Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Shifting Employment And Perceptions Of Household Responsibilities During Early Stages Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Nevada, Usa, Courtney Coughenour, Lung-Chang Chien, Brian Labus, Maxim Gakh, Pashtana Usufzy

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background: Employment and household responsibility are critical health determinants. The COVID-19 pandemic altered the work and social landscapes in Nevada, USA through closures of workplaces and schools/childcare centers, changing patterns of employment, and household responsibilities. This study aimed to measure changes in employment status and perceived housework responsibilities among Nevada adults in December 2020, before widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in a pandemic-affected economy.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional telephone survey of 1,000 Nevada adults, this study compared respondent experiences and perceptions of employment and time spent on housework in December 2020 to pre-pandemic using multinominal logistic, proportional odds, and logistic …

Exth-52. Simultaneous Targeting Of Tumor Cells And Tumor-Associated Macrophages To Reprogram Glioblastoma By Tumor-Suppressive Microrna, Grace Nguyen, Minhye Noh, Alexandra Miller, Minxin Huang, Yulin Dai, Zhongming Zhao, Ji Young Yoo, Tae Jin Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive type of primary brain tumors due in part to cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic mechanisms. The ability of GBM tumor to not only resist conventional therapies but also induce an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) is thought to underlie the failure of immunotherapies. Thus, strategies to target both tumor cells and immunosuppressive immune cells, such as tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), are of great interest. The ability of microRNA (miRNA) to target multiple genes is favorable to alter the character of the TME and cancer cells. Previously, we have shown that tumor suppressive miRNA, miR-138, can effectively regulate the …

11.11.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Radiation Safety Committee Updates

Getting Started with PIVOT_RP

Small Grants Program

Predictive Association Between End-Of-Third Year Osce Scores And Achievement On Acgme Milestones During Intern Year, Katherine Berg, Jillian Zavodnick, Sally Santen, Yoon Soo Park, Anita Wilson

JeffMD Academic Affairs

Purpose

The Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) administered in medical school have increased in importance with the elimination of USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS)1, 2. The purpose of this study is to understand the association between student performance on an end-ofthird- year OSCE and the relevant Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Internal Medicine (IM) Milestone 1.0 sub-competencies: Patient Care (PC1 and PC2) and Interpersonal and Communication Skills 1 (ICS1 and ICS2).

Examining Ptsd Prevalence Among Underserved Populations In The Integrated Community Mental Health Setting 2019 To 2022, Siran Koroukian, Stephen Zyzanski, Kurt C. Stange

Faculty Scholarship

Background: The prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been rising since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and affects females, sexual and gender minorities, and individuals with social risks at higher rates. Objective: This study examines if the prevalence of PTSD increased from 2019 to 2022 among patients who received care in a national network of safety-net, community-based health centers with integrated behavioral health programs that serve patients at high risk for PTSD. Methods: We analyzed electronic health record data from patients with 1 or more behavioral health visits during 2019 to 2022 using repeated cross-sectional data to …

Characteristics Of Exacerbators In The Us Bronchiectasis And Ntm Research Registry: A Cross-Sectional Study, Nicole C. Lapinel, Radmila Choate, Timothy R. Aksamit, Joseph Feliciano, Kevin L. Winthrop, Andreas Schmid, Sebastian Fucile, Mark L. Metersky

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Exacerbations of noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (bronchiectasis) are associated with reduced health-related quality of life and increased mortality, likelihood of hospitalisation and lung function decline. This study investigated patient clinical characteristics associated with exacerbation frequency. METHODS: A cross-sectional cohort study of patients ≥ 18 years with bronchiectasis enrolled in the US Bronchiectasis and Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Research Registry (BRR) September 2008-March 2020. Patients were stratified by exacerbation frequency in their 2 years before enrolment. Patient demographics, respiratory symptoms, healthcare resource utilisation, microbiology, modified bronchiectasis severity index (mBSI) and select comorbidities were collected at enrolment. Patient characteristics associated with exacerbation frequency …

