indicate that the brain TME …

The Influence Of The Pep-Pts And Other Metabolic Systems On The Master Virulence Regulator Atxa And To Xin Gene Expression In Bacillus Anthracis, Naomi Bier-Reizes

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

AtxA, the master virulence gene regulator in Bacillus anthracis, is a PRD-containing virulence regulator (PCVR) as indicated by the crystal structure, post-translational modifications, and activity of the protein. PCVRs are transcriptional regulators, named for the regulatory domains subject to phosphorylation by the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS), termed PTS Regulatory Domains (PRD), and for their impact on virulence gene expression. Generally, the phosphorylation of a PCVR regulates protein activity and multimerization. AtxA is phosphorylated at two histidine residues - one in each of its two PRDs. Phosphorylation at position 199 allows for AtxA to positively affect expression of virulence genes, whereas …

Dhhc5 Regulates Beta-Adrenergic Signaling In The Heart Through Palmitoylation Of G Alpha Proteins, Jie Chen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

S-palmitoylation is a reversible posttranslational modification that plays an important role in regulating protein localization, trafficking, and stability. Recent studies have shown that some proteins undergo extremely rapid palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycles after cellular stimulation supporting a direct signaling role for this posttranslational modification. The work in this dissertation investigated whether β-adrenergic stimulation led to stimulus-dependent palmitoylation of downstream signaling proteins in immortalized and primary cell models. I found that β-adrenergic stimulation led to rapidly increased Gαs and Gαi palmitoylation only in primary cardiomyocytes. The kinetics of palmitoylation was temporally consistent with the downstream production of cAMP and contractile responses. I identified …

Tracking Treatment Response And Resistance To Parp Inhibition (Talazoparib) In Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer., Jennifer Goldstein

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

polyADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are a class of drugs that block the PARP enzymes, involved in the repair of singe-stranded DNA breaks through the base excision repair pathway. PARP inhibition leads to replication-associated double stranded DNA breaks, which are repaired by homologous recombination (HR). In tumors with HR defects (i.e. BRCA mutants), there is a shift to error-prone DNA repair and subsequent genomic instability and cell death.

In 2014, Olaparib became the first FDA-approved PARP inhibitor for the treatment of BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer. In the phase III POLO (Pancreas cancer OLaparib Ongoing) trial presented at the American Society …

Bilirubin Nanoparticle As An Anti-Inflammatory Therapy For Graft Versus Host Disease, Sumedha Pareek

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Graft versus host disease (GvHD) caused by alloreactive donor lymphocytes is a fatal complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Myeloablative conditioning regimen, consisting of chemotherapy and/or radiation, given prior to HSCT can cause tissue damage. This non-specific tissue damage triggers cross-presentation of alloantigens to the donor immune cells, causing recruitment of leukocytes and production of inflammatory cytokines. Targeting this inflammation without affecting the anti-leukemia effects of HSCT, continues to be one of the biggest challenge in finding a therapy for GvHD. Bilirubin is a tetrapyrrole pigment, found in the blood, with natural anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. Using mouse models …

Role Of Nudt21 Mediated Alternative Polyadenylation And Hyaluronan In The Development Of Pulmonary Hypertension, Scott Dale Collum

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease with serious effects on quality of life and life expectancy of patients. PH is a complex disease that likely develops due to multiple influences, and no curative treatments exist for this disease. It has been shown that alternative polyadenylation (APA) due to depletion of Nudix Hydrolase 21(NUDT21) is involved in several disease states including the chronic lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Additionally, hyaluronan, an extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan has been associated with PH. The role and mechanism of NUDT21 and hyaluronan have not yet been described in this disease. My results reveal that …

Investigations Of The Structure-Function Relationship In Kainate Receptors Using FöRster Resonance Energy Transfer, Douglas Litwin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Kainate receptors belong to the family of ion channels known as the ionotropic glutamate receptors. Ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate the majority of excitatory synaptic transmission, modulate the release of presynaptic glutamate, and facilitate dendrite formation. Kainate receptors are unique among the ionotropic glutamate receptors in being modulated by sodium ions. They have also been implicated in the development of higher learning and epilepsy. In recent years a wealth of structural data has become available for the AMPA and NMDA classes; however, the structural characterization of kainate receptors has been limited. The work in this dissertation utilizes luminescence resonance energy transfer …

