Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Spatial Associations Of Lung Cancer Rates And Socioeconomic, Health, And Environmental Factors In Georgia, Nguyet Le, Jun Tu

Symposium of Student Scholars

According to CDC, Lung and Bronchus Cancer ranks the highest by the rate of cancer deaths among different types of cancers in the United States with the rate of 31.8 per 100 thousand people, and also for Georgia with the rate of 33.4 per 100 thousand people. Thus, to reduce the death rate of lung cancer, it is quite important and urgent to understand its risk factors. Smoking and inhaling radon are among the top risk factors of lung cancer for individuals. The socioeconomic, health, and environmental characteristics of communities might be also related to the likelihood of getting …

The Impact Of Student Stress On Physical Wellbeing, Isabelle Fevrier

Symposium of Student Scholars

This study will explore the intricate relationship between student stress and its impact on physical health. It will explore how stressors such as academic pressures, jobs, and lengthy commutes impact physiological manifestations and various aspects of physical well-being in students. The literature this research builds upon is diverse, ranging from in-depth looks at how the body responds to stress, such as the actions of the brain when under stress, to how stress causes disturbances in sleep, diet, and physical activity. For this specific research, physical health will be defined as sleep schedule, frequency of sickness, and daily fatigue. There will …

The Dependence Level Among Adolescent Vape Users: A Cross-Sectional Study, Violette Abo Karnib, Ghenwa Abedallhalim, Adam Ikkawi, Housam A. Saad, Hiba Deek

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Vape is a battery-powered device that works by heating a liquid called “e-liquid”. The use of vape has significantly increased in the past years among high and middle school students. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the level of dependence among adolescent vape users in Lebanon and to assess their knowledge about vape health hazards. A descriptive cross-sectional study with a self-administered questionnaire. A link for the survey was generated on Google Forms and sent to adolescents in the community. The survey was sent to parents of vape users and after their approval, it was shared with …

An Observational, Retrospective, Study To Assess Sehetna Wellness Program Impact On Employees’ Well-Being And Health, Wafaa Saeed, Lina Shaker, Laila Ghanem, Mohamed El Aziz, Omer Mostafa, Rabab Youssef

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Wellness is an ongoing process that leads to realizing one's full potential, with studies showing reduced inpatient admissions, healthcare costs, and improved health-related quality of life through participation in large-scale wellness programs. SEHETNA program is a wellness initiative conducted with the Egyptian Group for Import and Export (EGMED) to enhance employees’ well-being. This study aimed to assess the SEHETNA wellness program impact on the general health of employees. This is a retrospective descriptive observational study including employees enrolled in wellness program for up to 12-months in 2021. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was done, categorical variables …

Knowledge, Attitude, And Experience Of Lebanese Females Toward Oral Contraceptive Use, Nisrine Al Rifaii, Chaza Alaeddine, Souraya Domiati, Abdalla El-Lakany

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Family planning is a key to slow unsustainable population growth and the resulting negative impacts on the national development efforts. Birth control pills or oral contraceptives are commonly used among childbearing-age women for family planning. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and experience of oral contraceptive use among Lebanese women. A descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in Beirut and suburbs in 2018. The questionnaire included sociodemographic information consisting of age, educational level, occupation, marital status, and past medical history. It also included four different sections describing the pattern of use of oral contraceptives, attitude, knowledge, and …

Review On Chemical Constituents And Biological Activities Of Genus Ferula, Rima Mohammad Kheir Boukhary, Zeina Omeiche, Mohamad Ali Hijazi, Ali Wassef Assi, Tamar Houri, Lynn Al Jawiche, Maria Dirani, Rasha Abdel Nabi, Mohamad Tabbara, Abdalla El-Lakany, Maha Aboul Ela Prof.

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Genus Ferula comprises about 220 species of flowering plants belonging to family Apiaceae, distributed in the Mediterranean region and Asia and used in the treatment of different diseases as anti-oxidant, aphrodisiac, carminative, antinociceptive, anti-depressant, antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-leishmanial, and anti-inflammatory. Moreover, species of this plant are used for dizziness, asthma, bronchitis, and gastrointestinal discomfort. It was reported that all the pharmacological effects of these plants are due to the presence of different phenolic constituents including flavonoids, sesquiterpenes, coumarins and polysulfides. Sesquiterpene coumarins were responsible for the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities by blocking the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of leukotrienes …

The Psychological Conditions Of Pregnant Women During The Covid-19 Outbreak In Lebanon, Ibrahim Kadamani, Ali Samaha, Maya Gebbawi, Najwa Yahfoufi, Hanadi Mohamad Nur Steitiyeh, Abbas Samaha

