In-Patient Self-Management Diabetes Education, Amy Matthews

Master's Projects and Capstones

The diabetes program strives to provide diabetes self-management education to the in-patient with diabetes. The specific aim is to improve and standardize diabetes education for the inpatient with diabetes by June 2015. The microsystem is a medical surgical unit for patients 18 years and older who present with diabetes as either a primary diagnosis or secondary diagnosis. Fifty percent of the diabetes patients on this unit are ages 65-89 years old, twenty nine percent are ages 50-64. The unit has 32 beds and is filled to capacity ninety five percent of the time. The fishbone diagram revealed our microsystem lacked …

The Search For Huntington's Disease Treatments Is Indeed 'Rocket Science' – And We Can All Help Build The Rocket, Kenneth P. Serbin

At Risk for Huntington's Disease

No abstract provided.

Cardiovascular Disease Performance Measures In The Outpatient Setting In India: Insights From The American College Of Cardiology's Pinnacle India Quality Improvement Program (Piqip), Ankur Kalra, Yashashwi Pokharel, Ravi S. Hira, Samantha Risch, Veronique Vicera, Qiong Li, Ram N. Kalra, Prafulla G. Kerkar, Ganesh Kumar, Salim S. Virani

Office of the Provost

Background: India has a growing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet data on the quality of outpatient care for patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation in India are very limited. We collected data on performance measures for 68 196 unique patients from 10 Indian cardiology outpatient departments from January 1, 2011, to February 5, 2014, in the American College of Cardiology's PINNACLE (Practice Innovation and Clinical Excellence) India Quality Improvement Program (PIQIP). PIQIP is India's first national outpatient CVD quality-improvement program.
Methods and results: In the PIQIP registry, we estimated the prevalence of CVD risk factors …

Functional Analysis Of The Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Mc160 Death Effector Domain-Containing Protein Rxdl Motif, Sarah Weber

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is a member of the Poxviridae family that causes benign skin lesions. MCV lesions persist on average for 8-12 months in otherwise healthy individuals. MCV lesions are characterized by reduced inflammation. The persistence and reduction of inflammation at the site of MCV lesions have been attributed to MCV immune evasion genes. MCV encodes two death effector domain (DED) containing proteins, MC159 and MC160. DEDs are found in cellular proteins such as FADD and procaspase-8. These cellular proteins are involved in several innate immune responses such as apoptosis and activation of interferon (IFN). Presumably, MC159 and …

Draft Genome Sequences Of Six Different Staphylococcus Epidermidis Clones, Isolated Individually From Preterm Neonates Presenting With Sepsis At Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary, Paul Walsh, M. Bekaert, J. Carroll, T. Manning, B. Kelly, A. O'Driscoll, X. Lu, C. Smith, P. Dickinson, K. Templeton, P. Ghazal, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Herein, we report the draft genome sequences of six individual Staphylococcus epidermidis clones, cultivated from blood taken from different preterm neonatal sepsis patients at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

A Novel Caspase 8 Selective Small Molecule Potentiates Trail-Induced Cell Death, Octavian Bucur, Gabriel Gaidos, Achani Yatawara, Bodvael Pennarun, Chamila Rupasinghe, Jérémie Roux, Stefan Andrei, Bingqian Guo, Alexandra Panaitiu, Maria Pellegrini, Dale Mierke, Roya Khosravi-Far

Dartmouth Scholarship

Recombinant soluble TRAIL and agonistic antibodies against TRAIL receptors (DR4 and DR5) are currently being created for clinical cancer therapy, due to their selective killing of cancer cells and high safety characteristics. However, resistance to TRAIL and other targeted therapies is an important issue facing current cancer research field. An attractive strategy to sensitize resistant malignancies to TRAIL-induced cell death is the design of small molecules that target and promote caspase 8 activation. For the first time, we describe the discovery and characterization of a small molecule that directly binds caspase 8 and enhances its activation when combined with TRAIL, …

Deciphering Signals From Huntington’S Disease Brains In The Search For Treatments, Kenneth P. Serbin

At Risk for Huntington's Disease

No abstract provided.

