Diseases Commons^™

The Microbiomes Of Pancreatic And Duodenum Tissue Overlap And Are Highly Subject Specific But Differ Between Pancreatic Cancer And Non-Cancer Subjects, Erika Del Castillo, Richard Meier, Mei Chung, Devin C. Koestler, Tsute Chen, Bruce J. Paster, Kevin P. Charpentier, Karl T. Kelsey, Jacques Izard, Dominique S. Michaud

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: In mice, bacteria from the mouth can translocate to the pancreas and impact pancreatic cancer progression. In humans, oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease have been linked to pancreatic cancer risk. It is not known if DNA bacterial profiles in the pancreas and duodenum are similar within individuals.

Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from 50 subjects with pancreatic cancer or other conditions requiring foregut surgery at the Rhode Island Hospital (RIH), and from thirty-four organs obtained from the National Disease Research Interchange. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on 189 tissue samples (pancreatic duct, duodenum, pancreas), 57 …

Scientometric Analysis And Literature Research Growth Of Lupus During 2010-2017, Mohamed Idhris, Manuelraj Peter, Abdurahiman Pattukuthu, Spurgeon Anandraj Samuel

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract:

The paper analyses the growth pattern of Lupus disease literature during 2010-2017. The data downloaded from web of science database, further interpreted and analyzed for the study purpose. Total number of publications has been identified as 38750 records. The distribution of publications based on the year of production, country wise productivity, document type of the publications, Major subject categories, Authors whose contribution is in the maximum level were studied. The study reveals a progressive increase on LUPUS research during 2010-2017. The year 2016 contributed highest number of publications. United States is the top contributor during 2010-2017. PETRI M is …

The Effect Of A Child's Guardian's Health Literacy On Asthma Knowledge In Pediatric Patients, Sylvan Ryder

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to determine if there is a correlation between a guardian’s health literacy and their knowledge of their child’s asthma management.

METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the University of Kentucky Pediatric Pulmonology Clinic in Lexington, Kentucky. The analysis focused on how a parent’s health literacy level effected their asthma knowledge. The Rapid Estimation of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form was used to measure health literacy. An asthma knowledge questionnaire with a Likert-scale design was used to measure asthma knowledge. The sample included eight parents of children with an asthma diagnosis collected …

Current Assessment And Intervention Strategies For Childhood Obesity Used By Pediatric Care Providers, Jennifer Bivins

DNP Projects

Childhood obesity rates in the United States have tripled since the 1970s in the U.S. (CDC, 2018). Due to the persistent rise in obesity rate sin children and the possible health risks associated with obesity, it is important for pediatric providers to appropriately assess and treat childhood obesity. There is limited data on what pediatric providers in the primary care setting are doing to address this growing health problem. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine current assessment and intervention strategies for childhood obesity used by pediatric health care providers at the University of Kentucky, General Pediatric clinic. …

The Effect Of An Educational Video On Device-Related Concerns In A Single-Center Left Ventricular Assist Device Population, Devan Costelle

DNP Projects

PURPOSE:The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of various concerns among left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients and evaluate the effect of an educational video intervention on reducing those concerns in a single-center adult LVAD population.

METHODS:A 15-point LVAD Concerns Scale was created to evaluate the prevalence of specific device-related concerns. An educational video was created to address the concerns presented in the LVAD Concerns Scale. Data collection took place from November 2018 to February 2019. A cross-sectional, pre- post-test implementation study design was used to both identify various device-related concerns that exist among LVAD patients and …

The Effect Of Provider Education On Copd Screening Rates In The Primary Care Setting, Kelli Craig

DNP Projects

BACKGROUND: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. With early detection, COPD is a treatable disease, highlighting the need for an effective screening measure. The COPD Population Screener Questionnaire (COPD-PS) is a valid, accurate questionnaire that can identify individuals likely to have COPD.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a provider-based educational intervention on the knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and screening rates of COPD using the COPD-PS screening tool among primary care providers.

