Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Determination Of The Functional Relationship Between Lumbar Lordosis And Pelvic Tilt, Casey Tyler Hebert

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Americans are undergoing spinal fusion surgery (SFS) at an ever increasing rate; in 2008 over 400,000 Americans underwent SFS with a national cost of approximately $33.9 billion. During SFS it is difficult for the surgeon to properly align the spine’s s-shape, as viewed from the patient’s side. Abnormal alignment of the spine then alters the position of the pelvis and hip joints, which may impact the function and hip contact patterns. Several studies have shown that patients with spinal pathology, such as arthritis, often have a coexisting hip pathology or subsequently develop hip pathology, and it is estimated that 18% …

Production Of Recombinant Human Coagulation Factor Ix By Transgenic Pig, Weijie Xu

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Hemophilia B is the congenital bleeding disorder caused by deficiency in functional coagulation factor IX (FIX) and about 28,000 patients worldwide in 2012. And current treatment is restricted to protein-replacement therapy, which required FIX concentrates for patients’ life-time. Approximately 1 billion units FIX were consumed in 2012. However, still about 70-80% patients, mostly in developing countries, received inadequate or no treatment because of the unavailable and/or unaffordable FIX concentrates. Considering safety reasons, e.g. transmission of blood-borne diseases, the recombinant human FIX (rFIX) is recommended other than the plasma-derived FIX. However, only one rFIX is currently available on the market. The …

Quantitative Ultrasound: Measurement Considerations For The Assessment Of Muscular Dystrophy And Sarcopenia, Michael O. Harris-Love, Reza Monfaredi, Catheeja Ismail, Marc R. Blackman, Kevin Cleary

Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound has potential clinical utility in characterizing pathological muscle tissue. Sonography has been long proposed as method of assessing muscle damage due to neuromuscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy, and more recently, changes in body and tissue composition associated with muscle wasting disorders such as sarcopenia. The use of quantitative ultrasound as an adjunct diagnostic procedure has different technical challenges than the traditional use of ultrasound in clinical medicine. Operator-dependent technique and variation are critical considerations when obtaining measures of echointensity (i.e., tissue composition estimates) and tissue dimensions (i.e., muscle thickness) – key elements of the ultrasound assessment …

Development Of A Short Version Of The Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, Brooke N. Jenkins, Michelle Fortier, Sherrie H. Kaplan, Linda C. Mayes, Zeev N. Kain

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND: The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) is the current “criterion standard” for assessing child anxiety during induction of anesthesia and has been used in >100 studies. This observational instrument covers 5 items and is typically administered at 4 perioperative time points. Application of this complex instrument in busy operating room (OR) settings, however, presents a challenge. In this investigation, we examined whether the instrument could be modified and made easier to use in OR settings.

METHODS: This study used qualitative methods, principal component analyses, Cronbach αs, and effect sizes to create the mYPAS-Short Form (mYPAS-SF) and reduce time …

Blood-Based Biomarkers For Traumatic Brain Injury: Evaluation Of Research Approaches, Available Methods And Potential Utility From The Clinician And Clinical Laboratory Perspectives, Frederick G. Strathmann, Stefanie Podlog (Nee Schulte), Kyle Goerl, David J. Petron

Athletic Training Collection

Blood-based biomarkers for traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been investigated and proposed for decades, yet the current clinical assessment of TBI is largely based on clinical symptoms that can vary widely amongst patients, and have significant overlap with unrelated disease states. A careful review of current treatment guidelines for TBI further highlights the potential utility of a blood-based TBI biomarker panel in augmenting clinical decision making. Numerous expert reviews on blood-based TBI biomarkers have been published but a close look at the methods used and the astonishing paucity of validation and quality control data has not been undertaken from the …

Predictors Of Pain Relief Following Spinal Cord Stimulation In Chronic Back And Leg Pain And Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Systematic Review And Meta-Regression Analysis, Rod S. Taylor, Mehul J. Desai, Philippe Rigoard, Rebecca J. Taylor

Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Publications

We sought to assess the extent to which pain relief in chronic back and leg pain ( CBLP) following spinal cord stimulation ( SCS) is influenced by patient-related factors, including pain location, and technology factors. A number of electronic databases were searched with citation searching of included papers and recent systematic reviews. All study designs were included. The primary outcome was pain relief following SCS, we also sought pain score (pre- and post- SCS). Multiple predictive factors were examined: location of pain, history of back surgery, initial level of pain, litigation/worker's compensation, age, gender, duration of pain, duration of follow-up, …

