Musculoskeletal, Neural, and Ocular Physiology Commons^™

The Gsk-3Β-Fbxl21 Axis Regulates Tcap Via Ubiquitin-Mediated Proteasomal Pathway In The Cytoplasm, Jiah Yang

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Protein turnover is one of the most essential mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms. F-Box and Leucine Rich Repeat Protein21 (FBXL21) is a circadian E3 ligase which shows oscillatory mRNA transcripts and protein levels. It was previously found to perform subcellular compartment-specific E3 ligase activities targeting the core clock proteins CRYPTOCHROME(CRY)1/2. Here we identified a new sarcomeric target substrate, Telethonin(TCAP), which also shows circadian oscillation in its mRNA transcript and protein expression and, importantly, interaction with FBXL21 in an anti-phasic manner. Via computational and pharmacological tests, we identified Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β(GSK-3β) as a regulator of FBXL21. Biochemical and molecular characterizations demonstrated that …

Low Birth Weight And Post-Natal Diet Induced Alterations In Skeletal Muscle Oxygen Consumption And Fiber Type Composition, Megan Cedrone

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adverse in utero and postnatal conditions can increase susceptibility to metabolic syndrome (MS). Altered muscle respiration contributes to MS, but the effects of restricted oxygen and nutrients in utero on skeletal muscle mitochondria remain unknown. In this study guinea pig sows underwent uterine artery ablations mid-gestation, producing fetuses with low birth weight (LBW). Soleus muscle was collected near term or at four months of age, from LBW and control fetuses and offspring, where the offspring were fed either a Western Diet (WD) or a control diet (CD). Soleus muscles from LBW fetuses exhibit lower maximal respiration rates than normal birth …

Modulation Of Inflammation Driven Wound Healing After Glaucoma Surgery, James J. Armstrong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dysregulated wound healing contributes to most currently unanswered ophthalmological morbidity. Opacification and structure altering contractures compromise the delicate ocular anatomy upon which ocular function and healthy vision are reliant. Glaucoma filtration surgery, corneal stromal injury, proliferative vitreoretinopathy and age-related macular degeneration are major contributors to ocular morbidity – all with myofibroblast transdifferentiation and pathognomonic scarring activity at their core.

This thesis aims to revaluate the means by which dysregulated ocular wound healing is combated with evidence describing a novel strategy to mitigate its effects. A translational approach was used. An initial retrospective analysis of over ten thousand glaucoma surgeries found …

Lipoprotein(A) Plasma Levels, Bone Mineral Density And Risk Of Hip Fracture: A Post Hoc Analysis Of The Women's Health Initiative, Usa, Bernhard Haring, Carolyn J. Crandall, Laura Carbone, Simin Liu, Wenjun Li, Karen C. Johnson, Jean Wactawski-Wende, Aladdin H. Shadyab, Margery L. Gass, Victor Kamensky, Jane A. Cauley, Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller

Wenjun Li

OBJECTIVES: Elevated Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its roles in bone metabolism and fracture risk are unclear. We therefore investigated whether plasma Lp(a) levels were associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and incident hip fractures in a large cohort of postmenopausal women.

DESIGN: Post hoc analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), USA.

SETTING: 40 clinical centres in the USA.

PARTICIPANTS: The current analytical cohort consisted of 9698 white, postmenopausal women enrolled in the WHI, a national prospective study investigating determinants of chronic diseases including heart disease, breast and colorectal cancers and …

The Trend Of Osteoporosis And Osteoporotic Fragility Fractures In Inpatients: Results From A National Database., Rashmi Dhital, Theresa Lynn, Niranjan Tachamo, Dilli Ram Poudel

Reading Hospital Internal Medicine Residency

Osteoporosis is associated with an increased risk of pathologic fractures; however, most patients do not receive diagnosis and adequate treatment. The aim of our study was to compare the yearly trends of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fragility fractures in the USA (US) inpatients. We used National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample database to identify adults ≥18 years with diagnoses of osteoporosis and pathologic fractures and excluded pathologic fractures due to other etiologies. We then studied the annual trends, in terms of annual percentage change (APC), of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures. Among overall hospitalizations, osteoporosis was noted to have an increasing trend from 2000 …

System Dynamics To Investigate Opioid Use And Chiropractic Care For Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Marion Mcgregor, Alexandra Nielsen, Chadwick Chung, Mark Fillery, Wayne Wakeland, Silvano Mior

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to create a system dynamics (SD) model, including published data and required assumptions, as a tool for future research identifying the role of chiropractic care in the management of chronic, nonmalignant pain in a Canadian population. Methods: We present an illustrative case description of how we evaluated the feasibility of conducting a large-scale clinical trial to assess the impact of chiropractic care in mitigating excessive opioid use in Canada. We applied SD modeling using current evidence and key assumptions where such evidence was lacking. Modeling outcomes were highlighted to determine which potential …