METHODS: This study was a single-center, pre/post implementation study to evaluate …

Nurse-Led Positive Psychology Intervention Is Feasible In Patients With Heart Failure, Erin Taylor

DNP Projects

Introduction:  Prevalence of heart failure (HF) in the US is projected to rise 46% by 2030, resulting in more than 8 million people with HF.  Negative psychologic states including depression and pessimism (negative future expectations) have been linked with poor cardiovascular outcomes, including HF.  Despite the fact that optimism (positive future expectations) and other positive affective states have been associated with superior outcomes, there has been little focus on interventions designed to increase positive psychological states in patients with HF.

Objective: To test the acceptability and feasibility of a nurse-led positive psychology intervention, Best Possible Self (BPS).

Methods: A convenience …

Evaluating The Feasibility Of Outpatient Iv Diuretic Therapy For Patients With Decompensated Heart Failure, Christina Thompson

DNP Projects

Heart failure is a prevalent chronic disease that contributes to many hospitalizations that may not always be necessary. Evidence supports that patients who present to the Emergency Department in fluid overload can be treated in the outpatient setting when only IV diuretic is warranted. Both decreases in costs and improved outcomes have been reported, yet there has been little movement toward providing outpatient diuresis versus hospitalization. The purpose of this DNP project was to evaluate the feasibility of an outpatient option for IV diuretic therapy for patients with acute decompensated heart failure experiencing symptoms of fluid overload. This descriptive study …

Successful Brace Treatment Of Pectus Carinatum In Osteogenesis Imperfecta Using The Dynamic Compression System., Beth A. Orrick, Amy L. Pierce, Charles L. Snyder, Uri S. Alon

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder of collagen resulting in a "fragile" skeleton with increased fracture risk and other complications, dependent on the specific variant. Pectus deformities of the chest wall, while not common, can be associated with OI. The use of a pectus carinatum brace in a patient with OI poses unknown risks for fractures and adverse treatment outcomes. We successfully applied external compression bracing using the dynamic compression system to one such patient. This case illustrates the ability to treat an OI patient with pectus carinatum using a nonsurgical brace, without complications, resulting in an excellent cosmetic …

Using Fundamental Properties Of Light To Investigate Photonic Effects In Condensed Matter And Biological Tissues, Laura A. Sordillo

Dissertations and Theses

Light possesses characteristics such as polarization, wavelength and coherence. The interaction of light and matter, whether in a semiconductor or in a biological sample, can reveal important information about the internal properties of a system. My thesis focuses on two areas: photocarriers in gallium arsenide and biomedical optics. Varying the excitation wavelength can be used to study both biological tissue and condensed matter. I altered the excitation wavelengths to be in the longer near-infrared (NIR) optical windows, in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) range, a wavelength region previously thought to be unusable for medical imaging. With this method, I acquired high …

Giardia Lamblia Growth In Viscoelastic Fluids, Kelly Watanabe

CMC Senior Theses

Giardia lamblia is a single-celled protozoan parasite that when ingested, causes diarrheal disease and infects 33% of people in developing countries. Previous studies observe Giardia in water-like fluids, but Giardia's infectious environment consists of viscoelastic mucus in the small intestine. Therefore, Giardia was cultured in viscoelastic fluids, and its population growth was observed in vitro. To create shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids, 0.2% and 0.4% long-chain polyacrylamide (LCPAM) was added to cell culture media. Giardia was cultured in control media, 0.2% LCPAM, and 0.4% LCPAM, and population growth was quantitatively determined over time. Increasing LCPAM concentration resulted in a solution with …

Development Of Improved Acellular Pertussis Vaccines Through Inclusion Of The Rtx Antigen Or Induction Of Mucosal Immunity, Dylan Tyler Boehm

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pertussis is a human respiratory disease, primarily caused by the Gram-negative pathogen Bordetella pertussis. The infection is most severe and can be life-threatening in young children and infants where it manifests as a series of paroxysmal coughs. The disease is more commonly known as whooping cough, due to the whoop omitted during a massive inspiratory effort to bring air back into the lungs. Pertussis is a toxin-mediated disease that persists due to an early release of toxins that allow that bacteria to evade the cells of the innate immune response. The inhibition of the host response continues as toxin activity …

Environmental Regulation Of The Heart: The Role Of Non-Coding Rna And Epigenetics In Influencing Mitochondrial And Cellular Health, Quincy Alexander Hathaway