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

In Lebanon, the psychological conditions of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been reported, which creates the need to conduct this study that aims to evaluate the psychological conditions of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional design was adopted to reach the aim of this study. The study sample was reached through OBS/GYN clinics to be able to contact the pregnant women in the community, where a convenient sampling technique was followed. The total number of participants was 360 pregnant women: 101 (27.77%) first trimester, 140 (38.88%) second trimester, and 119 (33.33%) third trimester. There is …

Improving Healthcare Workers’ Biohazardous Spill Safe Handling Skills, Zeina Mhanna, Ahmad Tassi

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

All healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to biohazardous material. Biohazardous material may come in the form of spills, posing a risk of infection to (HCWs) who are not trained on how to safely handle them. While international guidelines recommend training HCWs on how to safely handle biohazardous spills in order to improve their skills, there are no studies that tackled this recommendation. The aim of this study is to improve HCWs’ biohazardous spill safe handling skills through training, and to evaluate the association between the HCWs’ improvement level and demographical characteristics. The study was conducted in a Southern Lebanese hospital …

Knowledge And Attitude Of Lebanese Adults Towards Asthma In Beirut, Lebanon, Farah Hatem Haidar, Doaa Issa, Maha Aboul Ela, Karim Raafat

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Asthma, a serious global health problem, has been an area of interest due to its increasing prevalence, expanding treatment costs, and rising burden on patients and the community. Since asthma cannot be cured, clinical episodes can be prevented and controlled by adequate management and sufficient knowledge of the disease. Appropriate treatment may relieve asthma symptoms and improve quality of life. However, poor knowledge of asthma disease and medication use, misdiagnoses, misuse of inhalers and inadequate self-management of disease symptoms may have a greater impact on the disease process. Therefore, assessment of the population’s knowledge and attitude toward asthma is essential. …

Impact Of A Feedback Strategy In A Series Of Communication-Focused Patient Care Simulations, Hindu Rao, Richard Beuttler, Madeline Dintzner, Reza Taheri, Albert Bach, Neeloufar Fakourfar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

Patient care simulations (PCS) and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) allow pharmacy students to practice communication. Feedback can help improve communication, but the impact over time is not well understood.

Objective

This study investigated the impact of a feedback strategy on pharmacy students' communication skills over three PCS. It also evaluated the alignment between students' self-scoring and faculty scoring.

Methods

Pharmacy students participated in three sessions (PCS1, OSCE, and PCS3) that were focused on the affective domain. Individualized numerical and narrative feedback was provided to students on their performance after PCS1. Students' communication was scored by faculty graders out …

Prolonged Ulcerative Laryngitis., Sugosh M Anur, Lauren E Melley, Robert T Sataloff

Otolaryngology (ENT) Resident Research

Ulcerative vocal fold lesions occupy the vibratory margins of the musculomembranous portion of the vocal folds and cause dysphonia. Symptoms may exist for several weeks to months before improvement occurs. Lesions observed on strobovideolaryngoscopy may resemble malignant leukoplakia and tempt physicians to obtain biopsy. Biopsy can cause permanent dysphonia and should be performed only when necessary. Therefore, it is important to identify prolonged ulcerative laryngitis and provide appropriate management.

Abnormal Morphology And Synaptogenic Signaling In Astrocytes Following Prenatal Opioid Exposure, Ethan B. Niebergall, Daron Weekley, Anna Mazur, Nathan A. Olszewski, Kayla M. Deschepper, N. Radant, Aishwarya S. Vijay

Biomedical Sciences

In recent decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the rates of children being born after in utero exposure to drugs of abuse, particularly opioids. Opioids have been shown to have detrimental effects on neurons and glia in the central nervous system (CNS), but the impact of prenatal opioid exposure (POE) on still-developing synaptic circuitry is largely unknown. Astrocytes exert a powerful influence on synaptic development, secreting factors to either promote or inhibit synapse formation and neuronal maturation in the developing CNS. Here, we investigated the effects of the partial µ-opioid receptor agonist buprenorphine on astrocyte synaptogenic signaling and …

Mv140 Mucosal Vaccine Induces Targeted Immune Response For Enhanced Clearance Of Uropathogenic E. Coli In Experimental Urinary Tract Infection, Paula Saz-Leal, Marianne Morris Ligon, Carmen María Diez-Rivero, Diego García-Ayuso, Soumitra Mohanty, Marcos Viñuela, Irene Real-Arévalo, Laura Conejero, Annelie Brauner, José Luis Subiza, Indira Uppugunduri Mysorekar

