Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Morbidity & Mortality Of Prevalent Heart Failure, Jennifer Kwon

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The first study population included 292 unselected consecutive patients from the LLUMC heart failure clinic who were enrolled in the study from January to July 2006 and were followed up through the end of December 2010. The treatment policy at the clinic was to uptitrate dosages of beta-adrenergic blockade (β-blockers), angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) to the most tolerable levels in order to reach target dosages, as recommended by the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA). Patients were classified into systolic heart failure (ejection fraction (EF) < 40%) or diastolic heart failure (EF≥40%). All dosages of β-blockers, ACEi and ARB were extracted through chart reviews and were used as the main predictors of the patients' survival. Results from analyses showed that reaching target dosages of β-blockers and ACEi/ARB may increase survival when compared to not reaching target among the systolic HF population (HR_{β_biockers}= 0.64, 95% CI 0.26-1.56 and HR_ACEi/ARB=0.50, …

Relationship Of Vitamin D Levels To Blood Pressure In A Biethnic Cohort, Rosario O. Sakamoto

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Serum hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] has been well-accepted as not an ordinary vitamin but a pro-hormone that has many benefits beyond its well-known effects on bone. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension remain a huge health burden and Blacks have been recognized to have higher prevalence of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite increasing evidence of the benefits of vitamin D on blood pressure control, there is much more to be learned about the relationship of serum 25(OH)D to blood pressure among different ethnicities.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether vitamin D serum 25(OH)D levels were …

The Association Of Maternal Intention To Breastfeed, Early Skin-To-Skin Mother/Infant Contact, And Exclusive Breastfeeding During The Maternity Hospital Stay, Leslie Mary Bramson

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Breastfeeding is the optimal method to nourish and nurture an infant. Exclusive breastfeeding rates in the United States have reached the goal of Healthy People 2010 that 75% of mother's breastfeed in the immediate postpartum period. Yet, less than 35% of San Bernardino county mothers and 47.7% of Riverside county mothers are exclusively breastfeeding during their maternity hospital stays, with as many as 50% of the infants being weaned from the breast in the first 14 days of life.

This prospective study examined archived data collected by Perinatal Services Network (PSN) of Loma Linda University Medical Center/Children's Hospital for the …

The Effect Of Radiation And Repeated Sub-Culturing On Tgf-Β1 Signaling In Frtl-5 Cells, Cheryl G. Burrell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

From our ongoing in vitro studies using the Fisher Rat Thyroid cell line-5 (FRTL-5) we recorded accelerated growth, reduced follicularization and reduction in thyroxin release that occurred as the cells were repeatedly sub-cultured. We also recorded that these changes occurred earlier and more rapidly following radiation exposure. We determined that TGF-β1 production increased under both conditions. We hypothesized that alteration in the TGF-β1 signaling pathway contributed to the changes observed in the cellular properties of FRTL-5 cells. Our objective was to examine some of the players in the TGF-β1 signaling pathway to determine whether radiation and/or repeated subculturing promoted changes …

The Association Between Lifestyle Factors And Inflammatory Markers, Kerry Ann Stonebrook

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. While smoking, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels are established risk factors for CVD, inflammation is being evaluated as a potential independent risk factor. A key cytokine regulator of the inflammatory response, interleukin-1 (IL-1), has emerged as playing a particularly important role at the genetic level in determining the degree to which the inflammation pathway is turned on. How an individual’s genetic make-up affects inflammation, CVD risk, and response to lifestyle intervention is an area of research that is in …

Il-10 And Alveolar Bone Loss, Abdulaziz Saud Al-Rasheed

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a cytokine with anti-inflammatory activities. IL-10 knockout (KO) mice exhibit severe intestinal inflammation in the presence of normal gut flora. We hypothesized that IL-10 KO mice would also be susceptible to inflammatory periodontal disease resulting in alveolar bone loss (ABL). The purpose of this study was to compare naturally occurring ABL in IL-10 KO and wild type (WT) mice. Twelve IL-10 KO and 12 WT mice, age-(7 months) and sex-(male) matched, were used. Half of the mice were on 129/SvEv and half on C57BL/6J background. Animal heads were defleshed and treated to remove all organic material. ABL …

Localization Of Sodium, Potassium-Adenosine Triphosphatase In The Cerebral Cortex Of Developing Rats, Maki Ujiie

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Active transport via Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase plays an important role in establishing and maintaining proper ionic gradient across all mammalian cell membranes. A strict regulation of Na⁺, and K⁺ ion levels is especially important in excitable cells such as neurons and myocytes. Inhibition of the enzyme is associated with several pathological conditions and has serious detrimental effects on cerebral cortical cells. Yet the enzyme appears to be limited in amount and distribution in newborn rats. In this study, Na_⁺, K⁺- ATPase expression and distribution in early postnatal rats were studied …

Effect Of Photoperiod On Developmental Morphology And Enolase Isoenzyme Immunohistochemistry In Rat And Djungarian Hamster Superficial Pineal Glands, Chalmer D. Mcclure

