Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Oncology Edge Task Force On Prostate Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review Of Outcome Measures For Functional Mobility, Claire Davies, Genevieve Colon, Hannah Geyer, Lucinda Pfalzer, Mary Insana Fisher

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: The medical treatment of prostate cancer results in multiple impairments in body structure and declines functional abilities, resulting in activity limitations and participation restrictions. Measurement of functional mobility is an essential outcome measure in survivorship care.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to make recommendations of the best measurement tools to assess functional mobility in men treated for prostate cancer based on psychometric properties and clinical utility.

Methods: Multiple electronic databases were searched from February to March 2014. Studies of tools used to assess functional mobility were included if they met the following criteria: reported psychometric properties, …

Facing Our Demons: Psychiatric Perspectives On Exorcism Rituals, Joel R. Sanford

The Hilltop Review

Belief in possession by malevolent spirits exists in many cultures and religions throughout the world, and such beliefs often serve as explanations for a variety of psychological and emotional afflictions. Traditional remedies in these cases often involve exorcism rituals, which are believed to expel spirits from a person's mind and/or body. Some of the cases commonly attributed to involuntary spirit possession are diagnosed within the psychiatric community as schizophrenia or some sort of dissociative disorder and treated with psychotherapy and/or medicine. For some in the psychiatric community, exorcisms and their use by patients are viewed as problematic due to their …

1st Place Research Paper: The Effectiveness Of Yoga Therapy On An Adult, Post-Stroke Population: A Systematic Review, Baylor E. Hogan

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to (1) give a brief overview of stroke pathophysiology (2) outline yoga as a therapeutic strategy (3) present the current research on yoga rehabilitation for stroke (4) discuss the efficacy of yoga for chronic stroke.

Methods: Relevant terms were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Academic OneFile, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar electronic databases. Studies were excluded if they contained pediatric stroke, non-stroke neurological diseases, or subjects with comorbidities. Statistically significant data was extracted for the primary measures of nine trials.

Results: Four studies measured statistically significant outcomes (p<0.05). These included improvements in balance, independence, endurance, trait anxiety, fear of falling, self-efficacy, pain, strength, range of motion (ROM), activity, participation, and quality of life (QoL). Discussion: Lack of statistical significance in post-stroke depression (PSD) measures may be due to inadequate intervention length or a psychosocial cause of depression. Improvements in balance, flexibility, and strength from yoga participation permitted progress in disability and functionality. Finally, overall health-related quality of life (HRQL) is affected by the severity of mental disorders and physical disability. Yoga can have a positive effect in both domains and therefore, may improve HRQL.

Conclusion: …

Calcium Phosphate As A Key Material For Socially Responsible Tissue Engineering, Vuk Uskoković, Victoria M. Wu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Socially responsible technologies are designed while taking into consideration the socioeconomic, geopolitical and environmental limitations of regions in which they will be implemented. In the medical context, this involves making therapeutic platforms more accessible and affordable to patients in poor regions of the world wherein a given disease is endemic. This often necessitates going against the reigning trend of making therapeutic nanoparticles ever more structurally complex and expensive. However, studies aimed at simplifying materials and formulations while maintaining the functionality and therapeutic response of their more complex counterparts seldom provoke a significant interest in the scientific community. In this review …

Portable Sensory Room For The West Orange County Consortium For Special Education, Lindsey Chase, Emma Eskildsen, Alex Fox, Claire Francis, Nate Hoffman, Kaylee Keck, Sarah Sullivan

Biomedical Engineering

This report discusses the development of a Portable Sensory Room to be used at Newland Elementary School in Huntington Beach. Newland Elementary has an exceptional Special Needs program that teaches the children with the most severe cases of autism in its school district. People with autism typically also have sensory processing disorders, which can be extremely disruptive for a child’s development and can make it difficult for a child to be able to concentrate long enough to gain necessary life skills. The idea behind a Sensory Rooms is to create a place to calm the students and to expose them …

Global Dynamics Of A Model Of Joint Hormone Treatment With Dendritic Cell Vaccine For Prostate Cancer, Erica M. Rutter, Yang Kuang