Modeling Cancer Using Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Ruoji Zhou

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by germline mutations in the gene TP53, which predispose individuals to a wide range of malignancies, including osteosarcoma and breast cancer. In the previous study, our group developed a novel disease model platform by reprograming LFS patients' fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and further differentiate these iPSCs into mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) then to osteoblasts (OBs), the cells from which osteosarcomas originate. Interestingly, LFS iPSC-derived osteoblasts recapitulated the osteosarcoma phenotype, creating “a bone tumor in a dish”. This “tumor in a dish” platform proved that LFS is an …

Quantifying Uncertainty In A Measurement-Based Assessment Of Relative Biological Effectiveness In Carbon Ion Radiotherapy, Shannon Hartzell

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

One of the largest inconsistencies in dose delivered during carbon ion therapy is due to uncertainties in relative biological effectiveness (RBE), a value that is calculated via one of several clinically implemented algorithms. This study investigates the uncertainty in measured microdosimetric parameters for RBE calculation by the Microdosimetric Kinetic Model (MKM), Repair Misrepair Fixation model (RMF), and Local Effect Model I (LEM) using a Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC).

Microdosimetric spectra, kinetic energy spectra, and dose fragment contributions were calculated using Monte Carlo (GEANT IV) for monoenergetic and SOBP carbon beams of clinical energy. From microdosimetric spectra, lineal energy values …

Dissecting The Roles Of Human Smc Complexes In Transcription Regulation And Chromatin Organization, Ruoyu Wang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Metazoans utilize a constellation of distal regulatory elements to control gene transcription, and therefore they have to forge highly complex chromatin loops to spatially bridge these regulatory elements and genes in the three-dimensional (3D) genome. However, the hierarchy of chromatin contacts and their underlying mechanisms are not well-understood. SMC complexes including Cohesin complex and Condensin complex has been widely proposed to organize 3D genome structure, and further regulate metazoans’ gene transcription. Here, we aim to dissect the direct functions of SMC complexes (both Cohesin and Condensin) in transcriptional regulation and 3D genome organization, by utilizing an inducible protein degradation system. …

P53r245w Mutation Elicits Metastatic Phenotype In Pten Deficient Prostate Cancer, Ky Pham

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Trp53 mutations are the most frequent genetic alterations in prostate cancer and are associated with more aggressive disease and worse overall survival. The majority of Trp53 mutations in prostate cancer are missense mutations, resulting in amino acid substitutions with profound effect. In addition to the loss of wild type function, missense mutations in Trp53 result in a gain-of-function (GOF) phenotype. This GOF phenotype confers biologic advantages to the tumor cells, enabling them to metastasize and invade distant organs. In this study, we generated mice carrying a conditional prostate-specific p53R245W mutant and Pten deletion to access the role of this common …

Fasting Reduces Intestinal Radiotoxicity Enabling Dose-Escalated Radiotherapy For Pancreatic Cancer, Marimar De La Cruz Bonilla

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for pancreatic cancer, but only 15-20% of patients have resectable tumors. In unresectable cases, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may be used to give tumor-directed radiotherapy (RT). Unfortunately, this can cause severe gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity due to proximity of the pancreatic head to the duodenum. Protecting the intestine from the toxic side-effects of radiation may enable dose-escalation that could achieve more effective local control of disease. We and others have previously shown that a fast of 24 hours protects mice from lethal doses of the DNA-damaging agent etoposide. In this study, we demonstrate …

Investigating The Role Of Cd109 In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Mennatallah Shaheen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the 3rd leading cause of cancer death in the US. We performed loss of function genomic screening on a cohort of four patient derived PDAC cell populations and our data shows a cell surface receptor CD109 to be a common vulnerability, the biologic role of which in PDAC is yet unstudied and largely unknown. We hypothesized that CD109 expression provides PDAC cells with a survival advantage, and promotes cancer progression through activation of downstream signaling. We believe therefore that targeting CD109 could improve PDAC patients’ survival. Here we report that CD109 plays a role in …