Determining The Prevalence Of Injuries, Musculoskeletal Symptoms, And Stressors In Athletic Training Students, Brett Frazier

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Athletic training is one of the youngest and most rapidly growing professions in the medical field. One of the most prevalent problems with this young profession is the lack of information in the literature about injury, illness, and symptom reporting throughout the course of their career. The purpose of this study was to determine the self-reported prevalence of clinical-related injury, and musculoskeletal disorders/dysfunctions in current athletic training students. I hypothesized that the low back, neck, hand, and knee would be the most frequently affected body areas. Athletic training students from the University of Arkansas were recruited to take this survey. …

Comparative Plasma Proteomics In Muscle Atrophy Induced By Cancer Cachexia And Hindlimb Unloading, Kirsten Rene Dunlap

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Muscle atrophy results from a dysfunction in protein turnover that leads to loss of mass and function and occurs concurrently with multiple pathologies such as cancer and extended bed rest. Atrophy reduces overall quality of life while increasing morbidity and mortality. Currently, efficacious therapeutic interventions to treat and prevent muscle wasting in all its forms are lacking, however if conserved mechanisms can be identified between wasting conditions, this would aid in the development of multipurpose therapeutics to ameliorate this pathology. Purpose: To examine circulating factors present across atrophic pathologies. Methods: 35 male C57BL/6J mice were assigned to hindlimb unloading …

Seeing Eye To Eye: A Machine Learning Approach To Automated Saccade Analysis, Maigh Attre

Honors Scholar Theses

Abnormal ocular motility is a common manifestation of many underlying pathologies particularly those that are neurological. Dynamics of saccades, when the eye rapidly changes its point of fixation, have been characterized for many neurological disorders including concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and Parkinson’s disease. However, widespread saccade analysis for diagnostic and research purposes requires the recognition of certain eye movement parameters. Key information such as velocity and duration must be determined from data based on a wide set of patients’ characteristics that may range in eye shapes and iris, hair and skin pigmentation [36]. Previous work on saccade analysis has …

The Effect Of Glucosamine, Chondroitin And Harpagophytum Procumbens On Femoral Hyaline Cartilage Thickness In Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis– An Mri Versus Ultrasonography Study, Florentin Ananu Vreju, Paulina Lucia Ciurea, Anca Rosu, Beatrice Andreea Chisalau, Cristina Dorina Parvanescu, Sineta Cristina Firulescu, Adina Turcu Stiolica, Andreea Lili Barbulescu, Stefan Cristian Dinescu, Cristiana Iulia Dumitrescu, Roxana Mihaela Dumitrascu, Cristina Criveanu, Lucretiu Radu, Mihai Tusaliu, Daniela Dumitrescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Background: the evaluation of cartilage thickness has become possible with new techniques such as musculoskeletal ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imagining (MRI), making the evaluation of the treatment response and the progression of the disease more accurate. Objective: to evaluate the efficacy of a Symptomatic Slow Acting Drug for Osteoarthritis using both US and MRI for measuring cartilage thickness at baseline and after 1 year. Methods: The study included the clinical evaluation of 20 patients at baseline, at 6 and 12 months as well as imaging exams (US and MRI) at baseline and after 1 year. Measurements …

Serum Markers Of Bone Fragility In Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus, Rucsandra Dănciulescu Miulescu, Loreta Guja, Lavinia Claudia Ochiana, Anca Ungurianu, Oana Cristina Șeremet, Emil Ștefănescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have normal or increased bone mineral density (BMD) but despite that, they are characterized by an increased hip and vertebral fracture risk that involves the alteration of bone quality and not the reduction in bone mass. BMD is utilized for the diagnosis and evaluation of osteoporosis, but BMD itself cannot provide an accurate diagnosis of the individuals at increased risk of fracture and, therefore, studies have focused on identifying other risk factors that are partially or fully independent of BMD.

The fracture risk score tool-FRAX® models provide information about a 10-year probability of osteoporotic …

Fluorometholone Modulates Gene Expression Of Ocular Surface Mucins, Jonathan Taniguchi, Ajay Sharma

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Mucins are vital to keep the ocular surface hydrated. Genes encoding for mucins contain a glucocorticoid response element. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of fluorometholone, a glucocorticoid receptor agonist used in the management of dry eye, on the gene expression of conjunctival and corneal epithelial cell mucins.

