Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Visualdx, Tariq Rahaman

Library Learn - Complete Video Collection

VisualDx is a clinical decision support tool and is available via NSU Libraries. The attached PDF contains instructions for accessing the mobile app.

• Click here to access VisualDx!

For tutorials on using the VisualDx platform, visit the website.

In-Home Delivery Of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Via Virtual Reality Gaming, Alexandra L. Borstad, Roger Crawfis, Kala Phillips, Linda Pax Lowes, David Maung, Ryan Mcpherson, Amelia Siles, Lise Worthen-Chaudhari, Lynne V. Gauthier

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: People with chronic hemiparesis are frequently dissatisfied with the recovery of their hand and arm, yet many lack access to effective treatments. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy) effectively increases arm function and spontaneous use in persons with chronic hemiparesis. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and measure safety and outcomes of an in-home model of delivering CI therapy using a custom, avatar-based virtual reality game.

Methods: Seventeen individuals with chronic hemiparesis participated in this pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design study. The 10-day intervention had three components: 1) high-repetition motor practice using virtual reality gaming; 2) constraint of …

Development Of Methods To Modulate Natural Killer Cells, Kari A. Shaver

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Natural Killer (NK) cell based immunotherapies have demonstrated success against malignancies and hematological cancers. However, tumors have developed mechanisms to evade detection by and suppress the immune system, commonly through altering the expression of cell-surface proteins. Overexpression of human leukocyte antigen-E (HLA-E), which binds to the inhibitory NKG2A on NK cells, protects malignant cells from lysis. Downregulating the NKG2A receptor on NK cells should release NK cell inhibition, but proves challenging as NK cells are difficult to transfect and no good methods currently exist. This project is designed to investigate the use of exosomes – small vesicles and natural carriers …

Targeted Delivery Of A Therapeutic Protein For The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease, Heather Holman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease are linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and the underexpression of TOM40, a protein with chaperone-like qualities that is responsible for transporting precursor proteins into the mitochondria. Overexpression of TOM40 is reported to partially restore mitochondrial dysfunction and decrease the accumulation of neurotoxic aggregates of α-synuclein. Our goal is to develop an effective method for delivery of TOM40 protein to the brain.

Previous studies have used lentiviruses to carry TOM40 into the hippocampus of α-synuclein transgenic mice. The disadvantage of lentiviral transfection is the random insertions of the target gene into the host …

Assessing Working Memory In Mild Cognitive Impairment With Serial Order Recall., Sheina Emrani, David J Libon, Melissa Lamar, Catherine C Price, Angela L Jefferson, Katherine A Gifford, Timothy J Hohman, Daniel A Nation, Lisa Delano-Wood, Amy Jak, Katherine J Bangen, Mark W Bondi, Adam M Brickman, Jennifer Manly, Rodney Swenson, Rhoda Au, Consortium For Clinical And Epidemiological Neuropsychological Data Analysis (Cenda)

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Working memory (WM) is often assessed with serial order tests such as repeating digits backward. In prior dementia research using the Backward Digit Span Test (BDT), only aggregate test performance was examined.

OBJECTIVE: The current research tallied primacy/recency effects, out-of-sequence transposition errors, perseverations, and omissions to assess WM deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS: Memory clinic patients (n = 66) were classified into three groups: single domain amnestic MCI (aMCI), combined mixed domain/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI), and non-MCI where patients did not meet criteria for MCI. Serial order/WM ability was assessed by asking participants to repeat …

The Effect Of Mismatch Primers On The Efficiency Of Amplification In Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reactions, Molly C. Dawkins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method used in many research protocols to amplify a small amount of a short segment of DNA to millions of copies. PCR is used for many taxonomic studies, as well as for some medical diagnostic procedures. Through PCR, short DNA primers bind to the template DNA to allow the thermostable DNA polymerase to copy the DNA. Often, researchers create universal primers to target a conserved region of DNA in multiple species, for example, the 16S rRNA gene in bacteria. The problem with these universal primers is that they do not always perfectly match the …

Reducing Discard Blood Draw Volumes From Subcutaneously Implanted Ports (Port) In Patients With End Stage Renal Disease (Esrd), Uttam Garg, Tyson Moore, Renita Trujillo, Penny Monachino, Amy Wiebold, Angela Ferguson, Gabor Oroszi, Vimal Chadha

