Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Transforming Growth Factor-Β1 Decreases Β2-Agonist–Induced Relaxation In Human Airway Smooth Muscle, Christie A. Ojiaku, Elena Chung, Vishal Parikh, Jazmean K. Williams, Anthony Schwab, Ana Lucia Fuentes, Maia L. Corpuz, Victoria Lui, Sam Paek, Natalia M. Bexiga, Shreya Narayan, Francisco J. Nunez, Kwangmi An, Rennolds S. Ostrom, Steven S. An, Reynold A. Pannettieri Jr.

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Helper T effector cytokines implicated in asthma modulate the contractility of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells. We have reported recently that a profibrotic cytokine, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, induces HASM cell shortening and airway hyperresponsiveness. Here, we assessed whether TGF-β1 affects the ability of HASM cells to relax in response to β₂-agonists, a mainstay treatment for airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma. Overnight TGF-β1 treatment significantly impaired isoproterenol (ISO)-induced relaxation of carbachol-stimulated, isolated HASM cells. This single-cell mechanical hyporesponsiveness to ISO was corroborated by sustained increases in myosin light chain phosphorylation. In TGF-β1–treated HASM cells, ISO evoked markedly lower …

Npo Or Ama? Patients Allowed Clear Liquids Up To 2 Hours Pre-Procedure Have Equivalent Aspiration Risk And Increased Patient Satisfaction, Erich Smith

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Itou K, Fukuyama T, Sasabuchi Y, et al. Safety and efficacy of oral rehydration therapy until 2 h before surgery: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Journal of Anesthesia. 2012;26(1):20-27. doi: 10.1007/s00540-011-1261-x.

Memantine Unproven To Provide Any Clinical Benefit In Cases Of Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Irene Kitromelides

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Wilcock G, Möbius HJ, Stöffler A. A double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study of memantine in mild to moderate vascular dementia (MMM500). Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2002 Nov;17(6):297-305. doi: 10.1097/00004850-200211000-00005.

Rethinking Intravenous Catheter Size And Location For Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography, Travis Marshall, Nae Meng Chen, Eric Nguyen, David E. Slattery, Tony Zitek

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Introduction: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is the test of choice for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in the emergency department (ED), but this test may be indeterminate for technical reasons such as inadequate contrast filling of the pulmonary arteries. Many hospitals have requirements for intravenous (IV) catheter size or location for CTPAs to reduce the chances of inadequate filling, but there is a lack of clinical data to support these requirements. The objective of this study was to determine if a certain size or location of IV catheter used for contrast for CTPA is associated with an increased chance …

Development Of A Novel Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method To Detect Guiana Extended-Spectrum (Ges) Β-Lactamase Genes In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Chika Takano, Mitsuko Seki, Dong Wook Kim, Humphrey Gardner, Robert E. Mclaughlin, Paul E. Kilgore, Kazunari Kumasaka, Satoshi Hayakawa

Department of Pharmacy Practice

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospitalized patients are often fatal, and nosocomial infections caused by Guiana extended-spectrum (GES) β-lactamase-producing strains are of growing concern. Several genotypes of the GES β-lactamase gene (bla_GES) include a single missense mutation, a change from G to A at nucleotide position 493 (G_493A) that changes glycine to serine; the mutant enzyme exhibits carbapenemase activity. Rapid and reliable identification of drug-resistance is important in clinical settings; however, culture methods remain the gold standard. Conventional and real-time PCR cannot identify carbapenemase-producing genotypes, and direct DNA sequencing is essential. We established …

Detection Of Hfe Haemochromatosis In The Clinic And Community Using Standard Erythrocyte Tests, Niwansa Adris, Simon Hazeldine, Peter Bentley, Debbie Trinder, Anita C.G. Chua, Lawrie W. Powell, Louise E. Ramm, Grant A. Ramm, John K. Olynyk

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Detection of HFE Haemochromatosis (HH) is challenging in the absence of clinical features. HH subjects have elevated erythrocyte parameters compared to those without HH, but it remains unclear how this could be applied in clinical practice. Thus, we determined the sensitivity, specificity and clinical utility of erythrocyte parameters in 144 HH subjects with (n = 122) or without (n = 22) clinical and/or biochemical expression of iron overload, 1844 general population controls, and 700 chronic disease subjects. For both expressing and non-expressing HH subjects, the mean pre- and post-phlebotomy values of mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) …