Staff Education To Improve Medical Adherence Among African American Males With Hypertension, Veronica Ebere Ani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hypertension (HTN) is the chief cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States. Due to the mortality and morbidity and the increased healthcare costs associated with HTN, nursing staff need to have knowledge to control and help patients manage the condition. HTN disproportionately affects African American men due to non-adherence to medication, lifestyle issues, and health disparities. Nurses can only support patients managing HTN if they have current evidence-based knowledge. Staff knowledge deficit was a significant issue affecting the clinic's management and control of HTN. Providers' knowledge gap was considered a leading factor in patient nonadherence to prescribed antihypertensive medications. …

Understanding Faculty Perspectives On Health Equity Curriculum Implementation In Graduate Medical Education: A Qualitative Study, Krys Foster, Dhruvi Shah, Quinn Plunkett, Randa Sifri

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Despite increased awareness of persistent healthcare disparities, integrating health equity education into medical residency curricula needs urgent expansion. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates addressing healthcare disparities and social determinants of health, but implementation remains insufficient due to pervasive barriers.

OBJECTIVE: To explore residency faculty perspectives at one institution surrounding implementing a health equity curriculum within their programs.

METHODS: Between November 2022 and April 2023, qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with residency faculty participants (n = 13) from a large academic medical institution. Participants were recruited via an internal email list directory of program …

Serca Modulators Reveal Distinct Signaling And Functional Roles Of T Lymphocyte Ca2+ Stores, Md N. Uddin, David W. Thomas

Pacific Faculty Work

The allosteric SERCA (Sarcoplasmic/Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase) activator CDN1163 has been recently added to the group of pharmacological tools for probing SERCA function. We chose to investigate the effects of the compound on T lymphocyte Ca²⁺ stores, using the well-described Jurkat T lymphocyte as a reliable cell system for Ca²⁺ signaling pathways. Our study identified the lowest concentrations of the SERCA inhibitors thapsigargin (TG) and 2,5-di-(tert butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (tBHQ) capable of releasing Ca²⁺, permitting the differentiation of the TG-sensitive SERCA 2b Ca²⁺ store from the tBHQ-sensitive SERCA 3 Ca²⁺ store. We proceeded to test …

Hypothermia In Patients With Traumatic Injuries: An Integrative Review, Andrew P. Gribble, David J. Saucedo

Master's Projects

Abstract

Background: An estimated 30-50% of severely injured patients with traumatic injuries will experience hypothermia. As a result of hypothermia, several clinical manifestations such as impaired coagulation, dissociation of the oxygen curve, cardiac arrhythmias, reduced cardiac output and death. Little evidence has been published promoting specific patient re-warming protocols and the best rewarming methods, active versus passive. Few studies have focused on the pre-hospitalization treatment for hypothermia and the overall effectiveness of interventions to mitigate hypothermia to reduce morbidity and mortality. Given this knowledge, the aim of this integrative review (IR) is to research and evaluate current practices regarding hypothermia …

Effectiveness Of Mailed Outreach And Patient Navigation To Promote Hcc Screening Process Completion: A Multicentre Pragmatic Randomised Clinical Trial, Amit G Singal, Manasa Narasimman, Darine Daher, Sruthi Yekkaluri, Yan Liu, Minjae Lee, Vanessa Cerda, Aisha Khan, Karim Seif El Dahan, Jennifer Kramer, Purva Gopal, Caitlin Murphy, Ruben Hernaez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is plagued by failures across the cancer care continuum, leading to frequent late-stage diagnoses and high mortality. We evaluated the effectiveness of mailed outreach invitations plus patient navigation to promote HCC screening process completion in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: Between April 2018 and September 2021, we conducted a multicentre pragmatic randomised clinical trial comparing mailed outreach plus patient navigation for HCC screening (n=1436) versus usual care with visit-based screening (n=1436) among patients with cirrhosis at three US health systems. Our primary outcome was screening process completion over a 36-month period, and our secondary outcome was the …

Educating Project Site Hospital Nurses On The Code Lavender, Jennifer Swendsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With this staff education project, I aimed to educate nurses at the project site hospital about the Code Lavender program, a mental health intervention designed to address nurse burnout. Nurse burnout has risen significantly post-COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to high turnover rates and compromising patient care. Nurses are experiencing increased levels of stress, depression, and suicidal ideation, which has led to feelings of being overwhelmed, overworked, and quitting the profession, exacerbating staffing shortages and patient care hazards. The central question of this project was whether staff education on the Code Lavender program would increase nurses’ knowledge, as evidenced by improved posttest …