Posters

Background
•To monitor clinical status, dialysis and transplant patients with ESRD frequently require blood draws.
•To preserve their veins and to avoid frequent intravenous access, these patients, especially young children, require PORT placement.
•The PORT is flushed with saline and filled with heparinized saline to prevent blood clotting between blood draws.
•To avoid contamination from PORT fluids, a fixed amount of blood is withdrawn and discarded before the blood sample is drawn for laboratory analyses. Currently, the recommended discard blood volume is 5 mL (five times the reservoir volume of most PORTs and attached catheters.)
•The volume of discarded blood …

Effects Of Energy-Based Therapies On Postoperative Recovery: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Emily M. Wooten

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Associated with health care reform, there has been a growing interest among healthcare professionals regarding use of energy-based therapies as a complementary therapeutic intervention. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine the impact of energy-based therapies (i.e. healing touch, reiki, therapeutic touch) on patients’ postoperative recovery. The methodology included identifying appropriate peer-reviewed, English-language research articles on the topic area that were published between 2006 to 2018. Following a search in select data bases, articles focusing on the topic were critiqued, analyzed and synthesized by the researcher. Consistent and inconsistent findings along with gaps in the literature are …

Usefulness Of The Captia Syphilis Igg Eia Test Method And Reverse Algorithm For Detection Of Syphilis Infection In A Public Health Setting, Patricia Armour

Theses and Dissertations

Syphilis, a systemic sexually transmitted disease, is on the rise in the US, with infection rates the highest recorded since 1994 according to the CDC. Useful laboratory testing is an important diagnostic tool for determining individual syphilis infection and preventing community-wide disease spread.

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a specific automated treponemal test method, the Captia^TM Syphilis IgG EIA, and the syphilis reverse algorithm interpretation for detecting syphilis infection among patients seeking care in a public health clinic. The study employed a retrospective, nonexperimental descriptive correlational design with data collected between 2012-2013 from …

A Comparison Of Hamstring Injury Recovery Rates In Male And Female Athletes, Amanda Hall

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Excerpt from Introduction

Hamstring injuries are among the most common muscular injuries sustained by athletes across multiple levels of various sports (Askling et al). Most hamstring injuries occur during similar movements and under similar conditions, where the muscle is required to be explosive. Thus, athletes that participate in sports where “sprinting, kicking, or high-speed skilled movements” are required, experience an increased likelihood of suffering a hamstring injury (Erickson and Sherry). After injury, athletes are then subjected to different methods of rehabilitation to heal and strengthen the afflicted area. However, some athletes take longer than others to return and impatience may …

Inactivation Of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress And The Prevention Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Ian James Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Biotherapeutics and nutritional therapy are essential for the treatment of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. Oxidative stress and nutrient excess may induce ER stress associated with activation of the unfolded protein response and connected to cell death. The heat shock gene Sirtuin 1 (Sirt 1) is important to the heat shock response with amyloid beta aggregation associated with the induction of mitophagy and ER stress in neuron cells. Genomic medicine that activates nuclear Sirt 1 is essential for the prevention of mitochondrial apoptosis and ER stress. Inhibitors such as drugs, alcohol, excess caffeine and palmitic acid …

Low-Level Cadmium Exposure And Cardiovascular Outcomes In Elderly Australian Women: A Cohort Study, Kane Deering, Anna C. Callan, Richard Prince, Wai Lim, Peter Thompson, Joshua Lewis, Andrea Hinwood, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Cadmium has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in observational studies, however there has been a limited focus on this relationship in women.

Objectives

This study investigated the association of urinary cadmium (UCd) concentrations with CVD outcomes and all-cause mortality in elderly Western Australian (WA) women.