Locus‐Specific Concordance Of Genomic Alterations Between Tissue And Plasma Circulating Tumor Dna In Metastatic Melanoma, Leslie Calapre, Tindaro Giardina, Cleo Robinson, Anna L. Reid, Zeyad Al-Ogaili, Michelle R. Pereira, Ashleigh C. Mcevoy, Lydia Warburton, Nicholas K. Hayward, Muhammad A. Khattak, Tarek M. Meniawy, Michael Millward, Benhur Amanuel, Melanie R. Ziman, Elin S. Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may serve as a surrogate to tissue biopsy for noninvasive identification of mutations across multiple genetic loci and for disease monitoring in melanoma. In this study, we compared the mutation profiles of tumor biopsies and plasma ctDNA from metastatic melanoma patients using custom sequencing panels targeting 30 melanoma-associated genes. Somatic mutations were identified in 20 of 24 melanoma biopsies, and 16 of 20 (70%) matched-patient plasmas had detectable ctDNA. In a subgroup of seven patients for whom matching tumor tissue and plasma were sequenced, 80% of the mutations found in tumor tissue were also detected in …

Lack Of Validity Of Self-Reported Mammography Data, Robert S. Levine, Barbara J. Kilbourne, Maureen Sanderson, Mary K. Fadden, Maria Pisu, Jason L. Salemi, Maria Carmenza Mejia De Grubb, Heather O'Hara, Baqar A. Husaini, Roger J. Zoorob, Charles H. Hennekens

Sociology Faculty Research

This qualitative literature review aimed to describe the totality of peer-reviewed scientific evidence from 1990 to 2017 concerning validity of self-reported mammography. This review included articles about mammography containing the words accuracy, validity, specificity, sensitivity, reliability or reproducibility; titles containing self-report, recall or patient reports, and breast or ‘mammo’; and references of identified citations focusing on evaluation of 2-year self-reports. Of 45 publications meeting the eligibility criteria, 2 conducted in 1993 and 1995 at health maintenance organisations in Western USA which primarily served highly educated whites provided support for self-reports of mammography over 2 years. Methodological concerns about validity of …

Deep Learning Based Analysis Of Histopathological Images Of Breast Cancer, Juanying Xie, Ran Liu, Joseph Luttrell Iv, Chaoyang Zhang

Faculty Publications

Breast cancer is associated with the highest morbidity rates for cancer diagnoses in the world and has become a major public health issue. Early diagnosis can increase the chance of successful treatment and survival. However, it is a very challenging and time-consuming task that relies on the experience of pathologists. The automatic diagnosis of breast cancer by analyzing histopathological images plays a significant role for patients and their prognosis. However, traditional feature extraction methods can only extract some low-level features of images, and prior knowledge is necessary to select useful features, which can be greatly affected by humans. Deep learning …

A Learning-Based Automatic Segmentation And Quantification Method On Left Ventricle In Gated Myocardial Perfusion Spect Imaging: A Feasibility Study, Tonghe Wang, Yang Lei, Haipeng Tang, Zhou He, Richard Castillo, Cheng Wang, Dianfu Li, Kristin Higgins, Tian Liu, Walter J. Curran, Walter J. Curran, Weihua Zhou, Xiaofeng Yang

Faculty Publications

Background: The performance of left ventricular (LV) functional assessment using gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) relies on the accuracy of segmentation. Current methods require manual adjustments that are tedious and subjective. We propose a novel machine-learning-based method to automatically segment LV myocardium and measure its volume in gated MPS imaging without human intervention.

Methods: We used an end-to-end fully convolutional neural network to segment LV myocardium by delineating its endocardial and epicardial surface. A novel compound loss function, which encourages similarity and penalizes discrepancy between prediction and training dataset, is utilized in training stage to achieve excellent performance. …

Effect Of Prehospital Tourniquets On Resuscitation In Extremity Arterial Trauma, Allison G. Mcnickle, Douglas R. Fraser, Paul J. Chestovich, Deborah A. Kuhls, John J. Fildes

