Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Possible Bite-Induced Abscess And Osteomyelitis In Lufengosaurus (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorph) From The Lower Jurassic Of The Yimen Basin, China, Lida Xing, Bruce M. Rothschild, Patrick S. Randolph-Quinney, Yi Wang, Alexander H. Parkinson, Hao Ran

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We report an osseous abnormality on a specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Lufengosaurus huenei from the Fengjiahe Formation in Yuxi Basin, China. A gross pathological defect occurs on the right third rib, which was subjected to micro-computed tomographic imaging as an aid in diagnosis. The analysis of pathological characteristics and the shape of the abnormality is incompatible with impact or healed trauma, such as a common rib fracture, and instead suggests focal penetration of the rib, possibly due to a failed predator attack. The identification of characteristics based on gross morphology and internal micro-morphology presented by the specimen, suggests an …

Brief Report: Exercise And Blood Pressure In Older Adults—An Updated Look, George A. Kelley, Kristi S. Kelley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background/Objectives. Raised blood pressure is a major problem in older adults. Using a random-effects model, a recent meta- analysis reported statistically significant reductions in both resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) as a result of aerobic, resistance, and combined aerobic and resistance exercise in adults ≥65 years. To provide more objective information regarding this nonpharmacologic approach, this study applied more robust methods to this data. Design. Meta-analysis of 41 randomized controlled trials representing 96 groups (52 exercise; 44 control). Setting. Any location where a randomized controlled trial could be conducted. Participants. Adults ≥65 years. Intervention. Trials …

Brief Report: Exercise And Anxiety In Adults With Arthritis And Other Rheumatic Diseases: Support For Evidential Value, George A. Kelley, Kristi S. Kelley, Leigh F. Callahan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objective. Given the high prevalence of anxiety in adults with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases (AORD) and the subsequent need for interventions to reduce anxiety, this brief report sought to determine if evidential value exists to support the role of exercise for reducing anxiety in adults with AORD. Methods. Utilizing data from a prior meta-analysis, a recently developed approach, P- curve, was used to determine evidential value by assessing for publication bias and p-hacking. Binomial tests as well as the more robust Stouffer’s test were used to examine for evidential value. To examine the influence of selected studies on p-curve …

Effects Of Mantra Meditation Versus Music Listening On Knee Pain, Function, And Related Outcomes In Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: An Exploratory Randomized Clinical Trial (Rct), Kim Innes, Terry Kit Selfe, Sahiti Kandati, Sijin Wen, Zenzi Huysmans

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objective. Disease-modifying treatments for OA remain elusive, and commonly used medications can have serious side effects. Although meditation and music listening (ML) have been shown to improve outcomes in certain chronic pain populations, research in OA is sparse. In this pilot RCT, we explore the effects of two mind-body practices, mantra meditation (MM) and ML, on knee pain, function, and related outcomes in adults with knee OA. Methods. Twenty-two older ambulatory adults diagnosed with knee OA were randomized to a MM (N=11) or ML program (N=11) and asked to practice 15-20 minutes, twice daily for 8 weeks. Core outcomes included …

Three-Dimensional Imaging Of Kndy Neurons In The Mammalian Brain Using Optical Tissue Clearing And Multiple-Label Immunocytochemistry, Aleisha M. Moore, Kathryn A. Lucas, Robert L. Goodman, Lique M. Coolen, Michael N. Lehman

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Kisspeptin/Neurokinin B/Dynorphin (KNDy) neurons of the arcuate nucleus (ARC) play a key role in the regulation of fertility. The ability to detect features of KNDy neurons that are essential for fertility may require three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the complete population. Recently developed protocols for optical tissue clearing permits 3D imaging of neuronal populations in un-sectioned brains. However, these techniques have largely been described in the mouse brain. We report 3D imaging of the KNDy cell population in the whole rat brain and sheep hypothalamus using immunolabelling and modification of a solvent-based clearing protocol, iDISCO. This study expands the use of …