2020-Current year OA Pubs

MV140 is an inactivated whole-cell bacterial mucosal vaccine with proven clinical efficacy against recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). These infections are primarily caused by uropathogenic

Emergency Care Of An Older Adult With Complex Care Needs, Muhammad Adnan Khan, Himika Dalia, Michelle Dietz

Journal of Geriatric Emergency Medicine

In this case report, we demonstrate the application of a stepwise guiding approach for older adults with complex care needs who present to the emergency department. It also highlights the challenges encountered during the implementation of these principles, and sheds light on the factors affecting the management of complex older populations. This case report emphasizes the pressing need for the development of a standardized protocol tailored to emergency physicians, addressing the unique needs of complex-multimorbid older adults, and overcoming the system barriers in emergency care.

Causes And Attributable Fraction Of Death From Ards In Inflammatory Phenotypes Of Sepsis, Bruno Evrard, Pratik Sinha, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Hypoinflammatory and hyperinflammatory phenotypes have been identified in both Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and sepsis. Attributable mortality of ARDS in each phenotype of sepsis is yet to be determined. We aimed to estimate the population attributable fraction of death from ARDS (PAF

METHODS: We studied 1737 patients with sepsis from two prospective cohorts. Patients were previously assigned to the hyperinflammatory or hypoinflammatory phenotype using latent class analysis. The PAF

RESULTS: The PAF

CONCLUSIONS: The PAF

Common Variation In A Long Non-Coding Rna Gene Modulates Variation Of Circulating Tgf-Β2 Levels In Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients (Alliance), Julia Quintanilha, Alexander Sibley, Yingmiao Liu, Donna Niedzwiecki, Susan Halabi, Layne Rogers, Bert O'Neil, Hedy Kindler, William Kelly, Alan Venook, Howard Mcleod, Mark Ratain, Andrew Nixon, Federico Innocenti, Kouros Owzar

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Herein, we report results from a genome-wide study conducted to identify protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) for circulating angiogenic and inflammatory protein markers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The study was conducted using genotype, protein marker, and baseline clinical and demographic data from CALGB/SWOG 80405 (Alliance), a randomized phase III study designed to assess outcomes of adding VEGF or EGFR inhibitors to systemic chemotherapy in mCRC patients. Germline DNA derived from blood was genotyped on whole-genome array platforms. The abundance of protein markers was quantified using a multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from plasma derived from peripheral venous …

Influence Of Antibiotic Exposure Intensity On The Risk Of Clostridioides Difficile Infection, Michael J. Ray, Luke C. Strnad, Kendall J. Tucker, Jon P. Furuno, Eric T. Lofgren, Caitlin M. Mccracken, Hiro Park, Jeffrey S. Gerber, Jessina C. Mcgregor

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Antibiotics are a strong risk factor for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and CDI incidence is often measured as an important outcome metric for antimicrobial stewardship interventions aiming to reduce antibiotic use. However, risk of CDI from antibiotics varies by agent and dependent on the intensity (i.e., spectrum and duration) of antibiotic therapy. Thus, the impact of stewardship interventions on CDI incidence is variable, and understanding this risk requires a more granular measure of intensity of therapy than traditionally used measures like days of therapy (DOT).

Inchi Isotopologue And Isotopomer Specifications, Hunter N. B. Moseley, Philippe Rocca-Serra, Reza M. Salek, Masanori Arita, Emma L. Schymanski

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

This work presents a proposed extension to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) International Chemical Identifier (InChI) standard that allows the representation of isotopically‑resolved chemi‑ cal entities at varying levels of ambiguity in isotope location. This extension includes an improved interpretation of the current isotopic layer within the InChI standard and a new isotopologue layer specification for representing chemical intensities with ambiguous isotope localization. Both improvements support the unique isotopically‑ resolved chemical identification of features detected and measured in analytical instrumentation, specifically nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry.

Scientific contribution

This new extension to the InChI standard …

C-Terminal Binding Protein 2 Is A Novel Tumor Suppressor Targeting The Myc-Irf4 Axis In Multiple Myeloma, Coty Hing Yau Cheung, Chi Keung Cheng, Kam Tong Leung, Chi Zhang, Chi Yan Ho, Xi Luo, Angel Yuet Fong Kam, Tian Xia, Thomas Shek Kong Wan, Herbert Augustus Pitts, Natalie Pui Ha Chan, Joyce Sin Cheung, Raymond Siu Ming Wong, Xiao-Bing Zhang, Margaret Heung Ling Ng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) cells are addicted to MYC and its direct transactivation targets IRF4 for proliferation and survival. MYC and IRF4 are still considered "undruggable," as most small-molecule inhibitors suffer from low potency, suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties, and undesirable off-target effects. Indirect inhibition of MYC/IRF4 emerges as a therapeutic vulnerability in MM. Here, we uncovered an unappreciated tumor-suppressive role of C-terminal binding protein 2 (CTBP2) in MM via strong inhibition of the MYC-IRF4 axis. In contrast to epithelial cancers, CTBP2 is frequently downregulated in MM, in association with shortened survival, hyperproliferative features, and adverse clinical outcomes. Restoration of CTBP2 exhibited potent …