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The mitochondrion, a small but ubiquitously distributed organelle in the cell, continues to be the focus of many disease pathogeneses, tissue and organ dysfunctions, and other morbidities that occur throughout the body. The purpose of this work was to understand how cardiac mitochondrion are altered in disease and pathological states, specifically in their adaptation to environmentally stimulated regulatory networks, such as epigenetic modifications and promotion/inhibition of non-coding RNAs. Acute stress to mitochondrial regulation (inhalation toxicology) as well as chronic (type 2 diabetes mellitus) was examined. Using a FVB transgenic microRNA-378a mouse knockout model, the cardiovascular impact derived from altering the …

The Effect Of Extensible And Non-Extensible Lumbar Belts On Trunk Postural Balance In Subjects With Low Back Pain And Healthy Controls, Ali Shahvarpour, Richard Preuss, Christian Larivière

Études primaires

Background

Previous findings suggest that wearing a lumbar belt may benefit some patients with low back pain; however, the mechanisms of action are not yet fully understood.

Research question

The effect of wearing two flexible (extensible and non-extensible) lumbar belts on trunk postural control was investigated during an unstable sitting task.

Methods

Healthy subjects and subjects with LBP sat on a wobbling chair, with and without the lumbar belts. Chair rotation was measured in the sagittal and frontal planes, and 10 linear and nonlinear measures of balance were computed to assess the quantity (3 measures) and quality (7 measures) of …

The Life And Work Of Alex Klein, Ramon Thiago Mendes De Oliveira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Alex Klein is one of the best-known figures of the American oboe school. He is the winner of multiple international competitions, including the first prize at the Geneva’s Concours International d’Execution Musicale. Appointed principal oboe at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1995, Klein is one of the most highly regarded musicians hired during the Barenboim era. His recording of Richard Strauss’ oboe concerto with the CSO was awarded Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra) at the 44th Grammy Awards. In 2004, his tenure at CSO was interrupted due to the onset of Focal Dystonia; which affected multiple fingers in …

Modeling Disease Impact Of Vibrio-Phage Interactions, Christopher Botelho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the work of John Snow, scientists and medical professionals have understood that individuals develop cholera by means of consuming contaminated water. Despite the knowledge of cholera's route of infection, many countries have experienced and still experience endemic cholera. Cholera is caused by the Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) bacterium and presents with acute diarrhea and vomiting. If untreated, infected individuals may die due to dehydration. Cholera is a disease that most commonly affects countries with poor infrastructure and water sanitation. Despite efforts to control cholera in such countries, the disease persists. One such example is Haiti which has been experiencing …

Multiplicative Advantages Of Hispanic Men Living In Hispanic Enclaves: Intersectionality In Colon Cancer Care, Keren M. Escobar, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin M. Gorey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examined Hispanic enclave paradoxical effects on cancer care among socioeconomically vulnerable people in pre-Obamacare California. We conducted a secondary analysis of a historical cohort of 511 Hispanic and 1,753 non-Hispanic white people with colon cancer. Hispanic enclaves were neighborhoods where 40% or more of the residents were Hispanic, mostly first-generation Mexican American immigrants. An interaction of ethnicity, gender and Hispanic enclave status was observed such that the protective effects of living in a Hispanic enclave were larger for Hispanic men, particularly married Hispanic men, than women. Risks were also exposed among other study groups: the poor, the inadequately insured, …

Critical Physicochemical Properties For Nanoparticle Toxicity: Impact Of Surface Coating And Size On Particle-Induced Cell Transformation And Inflammatory Response, Tiffany Kornberg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nanoparticles, which measure 100 nm in at least one dimension, have surged in development, production, and use for a wide range of applications. However, the rapid pace of development for these emerging materials with unclear/unknown toxicity profiles makes it difficult to adequately assess health risk associated with exposure. One critical obstacle which limits scientific research to fill these critical knowledge gaps is the lack of accurate and predictive models for nanotoxicology studies, particularly those which involve occupationally relevant exposure scenarios (pulmonary exposure to low dose of particles in the circulating air). Typically, animal models are used to assess potential systemic …