Methods

Stratified cultures of human conjunctival and corneal epithelial cells were exposed to 25, 50 and 100 nM of fluorometholone alone or in presence of mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. The mRNA was isolated from the cells and reverse transcribed to cDNA. The cDNA was used for …

Nutrient Excess And Ampk Downregulation In Incubated Skeletal Muscle And Muscle Of Glucose Infused Rats, Kimberly A. Coughlan, Thomas W. Balon, Rudy J. Valentine, Robert Petrocelli, Vera Schultz, Amana Brandon, Gregory J. Cooney, Edward W. Kraegen, Neil B. Ruderman, Asish K. Saha

Rudy Valentine

We have previously shown that incubation for 1h with excess glucose or leucine causes insulin resistance in rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle by inhibiting AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). To examine the events that precede and follow these changes, studies were performed in rat EDL incubated with elevated levels of glucose or leucine for 30min-2h. Incubation in high glucose (25mM) or leucine (100μM) significantly diminished AMPK activity by 50% within 30min, with further decreases occurring at 1 and 2h. The initial decrease in activity at 30min coincided with a significant increase in muscle glycogen. The subsequent decreases at 1h were …

The Energy Paradox Of The Ankle-Foot Complex During Human Walking, Nikolaos Papachatzis, Kota Takahashi

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) is a multiarticular muscle that possesses the potential to alter foot’s functional and mechanical behavior, since it performs multiple significant functions during walking (e.g supports the medial longitudinal arch of the foot).The purpose of this study was to determine if the functional changes of the FHL are associated with the foot’s adaptations to the mechanical demands of walking. Backward walking is an experimental method capable of altering how the forces propagate underneath the foot and disrupting the mechanical function of the FHL muscle. We hypothesized that: (1) the muscle activity of the FHL will increase during …

Language Of Music And Its Psychophysical Foundations, Marina Korsakova-Kreyn

Lander College for Women - The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School Publications and Research

Application of music in rehabilitation medicine requires an understanding of the mechanisms of music perception. This article discusses differences in character of the basic melodic elements and addresses some of the specifics of tonal space. Colloquially, music is called the language of emotion. Bearing in mind that high-level cognitive functioning in humans is inseparable from affective consciousness, investigating the mechanisms of emotional processing belongs to an important area of cognitive sciences. Studying music perception can help to advance methods of music therapy and to elucidate major aspects of human consciousness.

Measurement Precision And Reliability Of Supraspinatus Tendon Strain Using Speckle Track Analysis Of Ultrasound Images, Gregory Alan Mcclanahan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: Ultrasound speckle tracking is an emergent method in studying musculoskeletal physiology and disease. For a method to be effective and useful, it needs to be precise and reliable. The precision and reliability of supraspinatus tendon strain measurements have not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the precision and reliability of speckle tracking to measure supraspinatus tendon strain.

Methods: Forty-two (42) participants participated in this study. Five (5) ultrasound images of the participant’s right shoulder supraspinatus tendon were collected during a maximal voluntary isometric abduction contraction. Cine loop video files of the 5 imaging trials …

Current Source Density Approaches Improve Spatial Resolution In Event Related Potential Analysis In People With Parkinson's Disease, Conor Fearon, John Butler, Saskia M. Waechter, Isabelle Killane, Richard B. Reilly, Timothy Lynch

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Arch Height On Variances In Gait Phases: A Kinematic Analysis, Mackenzie J. Haag

Honors Program Theses

Millions of individuals suffer from pain or injury as a result of structural abnormalities of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot and/or improper footwear. A majority of the research on abnormalities of the medial longitudinal arch is focused on how the arch alters foot kinematics during gait but does not ask how abnormalities may contribute to deviations in knee kinematics as well. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of foot arch types on deviations in healthy biomechanical gait in addition to the implications of orthotics in order to ultimately aid in the decrease of arch-attributed …

Changes In Muscle Size, Quality And Power Are Related To Physical Function In Patients With Critical Illness, Kirby Mayer

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) are known to develop significant impairments in physical function. Patients with critical illness suffer up to 30% reductions in muscle size within the first ten days of admission to the ICU. Muscle strength testing, Medical Research Council-sum score, is current gold-standard to diagnosis ICU-acquired weakness and predicts risk of mortality and long-term physical function. Muscle power different from muscle strength in that it accounts for velocity of movement, is potentially a better independent predictor of function that has not been studied in this population. In addition, we hypothesize that muscle size and quality …

Effects Of Heat Stress And Exercise On Shooting Performance, Patrick R. Lindecker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise and acute heat stress on marksmanship performance measures of accuracy, precision, aim time, and distance travelled by the point of aim in trained US military veterans. Methods: Subjects (N=8) (height 184.1 ± 10.9 cm (SD), weight 92.1 ± 10.6 kg, 21.1 ± 8.9% body fat, VO_2max 47.25 ± 7.36 mL/kg/min, age 26.8 ± 4.3 yrs.) completed one-hour of walking at 50% VO_2max in a hot (35˚C, 30% maximal relative humidity) or cool (22˚C, 30% maximal relative humidity) environment. Core temperature, heart …