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Signaling In Effector Lymphocytes: Insights Toward Safer Immunotherapy, Kamalakannan Rajasekaran, Matthew J. Riese, Sridhar Rao, Li Wang, Monica Thakar, Charles Sentman, Subramaniam Malarkannan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Receptors on T and NK cells systematically propagate highly complex signaling cascades that direct immune effector functions, leading to protective immunity. While extensive studies have delineated hundreds of signaling events that take place upon receptor engagement, the precise molecular mechanism that differentially regulates the induction or repression of a unique effector function is yet to be fully defined. Such knowledge can potentiate the tailoring of signal transductions and transform cancer immunotherapies. Targeted manipulations of signaling cascades can augment one effector function such as antitumor cytotoxicity while contain the overt generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines that contribute to treatment-related toxicity such as …

Investigating Metal Cations As Potential Inhibitors Of Iapp Aggregation: Kcl, Cacl2, And Cucl2, Megan Burke

Honors Thesis

IAPP is an amyloid protein that misfolds, causing toxic aggregation in the pancreas of Type II Diabetes patients. In this study, three metal cations (KCl, CaCl2, and CuCl2) are tested in Thioflavin T assays and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to see if they inhibit the aggregation of IAPP.

Characterization Of Bacterial Pathogens Involved In Aerobic Vaginitis: Prevalence, Strain Characterization And Sequelae, Leslie A. Lafferty

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic vaginitis (AV) is a more recently defined infection that involves aerobic pathogenic bacteria that replace the normal flora of the vaginal tract. It is commonly mistaken for other vaginal infections, such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), because they share many common symptoms. AV leads to complications during pregnancy, such as premature delivery and amnion infection, and is diagnosed by indications that range from vaginal discharge to inflammation. Because this infection is difficult to diagnose differentially from other vaginal infections, it is important to determine what pathogens are involved in AV so that we may have the ability to detect them. …

Qualitative Exploration Of Spirituality In Heart Failure Patients, Abigail M. Reggio

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background.

Heart failure (HF) is a severe, progressive disease that afflicts large numbers of

individuals around the world. One significant factor affecting quality of life in persons

with HF is the extent to which spiritual needs are met. Developing an understanding of

spirituality in the HF patient is essential in order for the healthcare professional to

provide the highest quality care possible. This study focused on examining spirituality

in HF patients by means of conducting in-depth interviews with individuals diagnosed

with HF and completing a descriptive analysis of the responses. The goal of this study

was to gain insight into …

Stabilization Of Gp120 Outer Domain For Hiv-1-1 Vaccine Immunogen Design, Duoyi Hu

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The sole envelope glycoprotein spike on the surface of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) is composed of two subunits: gp120 and gp41. The gp120 consists of three domains: the inner domain, outer domain and bridging sheet, to which the viral primary receptor CD4 binds and induces a conformational change in gp120 to expose the co-receptor binding site. Previous studies have found that the outer domain of gp120 is relatively more stable than the inner domain and bridging sheet. When superimposed, the co-crystal structures of CD4-gp120 complex and VRC01-gp120 complex revealed that the CD4-binding site (CD4-BS) antibody VRC01 actually mainly bound to …

1st Place Contest Entry: The Effectiveness Of Yoga Therapy On An Adult, Post-Stroke Population: A Systematic Review, Baylor E. Hogan

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Baylor Hogan's submission for the 2016 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. She wrote about the effects of yoga therapy on the physical and mental wellbeing of stroke patients. You can read the final essay that came out of her research here.

Baylor is a senior at Chapman University, majoring in Kinesiology. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Elizabeth DeBaets.

A Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program’S Assessment Of Prolonged Infusion Piperacillin-Tazobactam For Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pneumonia, Lee Nguyen, Paul Gavaza, Amy Y. Kang, An Nguyen, Liem Hoang, Nguyen Ta

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: The study aim was to determine and compare the length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability of a standard infusion (SI) and prolonged infusion (PI) piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( PA) pneumonia patients.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability with either SI-TZP or PI-TZP therapy in hospitalized patients diagnosed with PA pneumonia between January 01, 2008 and June 30, 2014. Patients were included in the study if they received ≥2 days of TZP, were diagnosed with PA pneumonia, and had TZP therapy …

An Analysis Of Women’S Access To Acute Opioid Detoxification Services In Maine: Identifying The Barriers To Treatment, Karen E. Conley

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The lack of treatment facilities and services for opioid use disorder in Maine, combined with an increased prevalence of addiction, creates a potential for health inequity between men and women that may be intensified by barriers in access to care. This capstone study utilized detoxification screening inquiry forms and data obtained from the Milestone Foundation’s acute opioid detoxification program to assess and categorize barriers to access by gender. A barriers model was developed based on existing literature and was to identify potential associations among and between the known barriers to accessing treatment. Barriers were described as internally or externally based, …

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (Ecmo) For Severe Toxicological Exposures: Review Of The Toxicology Investigators Consortium (Toxic)., G S. Wang, R Levitan, T J. Wiegand, Jennifer Lowry, R F. Schult, S Yin, Toxicology Investigators Consortium

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Although there have been many developments related to specific strategies for treating patients after poisoning exposures, the mainstay of therapy remains symptomatic and supportive care. One of the most aggressive supportive modalities is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Our goal was to describe the use of ECMO for toxicological exposures reported to the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC). We performed a retrospective review of the ACMT ToxIC Registry from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. Inclusion criteria included patients aged 0 to 89 years, evaluated between January 2010 through December 2013, and received ECMO for …

Challenges Of Adoptive (T-)Cell Transfer Immunotherapy For Cancer, Aaron Volk

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Background and significance: The rebirth of the theory of immunosurveillance in 2001 rejuvenated interest in anticancer immunotherapies. In particular, T-cell-based therapies have garnered substantial interest due to the robustness and tumor antigen-specific cytotoxicity of T-cell anticancer immune responses.

Hypothesis: The efficacy of adoptive cell transfer (ACT) T-cell immunotherapy could significantly improve and gain widespread approval if future innovations in ACT-based approaches account for the pro- and antitumoral properties of non-CD8⁺ lineages of effector T-cells, evasion of T-cell antitumor immunity, and tumor-induced suppression of antitumor immunity.

Problem Analysis: Despite numerous reports of highly successful ACT-based clinical trials, no such therapy …

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Guidelines And Clinical Practice Are Based On Poor Quality Evidence, Mirek Mychajlowycz

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Munro MG, Mainor N, Basu R, Brisinger M, Barreda L. Oral medroxyprogesterone acetate and combination oral contraceptives for acute uterine bleeding: A randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Oct;108(4):924-929. doi:10.1097/01.AOG.0000238343.62063.22

Effectiveness Of Pharmacist-Led Amiodarone Monitoring Services On Improving Adherence To Amiodarone Monitoring Recommendations: A Systematic Review, Dave L. Dixon, Steven P. Dunn, Michael S. Kelly, Timothy R. Mcllarky, Roy E. Brown

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Amiodarone remains the mostly frequently used antiarrhythmic in clinical practice and is most often used to maintain normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation who have failed a rate control strategy. Amiodarone has superior efficacy over other antiarrhythmics, a lower risk of torsade de pointes, and a better cardiovascular safety profile in patients with structural heart disease. However, amiodarone is associated with notable noncardiac toxicities affecting the thyroid, lungs, eyes, liver, and central nervous system. Since 2000, clinicians have been advised to follow amiodarone monitoring guidelines provided by the Heart Rhythm Society. Adherence to these recommendations in clinical practice, …

Task-Oriented Ankle And Foot Training For Improving Gait, Balance, And Strength In Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study, Cizelle Rodriques, Kurt Jackson, Joaquin Alberto Barrios, Lloyd L. Laubach, Kimberly Edginton Bigelow

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects and feasibility of a task-oriented ankle and foot exercise program on gait, balance, and strength in 6 adults with mild to moderate disability from multiple sclerosis (MS). The subjects participated in an 8-wk task-specific home-based ankle and foot exercise program. Outcome measures included stance phase ankle joint torque and power, limits of stability, isometric and isokinetic ankle strength, gait speed, and the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12). Five subjects completed the 8- wk intervention. Following training, there were significant increases in ankle power during early (38.1%) and late …