Application Of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Based Metabolomics To Study The Central Metabolism Of Staphylococci, Bo Zhang

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Metabolomics studies the collection of small molecules (metabolites) involved in enzymatically catalyzed reactions, cell signaling and cellular structure. Perturbations in metabolite concentrations have been used to reflect the activity of corresponding enzymes or proteins. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a well-known approach for the structure determination of biological macromolecules. Alternatively, NMR has recently been established as a valuable tool of metabolomics, in which NMR spectral signals correlate small molecules with cellular activities. This has been accomplished through the chemometric analysis of high-throughput one dimensional ¹H spectra (metabolic fingerprinting) and quantitative metabolite identification based on two dimensional ¹H, …

A Retrospective Chart Review To Determine Proper Stress Test Utilization In Low Risk Chest Pain Patients, Yassir Nawaz Md, Bilal Ayub Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Improving Access To Healthcare In New Orleans: An Up-To-Date Guide Of Free Or Low-Cost Clinics And Medication Assistance, Richard Brucker, Peggy Chehardy

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans safety net, Charity Hospital, was closed. Numerous free or low-cost clinics opened around town. Yet homeless individuals still expressed a need for more free clinics, as they were unaware of the resources that already existed. In August 2007, the resources available were out-dated, inaccurate, and lacked information regarding cost of medical care. Upon verifying information, print guides were assembled and thousands of copies were dispersed to homeless individuals. A website, with both online and print guides, was created to address the difficult task of redistribution following guide updates. The master list is always available online, …

Antibody-Drug Gold Nanoantennas With Raman Spectroscopic Fingerprints For In Vivo Tumour Theranostics., Joao Conde, Chenchen Bao, Daxiang Cui, Pedro V. Baptista, Furong Tian

Articles

Inspired by the ability of SERS nanoantennas to provide an integrated platform to enhance disease targeting in vivo, we developed a highly sensitive probe for in vivo tumoral recognition with the capacity to target specific cancer biomarkers such as epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) on human cancer cells and xenograft tumour models. Here, we used ~90 nm gold nanoparticles capped by a Raman reporter, encapsulated and entrapped by larger polymers and a FDA antibody-drug conjugate –Cetuximab (Erbitux®) – that specifically targets EGFR and turns off a main signalling cascade for cancer cells to proliferate and survive. These drug/SERS gold nanoantennas …

Characterizing The Response Of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Species To The Application Of A Phage Cocktail, Steven Liu

Symposium

Project Summary: The application of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections is known as phage therapy, which takes advantage of bacteriophage’s natural ability to infect and lyse bacterial hosts. Phages have been shaped by billions of years of evolution to be highly specialized deliverers of bactericidal agents to the cytoplasm of their target bacteria. Ever since discovery of bacteriophages in 1915, phage therapy was recognized as a potentially powerful tool for eliminating bacterial infections. The effectiveness of phage therapy can be increased by creating a mixture of multiple phages to target a wider variety of bacterial strains. Furthermore, phage therapy has …

An Investigation Of Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) For Applications With Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices, Haydn Thomas Mitchell

Master's Theses

N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide-crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), also known as P(NIPAM), was developed as a fluid delivery system for use with microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (microPADs). MicroPADs are postage-stamp-sized devices made out of paper that can be used as platforms for low-cost, simple-to-use point-of-care diagnostic assays. P(NIPAM) is a thermally responsive polymer that absorbs aqueous solutions at room temperature and will expel the solutions to microPADs when heated. The fluid delivery characteristics of P(NIPAM) were assessed, and P(NIPAM) was able to deliver multiple solutions to microPADs in specific sequences or simultaneously in a laminar-flow configuration. P(NIPAM) was then shown to be suitable …

Low-Cost Strider For Guatemala, Nicole Catherine Cooper, Gonzalo Hernandez, Jared W. Tower

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project was to create a strider, a type of standing rehabilitation device, for children in developing countries who have trouble walking and supporting their full body weight. The project was initially brought to us by Cal Poly professor Brian Self, who had visited a clinic in San Marcos and determined that there were children there who had difficulties with walking and were a need for a rehabilitation device. The team discussed the problem with Dr. Self, Matt Robinson (a local San Luis Obispo prosthetist), and Cal Poly physics professor Pete Schwartz, all of whom had visited …

Characterization Of Corynebacterium Pseudotuberculosis Biovar Equi Isolates Obtained From Cal Poly Horses And Review Of Application Of Transposons To Better Prevent Pigeon Fever In Horses, Irene Hasen

Animal Science

No abstract provided.