Predictors And Health Outcomes Of Treatment-Resistant Depression Among Adults With Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Conditions And Major Depressive Disorder, Drishti Shah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Understanding major depressive disorder (MDD) as a comorbidity in patients with chronic non-cancer pain conditions (CNPC) is of importance because of the high prevalence and well documented bi-directional relationship between MDD and pain. Furthermore, presence of CNPC among adults with MDD often reduces benefits of antidepressant therapy, thereby increasing the possibility of treatment resistance. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) commonly defined as insufficient response to multiple antidepressant trials, often worsens depression and pain symptoms and can amplify the clinical and economic burden among adults with CNPC and MDD. Additionally, long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) may be prescribed at a higher rate to adults …

The Children's Oncology Group: Organizational Structure, Membership, And Institutional Characteristics., Janice S. Withycombe, Todd A. Alonzo, Michele A. Wilkins-Sanchez, Maxine Hetherington, Peter C. Adamson, Wendy Landier

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: The Children's Oncology Group (COG) is the only organization within the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network dedicated exclusively to pediatric cancer research. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of COG's organizational structure, to characterize its institutional and individual membership, and to summarize enrollments onto COG clinical trials.

METHOD: Data from 2013 to 2015 were compiled from sources internal (Network Operations, Statistics and Data Center, Chair's Office) and external (American Hospital Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center) to COG, to present a comprehensive overview of COG's structure, individual and institutional membership, and group operations.

RESULTS: …

Genomic Prediction Of Relapse In Recipients Of Allogeneic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation., J Ritari, K Hyvärinen, S Koskela, M Itälä-Remes, R Niittyvuopio, A Nihtinen, U Salmenniemi, M Putkonen, L Volin, T Kwan, T Pastinen, J Partanen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation currently represents the primary potentially curative treatment for cancers of the blood and bone marrow. While relapse occurs in approximately 30% of patients, few risk-modifying genetic variants have been identified. The present study evaluates the predictive potential of patient genetics on relapse risk in a genome-wide manner. We studied 151 graft recipients with HLA-matched sibling donors by sequencing the whole-exome, active immunoregulatory regions, and the full MHC region. To assess the predictive capability and contributions of SNPs and INDELs, we employed machine learning and a feature selection approach in a cross-validation framework to discover the …

Seroepidemiology Of Parechovirus A3 Neutralizing Antibodies, Australia, The Netherlands, And United States, Eveliina Karelehto, Lieke Brouwer, Kimberley Benschop, Jen Kok, Kerri Basile, Brendan Mcmullan, William Rawlinson, Julian Druce, Suellen Nicholson, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Christopher J. Harrison, Kamani Lankachandra, Hetty Van Eijk, Gerrit Koen, Menno De Jong, Dasja Pajkrt, Katja C. Wolthers

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

© 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All rights reserved. Recent parechovirus A3 (PeV-A3) outbreaks in Australia suggest lower population immunity compared with regions that have endemic PeV-A3 circulation. A serosurvey among populations in the Netherlands, the United States, and Australia before and after the 2013 Australia outbreak showed high PeV-A3 neutralizing antibody prevalence across all regions and time periods, indicating widespread circulation.

Feature-Guided Deep Radiomics For Glioblastoma Patient Survival Prediction, Zeina A. Shboul, Mahbubul Alam, Lasitha Vidyaratne, Linmin Pei, Mohamed I. Elbakary, Khan M. Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Glioblastoma is recognized as World Health Organization (WHO) grade IV glioma with an aggressive growth pattern. The current clinical practice in diagnosis and prognosis of Glioblastoma using MRI involves multiple steps including manual tumor sizing. Accurate identification and segmentation of multiple abnormal tissues within tumor volume in MRI is essential for precise survival prediction. Manual tumor and abnormal tissue detection and sizing are tedious, and subject to inter-observer variability. Consequently, this work proposes a fully automated MRI-based glioblastoma and abnormal tissue segmentation, and survival prediction framework. The framework includes radiomics feature-guided deep neural network methods for tumor tissue segmentation; followed …