The Medical Response To The Black Death, Joseph A. Legan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper discusses the medical response to the Black Death in both Europe and the Middle East. The Black Death was caused by a series of bacterial strands collectively known as Yersinia pestis. The Plague originated in the Mongolian Steppes. It was spread westward by the east-west trading system. Once it arrived in the Crimea in 1346, Italian merchants helped spread it throughout the Mediterranean. Medicine in Europe and the Middle East were centered on Galen’s theory of humors. There were many religious explanations for the Plague, but the main medical explanation was the spread of bad air, or …

Structural Studies Of The Ig58 Domain Of The Giant Muscle Protein Obscurin, Matthew C. Oehler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Obscurin (720-900 kD) is a giant sarcomeric signaling protein that is the only known link

between the cytoskeleton and the surrounding membrane structure. Mutations to obscurin

and to obscurin binding partners have been linked to human muscle diseases such as

hypertrophic cardiomyopathies and muscular dystrophy. These diseases likely occur due

to the abrogation of specific molecular interactions necessary for suitable function. To

more fully understand how specific mutations lead to disease, here we solve the highresolution

structure of obscurin Ig58. The literature shows that an Arg8Gln mutation to

the Ig58 domain of obscurin is associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Chemical …

Using Technology To Improve Diabetes Self-Management Within A Federally Qualified Community Health Center, Lisa Diane Morgan

Doctoral Projects

The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) concept places the patient and family at the center of healthcare. The patient becomes actively involved in their own care. One aspect of PCMH is managing care and increasing chronic disease self-management. Diabetes, a chronic disease, is a leading diagnosis among the patients served by the federally qualified community health center (FQCHC). The prevalence of diabetes in Mississippi in 2012 was 12.3%. The purpose of this DNP Capstone project was to implement a pilot study to increase diabetes self-management knowledge. The program utilized the current technology of text messaging to send biweekly supportive and …

The Effect Of Run Sprint Interval Training On Diabetic Metabolic Markers In Prediabetic Adults, Kathryn L. Hilovsky

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the effects of an 8-week run-sprint interval training (R-SIT) and continuous moderate-intensity training (MIT) on fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin sensitivity, and β-cell function in sedentary, prediabetic adults. Secondary outcomes of the study included anthropometric, body composition variables, and aerobic capacity.

Methods: Sedentary, physician diagnosed prediabetic individuals were randomized into R-SIT (n=7, BMI 36.76 ± 9.79) or MIT (n=8, BMI 40.59 ± 12.49) interventions. Subjects participated in supervised exercise three times a week and attended a Diabetes Prevention Program course, once weekly. R-SIT participants performed 4-6 x 30-second …

The Effect Of An Educational Intervention On Knowledge And Intent To Participate In Cervical Cancer Screening, Ann Marie Trapp

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Globally, cervical cancer ranks third among cancers affecting women (Arbyn et al., 2013). In the United States, approximately 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and approximately 4,000 women die yearly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Papanicolaou (Pap) screening is an effective means of detecting precancerous cell changes of the cervix with early cervical cancer diagnosis carrying a 91% five-year survival rate (Gonzalez et al., 2012). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to identify interventions that increase adherence to cervical cancer screening and to implement best practices to reduce unnecessary deaths related to late diagnoses of …

Effect Of Cmvil-10 On Exosome Production By Human Breast Cancer Cells, Susanna N. Basappa

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous virus that infects 70-90% of the general population, primarily the immunocompromised, but has been implicated in several forms of cancer, including breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in women in North America, usually from metastasis. Exosomes are 30-100nm vesicles produced by most cells which carry protein and RNA to cells in their microenvironment. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of HCMV-infection of a secreted viral cytokine, cmvIL-10, on exosome production by highly metastatic breast cancer cells.

MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured in vitro, …

A Translational Study Determining The Impact Of Timing And Duration Of Aerobic Walking On Metabolic Control And Personal Preferences Among Adults Recently Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes, Cory Cox

Graduate Theses

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a potentially life threatening metabolic disease characterized by insulin resistance and inability to metabolize glucose (Meneilly & Elliott 1999). According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2013), diabetes played a contributing role in 231,404 deaths in 2007 alone. Because of this, researchers strive to develop the best methods of managing diabetes. Physical activity has been shown to improve glucose control by reducing insulin resistance and reducing body fat (Bacchi et al., 2012). Recent data from DiPietro et al. (2013) indicated that multiple bouts of exercise may be favorable over one continuous bout in managing blood …

Structural And Functional Interactions Between Bro1 Domain Of Human Alix Protein And Nucleocapsid Packaging Rna Complex From Hiv, Scott Gross

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

A virus is only as powerful as its ability to spread. Enveloped retroviruses, namely HIV-1, use exocytosis pathways that normal host cells use to release particles from the plasma membrane. The main pathways of interest in this study are the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) and adjacent ALIX pathways. The ESCRT pathway is especially important for degradation of receptor/cargo complexes that form Multi-Vesicular Bodies (MVBs). Currently, there is no known therapy that targets this endosomal pathway, which would prevent the spread of the virus to other cells. The virus has adapted to jump from pathway to pathway when …

Age-Dependent Breakdown Of The Blood Brain Barrier And Associated Changes In S100b Ko Mice, Eric V. Brown