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background: Timely tourniquet placement may limit ongoing hemorrhage and reduce the need for blood products. This study evaluates if prehospital tourniquet application altered the initial transfusion needs in arterial injuries when compared with a non-tourniquet control group. Methods: Extremity arterial injuries were queried from our level I trauma center registry from 2013 to 2017. The characteristics of the cohort with prehospital tourniquet placement (TQ+) were described in terms of tourniquet use, duration, and frequency over time. These cases were matched 1:1 by the artery injured, demographics, Injury Severity Score, and mechanism of injury to patients arriving without a tourniquet (TQ−). …

Implantation Of Left Ventricular Assist Device In The Setting Of Heavily Calcified Left Ventricular Apex Using An Apex Preserving Technique, Ismael A. Salas De Armas, Mehmet H. Akay, Jayeshkumar A. Patel, Chandni Patel, Manish K. Patel, Bindu Akkanti, Biswajit Kar, Igor D. Gregoric

The VAD Journal

A heavily calcified ventricular apex represents a challenging, rare and unique situation in LVAD implantation. A 44-year-old male was admitted with myocardial infarction. Left heart catheterization was complicated by episodes of ventricular fibrillation. After an acute stabilization with veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), an LVAD implantation was approved. Pre-operative work-up had shown a heavily calcified ventricular apex and an intraventricular thrombus, which was confirmed intraoperatively. To retain a viable ventricular geometry, the decision was made to preserve the calcified apex rather than to excise the entire calcified left ventricular aneurysm. Sutures for the inlet cannula were placed around the calcific …

Industry Spotlight: Medical Devices, Evan D. Poff

Marriott Student Review

Medical devices restore and even redefine health. This Industry Spotlight examines pre-market barriers, medtech business model quirks, current and future developments in the field, and the present-day move to value-based care in the medical device industry.

The Promises And Challenges Of Erythropoietin For Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease, Jiahong Sun, Jan Michelle Martin, Victoria Vanderpoel, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the world, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular amyloid-beta protein deposits represent the major pathological hallmarks of the disease. Currently available treatments provide some symptomatic relief but fail to modify primary pathological processes that underlie the disease. Erythropoietin (EPO), a hematopoietic growth factor, acts primarily to stimulate erythroid cell production, and is clinically used to treat anemia. EPO has evolved as a therapeutic agent for neurodegeneration and has improved neurological outcomes and AD pathology in rodents. However, penetration of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and negative hematopoietic effects are the two …

A 10-Year Review Of Opioid-Related Deaths At West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center: 2007-2017, Haley M. St John, Juliette Scantlebury Md

Longitudinal Scholar's Project

Prescription opioid deaths have tripled since 1999, and currently opioid overdose kills 115 Americans per day on average (1). Prior to 2014, prescription opioids have been the primary driver of opioid-related mortality. In recent years, the United States has seen a steady decline in the rate of opioid prescription. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in the number of deaths attributed to non-prescription opioids such as heroin, illicitly manufactured fentanyl, and fentanyl analogues. In 2017, among 70,237 drug overdose deaths nationally, 47,600 (67.8%) involved opioids, with increases across age groups, racial/ethnic groups, and county urbanization levels …

Measurement Precision And Reliability Of Supraspinatus Tendon Strain Using Speckle Track Analysis Of Ultrasound Images, Gregory Alan Mcclanahan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: Ultrasound speckle tracking is an emergent method in studying musculoskeletal physiology and disease. For a method to be effective and useful, it needs to be precise and reliable. The precision and reliability of supraspinatus tendon strain measurements have not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the precision and reliability of speckle tracking to measure supraspinatus tendon strain.

Methods: Forty-two (42) participants participated in this study. Five (5) ultrasound images of the participant’s right shoulder supraspinatus tendon were collected during a maximal voluntary isometric abduction contraction. Cine loop video files of the 5 imaging trials …

Dynamic Effects Of Habituation And Novelty Detection On Newborn Event Related Potentials, Cathryn S. Cortesa, Caitlin M Hudac, Dennis Molfese

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Newborns habituate to repeated auditory stimuli, and discriminate syllables, generating opportunities for early language learning. This study investigated trial-by-trial changes in newborn electrophysiological responses to auditory speech syllables as an index of habituation and novelty detection. Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 16 term newborn infants, aged 1–3 days, in response to monosyllabic speech syllables presented during habituation and novelty detection tasks. Multilevel models demonstrated that newborns habituated to repeated auditory syllables, as ERP amplitude attenuated for a late-latency component over successive trials. Subsequently, during the novelty detection task, earlyand late-latency component amplitudes decreased over successive trials for novel …