Gcn5 Loss Impacts Myc-Driven Cancer In Mice And Human Cells, Aimee Farria

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

GCN5 is the catalytic subunit in the acetyltransferase module of SAGA and ATAC, multiprotein complexes involved in the modification of histone and nonhistone proteins. GCN5 is most recognized as a co-activator of gene transcription. The SAGA complex is recruited to chromatin by transcription factors such as MYC and E2F1 where GCN5 acetylates H3K9 leading to a more open and accessible chromatin structure. Previous research has demonstrated that GCN5 also acetylates MYC, a protein that amplifies the expression of cancer-promoting genes and is frequently dysregulated in cancer, increasing its stability. Our lab has found there is a significant overlap in the …

Molecular Consequences Of High Taz Expression In Gliomas, Visweswaran Ravikumar

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Diffuse high grade gliomas are complex and lethal neoplasms of the adult central nervous system that are driven by a range of genetic and epigenetic alterations. Molecular classification of these tumors has identified different transcriptional subtypes, the most notable being Proneural (PN) and Mesenchymal (MES) classes. The most aggressive forms of the disease have a Mesenchymal expression signature, with reported PN-to-MES transition occurring with tumor progression. Master regulatory analysis has identified the transcriptional co-activator TAZ (WWTR1) as a major driver of the MES transition. Overexpression of this single protein in glioma stem cells has been shown to drive a transition …

Louisiana’S Statewide Implementation And Dissemination: Lessons Learned, Opportunities And Recommendations, Evidence To Practice, Cep Briefs

Policy & Position Papers

No abstract provided.

Cancer In Louisiana: 2012-2016, Volume 34, Louisiana Tumor Registry, Lauren Maniscalco, Carla Rosales, Christina Lefante, Mei-Chin Hsieh, Yong Yi, Lisa Pareti, Brent Mumphrey, Mary Anne Lynch, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Jiadi Liu, William Mi, Pratibha Shrestha

Policy & Position Papers

Mission:

To collect and report complete, high-quality, and timely population-based cancer data in Louisiana to support cancer research, control, and prevention.

Vision:

To reduce suffering and death from cancer using information collected by the Louisiana Tumor Registry.

History:

Cancer registration in Louisiana began in 1947 at the Charity Hospital Tumor Registry in New Orleans. In 1974, as part of its Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, the National Cancer Institute provided funds for a population-based cancer incidence and survival registry covering Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes. Five years later, the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) was transferred to the …

Effects Of Neuromuscular Fatigue Resulting From Repeat Sprint Exercise Among Trained Cyclists On Measures Of Strength And Power Performance, Robert B. Blaisdell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand the role of repeated-sprint ability (RSA) and resulting fatigue in cyclists; how it relates to measures of aerobic power and strength and power performance indices- due to the nature of cycling competitions and the necessity of RSA for success.

The first part of this dissertation attempted to elucidate the relationship between RSA and aerobic power and strength/ power measures in competitive cyclists. The purpose was to potentially illustrate the importance of the inclusion of strength and power training in the training regimen of cyclists. The findings showed several statistically significant relationships …

Temperature Influence On Insecticide Resistance In Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus Mosquitoes From South Texas, Wendy Soledad Salinas

Theses and Dissertations

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are vectors for several emerging arboviruses including Zika, chikungunya and dengue. Both mosquitoes are found along the Rio Grande River in South Texas, along the border between Mexico and the United States of America. These mosquito species typically reside near human settlements. A preventative measure public health official use to help halt the spread of diseases is by controlling vector population with the use of insecticides, but as temperature vary, and with the constant exposure to commonly used insecticides, mosquitoes from South Texas may be developing a resistance to the insecticides. Resistance to insecticides may …

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma In Pregnancy: Management Approach Case Report At Moi Teaching And Referral Hospital, Eldoret-Kenya, Philip Tonui, Elly B. Odongo, Andrew Cheruiyot, Sahara Shurie, Elkanah Omenge

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an uncommon tumour, which raises management dilemma in pregnant women. The condition has a considerable effect on the pregnancy outcome, considering the risk of preterm delivery. This paper reports a case of 26 years old Gravida 7 Para 6 admitted at 28 weeks of gestation with epistaxis, hematemesis and a neck mass. The head CT scan showed a right paranasal space soft tissue mass with bony destruction and bilateral cervical adenopathy, consistent with neoplastic carcinoma. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Deterioration of the patient’s condition, necessitated emergency caesarean delivery at 32 weeks to accommodate …