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Autoantibodies play an important role in many autoimmune diseases. Recent research has shown that breakdown of the blood brain barrier (BBB) occurs concomitant to generation of brain reactive autoantibodies in many neurodegenerative diseases, which serve as biomarkers and drivers of pathology. SI00B, a calcium binding protein found most highly expressed in astrocytes which ensheathe the BBB, has many functions in neural development and signaling. Currently literature indicates that S100B KO mice develop normally, with no phenotypic abnormalities. Here, it is demonstrated that S100B KO mice seem to develop a chronic BBB breakdown similar to that seen in human neurodegenerative diseases. …

Adapting The Standard Sir Disease Model In Order To Track And Predict The Spreading Of The Ebola Virus Using Twitter Data, Armin Smailhodzic

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A method has been developed to track infectious diseases by using data mining of active Twitter accounts and its efficacy was demonstrated during the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014. Using a meme based n-gram semantic usage model to search the Twitter database for indications of illness, flight and death from the spread of Ebola in Africa, principally from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Memes of interest relate disease to location and severity and are coupled to the density of Tweets and re-Tweets. The meme spreads through the community of social users in a fashion similar to nonlinear wave propagation- …

Inverse Changes In Ghrelin And A2a Receptor Gene Expression Levels In The Hippocampus Of Heart Failure Canines Following Spinal Cord Stimulation, Benjamin E. Jewett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Myocardial infarction (MI), often referred to as a heart attack, is a serious health issue in the United States. There is a well-documented link between MI and major depressive disorder (MDD), with a high incidence of MDD occurring after an MI. Overlapping pathologies have been observed within the hippocampus of the brain in animal models of MI and depression. These observations suggest that pathobiological cross-talk between the heart and brain could have a role in the etiology of MDD that occurs after an MI. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has previously been shown to have both cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects post-MI, …

Race And Ethnicity, Obesity, Metabolic Health, And Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Postmenopausal Women, Michelle D. Schmiegelow, Haley Hedlin, Rachel H. Mackey, Lisa W. Martin, Mara Z. Vitolins, Marcia L. Stefanick, Marco V. Perez, Matthew Allison, Mark A. Hlatky

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background It is unclear whether obesity unaccompanied by metabolic abnormalities is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk across racial and ethnic subgroups.

Methods and Results We identified 14 364 postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative who had data on fasting serum lipids and serum glucose and no history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline. We categorized women by body mass index (in kg/m²) as normal weight (body mass index 18.5 to P=0.05). Obese black women without metabolic syndrome had higher adjusted risk (HR 1.95) than obese white women (HR 1.07; interaction P=0.02). Among women with …

Effects Of Heat Stress On Arterial Compliance In Smokers: A Pilot Study, Erin Dougherty

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Arterial compliance (i.e., arterial elasticity) is a major contributor to the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and has been recognized as an independent risk factor for CVD. Smokers have poor arterial compliance compared to non-smokers. In non-smokers, passive heat stress has been shown to acutely improve arterial compliance. It is unknown how passive heat stress affects arterial compliance in smokers. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the hypothesis that passive heat stress improves arterial compliance in smokers to a greater extent than non-smokers. This pilot study involved 2 male smokers and 2 male non-smokers, ages 18-21. Smokers …

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 In Cigarette Smoke Exposure And Influenza A Virus Infection-Induced Lung Injury, Yashodhar P. Bhandary, Shwetha K. Shetty, Amarnath S. Marudamuthu, Krishna K. Midde, Hong-Long Ji, Homoyoun Shams, Renuka Subramaniam, Jian Fu, Steven Idell, Sreerama Shetty

Center for Research on Environmental Disease Faculty Publications

Parenchymal lung inflammation and airway and alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis are associated with cigarette smoke exposure (CSE), which contributes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Epidemiological studies indicate that people exposed to chronic cigarette smoke with or without COPD are more susceptible to influenza A virus (IAV) infection. We found increased p53, PAI-1 and apoptosis in AECs, with accumulation of macrophages and neutrophils in the lungs of patients with COPD. In Wild-type (WT) mice with passive CSE (PCSE), p53 and PAI-1 expression and apoptosis were increased in AECs as was lung inflammation, while those lacking p53 or PAI-1 resisted AEC …

Efficient In Vitro Development Of Photoreceptors From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, Joseph C. Reynolds

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Degeneration of the rod and cone photoreceptors in the human retina is among the most common causes of blindness. Replacing these damaged photoreceptors may help to restore vision. Repairing the damaged retina relies on the insertion of new, healthy cells. Embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are two possible sources of photoreceptors to restore vision. Previous data shows that human ES cells and iPS cells can be differentiated into photoreceptors and transplanted into the eye to restore some vision. However, this process is inefficient, and costly. Here, we show a new method for inducing photoreceptor production …

