Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

The Ancient Remedy For Modern Ailments: Analysis Of Manual, Laser, And Electro-Acupuncture Therapy Usage On Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Yue Chen, Austin J. Wong, Alexander King

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In the United States, while acupuncture is still primarily used as a complementary therapy, consumer interest and usage are steadily increasing. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a condition where the median nerve is compressed in the wrist, can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness in fingers, and thus impaired hand function, possessing significant burdens to patients suffering from this chronic disease. Multiple acupuncture applications exist such as electroacupuncture, auricular acupuncture, laser acupuncture, moxibustion, and acupressure; very few comprehensive studies have been done in comparing their effectiveness in treating CTS.

In this study, we aim to conduct a literature review with the primary …

The Effectiveness Of Ras Treatment In Improving Gait Patterns In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease: A Literature Review, Vivian Huang, Andrea Hunt, Alicia Chopyk

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder involving the loss of dopaminergic neurons leading to symptoms such as tremor and gait disturbance. This results in the classic shuffling gait: stooped posture, variation in stride length, variation in cadence, reduced gait velocity, inability to maintain a steady rhythm, and an increased fear of falling. This study’s objective is to review the current literature on the use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS)Ⓡ as a treatment option for PD. Previous research has looked at RASⓇ as a potential non-pharmacologic treatment because researchers hypothesize that listening to music produces an external rhythm that the …

Ultrasound-Guided Vs. Fluoroscopy Guided Steroid Injection For Lumbar Spine Pain On Functional And Pain Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Yashas Sattur, Akash Patel, Alec Birnbaum, Athena Nomula

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Fluoroscopy-guided steroid injections are standard for lumbar spine pain but involve radiation. Ultrasound offers a safer, radiation-free alternative. Ultrasound-guided injections are non-inferior in improving pain and function. A systematic review of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted. Studies in adults comparing ultrasound and fluoroscopy-guided injections reporting VAS, NRS, or ODI were included. Fifteen studies showed both techniques significantly improved pain and function, with no consistent superiority. Ultrasound-guided injections are effective and safe, providing comparable outcomes to fluoroscopy while eliminating radiation exposure.

Case Report: Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension With Venous Sinus Stenosis In A Young Female, Zain Raza

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report a case of a 19-year-old female who presented with transient, painless left eye vision loss and left-sided headache for 2 weeks. The patient, a known carrier of TTN mutation, which is a gene code for titin (mutations are inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern). The patient was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension secondary to bilateral transverse sigmoid venous sinus stenosis. The differential diagnosis included ocular migraine, transient ischemic attack) and optic neuritis, but subsequent imaging and lumbar puncture revealed elevated intracranial pressure and significant venous stenosis. This case highlights the importance of an early identification and intervention to …

Case Report: When Confusion Signals A Crisis: Rethinking The Diagnosis Of Meningitis In Geriatric Sepsis, Asma Zahid

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of an 88-year-old female who presented with altered mental status, initially suspected to have urosepsis but ultimately diagnosed with streptococcal meningitis. The patient had a history of lethargy and anorexia over the past few days and was found to have sepsis. Despite initial focus on urosepsis, blood cultures revealed Streptococcus, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis confirmed bacterial meningitis. This case highlights the potential for meningitis to be overlooked in elderly patients with suspected sepsis, underscoring the importance of broad diagnostic considerations and early intervention. This case highlights the importance of considering meningitis in elderly patients presenting with …

Case Report: Todd’S Paralysis In A Patient With An Extensive Stroke History, Thuc Vu, Kishan B. Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Here we present the case of a 70-year-old patient who presented to the emergency department with altered mental status, left-sided gaze preference, left-sided hemineglect, and inability to follow commands. He had a past medical history of seizure activity and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) with residual dysarthria and was on apixaban. His symptoms began after seizure activity and improved gradually. He was ultimately diagnosed by stroke neurology as having had an episode of Todd’s Paralysis. The differential diagnosis for patients for altered mental status with neurological deficits can be vast, but, in general, Todd’s Paralysis can be an ischemic stroke mimic upon …

Out Of The Blue: A Case Of Acute Limb Ischemia In A Healthy Young Woman, Julian Coz, Melanie Angelo

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is a critical condition caused by arterial occlusion, often due to thrombotic or embolic events in atherosclerotic vessels. Early diagnosis and intervention are essential to prevent limb loss and complications. While typically seen in patients with known vascular risk factors, ALI can also affect individuals without them.

We present a case of a 49-year-old female with sudden-onset left foot pain and paresthesia, highlighting the importance of recognizing ALI in seemingly healthy patients. Despite the absence of typical risk factors, imaging revealed significant atherosclerosis and arterial occlusion, leading to the diagnosis of ALI. This case emphasizes the …

Case Report: Spontaneous Aortic Dissection In A 63-Year Old Male Presenting As Left Abdominal, Flank And Back Pain, Dean Austin Esma

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition in which the inner walls of the aorta tears, compromising its ability to supply blood to organs. The classic presentation involves sudden, severe, “tearing” chest pain, but subtle presentations are often overlooked as symptoms of another condition, leading to missed diagnoses. This report presents a case of spontaneous aortic dissection who presented with sudden onset of left upper abdominal pain, left flank and upper back pain while brushing his teeth.