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The best understood functional activity of the pineal gland is its diurnal production of melatonin in response to environmental lighting cues. Several enzymes of the melatonin pathway respond to daily photoperiod changes, for example hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) and serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT). Increased levels of the glycolytic enzyme neuron-specific enolase (NSE) are thought to reflect increased physiological demands placed on neurons and neuroendocrine tissues. Homodimer non-neuronal enolase isoenzyme (NNE) is immunolocalized to cells, and the hybrid enolase (consisting of subunits from NSE and NNE) has been seen in cerebellar stellate and basket cells. Although not rate limiting, concentrations of both NSE and …

Decreased Triiodothyronine Binding To The Hepatic Nuclear Thyroid Hormone Receptor In The Diabetic Mouse, Thomas J. Dewind

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db m mouse has abnormal thyroid hormone levels and indications of thyroid hormone resistance. To investigate the basis of these abnormalities, the hepatic nuclear thyroid hormone receptor was extracted with 0.4 M KCl, 1.1 mM MgCl₂, 20 mM Tris/HCl, pH 7.9 from hepatocyte nuclei of normal C57BL/KsJ, heterozygous C57BL/KsJ-db m (db/m), and diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db m (db/db) mice. Normal and heterozygous mice were grouped together as the controls. Triiodothyronine (T₃) binding studies at 4°C using nitrocellulose filtration to separate free T₃ from receptor bound T₃ demonstrated an …

The Effect Of Dietary Fat Level On Tumor Development And Immunity In Balb/C Mice Fed Casein Of Wheat Gluten As Protein And Challenged With Herpes Type 2-Transformed Cells, Helen Drakou

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A high percentage of fat in the diet has been implicated through epidemiological studies in several human cancers. Studies in experimental animals have produced evidence that increasing the fat in the diet decreases the animal’s ability to restrict tumor development and growth. In previous work done in this laboratory with BALB/c mice injected with herpes simplex Type 2-transformed mouse cells (H238), the effects of a diet which greatly enhanced tumor growth was compared with one which restricted tumor growth. The latter, a low (5%) fat, low protein diet, in which the protein was casein, was also found to produce a …

The Effect Of Dietary Alpha - Linolenic Acid On Apparent Risk Factors Of Cardiovascular Disease, Kelvin D. Lindbeck

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Eight healthy male lacto-ovo-vegetarian subjects averaging 28.0 ± 3.6 years of age (22 to 53 years) were fed a diet rich in α-linolenic acid (18:3 ω 3) for four weeks. Arterial blood pressure and body weight were recorded each week. Plasma 6-keto-prostaglandin F_1α (6-keto- PGF_1α ), thromboxane B₂ (TXB₂), total cholesterol, triglyceride, and total phospholipid fatty acid composition were analyzed at 0, 2 and 4 weeks.

Systolic blood pressure increased significantly between weeks 0 and 1 (106.5 ± 2.7 mmHg to 114.0 ± 3.7 mmHg; p < 0.003), but decreased to 107.3 t 2.6 mrHg (p < 0.02) at week 2. There was an insignificant increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures after four weeks. There was no significant change in either total cholesterol or triglyceride levels during the four weeks.

Plasma 6-keto-PGF_1α levels increased significantly from 60.13 ± …

Conformational Analysis Of Nonsteroidal Estrogen Analogs, Robert N. Spady

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In target tissue, estrogens initiate a series of events, ending in protein synthesis, by binding to a cytoplasmic receptor. Once the estrogen binds, the receptor complex is activated--a process including dimerization of the estrogen complex with another subunit. In order to study the possible receptor-ligand interactions, conformational analysis was performed on several nonsteroidal estrogen analogs, using the CAMSEQ8 molecular mechanics program.

The probability that a molecule will exist in a given conformational energy well depends both on the energy and the shape of the well. A method has been previously worked out to calculate probabilities using both of these variables, …

The Effect Of Hypercholesterolemia On The Membrane Lipids, 3-0-[¹⁴C] Methylglucose Transport, And 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate Levels In Rat Erythrocytes, Edwin J. Lester Jr.

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

An increase in dietary cholesterol and cholic acid will produce hypercholesterolemia in rats. For ten months, two groups of rats (six in each group) were fed commercial rat pellets (control group) or rat pellets plus cholesterol (1%) and cholic acid (0.25%) (experimental group). A blood sample from each animal was divided into three aliquots for three separate experiments on the erythrocytes: a membrane cholesterol and phospholipid determination, a 3-0-[¹⁴C] methylglucose (30MG) transport determination, and a 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3 DPG) determination. The 30MG transport and 2,3 DPG aliquots were each incubated in the same five concentrations of 30MG and glucose …

A Study Of The Effect Of Varying Serum Phenylalanine Levels On Changes In Intelligence Quotient, Darlene Imai Manullang

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Data from thirty medical records of phenylketonuric children under treatment were investigated to determine at which serum phenylalanine level (0-3.9 mg. %, 4-7.9 mg %, 8-11.9 mg. %, greater than 12 mg. %) there would be the greatest increase in intelligence. The children involved in the study were divided into the following groups according to the age dietary treatment was initiated: 0 through 5 months, 6 through 11 months, 12 through 23 months, and over 2 years of age.

Among 6 patients who were placed on the diet during the first 5 months of life, it appears that the optimal …