Endothelial And Smooth Muscle-Dependent Vascular Reactivity In Immature Arterialized Collateral Capillaries, Caitlin Koeroghlian

Biomedical Engineering

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) occurs due to the build up of atherosclerotic plaque and reduces blood flow to cause chronic ischemia. Patients with PAOD may experience intermittent claudication, or the pain in limb skeletal muscles due to a decease in blood flow. Collateral arteries can act as a natural bypass and improve blood flow to hypoxic tissue by creating an alternate route for blood to flow, but not all patients with PAOD have pre-existing collateral networks. Animal studies indicate that tissues without pre-existing collateral networks can form de novo collaterals from capillaries following occlusion of a feed artery. Unfortunately, …

Functional Health Status In Children And Adolescents After Fontan: Comparison Of Generic And Disease-Specific Assessments., Brian W. Mccrindle, Victor Zak, Victoria L. Pemberton, Linda M. Lambert, Victoria L. Vetter, Wyman W. Lai, Karen Uzark, Renee Margossian, Andrew M. Atz, Amanda Cook, Jane W. Newburger, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare associations between generic versus disease-specific functional health status assessments and patient and clinical characteristics for patients with severe congenital heart disease.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving 325 single ventricle patients, aged 10-18 years, after Fontan procedure. Enrolled patients underwent a medical history review, laboratory testing, and assessment of the functional health status by completion of the generic Child Report Child Health Questionnaire and the disease-specific Congenital Heart Adolescent and Teenage questionnaire. Correlated conceptually equivalent domains from both questionnaires were identified and their associations with patient and clinical variables …

Research Brief: "The Impact Of Sport And Physical Activity On The Well-Being Of Combat Veterans: A Systematic Review", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the influence that sports and exercise have on veterans' well-being and therapies that impact the well-being of combat veterans. In policy and practice, healthcare practitioners should prepare comprehensive treatment models that encompass physical activity and sports where appropriate, and support groups should encourage veterans to participate in competitive sports or other recreational activities; the DoD could expand programs to provide sports to more disabled combat veterans and the VA should re-evaluate its programs to ensure there are no barriers to participation. Suggestions for future research include studying the effects of sports and exercise on the well-being …

Lessons Learned In Caring For Patients Treated With Therapeutic Hypothermia, Catherine H. Swedberg Rn, Kelly A. Wolfenden Rn, Bsn, Cci, Jeffrey Martin Rn, Carolyn Ordway Msn, Rn, Crnp

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Effects Of An Apn-Led Amiodarone Clinic On Adherence To Recommended Monitoring Guidelines, Melissa Bartoszewicz

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Evidence shows that patients receiving amiodarone therapy have not adhered to monitoring guidelines set forth by the Heart Rhythm Society. Uncertainty with responsibility for monitoring has led to the development of pharmacist-managed or multidisciplinary-managed outpatient amiodarone clinics. Some limitations have been identified in the pharmacist-managed outpatient clinics that may be overcome by advanced practice nurse (APN)-managed clinics. The purpose of this EBP project was to determine what effects an APN-led amiodarone clinic would have on adherence to amiodarone monitoring guidelines. Using the PICOT format, the clinical question was developed: Does enrollment in an amiodarone clinic compared with “usual care” change …

The Effect Of Telephone Follow-Up On Pain Experienced By Patients After Knee Replacement Surgery, Laurie J. Jones

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Hospital length of stays are decreasing throughout the U.S. in an effort to contain healthcare costs, but these measures can be detrimental to patients. Those who get knee replacement surgery are finding their length of stay reduced from an average of 3 to 4 days to 24 to 48 hours, which can affect pain control and interfere with rehabilitation and recovery. This affects many people, as more than 632,000 knee replacements occur each year (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 2008). The purpose of this evidence-based project was to evaluate the effect of telephone follow-up on pain experienced by knee replacement …

Total Knee Arthroplasty Wear Is Caused By Malrotation And Excessive Laxity, Erik Woodard

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Total knee arthroplasty is a proven technique which combines specially designed components and surgical processes to treat cartilage degeneration and alleviate pain in arthritic knees. However, this technique is limited by component design and surgical precision. Due to these limitations, knee arthroplasty components will eventually wear out, causing rejection and necessitating the need for a replacement. For this reason, it would be beneficial to experts if the primary causes of this wear could be identified in order to minimize the number of replacements.