Concussion Competencies: A Training Model For School-Based Concussion Management, Arthur C. Maerlender, Jonathan D. Lichtenstein, Jennifer Parent-Nichols, Kate Higgins, Peggy Reisher

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

This study reports on the use of ten knowledge competencies related to the behavioral management of concussion in schools. Trainings using these competencies as learning objectives were delivered to school personnel. This aims of the use of competencies in this way are to streamline the education of key stakeholders, to establish clear roles and responsibilities for constituents and equip individuals working with students following a concussion with the relevant knowledge to optimize outcomes. The majority of participants, primarily speech language pathologists working as related service providers in the schoolswhere the trainings occurred, judged the use of the competencies to be …

Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of Two Computerized Neuropsychological Test Batteries: Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment And Cognitive Test (Impact) And C3 Logix, Caitlin Masterson, Julie Tuttle, Arthur C. Maerlender

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Tests of memory and speed of cognitive and motor responses have been the primary foci in sports-related concussion assessment. This study sought to assess the construct validity of neuropsychological tests within C3 Logix.

Method: Results of both baseline C3 Logix and the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) computerized tests from 86 Division I collegiate athletes were submitted to a two-factor confirmatory analysis using structural equation modeling. The two factors of Speed and Memory have been confirmed in previous studies of ImPACT.

Results: Results confirmed the two-factor model of ImPACT, whereas C3 Logix did not …

Functional Source Separation For Eeg-Fmri Fusion: Application To Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials, Hong Ji, Badong Chen, Nathan M. Petro, Zejian Yuan, Nanning Zheng, Andreas Keil

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Neurorobotics is one of the most ambitious fields in robotics, driving integration of interdisciplinary data and knowledge. One of the most productive areas of interdisciplinary research in this area has been the implementation of biologically-inspired mechanisms in the development of autonomous systems. Specifically, enabling such systems to display adaptive behavior such as learning from good and bad outcomes, has been achieved by quantifying and understanding the neural mechanisms of the brain networks mediating adaptive behaviors in humans and animals. For example, associative learning from aversive or dangerous outcomes is crucial for an autonomous system, to avoid dangerous situations in the …

Dr. Seuss Fine Motor Development Club, Nicole Borcyk, Madelyn Beck

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

After school club that helps students develop fine motor skills by doing hands-on activities relating to Dr. Seuss's most popular books.

The Risk Of New-Onset Epilepsy And Refractory Epilepsy In Older Adult Stroke Survivors, Jorge G. Burneo, Tresah C. Antaya, Britney N. Allen, Andrea Belisle, Salimah Z. Shariff, Gustavo Saposnik

Neuroepidemiology Research Unit Project Summaries

Research Summary: Key Findings

• Stroke is a common cause of epilepsy in older adults, but little is known about stroke-related epilepsy or its outcomes in this population.
• 1.1% of older adult stroke survivors developed epilepsy in this study, of whom 12.9% developed refractory epilepsy, indicating that this population is particularly responsive to treatment.
• Over 85% of deaths in this population are not due to stroke or epilepsy.

Diagnostic Techniques In Resource-Limited Countries Compared With Developed Countries, Rachel Schiltz

Theses and Graduate Projects

The diagnostic techniques between resource-limited countries and developed countries like the United States vary greatly. The lack of technology and availability of resources such as imaging studies in developing countries and the possible overreliance on those imaging studies when easily accessible is one reason. This paper will address the challenge clinicians face when evaluating patients for possible acute appendicitis. It will compare differences in diagnostic approaches used in the United States versus resource-limited nations that do not have readily available imaging studies to confirm suggestive appendicitis based on history, exam, and lab findings. It will compare outcomes of techniques used …

Can Nanotechnology Be The Leading Method In Detecting And Treating Cerebral Tumors?, Daniel D. Singh, Zuri Jules-Culver

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation or design of materials and structures with desired features in the 1nm–1000 nm size range. The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle that drugs must overcome in order to reach tumor cells. The role of this barrier is to transport essential nutrients while protecting and regulating the internal environment. Nanoparticles have been shown to transport drugs through this barrier and accumulate in tumor cells. This is significant since nanoparticles are drug carriers allowing chemotherapeutic drugs to accumulate in target areas (Sun et al., 2017). This is possible because they are able to be …