Miller Fisher Variant Of Guillain- Barré Syndrome, Peter Killian, Kishan B. Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We present a case of a man in his 50s who was evaluated in the emergency department for right facial droop, myalgias, and right lower extremity weakness. The patient required multiple interdisciplinary specialists for treatment and diagnosis of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The differential for weakness and facial droop is primarily aimed at ruling out an irreversible neurological cause while investigating a potential infectious etiology. Multiple variants of GBS exist and clinical presentations can vary, including the Miller Fisher Variant. This variant features a unique presentation, affecting the corticobulbar tract, evident with the ptosis commonly seen following a gastrointestinal infection.

Case Report: Pulmonary Infarction Following Recent Pulmonary Embolism, David Marconi, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

A 57-year-old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea, and a recent pulmonary embolism (PE) on anticoagulation presented with acute pleuritic chest pain and worsening dyspnea. Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) of the chest revealed a small distal segmental PE in the left lower lobe and an adjacent irregular consolidation, raising concern for pulmonary infarction versus pneumonia. The patient was empirically started on antibiotics for possible pneumonia and admitted for anticoagulation and supportive care. He left the hospital against medical advice (AMA) before completing treatment, but returned days later with exacerbated symptoms. This case highlights the diagnostic challenge …

Efficacy Of Aprepitant And Ondansetron In Managing Postoperative Nausea And Vomiting In Perioperative Obese Patients, Jada Stewart, Reagan Revon, Samantha Castellaw, Ashlee Roberts, Dwayne Accardo Dnp, Crna, Faana, Bobby Belflower Dnsc, Nnp-Bc, Faanp, Laura Reed Dnp, Fnp-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common adverse event that occurs during the recovery period following anesthesia. PONV has been reported to affect nearly 80% of patients, leading to prolonged hospitalization, increases in cost of care, patient dissatisfaction, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, acute kidney injury, and pulmonary aspiration. Certain risk factors, including obese patients, female gender, and nonsmoker status, increase the risk of PONV. Traditionally, for all patients going under anesthesia, a prophylactic antiemetic regimen is administered; however, since obese and other high-risk patients are at increased risk of experiencing PONV despite traditional regimens, anesthesia providers should administer multiple …

Social Determinants Of Health Screening – Evaluating Its Influence On Glycated Hemoglobin Levels In The Pediatric Population: A Scoping Review, Lindsay Gibson, Victoria Hutchison, Tracy Mcclinton Dnp, Aprn, Agacnp-Bc, Ebp-C, Sally Humphrey Dnp, Aprn, Cpnp-Pc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have a significant impact on health outcomes. Pediatric patients with type one diabetes mellitus (T1DM) with adverse SDOH have inferior glycemic control, higher healthcare utilization, and increased risks of complications. SDOH screenings are not standard practice in pediatric T1DM care despite literature demonstrating that screening can improve outcomes. This scoping review aims to summarize existing evidence surrounding SDOH screenings and their impact on pediatric T1DM outcomes.

Methods

A scoping literature review was conducted from August 2022 to November 2024 via CINAHL, Cochrane, EBSCO, Elsevier, and PubMed. Inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles, English language, publication …

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Exoenzyme Y Enzymatic Activity Inhibits Exoenzyme S-Induced Caspase Activation But Not Cytotoxicity In Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells, Connor Holm

Honors Theses

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is the most common cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care unit patients. P. aeruginosa utilizes a type III secretion system that injects exoenzymes U, S, T, and/or Y into the host cell cytosol. A majority of clinically isolated P. aeruginosa strains express ExoY often in combination with ExoU and ExoT, or ExoS and ExoT. Host signaling mechanisms in response to intoxication with individual exoenzymes have been extensively studied, yet little is known about host cell response to co-intoxication. In this study, pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were infected with P. aeruginosa strains expressing different combinations …

Functional Polymer Nanocomposites By Gas Aggregation Cluster Source And Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition, Torge Hartig, Joschka Paulsen, Jonas Drewes, Asmaa Mohamed, Nasra F. Abdel Fattah, Cedric Hinrichs, Felix Pohl, Stefan Rehders, Ainura Aliyeva, Henning Wieker, Jörg Wiltfang, Salih Veziroglu, Samah A. Loutfy, Oral Cenk Aktas, Alexander Vahl, Thomas Strunskus, Aydin Gülses, Amal Amal, Stefan Schröder, Franz Faupel