Human Igg1 Antibodies Suppress Angiogenesis In A Target-Independent Manner, Sasha Bogdanovich, Younghee Kim, Takeshi Mizutani, Reo Yasuma, Laura Tudisco, Valeria Cicatiello, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Nagaraj Kerur, Yoshio Hirano, Judit Z. Baffi, Valeria Tarallo, Shengjian Li, Tetsuhiro Yasuma, Parthasarathy Arpitha, Benjamin James Fowler, Charles B. Wright, Ivana Apicella, Adelaide Greco, Arturo Brunetti, Menotti Ruvo, Annamaria Sandomenico, Miho Nozaki, Ryo Ijima, Hiroki Kaneko, Yuichiro Ogura, Hiroko Terasaki, Balamurali K. Ambati, Jeanette H. W. Leusen, Wallace Y. Langdon, Michael R. Clark, Bradley D. Gelfand, Jayakrishna Ambati

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

Aberrant angiogenesis is implicated in diseases affecting nearly 10% of the world’s population. The most widely used anti-angiogenic drug is bevacizumab, a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets human VEGFA. Although bevacizumab does not recognize mouse Vegfa, it inhibits angiogenesis in mice. Here we show bevacizumab suppressed angiogenesis in three mouse models not via Vegfa blockade but rather Fc-mediated signaling through FcγRI (CD64) and c-Cbl, impairing macrophage migration. Other approved humanized or human IgG1 antibodies without mouse targets (adalimumab, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, omalizumab, palivizumab and tocilizumab), mouse IgG2a, and overexpression of human IgG1-Fc or mouse IgG2a-Fc, also inhibited angiogenesis in wild-type …

Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Drainage Of Peri-Rectal Collections: A Salvage Approach, Yana Cavanagh, Kevin Hosein, Nihar Shah, Edward Milman, Sohail N. Shaikh

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Abdominal and pelvic abscesses can occur as a consequence of surgery and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It is well accepted that the primary treatment is antibiotic therapy and minimally invasive drainage. Surgical measures are typically reserved for patients with luminal perforations or those who do not respond to conservative measures. Previously available modalities of drainage involved percutaneous and computed tomography guided access. Recently, endoscopic ultrasound guided aspiration has emerged as a safe alternative for management of intra-abdominal abscesses.

Since its first application for peripancreatic drainage, endoscopic ultrasound techniques and technologies have significantly evolved. Endoscopic ultrasound interventions can …

Phage Therapy As A Mrsa Treatment, Miriam Sussman

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

This paper seeks to review how previous research on bacteriophage therapy can be utilized to improve the treatment of MRSA infections. Due to the growing phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, scientists are looking to utilize the natural antibacterial qualities of bacterial viruses called phages to fight MRSA infections. In order to improve the therapeutic methods of combatting MRSA, one must first understand the mechanics of how phages infect bacterial cells and lyse them with their proteins. The narrow host range of bacteriophages causes the infection of only the pathogenic bacteria and maintains the state of the normal flora. Research suggests that …

Crispr/Cas9 As A Therapeutic Approach To Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Abraham Daniel Levitman

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Transhumanism, designer babies, gene therapy, and super-soldiers are founded upon the same concept—genetic engineering. Clustered Regularly-Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is a natural bacterial immune response method that takes advantage of gene manipulation to prevent an infection from mobile genetic elements. Since Mojica et al. (2005) first suggested the relationship between the CRISPR/Cas system and prokaryotic immunity, significant advancements have been made in understanding the mechanism and subsequent applications of CRISPR. CRISPR, has three main subtypes based on unique proteins and interference pathways and serves as an accurate and effective method for gene editing. Its mechanism consists of spacer acquisition, …

Most Efficient Methods To Treat Breast Cancer, Esther Ehrman

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Breast cancer is rampant in today’s world. Because there are many different cases and so many different ways to classify breast cancer, a multidisciplinary approach must be taken. Many patients undergo breast conserving surgery which creates a need for the eradication of any remaining tumor residue through radiation. Fifty Gy of radiation should be applied to the breast with an additional 16 Gy as a boost. If a mastectomy is performed to remove a large tumor and 4 or more positive lymph nodes were present, radiation should be applied as well. If the tumor expresses HER2 protein, Trastuzumab should be …