Methods

UCd excretion was measured at baseline in 1359 women, mean age 75.2 ± 2.7 years and 14.5 years of atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) hospitalisations and deaths, including both the principle cause of death and all associated causes of death. Health outcome data were retrieved from the Western Australian Data …

Circulating Tumour Dna: A Non-Invasive Biomarker For Melanoma, Ashleigh Cavell Mcevoy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Cutaneous melanoma accounts for 90% of all skin cancer deaths (Balch et al., 2010) and is responsible for 3.6% of deaths from cancer in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016). Whilst early detection and successful surgical removal of primary melanomas have improved survival rates (DeSantis et al., 2014), approximately 30% of these patients will have disease recurrence at some point in their lives (Soong et al., 1992; Soong et al., 1998). This is despite being considered disease free following treatment, which may have included surgical removal of the primary and/or its metastasis/es, radiation and/or systemic therapy. Whilst the …

The Cryopreservation Of Human Semen, And Subsequent Evaluation Of A Commercially-Available Device To Isolate Motile Sperm, Callum Andrew Robinson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The cryopreservation of human semen is a vital asset in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Although advances have been in the freezing of sperm, further refinement is both necessary and ongoing. Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) has been increasingly utilised in both research and diagnostic however there are a range of variables that must first be controlled in order to produce reliable measurements. Following thawing, sperm must be isolated from both the original seminal plasma and the cryoprotectants; the two most used isolation methods include density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and the swim-up method.

The present thesis sought to investigate the following areas …

Effect Of Hemiepiphysiodesis On The Growth Plate: The Histopathological Changes And Mechanism Exploration Of Recurrence In Mini Pig Model., Jing Ding, Jin He, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Zhen-Kai Wu, Fang-Chun Jin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Purpose: Hemiepiphysiodesis has been widely used to correct angular deformity of long bone in immature patients. However, there is a limited knowledge about the biomechanical effect of this technique on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal. We aimed to evaluate the biomechanical effect of hemiepiphysiodesis on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal in Bama miniature pigs, and to explore the role of asymmetric stress during this procedure.

Methods: Eight 3-month-old male Bama miniature pigs sustained surgeries on the …

Evaluation And Adaptation Of Live-Cell Interferometry For Applications In Basic, Translational, And Clinical Research, Kevin A. Leslie

Theses and Dissertations

Cell mass is an important indicator of cell health and status. A diverse set of techniques have been developed to precisely measure the masses of single cells, with varying degrees of technical complexity and throughput. Here, the development of a non-invasive, label-free optical technique, termed Live-Cell Interferometry (LCI), is described. Several applications are presented, including an evaluation of LCI’s utility for assessing drug response heterogeneity in patient-derived melanoma lines and the measurement of CD3+ T cell kinetics during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The characterization of mast cells during degranulation, the measurement of viral reactivation kinetics in Kaposi’s Sarcoma, and drug …

Glycosaminoglycan Lyases In The Preparation Of Oligosaccharides, Alhumaidi B. Alabbas

Theses and Dissertations

Glycosaminoglycans are heterogeneous polysaccharides that mediate important biological functions. There has been considerable interest in deciphering the precise GAG sequences that are responsible for protein interactions. In fact, several GAG oligosaccharides have been discovered to date as targeting proteins with higher level of specificity. Yet, it has been difficult to develop GAG oligosaccharides as drugs. One of the key reasons for this state of art is that GAG synthesis is extremely challenging and is highly structure-specific. Thus, much of the biology and pharmacology of GAG remains unknown and unexploited to date.

An alternative approach is to prepare GAG oligosaccharides using …

S100b As A Potential Biomarker For Concussion In Male And Female Collegiate Rugby Athletes, Monica L. Ortiz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Sport related concussions are among the top ten most common sport injuries. Substantial and mounting evidence points to extensive short and long term negative consequences from mismanaged sport related concussions. Consequently, researchers have called for better diagnostic concussion tests that are rapid, reliable, sensitive, specific and objective. The purpose of this research was to determine the ability of salivary S100B to detect concussions, predict concussion symptom resolution time, and correlate with changes in neurocognitive performance over the course of one athletic season. A repeated measures of salivary S100B and neurocognitive performance using the ImPACT test and a concussion symptom questionnaire …

Analysis Of Diagnostic, Preventive, And Disease-Modifying Therapeutic Measures Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Ghazal Habib Havoutis