Genetically Determined Telomere Length In Monoclonal Gammopathy Of Undetermined Significance, Multiple Myeloma Risk And Outcome, Matteo Giaccherini, Alyssa I Clay-Gilmour, Romano Liotti, Angelica Macauda, Manuel Gentiluomo, Elizabeth E Brown, Mitchell J Machiela, Stephen J Chanock, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Aaron D Norman, Elisabet Manasanch, S Vincent Rajkumar, Jonathan N Hofmann, Sonja I Berndt, Parveen Bhatti, Graham G Giles, Elad Ziv, Shaji K Kumar, Nicola J Camp, Wendy Cozen, Susan L Slager, Federico Canzian, Federica Gemignani, Celine M Vachon, Daniele Campa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Beta-Blocker Use In Patients Undergoing Non-Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Doménica Herrera Hernández, Bárbara Abreu, Tania S. Xiao, Andreina Rojas, Kevin López Romero, Valentina Contreras, Sol Villa Nogueyra, Zulma Sosa, Samantha M. Alvarez, Camila Sánchez Cruz, Ernesto Calderón Martinez

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The use of beta-blockers in the perioperative period has been widely investigated due to their potential to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and mortality; yet their overall impact on various postoperative outcomes remains debated. This study constitutes a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of beta-blockers on mortality, MI, stroke, and other adverse effects such as hypotension and bradycardia in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

METHODS: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were performed across PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases; …

Staff Education To Increase Staff Awareness On How Personal Trauma Affects Responses During Restraints, Marygoretti Kibe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The emotional and or physical trauma that individuals sustained while growing up may continue to adversely affect their health as adults, leading to mental health issues, depression, substance use, anxiety and secondary trauma. The prevalence of this trauma widely unacknowledged among mental healthcare staff. Trauma prevention is crucial and can be achieved through educational interventions. In clinical settings, this can prevent staff high turnover, leaving the profession, disengagement, hypervigilance, and overinvolvement. In a mental health clinical setting, this trauma can lead to overuse or misuse of restraints as the trauma staff bring to these situations drives their reactions.

Executive Summary: Staff Education Improving Cultural Competence In Mental Health Providers, Mary Osagie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the current healthcare environment, providers care for an increasingly diverse patient population and are challenged with the need for cultural competency skills. Evidence indicates that there are gaps related to cultural competency among healthcare providers across all specialties and settings. This paper describes a staff education project that addressed limited cultural competence skills among nurses and staff at an ambulatory mental health clinic on the East Coast. The purpose of the project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a staff education program on cultural competency. The goal was for participants to become more culturally aware and gain knowledge in …

Develop An Education Program Related To Evidence-Based Strategies Nurses Can Use To Decrease Medication Errors In A Nursing Home, Ann N. Akwaraonwu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

These medication errors have posed an immense threat to patient safety, regulatory compliance, and staff confidence in healthcare. Therefore, the improved understanding of nursing staff and reduction in medication error rates required targeted education of nursing staff, thus the basis upon which this quality improvement project was implemented at a nursing home facility located in the Northeastern United States. This evidence-based intervention was developed from feedback that indicated a gap in knowledge on best practices related to the administration of medication among nursing staff. These were eight in number: registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants, who had …

Epidemiology Of Β-Blocker Use Among Critically Iii Patients During And After Septic Shock, Stuthi Iyer, Jason N Kennedy, Peter C Nauka, Mourad H Senussi, Christopher W Seymour

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Tmic-58. Leveraging Viro-Immunotherapy By Targeting Igf2-Igf1r Signaling, Minhye Noh, Jin Muk Kang, Grace Nguyen, Ji Seon Shim, Alberto J. Bueso-Perez, Sara Murphy, Kimberly A. Rivera-Caraballo, Yoshihiro Otani, Eun Ju Kim, Seung-Hee Yoo, Yuanqing Yan, Yeshavanth Banasavadi-Siddegowda, Hiroshi Nakashima, E Antonio Chiocca, Balveen Kaur, Zhongming Zhao, Tae Jin Lee, Ji Young Yoo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