Macrophage Sensing Of Single- Walled Carbon Nanotubes Via Toll- Like Receptors, Sourav P. Mukherjee, Olesja Bondarenko, Pekka Kohonen, Fernando T. Andon, Tana Brzicova, Isabel Gessner, Sanjay Mathur, Massimo Bottini, Paolo Calligari, Lorenzo Stella, Elena Kisin, Anna Shvedova, Reija Autio, Heli Salminen-Mankonen, Ritta Lahesmaa, Bengt Fadeel

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Carbon-based nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been shown to trigger

inflammation. However, how these materials are ‘sensed’ by immune cells is not known. Here we compared the effects of two carbon-based nanomaterials, single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO), on primary human monocyte-derived macrophages. Genome-wide transcriptomics assessment was performed at sub-cytotoxic doses. Pathway analysis of the microarray data revealed pronounced effects on chemokine-encoding genes in macrophages exposed to SWCNTs, but not in response to GO, and these results were validated by multiplex array-based cytokine and chemokine profiling. Conditioned medium from SWCNT-exposed cells acted as a chemoattractant for dendritic cells. …

Perfluoroalkyl Substances And Kidney Function In Chronic Kidney Disease, Anemia, And Diabetes, Baqiyyah N. Conway, Ashley N. Badders, Tina Costacou, John M. Arthur, Kim E. Innes

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Anemia often complicates chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to insufficient tissue oxygenation and hypoxic injury, the factor thought to underlie progression from CKD to renal failure. Perfluorocarbons are potent oxygen transporters used in organ preservation and synthetic blood development. Data are scarce on their relationship with kidney function, especially in diabetes where anemia and hypoxia are more prevalent. We investigated the relationship of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) with kidney function and variation by diabetes and anemia status.

Methods: Data on 53,650 adults (5,210 with diabetes) were obtained from the C8 Health Project. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration …

Microrna Expression Patterns In Human Anterior Cingulate And Motor Cortex: A Study Of Dementia With Lewy Bodies Cases And Controls, Peter T. Nelson, Wang-Xia Wang, Sarah A. Janse, Katherine L. Thompson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Overview

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we evaluated the expression of miRNAs in anterior cingulate (AC; Brodmann area [BA] 24) and primary motor (MO; BA 4) cortical tissue from aged human brains in the University of Kentucky AD Center autopsy cohort, with a focus on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Methods

RNA was isolated from gray matter of brain samples with pathology-defined DLB, AD, AD+DLB, and low-pathology controls, with n=52 cases initially included (n=23 with DLB), all with low (<4hrs) postmortem intervals. RNA was profiled using Exiqon miRNA microarrays. Quantitative PCR for post-hoc replication was performed on separate cases (n=6 controls) and included RNA isolated from gray matter of MO, AC, primary somatosensory (BA 3), and dorsolateral prefrontal (BA 9) cortical regions.

Results

The miRNA expression patterns differed substantially according to …

Using Prescription Drug Monitoring Data To Inform Population Level Analysis Of Opioid Analgesic Utilization, Huong T. T. Luu

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Increased opioid analgesic (OA) prescribing has been associated with increased risk of prescription opioid diversion, misuse, and abuse. States established prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to collect and analyze electronic records for dispensed controlled substances to reduce prescription drug abuse and diversion. PDMP data can be used by prescribers for tracking patient’s history of controlled substance prescribing to inform clinical decisions.