Nanotechnology Research Centre

Functional metal-polymer nanocomposites are required for highly tailored surface properties and coatings. However, past approaches like cosputtering, physical evaporation, or plasma polymerization can not retain the functionality of the polymer matrix or produce tailored nanoparticles. A new kind of codeposition of nanocomposite polymer thin films is presented via the combination of a gas aggregation cluster source (GAS) and initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) in a common GAS+iCVD vacuum system. iCVD delivers ultraprecise and defect-free polymer thin films on the nanoscale while a GAS creates nanoparticles that form in the gas phase and can be tuned in size and composition. Using …

Assessing Sleep Quality In A Preclinical Model Of Low Back Pain Through Novel Noninvasive Methods, Lydia C. Saltz

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Chronic low back pain (LBP) has widespread negative impacts on quality of life. Current treatments for chronic LBP fail to provide long-term efficacy and motivate the need to understand key drivers of poor patient outcomes. Mounting evidence indicates that sleep disturbances and chronic LBP have a strong reciprocal relationship. Women may be particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of the sleep-pain axis, exhibiting greater prevalence in both conditions. However, the relationship between sleep, pain, and sex remains understudied. Preclinical models can be used to parse out characteristic sleep features that degrade with pain, which can be further broken out by …

Mechanistic Investigation Of Ring-Opening Polymerization Of Polycaprolactone Using Tin(Ii) Catalysts: Ligand Effects And Biomedical Applications, Eva-Larue M. Barber

Honors Scholar Theses

This research explores the mechanistic aspects of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) to produce polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polymer widely used in biomedical applications. The study investigates how light exposure and catalyst concentration influence polymerization efficiency, using tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate [Sn(Oct)₂] as the catalyst in a non-polar toluene solvent at 90 °C. Reactions were conducted under either ambient light or black light bulb (BLB) illumination, with monomer-to-catalyst ratios of 1:1 and 200:1.

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy was used to analyze conversion efficiency by tracking the disappearance of monomer signals and appearance of characteristic PCL peaks. Results revealed …

Efficacy Of Single Joystick-Operated Ride-On-Toy Navigation Training Program To Promote Increased Spontaneous Use And Motor Function In The Affected Arm In Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy, Neha Samuel

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess the adjunctive effects of a home-based single joystick-operated ride-on-toy navigation program to conventional care on affected upper extremity (UE) use and motor function in children with hemiplegia. Wrist-worn accelerometers were worn by children on both their affected and unaffected extremities at baseline (i.e., prior to start of the training program) and during ride-on toy training sessions to measure affected and unaffected arm activity, resulting in measurements of percent duration of time in every session that children engaged in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) using their affected and unaffected arms at baseline …

Developing A Small Molecule To Inhibit Hsf1 Expression In Cancer And Evaluating Natural Genetic Variation In Small Molecule Toxicity., Michaela Kendal Foley

Theses and Dissertations

Each year cancer affects nearly 20 million people worldwide and genetic differences across populations can impact cancer onset and progression. Specifically, tumors with high levels of HSF1, the master regulator of the cytoprotective heat shock response (HSR), are correlated with poor patient outcomes in multiple cancers such as prostate, breast, and melanoma. Subsequently, the development of pharmacological inhibitors of HSF1 represents a promising strategy for anticancer therapeutics. Using a luciferase-based transcriptional reporter, two small molecule libraries were screened for inhibitors of HSF1 expression in human embryonic kidney cells, yielding ten compounds that decrease HSF1 expression. To identify if cancer lines …

The Role Of Ucp2 In Pancreatic Cancer Metabolism And Its Potential As A Radiosensitizer, Emily Rieff

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is a mitochondrial protein that regulates the flow of protons down the gradient established by the electron transport chain (ETC) without generating ATP, thus uncoupling the proton gradient from ATP generation. In tumors, specifically pancreatic cancer (PDAC), the ETC is highly stimulated to generate the copious ATP needed by the tumor to grow. However, extended ETC use increases reactive oxygen species (ROS), and if left unchecked, results in cell death. To evade this, PDAC employs antioxidant strategies, including upregulating UCP2 in tumor cells. In addition to its uncoupling function, UCP2 indirectly controls ROS levels by maintaining …

Normative Variability In Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness: Does It Matter Where The Peaks Are?, Sowjanya Gowrisankaran, Ashkan Abbasi, Xubo Song, Joel Schuman, Gadi Wollstein, Bhavna Antony, Hiroshi Ishikawa

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), a glaucoma biomarker, has a wide normative range affecting its sensitivity and specificity for abnormality detection. The interindividual RNFLT peak location variability contribution to this wide normative range has not been directly evaluated. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of RNFLT peak normalization (PN) on normative variability.

METHODS: Circumpapillary RNFLT profiles at 1.7 mm radius from the optic nerve head (ONH) were re-sampled from optical coherence tomography (OCT) volumes (Cirrus HD-OCT, 200 × 200) obtained from one eye of 83 healthy individuals. Fovea-ONH axis (FOA) was calculated from corresponding …