Urolithin A, A Gut Metabolite, Improves Insulin Sensitivity Through Augmentation Of Mitochondrial Function And Biogenesis, Ashley Mulcahy Toney, Rong Fan, Yibo Xian, Virginia Chaidez, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Soonkyu Chung

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objective: Urolithin A (UroA) is a major metabolite of ellagic acid produced following microbial catabolism in the gut. Emerging evidence has suggested that UroA modulates energy metabolism in various cells. However, UroA’s physiological functions related to obesity and insulin resistance remain unclear. Methods: Male mice were intraperitoneally administrated either UroA or dimethyl sulfoxide (vehicle) along with a high-fat diet for 12 weeks. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated via glucose and insulin tolerance tests and acute insulin signaling. The effects of UroA on hepatic triglyceride accumulation, adipocyte size, mitochondrial DNA content, and proinflammatory gene expressions were determined. The impact of UroA on …

Utility Of Point-Of-Care Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Testing For Predicting Diabetic Ketoacidosis In The Pediatric Emergency Department, Michelle Knoll, Kelsee Halpin, Ryan Mcdonough

Posters

The objective of our investigation was to describe the diagnostic characteristics of point-of-care capillary beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) testing to predict diabetic ketoacidosis among pediatric patients presenting with hyperglycemia in the pediatric emergency department.

Healthcare Robotics: Key Factors That Impact Robot Adoption In Healthcare, Sujatha Alla, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In the current dynamic business environment, healthcare organizations are focused on improving patient satisfaction, performance, and efficiency. The healthcare industry is considered a complex system that is highly reliant of new technologies to support clinical as well as business processes. Robotics is one of such technologies that is considered to have the potential to increase efficiency in a wide range of clinical services. Although the use of robotics in healthcare is at the early stages of adoption, some studies have shown the capacity of this technology to improve precision, accessibility through less invasive procedures, and reduction of human error during …

Pharmacologic Profiling Of Novel Compounds Via Fluorometric Analyses Of Monoamine Transporter Responses, Ashkhan Hojati

Theses and Dissertations

In humans and other organisms, monoaminergic systems are crucial in neuronal function and behavior. The monoamine transporters (MATs), which can be found on the presynaptic plasma membrane of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), are crucial in the regulation of neurotransmitter concentration in the synaptic cleft. As the duration and concentration of neurotransmitters in the cleft affect further downstream signaling responses, these proteins are important targets for both understanding neuronal physiology and compounds of interest. Multiple theories exist proponing the contribution of MATs to a variety of mental and neurological disorders, including depression. This theory establishes that depression is …

Elbow Injury Prevention In Youth Dominican Baseball Players: A Training Intervention Pilot Study, Chelsey Erbaugh Franz, Dawn Hall-Bibb, Myra Stockdale, Aliya Thompson, Bailey Biggs

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Research suggests deficits in shoulder and elbow strength and flexibility may explain the role of elbow injuries in overhead athletes, specifically ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury in baseball players. Significant damage to this ligament typically requires operative care for continued activity in the sport. Several studies have demonstrated the success of rehabilitation programs post-surgery; however, few studies have examined the role of UCL injury prevention programs. A recognized upper extremity (UE) injury prevention method is the Thrower’s Ten Program. This program may create elbow stability when pitching and throwing, theoretically reducing the risk of UCL injury. Purpose: The purpose …

Recent Advances In The Vibrational Spectroscopic Diagnosis Of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Declan O'Dea, Fiona Lyng, Siobhan Nicholson, Finbar O'Connell, Aoife Maguire, Alison Malkin

Articles

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide accounting for 1.69 million deaths in 2015. Studies have indicated a 5 year survival rate of 8%–15% in western countries, although a survival rate as low as 1% has been demonstrated for late stage diagnosis. With the advent of targeted therapies, it is imperative to accurately differentiate non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) subtypes in order to ensure efficacy of treatment for patients. Immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques for the diagnosis of NSCLC are increasingly part of the diagnostic algorithm and clinical work-up of lung cancer patients, however due to the limitation …