Clonally Expanded Alpha-Chain T-Cell Receptor (Tcr) Transcripts Are Present In Aneurysmal Lesions Of Patients With Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (Aaa), Song Lu, John V. White, Raquel I. Judy, Lisa L. Merritt, Wan Lu Lin, Xiaoying Zhang, Charalambos Solomides, Ifeyinwa Nwaneshiudu, John Gaughan, Dimitri S. Monos, Emilia L. Oleszak, Chris D. Platsoucas

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening immunological disease responsible for 1 to 2% of all deaths in 65 year old or older individuals. Although mononuclear cell infiltrates have been demonstrated in AAA lesions and autoimmunity may be responsible for the initiation and account for the propagation of the disease, the information available about the pathogenesis of AAA is limited. To examine whether AAA lesions from patients with AAA contain clonally expanded α-chain TCR transcripts, we amplified by the non-palindromic adaptor-PCR (NPA-PCR)/Vα-specific PCR and/or the Vα-specific PCR these α-chain TCR transcripts. The amplified transcripts were cloned and sequenced. Substantial proportions …

การตรวจทางอณูชีววิทยาของเชื้อลิชมาเนียและทริพาโนโซมในจิ้งจกจากแหล่งระบาดของโรคลิชมาเนียในภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย, ประพิมพร ตุ่นทอง

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

จิ้งจกเป็นสัตว์เลื้อยคลานขนาดเล็กที่จัดอยู่ในสกุล Hemidactylus สามารถพบได้ในที่อยู่อาศัยของมนุษย์ ได้มีการรายงานว่าจิ้งจกสามารถเป็นแหล่งกักเก็บโรคได้ เช่น แบคทีเรีย และโปรโตซัว สำหรับในประเทศไทยเชื้อ Leishmania spp. และ Trypanosoma spp. มีการติดต่อสู่คนและสัตว์โดยการกัดของริ้นฝอยทรายเพศเมีย อย่างไรก็ตามข้อมูลในสัตว์ที่เป็นแหล่งกักเก็บโรคของเชื้อโปรโตซัวดังกล่าวในประเทศไทยยังมีอยู่อย่างจำกัด ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อตรวจหาเชื้อ Leishmania และ Trypanosoma DNA ในจิ้งจกที่เก็บจากบ้านของผู้ป่วย leishmaniasis ในภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย จากตัวอย่างจำนวน 57 ตัวอย่างซึ่งได้จากจิ้งจกทั้งหมด 19 ตัว ประกอบด้วยตับ ม้าม และหัวใจ ตัวอย่างทั้งหมดถูกนำมาใช้ในการตรวจหา DNA ของเชื้อ Leishmania spp. และ Trypanosoma spp. โดยเทคนิค Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) จากตำแหน่งยีน ITS1 และ SSU rRNA ตามลำดับ โดยผลการทดลองพบว่า มี 15 ตัวอย่างที่ตรวจพบเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. ประกอบไปด้วย ตับ 4 ตัวอย่าง ม้าม 5 ตัวอย่าง และหัวใจ 6 ตัวอย่างจากตัวอย่างจิ้งจกทั้งหมด 9 ตัว แต่ไม่สามารถตรวจพบเชื้อ Leishmania spp. ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้ จากผลแผนภูมิวิวัฒนาการที่ตำแหน่งยีน ITS1 แสดงให้เห็นว่า เชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. จัดอยู่ใน An04/Frog1 ของกลุ่ม Anura clade และผลแผนภูมิวิวัฒนาการของจิ้งจกที่ตำแหน่งยีน cytb แสดงให้เห็นว่าจิ้งจกทั้งหมดในการศึกษาครั้งนี้มีความเหมือนกับจิ้งจกสายพันธุ์ Hemidactylus platyurus ที่จัดอยู่ในกลุ่ม tropical asian clade โดยการศึกษานี้เป็นการตรวจพบเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp.ในจิ้งจกเป็นครั้งแรก ซึ่งข้อมูลที่ได้จากการศึกษาครั้งนี้แสดงให้เห็นว่าจิ้งจกอาจมีศักยภาพเป็นแหล่งเก็บโรคของเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. นอกจากนี้การศึกษาอาจเป็นประโยขน์ในการป้องกันและควบคุมโรค Trypanosomiasis …