While an FDA-approved oncolytic herpes simplex-1 virus (oHSV) has shown therapeutic promise with superior safety, accumulating clinical data revealed that its therapeutic efficacy is observed in a small subset of patients. Here, we show that NFκB-mediated Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 (IGF2)/Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Receptor (IGF1R) signaling pathway as a key modulator for oHSV therapy-mediated tumor resistance. RNA sequencing on the oHSV-infected primary glioblastoma (GBM) and breast cancer (BC) cells identified IGF2 as one of the top 10 upregulated secretomes. Transcriptomic analysis also revealed significant upregulation/enrichment of genes related to IGF2-IGF1R-MAPK pathway in oHSV-treated tumor cells. Infection with oHSV in GBM …

Length Of Hospital And Intensive Care Unit Stay In Patients With Invasive Candidiasis And/Or Candidemia Treated With Rezafungin: A Pooled Analysis Of Two Randomised Controlled Trials, Patrick M Honoré, Matteo Bassetti, Oliver A Cornely, Herve Dupont, Jesús Fortún, Marin H Kollef, Peter Pappas, John Pullman, Jose Vazquez, Inga Bielicka, Sara Dickerson, Nick Manamley, Taylor Sandison, George R Thompson

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Invasive candidiasis/candidemia (IC/C) is associated with a substantial health economic burden driven primarily by prolonged hospital stay. The once-weekly IV echinocandin, rezafungin acetate, has demonstrated non-inferiority to caspofungin in the treatment of IC/C. This paper reports a post hoc pooled exploratory analysis of length of stay (LoS) for hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stays in two previously published clinical trials (ReSTORE [NCT03667690] and STRIVE [NCT02734862], that compared rezafungin with daily IV caspofungin (stable patients in the caspofungin group who met relevant criteria could step down to fluconazole after 3 days or more).

METHODS: LoS outcomes were analysed descriptively …

Collaboration Strategies Affecting Implementation Of A Cross-Systems Intervention For Child Welfare And Substance Use Treatment: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Emmeline Chuang, Byron J Powell, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Collaboration strategies refer to policies and practices used to align operations and services across organizations or systems. These strategies can influence implementation of cross-system interventions focused on improving integration of care, but remain under-specified and under-examined. This study identifies collaboration strategies and the conditions under which they affected implementation of Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START), an evidence-based intervention focused on integrating child welfare and behavioral health services for families involved with both systems.

METHODS: Our study sample included 17 county child welfare agencies that implemented START. Data on collaboration strategies and organizational context were obtained from key informant …

Regulatory T Cells Require Peripheral Ccl2-Ccr2 Signaling To Facilitate The Resolution Of Medication Overuse Headache-Related Behavioral Sensitization, Sun Ryu, Jintao Zhang, Roli Simoes, Xuemei Liu, Zhaohua Guo, Li Feng, Jacqueline Unsinger, Richard S Hotchkiss, Yu-Qing Cao

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is the most common secondary headache disorder, resulting from chronic and excessive use of medication to treat headaches, for example, sumatriptan. In a recent study, we have shown that the peripheral C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) signaling pathways interact with each other and play critical roles in the development of chronic migraine-related behavioral and cellular sensitization. In the present study, we investigated whether CCL2-CCR2 and CGRP signaling pathways play a role in the development of sumatriptan overuse-induced sensitization, and whether they are involved in its …

Impact Of Socioeconomic Deprivation On Care Quality And Surgical Outcomes For Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer In United States Veterans, Steven Tohmasi, Brendan T Heiden, Nikki E Rossetti, Ana A Baumann, Theodore S Thomas, Su-Hsin Chang, Nahom Seyoum, Yan Yan, Whitney S Brandt, Bryan F Meyers, Benjamin D Kozower, Varun Puri, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Immunofluorescence Use And Techniques In Glomerular Diseases: A Review, Nidia Messias

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Immunofluorescence (IF) studies play an essential role in the evaluation of medical renal biopsies. Particularly, in the study of renal glomerular diseases, where it provides fundamental data for the diagnosis, classification, and etiology of the glomerular pathologies. Diverse techniques may be used to optimize the utilization of IF studies, from variations on the test methodologies to expertise on the interpretation of the results and knowledge of potential pitfalls.