This study aims to determine if a correlation exists between instability of a knee joint and the …

Molecular Chaperone Tools For Use Against Neurodegenerative Diseases, Matthew Tinkham

Senior Honors Projects

A noted characteristic found in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain. Amyloid plaques contain deposits of fibrillar aggregates of misfolded proteins that disrupt normal functionality in neurons. Certain variants of these misfolded proteins are self-replicating; these self-replicating amyloids are termed prions (for infectious protein). We are interested in how protein misfolding contributes to amyloid formation and how molecular chaperone proteins can change the formation of amyloid deposits. Chaperone proteins function by catalyzing the proper folding of other proteins, the refolding of misfolded proteins, …

A Systematic Column Performance Comparison For The Confirmation Of Opioids Used In Pain Management By Lc-Ms, Derek Stallard

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, three different chromatographic column chemistries (C18, Pentafluorophenyl (PFP), Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography (HILIC)) were compared under optimal conditions to determine which stationary performed best in the separation and detection of a mixture of opioids using LC-MS. Furthermore, these stationary phases were examined in three different column technologies – traditional silica, porous shell, and porous polymer (PRP). The PRP column had the best peak shape for all 13 opioids and dominated for later-eluting compounds. In terms of column reproducibility, the Hamilton C18 column had the lowest %RSD values. The Kinetex HILIC produced the most theoretical plates and best resolution …

Make Your Garden Grow: Designing A Physical Activity Estimation Improvement Game, Ashish Amresh, Leigh Small

Publications

We present a novel game and virtual world based application that is aimed at improving the physical activity estimation skills of parents. It has been well established that lack of proper estimation of preschool children’s activity levels may be one of the main causes for childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has several long term health effects ranging from cardio-vascular disease to type II diabetes and obese preschool children are at risk for later life. We have developed an application that caters to both the parent and the child and uses a virtual garden as a fledgling ecosystem controlled both by the …

Anti-Gd2 Etoposide-Loaded Immunoliposomes For The Treatment Of Gd2 Positive Tumors, Brandon S. Brown

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Systemic chemotherapeutics remain the standard of care for most malignancies even though they frequently suffer from narrow therapeutic index, poor serum solubility, and off-target effects. Monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind antigens overexpressed on many tumors such as the ganglioside, GD2, can be conjugated to drug-loaded liposomes to create a targeted drug delivery system. In this study, we have encapsulated etoposide, a topoisomerase inhibitor effective against a wide range of cancers, in surface modified liposomes decorated with anti-GD2 antibodies. We characterized the properties of the liposomes using a variety of methods including dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy, and Fourier transformed infrared …

Phage Display Library Screening For Psa-/Lo Prostate Cancer Cell-Binding Peptides, John R. Moore

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading malignancies affecting men worldwide. Our lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate carcinogenesis and developing therapeutics that target the cells responsible for driving PCa and mediating therapy resistance. My master thesis research employs a phage display library screening technology aiming to identify peptides that preferentially home in to undifferentiated PCa cells, which our lab has previously demonstrated to be intrinsically resistant to castration.

There is now evidence that a population of cells in PCa possesses characteristics associated with stem cells; these cells are referred to as cancer stem cells (CSCs). …

High-Dose Interleukin-2 Administration In The Oncology Medical-Surgical Setting – An Innovation To Impact Cost Efficiencies, Clinical Outcomes And The Ideal Patient Experience, Deidre L. Kutzler Rn, Megan L. Derr Rn

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Predicting Targeted Drug Combinations Based On Pareto Optimal Patterns Of Coexpression Network Connectivity, Nadia M. Penrod, Casey S. Greene, Jason H. Moore

Dartmouth Scholarship

Molecularly targeted drugs promise a safer and more effective treatment modality than conventional chemotherapy for cancer patients. However, tumors are dynamic systems that readily adapt to these agents activating alternative survival pathways as they evolve resistant phenotypes. Combination therapies can overcome resistance but finding the optimal combinations efficiently presents a formidable challenge. Here we introduce a new paradigm for the design of combination therapy treatment strategies that exploits the tumor adaptive process to identify context-dependent essential genes as druggable targets. We have developed a framework to mine high-throughput transcriptomic data, based on differential coexpression and Pareto optimization, to investigate drug-induced …

Eculizumab In The Successful Treatment Of Postpartum Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome - A Case Report, Craig A. Mackaness Do, Frederick S. Fleszler Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Force And Power Development In Free Weight Resistance Training Vs. Band Resistance Training, Joseph Jablonski

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Health, Wellness, and Human Performance of the College of Science and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Joseph Jablonski on April 16, 2014.