HCNSO Student Capstones

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common late-onset neurodegenerative disorder and cause of dementia, characterized by the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaque deposits. The heterogeneous nature of the disease (both genetically and environmentally) makes it difficult to prevent or cure. Without prevention, the prevalence of AD is expected to triple by 2050. However, because the diagnosis of AD is usually preceded by years of cognitive impairment, early detection may aid in reducing prevalence. Thus, there is a need for validated diagnostic measures for early and improved diagnosis and prevention. In this review, current and ongoing classifiers of early …

Memory Potential, Molecular Characterization, And Translational Applications Of The Novel Theo/Tceo T Cell Phenotype, Todd Bartkowiak, Todd Bartkowiak

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

T cells comprise a substantial arm of the immune system and are exquisitely adapted to combat pathogens and tumors. The inflammatory environment largely dictates the nature of T cell response. A hallmark of T cell-mediated immunity is formation of immunological memory; the ability to respond more potently to re-encounter with pathogens. The immune system is also capable of recognizing tumors as foreign, much like viral or bacterial pathogens. Tumors have evolved, though, to generate an immunosuppressive environment to avoid destruction. The field of immunotherapy seeks to overcome immune suppression, in part by targeting T cell co-receptors on the cell surface …

Habituation And Dishabituation In The Olfactory Bulb: From Neural Responses To Behavior, Mary Cameron Ogg

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Habituation and dishabituation modulate the neural resources and behavioral significance allocated to incoming stimuli across the sensory systems. The purpose of the research presented in this dissertation was to characterize these processes in the mouse olfactory bulb (OB) and to determine if OB acetylcholine (ACh) has a role in physiological and behavioral olfactory dishabituation. Calcium imaging was used to determine the timecourse and magnitude of habituation in different parts of the OB during and after a prolonged odor presentation. Widefield imaging of the dendritic, or glomerular, response of OB output cells demonstrated that prolonged odor input habituates glomerular responses during …

Size, Shape, And Sequence-Dependent Immunogenicity Of Rna Nanoparticles, Sijin Guo, Hui Li, Mengshi Ma, Jian Fu, Yizhou Dong, Peixuan Guo

Center for Research on Environmental Disease Faculty Publications

RNA molecules have emerged as promising therapeutics. Like all other drugs, the safety profile and immune response are important criteria for drug evaluation. However, the literature on RNA immunogenicity has been controversial. Here, we used the approach of RNA nanotechnology to demonstrate that the immune response of RNA nanoparticles is size, shape, and sequence dependent. RNA triangle, square, pentagon, and tetrahedron with same shape but different sizes, or same size but different shapes were used as models to investigate the immune response. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by these RNA nanoarchitectures were assessed in macrophage-like cells and animals. It …

Relative Associations Of Age, Height, And Weight On Sinus Of Valsalva And Mid-Ascending Aorta: An Imaging And Epidemiology Study, Mirza Nubair Ahmad, Syed Haris Pir, Mirza Mujadil Ahmad, Sharmeen Hussaini, Bijoy K. Khandheria, A. Jamil Tajik, Khawaja Afzal Ammar

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Background: Prior studies show ascending aorta diameter varies with age, height and weight, but they did not evaluate relative influence of these variables on aortic diameter. Since height is genetically determined, and genetic disorders like Marfan syndrome are predominantly associated with sinus of Valsalva (SOV) dilation, we hypothesized height may have stronger association with SOV.

Purpose: Based on anecdotal observation, since age, weight and obesity are acquired attributes, we hypothesized age, weight and body mass index may have greater association with mid-ascending aorta (MAA) diameter, even in normal patients.

Methods: We evaluated echocardiographic studies of patients ≥ 15 years old …

Characterization Of Different Molecular Markers For Identification Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhi In Pakistani Population, Faizan Muttiullah, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

Typhoid is caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi that is usually diagnosed by using serologic and immuno-chromatographic techniques in developing counties including Pakistan, which is thought to be an unreliable diagnostic method. For accurate diagnosis we used molecular techniques to amplify 204 bp StyR-36 and 498 bp flagellin gene for the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. This study was done on 58 individuals diagnosed positive of typhoid via serologic tests and 50 healthy individuals as a control group. Success rate of amplification for flagellin gene was 77.58% while that for StyR-36 gene was 68.97% showing that flagellin gene primer …

Improving Type And Screen Specimen Collection Prior To Elective Surgery, Nordx Blood Bank Staff, Haley Pelletier, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

To avoid delays in the availability of compatible blood for elective surgery patients requiring transfusion, a type and screen specimen should be completed at least 24 hours prior to surgery. Baseline metrics in an acute care inpatient blood bank demonstrated a significant number of cases with no type or screen completed.