Periodontal Disease: Molecular Visualization Through Computer Modeling And 3d Printing, Catherine Chatowsky

Senior Honors Projects

Periodontal disease is a common infection that damages gingival tissue and creates jawbone destruction that can lead to the loosening or loss of teeth. Hundreds of diverse bacterial species reside in the harsh environment of the oral cavity. The creation of plaque and biofilms serve to allow the bacteria to avoid immune-mediated destruction. This project analyzed periodontal disease pathogens using molecular printing 3D visualization. Two bacterial species (T. denticola and P. gingivalis) were chosen from the public resource: Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics: Protein Data Bank. T. denticola was a bacteria found to have a binding protein (FhbB) …

The Incidence Of Chagas Coinfections Amongst Acute Dengue Patients In Machala, Ecuador, Elizabeth A. Mcmahon

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Dengue fever is a febrile illness found throughout the tropics that, in severe cases, can be deadly. The most rapidly spreading of any mosquito-borne disease, dengue is re-emerging as an illness of great concern in Latin America and around the globe. The CDC estimates that as many as 400 million cases of dengue occur each year. The pathogenesis of dengue virus is complicated and acts through modulation of the host immune system. Dengue polarizes the immune system balance of T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 2 (Th2) cells towards a Th1 inflammatory response. Parasitic infections have also been shown …

Maternal Obesity And Incidence Of Depression, Caroline A. Habjan

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Obesity is a national epidemic in the United States, which both directly and indirectly affects the social productivity of individuals, the American macro economy and individuals’ personal health and well being. Depression often interferes with an individual’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. A maternal state of both obesity and depression may cause serious adverse medical conditions in the mother’s child. Taking steps to treat depression and obesity are critical in the construct of modern medicine. This project yields results that have the potential to make treatment options better tailored, more efficient, effective and economically-sound for the …

Alzheimer's Disease: From Clinical Tragedy To Reason For Hope, Kenneth Adams

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Transcription Factors Gzf3, Rfx1, Orf19.3928 As Being Implicated In Candida-Bacterial Interactions., Joni Watson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that is present in the normal flora in a majority of individuals. One key factor in C. albicans virulence is the ability to change its morphology from yeast to an elongated or hyphal form. The regulation of this morphogenesis relies in part upon quorum sensing (QS) molecules. C. albicans often exists as part of a mixed culture alongside other microbes and is influenced by their presence as well as the presence of QS molecules that they produce. In this study, a library of diploid homozygous transcriptional regulator knockout (TRKO) mutants were screened to identify …

Phenytoin-Induced Purple Glove Syndrome: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, John Okogbaa, Ifeanyi Onor, Oluwatoyin Arije, Martha Harris, Rebecca Lillis

Faculty and Staff Publications

OBJECTIVE:To present a case report and literature review of phenytoin-induced purple glove syndrome (PGS).CASE SUMMARY:A 54-year-old African American male presented to our hospital's emergency department (ED) following a seizure episode, cardiac arrest, and loss of consciousness. On arrival to the ED, the patient's total phenytoin level was subtherapeutic at 4.1 mcg/mL and his corrected total phenytoin level was subtherapeutic at 5.1 mcg/mL. In the ED, the patient received a loading dose of intravenous (IV) phenytoin 1,000 mg once via the left cephalic vein, at a rate of 50 mg/min, and was admitted to the medicine service. A day following IV …

Intestinal Inflammation Model Inducing Gut Leakage By Different Methods In Broiler Chickens Using Fitc-D As A Marker, Eduardo Vicuna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) have been used in food animals to reduce enteric inflammation and maintain intestinal homeostasis, thus improving performance. Due to increasing restrictions regarding the use of AGP, precise and high throughput enteric inflammation models and markers to search for effective alternatives are urgently needed. Oral administration of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-d) and its passage into blood can be used as a marker for tight junction permeability. FITC-d is a large molecule (3-5 kDa) which does not usually leak through the intact gastrointestinal tract barrier. However, when conditions disrupt the tight junctions between epithelial cells, the FITC-d …

A Systematic Literature Review Of The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption And Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (Haart) In Patients Diagnosed With Hiv/Aids, Charmaine M. Lapre'

Honors Theses

According to the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH), alcohol consumption causes more than 2.5 million deaths annually. This organization also attributes more than sixty different diseases in which alcoholism plays a significant role. Such diseases include the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (WHO, 2014). There are over 50,000 new cases of HIV reported each year. In the United States, it is estimated that more than 1.1 million people are infected with HIV, and about one in six people are completely unaware that they are infected (CDC.gov, 2013). A systematic literature review was …