Serological Proteomic Screening And Evaluation Of A Recombinant Egg Antigen For The Diagnosis Of Low-Intensity Schistosoma Mansoni Infections In Endemic Area In Brazil, Vanessa Silva-Moraes, Lisa Marie Shollenberger, William Castro-Borges, Ana Lucia Teles Rabello, Donald A. Harn, Lia Carolina Soares Medeiros, Wander De Jesus Jeremias, Liliane Maria Vidal Siqueira, Caroline Stephane Salviano Pereira, Maria Luysa Camargos Pedrosa, Nathalie Bonatti Franco Almeida, Aureo Almeida, Jose Roberto Lambertucci, Nidia Francisca De Figueiredo Carneiro, Paulo Marcos Zech Coelho, Refaella Fortini Queiroz Grenfell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Despite decades of use of control programs, schistosomiasis remains a global public health problem. To further reduce prevalence and intensity of infection, or to achieve the goal of elimination in low-endemic areas, there needs to be better diagnostic tools to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas in Brazil. The rationale for development of new diagnostic tools is that the current standard test Kato-Katz (KK) is not sensitive enough to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas. In order to develop new diagnostic tools, we employed a proteomics approach to identify biomarkers associated with schistosome-specific immune responses in hopes of developing …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Cardiorespiratory Fitness Among People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Throughout The Life Span, Allison R. Webel, Joseph Perazzo, J. Craig Phillips, Kathleen M. Nokes, Cynthia Rentrope, Rebecca Schnall, Rita Musanti, Kimberly Adams Tufts, Elizabeth Sefcik, Mary Jane Hamilton, Carmen Portillo, Puangtip Chaiphibalsarisdi, Penelope Orton, Liana Davis, Carol Dawson Rose

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in PLHIV are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to describe physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness by sex and age and to examine the association between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in PLHIV, controlling for covariates.

METHODS: Seven hundred two PLHIV participated in a cross-sectional study and completed validated measures of self-reported physical activity (7-day Physical Activity Recall) and cardiorespiratory fitness (6-minute walk test). Participants were recruited from 7 diverse sites in the United …

Role Of Sarm1 In Chronic Immune-Mediated Central Nervous System Inflammation, Kenneth E. Viar Ii

Theses and Dissertations

SARM1 is an injury-induced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide nucleosidase (NADase) that was previously shown to promote axonal degeneration in response to traumatic, toxic, and excitotoxic stressors. This raises the question of whether a SARM1-dependent program of axonal degeneration is central to a common pathway contributing to disease burden in neurological disorders. The degree to and mechanism by which SARM1 inactivation decreases the pathophysiology of such disorders is of interest to establish the rationale to pursue SARM1 as a therapeutic target. In this study, we compare the course and pathology of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Sarm1-knockout (KO) mice and wild-type …

Long-Term Effects Of Notch1 Signaling On Neural Stem Cells Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Cruz Sevilla Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a devastating problem which stands as a leading cause of death and disability. The elderly is significantly affected by TBI, typically as the result of falls, and recovery is especially limited. This, in part, is associated with decreased tissue-specific stem cell regeneration and replacement of damaged cells in the aged brain. The diminished ability of the aged brain to recover is especially devastating after TBI, likely leading to permanent loss of sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. Studies have shown that the mature mammalian brain contains Neural Stem Cells (NSCs), found in specific regions of the …

2nd Tier Assay For The Detection Of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia By Virginia’S Newborn Screening Laboratory: Steroid Profile By Hplc-Ms/Ms, Christopher E. Nixon

Theses and Dissertations

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) encompasses several disorders related to disruptions in the adrenal steroid production pathway. These disruptions may cause virilization of the external female sex organs, incorrect gender assignment, precocious puberty, and in the most severe form, may cause life-threatening salt wasting and adrenal crisis if not detected and treated early in the newborn period.

17α-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) is the primary target for immunofluorescence detection of CAH from dried blood spots in newborn screening (NBS). Unfortunately, current immunoassay techniques for the detection of CAH suffer from high false positive rates. The primary factors contributing to false positive determinations can include …