Treatment Options For Skin And Soft Tissue Infections Caused By Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Renee Weinberg

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen responsible for common skin infections, such as impetigo, cellulitis, folliculitis, and abscess and it is the most common cause for skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). Humans are carriers of this microorganism and are responsible for facilitating its spread around the world. Over time it has developed resistance to multiple antibiotics, such as penicillin and methicillin, which has made S. aureus a persistent problem in the healthcare world today. Its methicillin resistance has given it the more commonly known name methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). MRSA was initially discovered solely in the healthcare environment and thus …

Stem Cell Therapy And Macular Degeneration, Brenda Stern

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans sixty years and older. Currently, it is an incurable disease. Stem cell therapy is the idea of transplanting stem cells to replace damaged cells in the body. As the demand for transplantable organs far outweighs the supply, stem cells are an encouraging alternative to replace damaged cells. Can stem cell therapy be the first cure for macular degeneration? Many experiments have been done on transplanting stem cells into the eyes of rats with macular degeneration yielding promising results. The first transplantation of retinal pigmented epithelial stem cells into humans …

Development And Implementation Of A Pharmacist-Managed Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Program, Eun Kyoung Chung, Cole B. Beeler, Eva W. Muloma, Danielle Osterholzer, Kendra M. Damer, Sharon M. Erdman

Scholarship and Professional Work – COPHS

Purpose The development and implementation of a pharmacist-managed outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) program in a county teaching hospital are described.

Summary A pharmacist-managed OPAT program was developed and implemented at a county teaching hospital to provide consistent evaluation, approval, and monitoring of patients requiring OPAT for the treatment of infection. The developmental and implementation stages of the OPAT program included (1) a needs assessment, (2) the identification of resources necessary for program operation, (3) delineation of general OPAT program operations and activities of individual OPAT clinicians, (4) the development of patient selection criteria, including a plan of care algorithm, …

Is Deep Brain Stimulation A Viable Treatment For Parkinson’S Disease?, Brocha Gold

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Treatment options for those suffering from Parkinson’s Disease are as diverse as its symptoms. With the advent of modern technology there are new and innovative treatments that are becoming available, such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Prior to exploring treatment options one must understand the various causes of the disease. Treatment of the various motor and non-motor symptoms can include a combination of medication and surgical therapies. Among surgical interventions DBS is the treatment of choice. It has the fewest side effects and provides the greatest symptomatic relief.

Using Platelet-Rich Plasma To Reverse The Effects Of Tendinopathy And Prevent Tendon Re-Rupture After Surgery In Athletes: The Search For A Standardized Protocol, Shiv Patel

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

30-50% of all lesions amateur and professional sports players will experience during activity are related to the tendon. Moreover, the incidence of tendinopathy, a precursor to tendon rupture, is much higher in both of these groups due to excessive loading of tendons during physical activity, insufficient rest afterwards and certain antibiotic use. The tendon anatomically has both a low blood supply and a low cell turnover rate, which contribute to the relative ease by which an athlete can develop tendinopathy. Chronic tendinopathy has very few high-success treatments but in recent years, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a treatment in which platelets are …

The Effect Of Varying Bisphosphonate Treatment On Changes In Bone Microdamage In Osteoporotic Women, Stefanie L. Pagano

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are used for the treatment of osteoporosis. This study evaluated changes in bone microdamage with BP treatment duration. Fifty-one iliac crest biopsies were obtained from Caucasian women, ages 41 to 87 years, who were previously diagnosed and treated for osteoporosis with oral BPs for 1-16 years duration. Patients diagnosed with any disease, drug, or substance abuse that may affect bone metabolism were excluded.

Bone samples were sectioned, stained, and histologically examined using light and fluorescence microscopy. Bone area, number and length of microcracks were quantified. Following adjustment for age, BMD, BV/TV, trabecular thickness, and turnover, regression analysis revealed …