The objective of this KPI was to prevent any delays in providing compatible blood products to scheduled surgical patients. Several internal and external system issues were identified as a result of a root cause analysis and a number of actions were initiated.

Outcomes have been positive. Data collection post …

Alzheimer’S Disease: Dawn Of A New Era?, Farideh Amirrad, Emira Bousoik, Kiumars Shamloo, Hassan Al-Shiyab, Viet-Hong Nguyen, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive decline in cognition and memory, leading to significant impairment in daily activities and ultimately death. It is the most common cause of dementia, the prevalence of which increases with age; however, age is not the only predisposing factor. The pathology of this cognitive impairing disease is still not completely understood, which has limited the development of valid therapeutic options. Recent years have witnessed a wide range of novel approaches to combat this disease, so that they greatly increased our understanding of the disease and of the unique drug …

Numerically Solving A System Of Pdes Modeling Chronic Wounds Treated With Oxygen Therapy, Stefan Stryker

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers are the leading cause of non-traumatic amputations in developed countries. For researchers to better understand the physiology of these wounds, a mathematical model describing oxygen levels at the wound site can be used to help predict healing responses. The model utilizes equations that are modified from work by Guffey (2015) that consists of four variables – oxygen, bacteria, neutrophils, and chemoattractant within a system of partial differential equations. Our research focuses on numerically solving these partial differential equations using a finite volume approach. This numerical solver will be important for future research in …

Efficient Synthesis Of Cn2097 Using In Situ Activation Of Sulfhydryl Group, Shaban Darwish, Keykavous Parang, John Marshall, Dennis J. Goebel, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

CN2097 (R₇Cs-sCYK[KTE(β-Ala)]V) is a rationally designed peptidomimetic that shows effectiveness in preclinical models for the treatment of neurological disorders, such as Angelman syndrome, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and stroke. Because of its potential therapeutic activity for the treatment of human CNS disorders, there was an urgent need to develop an efficient strategy for large-scale synthesis of CN2097. The synthesis of CN2097 was accomplished using Fmoc/tBu solid phase chemistry in multiple steps. Two different peptide fragments (activated polyarginine peptide Npys-sCR₇ and CYK[KTE(β-Ala)]V) were synthesized, followed by solution phase coupling in water. Activation of the polyarginine (CR₇) …

The Motor Cortical Representation Of A Muscle Is Not Homogeneous In Brain Connectivity, Jo Armour Smith, Alaa Albishi, Sarine Babikian, Skulpan Asavasopon, Beth E. Fisher, Jason Kutch

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Functional connectivity patterns of the motor cortical representational area of single muscles have not been extensively mapped in humans, particularly for the axial musculature. Functional connectivity may provide a neural substrate for adaptation of muscle activity in axial muscles that have both voluntary and postural functions. The purpose of this study was to combine brain stimulation and neuroimaging to both map the cortical representation of the external oblique (EO) in primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA), and to establish the resting-state functional connectivity associated with this representation. Motor evoked potentials were elicited from the EO muscle in …

Effects Of Phosphodiesterase 3a Modulation On Murine Cerebral Microhemorrhages, Rachita K. Sumbria, Vitaly Vasilevko, Mher Mahoney Grigoryan, Annlia Paganini-Hill, Ronald Kim, David H. Cribbs, Mark J. Fisher

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) are MRI-demonstrable cerebral microhemorrhages (CMH) which commonly coexist with ischemic stroke. This creates a challenging therapeutic milieu, and a strategy that simultaneously protects the vessel wall and provides anti-thrombotic activity is an attractive potential approach. Phosphodiesterase 3A (PDE3A) inhibition is known to provide cerebral vessel wall protection combined with anti-thrombotic effects. As an initial step in the development of a therapy that simultaneously treats CMB and ischemic stroke, we hypothesized that inhibition of the PDE3A pathway is protective against CMH development.

Methods: The effect of PDE3A pathway inhibition was studied in the inflammation-induced and …