SUMMARY: This manuscript presents a brief review on the history of IF and its utilization in kidney pathology, followed by a description of the IF methods, including the use of IF …

Leveraging Quantitative Systems Pharmacology For Dose Optimization In Oncology Drug Development, Blerta Shtylla

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Examining Adolescence And Agency In The Midst Of International Crisis: Pandemics, Pandemonium, And Zombie Young Adult Literature, T. Hunter Strickland

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-22 brought an abundance of changes to secondary education as students transitioned across the country to virtual and hybrid learning contexts. Teachers flexed quickly and frequently to support the learning that students acquired in these new, digital spaces even as school, district, and state demands on teaching increased. The English/Language Arts classroom pivoted along with others as teachers sought out digital reading and writing resources for students to engage in. In the midst of a national crisis, a metaphorical monster that sought to destroy, much like Beowulf ’s dragon did, adolescent readers, despite the discourses of …

Tips For Building Your Child's Emotional Piggy Bank, Maggie Mckay, Nicole Hogan, Allie Eudaly

Parent-ish Podcast

Adults are familiar with the concept of deposits and withdrawals to a bank account...but did you know the same principles apply to an emotional piggy bank? Experts discuss what an emotional piggy bank is, and how you can make deposits and avoid withdrawals to your child's piggy bank.

Click here to stream the podcast episode.

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Cyclic Peptide-Dasatinib Conjugates As Anti-Melanoma Agents, Shaban Darwish, Dorna Davani-Davari, Shirley Tong, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Sun Yang, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Herein, we synthesized two amphiphilic cyclic peptides, incorporating tryptophan and arginine residues, linked to dasatinib via a Cathepsin B-sensitive tetrapeptide (Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly). To mitigate steric hindrance and optimize drug release, we integrated two different linkers, succinate and glutarate, between the drug and peptide. The synthesis involved solid-phase techniques for the assembly of the peptide, followed by the coupling of the peptide on-resin with the linker, mild cleavage, and solution-phase cyclization. Conjugation of the peptide-attached linker with dasatinib was conducted in the presence of N-methylmorpholine and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC), generating the novel prodrugs. The synthesized compounds were characterized by high-resolution mass …

Motivators And Barriers To Help-Seeking And Treatment Adherence In Major Depressive Disorder: A Patient Perspective, Rahn K. Bailey, Kristin M. Clemens, Bex Portela, Hannah Bowrey, Samantha N. Pfeiffer, Gabrielle Geonnotti, Anna Riley, Jay Sminchak, Susan Lakey Kevo, Ronaldo R. Naranjo

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Understanding patients’ lived experiences can identify knowledge gaps, informing better care. The objective of the study was to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of patients from diverse backgrounds diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). US patients aged ≥18 years who self-reported having MDD diagnosed by healthcare professionals (HCPs) completed demographic surveys and one-on-one (1:1) semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited from a Patient Engagement Research Council and the study was classified as market research. Transcripts were evaluated with thematic analyses using the Braun and Clarke approach, quantifying theme frequencies across demographic categories. Among 14 interview respondents, key motivators …

A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial Of A Smartphone-Based Application To Support At-Home Psa Screening And Culturally Tailored Prostate Cancer Education For African American Men: A Study Protocol, Jordan Neil, Bingjing Mao, Ruosi Shao, E. Ogunsanya Motolani, Summer Frank-Pearce, Michael Businelle, Michael Cookson, Kelly Stratton, Mark Doescher, Stephanie Pharr, Valerie Moise, Brianna Fleshman, Jack Fronheiser, Kimberly Estrada, Iván Flores, David Bradley, Ashley Kendrick, Adam C. Alexander

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Black/African American men (AA) and the second‑leading cause of cancer-related deaths. A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is an early detection screening tool for prostate cancer, but uptake of PSA screening remains low among AA men. Greater PSA screening rates among AA men, coupled with earlier treatment, may reduce disparities in prostate cancer outcomes, including mortality. The current pilot study will test the first-of-its-kind mobile health (mHealth) app to improve prostate cancer knowledge and increase PSA screening uptake among AA men using home-based screening methods. Methods: AA men aged 55 to …