Multiple Job Holding, Job Changes, And Associations With Gestational Diabetes And Pregnancy-Related Hypertension In The National Birth Defects Prevention Study, Amel Omari, Miriam R Siegel, Carissa M Rocheleau, Kaori Fujishiro, Kristen Van Buren, Dallas Shi, A J Agopian, Suzanne M Gilboa, Paul A Romitti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We used National Birth Defects Prevention Study data to investigate associations between working patterns shortly before and during pregnancy and gestational diabetes and pregnancy-related hypertension. We analyzed working patterns (multiple-job holders, job changers, single-job holders) during the three months before and during pregnancy for 8140 participants who delivered a live-born child without a birth defect. "Multiple-job holders" worked more than one job simultaneously, "job changers" worked more than one job with no overlap, and "single-job holders" (referent) worked one job. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate associations between working pattern and each outcome, adjusting for maternal age and educational …

Influence Of Social Media On Mothers’ Decision-Making Regarding Vaccinations, Wendy Michele Patterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study involved determining why mothers hesitate to vaccinate their children and where they get their information about vaccinations. This descriptive qualitative study guided by the health belief model explored the influence social media has on mothers’ perceived barriers to vaccinating their children. A descriptive qualitative approach was used, and one-on-one audio interviews were conducted via Zoom or in person with 19 participants. Participants were mothers 19 or older, had children between zero and 18, made medical decisions for their children who resided in their household, and sought information about vaccinations via healthcare providers, social media platforms, friends, or family. …

Stellae-123 Gene Expression Signature Improved Risk Stratification In Taiwanese Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients, Yu-Hung Wang, Adrián Mosquera Orgueira, Chien-Chin Lin, Chi-Yuan Yao, Min-Yen Lo, Cheng-Hong Tsai, Adolfo De La Fuente Burguera, Hsin-An Hou, Wen-Chien Chou, Hwei-Fang Tien

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The European Leukemia Net recommendations provide valuable guidance in treatment decisions of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the genetic complexity and heterogeneity of AML are not fully covered, notwithstanding that gene expression analysis is crucial in the risk stratification of AML. The Stellae-123 score, an AI-based model that captures gene expression patterns, has demonstrated robust survival predictions in AML patients across four western-population cohorts. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of Stellae-123 in a Taiwanese cohort. The Stellae-123 model was applied to 304 de novo AML patients diagnosed and treated at the National Taiwan University Hospital. We …

Novel 3d Printed Universal Conical Holder For Eye Plaque Quality Assurance, Wentao Wang, Jacqueline Emrich, Firas Mourtada

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: For the custom-built construction of eye plaques, the iodine (I-125) seeds of different source strengths are recycled in our eye plaque program. To return I-125 seeds to the correct lot, we developed a novel 3D-printed conical plaque QA holder for relative assay for eye plaques.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A universal 3D-printed conical plaque holder was designed to accommodate six plaque sizes and fit reproducibly in a well-type dose calibrator. A reproducibility test was used to compare the plaque placement consistency in the holder versus without the holder. Plaque assays were performed for assembled plaques both before implant and after …

Prognostic Impact Of Cooccurring Mutations In Flt3-Itd Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia., Katherine Tarlock, Robert B. Gerbing, Rhonda E. Ries, Jenny L. Smith, Amanda Leonti, Benjamin J. Huang, Danielle Kirkey, Leila Robinson, Jack H. Peplinksi, Beverly Lange, Todd M. Cooper, Alan S. Gamis, E Anders Kolb, Richard Aplenc, Jessica A. Pollard, Todd A. Alonzo, Soheil Meshinchi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

We sought to define the cooccurring mutational profile of FLT3-ITD-positive (ITDpos) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in pediatric and young adult patients and to define the prognostic impact of cooperating mutations. We identified 464 patients with FLT3-ITD mutations treated on Children's Oncology Group trials with available sequencing and outcome data. Overall survival, event-free survival (EFS), and relapse risk were determined according to the presence of cooccurring risk stratifying mutations. Among the cohort, 79% of patients had cooccurring alterations across 239 different genes that were altered through mutations or fusions. Evaluation of the prognostic impact of the cooccurring mutations demonstrated that patients …

Third-Party Fecal Microbiota Transplantation For High-Risk Treatment-Naïve Acute Gvhd Of The Lower Gi Tract, Zachariah Defilipp, Ashish V Damania, Haesook T Kim, Chia-Chi Chang, Areej El-Jawahri, Steven L Mcafee, Aj S Bottoms, Vesselina Toncheva, Melissa M Smith, Maria Dolaher, Lindsey Perry, Meghan White, Brittany Diana, Sheila Connolly, Bimalangshu R Dey, Matthew J Frigault, Richard A Newcomb, Paul V O'Donnell, Thomas R Spitzer, Michael K Mansour, Daniela Weber, Nadim J Ajami, Elizabeth Hohmann, Robert R Jenq, Yi-Bin Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Disruption of the intestinal microbiome is observed with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the lower gastrointestinal (LGI) tract, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has successfully cured steroid-refractory cases. In this open-label, single-arm, pilot study, third-party, single-donor FMT was administered in combination with systemic corticosteroids to participants with high-risk acute LGI GVHD, with a focus on treatment-naïve cases. Participants were scheduled to receive 1 induction dose (15 capsules per day for 2 consecutive days), followed by 3 weekly maintenance doses, consisting of 15 capsules per dose. The primary end point of the study was feasibility, which would be achieved if ≥80% …

Acute Pulmonary Injury In Hematology Patients Supported With Pathogen-Reduced And Conventional Platelet Components, Allison P Wheeler, Ronald Jackups, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Patients treated with antineoplastic therapy often develop thrombocytopenia requiring platelet transfusion, which has potential to exacerbate pulmonary injury. This study tested the hypothesis that amotosalen-UVA pathogen-reduced platelet components (PRPCs) do not potentiate pulmonary dysfunction compared with conventional platelet components (CPCs). A prospective, multicenter, open-label, sequential cohort study evaluated the incidence of treatment-emergent assisted mechanical ventilation initiated for pulmonary dysfunction (TEAMV-PD). The first cohort received CPC. After the CPC cohort, each site enrolled a second cohort transfused with PRPC. Other outcomes included clinically significant pulmonary adverse events (CSPAE) and the incidence of treatment-emergent acute respiratory distress syndrome (TEARDS) diagnosed by blinded …

The Lived Experiences Of High-Performing Black Male Students With Advanced Placement Courses, Griselda Almonte-Delgado

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Black male students are underrepresented in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Studies on the perspective and experiences of high performing Black male students with Advanced Placement (AP) is limited. Available research indicates that high performing Black students are enrolled at half the rate of White students both nationally and locally in Advanced Placement (AP) courses (Dept. Of Civil Rights, 2021). Research uncovers multifaceted factors influencing enrollment, ranging from personal motivation to systemic barriers. To qualitatively address this dissonance, this research used Attribution Theory as its framework to examine the lived experiences and perceptions of eight high performing Black male students from …

Hiv Preventive Care Services For Pregnant Women In Kenya Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Modesta Vesonder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected access to prenatal and postnatal care services for pregnant women living with HIV (PWLHIV) in counties in the Central, Eastern, and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. Many PWLHIV in some counties in Kenya faced challenges in accessing treatment services. In urban counties such as those in the Central region, HIV preventive care services were accessed with minimal disruption. Counties in the semi-arid of Eastern and Central regions experienced some disruptions in the provision of HIV preventive care services for PWLHIV. The periods under consideration were before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic …

Viral Meningitis And Encephalitis Update, Boris Garber, Jonathan Glauser

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose of Review: This review describes advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of non-bacterial meningitis and encephalitis, with a focus on emerging viral causes of central nervous system (CNS) infection. Recent Findings: The Infectious Diseases Society of America recently published new guidelines for the management of encephalitis. Multiple articles have been published detailing emerging etiologies in human CNS infections, including analyses of neurological complications in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, several novel viral detection methods have been described, which may improve the detection of the specific etiologies of CNS infections (Hongyan et al. Front Neurol 14, [1]). Summary: Meningitis …

Astrocytes Remember Inflammation, Michael R Williamson, Benjamin Deneen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Astrocytes respond to all forms of central nervous system maladies. In a recent issue of Nature, Lee et al. demonstrate that astrocytes encode inflammatory stimuli as epigenetic memory, which strengthens responses to subsequent stimuli and exacerbates pathology in disease models.