The studies in this dissertation are focused on the less utilized potential of the PDMP data to enhance public health surveillance to monitor OA prescribing and co-prescribing and association with opioid overdose mortality and morbidity. Longitudinal analysis of OA …

Strategies For Applying Electronic Health Records To Achieve Cost Saving Benefits, Daniel Kanyi Ngunyu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 authorized the distribution of about $30 billion incentive funds to accelerate electronic health record (EHR) applications to improve the quality of care, safety, privacy, care coordination, and patients' involvement in healthcare. EHR use has the potential of saving $731 in costs for hospitals per patient admission; however, most hospitals are not applying EHR to reach the level at which cost savings are possible. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that IT leaders in hospitals can use to apply EHR to achieve the cost saving benefits. The …

Waste Management Minimization Strategies In Hospitals, Andrea L. Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the delivery of healthcare services, hospital employees use enormous amounts of water, energy, and nonbiodegradable carcinogenic plastics. In the U.S., hospital staff generate an average of over 7,000 tons of waste per day at an average cost of $0.28 per pound for the disposal of regulated medical trash, which if efficiently managed or reduced, could result in substantial cost savings. Using the organizational learning and the transaction cost economics theories as the conceptual frameworks, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies healthcare leaders used to minimize their waste management operational costs. Data were collected using …

The Effect Of Mismatch Primers On The Efficiency Of Amplification In Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reactions, Molly C. Dawkins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method used in many research protocols to amplify a small amount of a short segment of DNA to millions of copies. PCR is used for many taxonomic studies, as well as for some medical diagnostic procedures. Through PCR, short DNA primers bind to the template DNA to allow the thermostable DNA polymerase to copy the DNA. Often, researchers create universal primers to target a conserved region of DNA in multiple species, for example, the 16S rRNA gene in bacteria. The problem with these universal primers is that they do not always perfectly match the …

The Forensic Characterization Of Bacterial And Fungal Organisms In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Julia Grzymkowski, Christopher J. Ehrhardt, Justin L. Poklis, Michelle R. Peace

Undergraduate Research Posters

There has been an increase in use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the United States because they are less expensive and believed to be more effective with less adverse effects in comparison to traditional pharmaceutics. Therefore, sales have increased in the US, despite articles and case studies demonstrating the dangers, such as injury and death, related to TCM, stemming from improper labelling, toxic contaminants, and, in some cases, the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The aim of this study was to perform a survival experiment to demonstrate the importance of proper herbal brewing technique and to conduct a molecular and …

Examining The Issue Of Compliance With Personal Protective Equipment Among Wastewater Workers Across The Southeast Region Of The United States, Tamara L. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater workers are exposed to different occupational hazards such as chemicals, gases, viruses, and bacteria. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a significant factor that can reduce or increase the probability of an accident from hazardous exposures to chemicals and microbial contaminants. The purpose of this study was to identify wastewater worker’s beliefs and practices on wearing PPE and protections offered by PPE through the integration of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants were workers in the wastewater industry, which included wastewater operators, laboratory analysts, maintenance workers, wastewater collection workers, equipment operators, managers, and supervisors (n=272). The instrument was a self-administered …

Menstrual Cycle And The Temporal Discrimination Threshold, Eavan M. Mc Govern, Emer O'Connor, Ines Beiser, Laura Williams, John Butler, Brendan Quinlivan, Shruti Narasimham, Rebecca Beck, Richard B. Reilly, Sean O'Riordan, Michael Hutchinson

Articles

The temporal discrimination threshold (TDT) is a proposed pre-clinical biomarker (endophenotype) for adult onset isolated focal dystonia (AOIFD). Age- and sex-related effects on temporal discrimination demonstrate that women, before the age of 40 years, have faster temporal discrimination than men but their TDTs worsen with age at almost three times the rate of men. Thus after 40 years the TDT in women is progressively worse than in men. AOIFD is an increasingly female-predominant disorder after the age of 40; it is not clear whether this age-related sexually-dimorphic difference observed for both the TDT and sex ratio at disease onset in …

Kilovoltage Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy, Brian Loughery

Wayne State University Dissertations

Contrast enhanced kilovoltage radiotherapy could be a significant improvement over the standard of care in glioblastoma multiforme, but its potential benefit has been hindered by fears of insufficient dose falloff, high skin and skull dose, contrast delivery concerns, and high cost. This dissertation aims to address the validity of these fears.

Contrast delivery concerns are examined by assuming that sufficient dose can be safely delivered to the tumor. Iodine, gadolinium, and gold nanoparticle biological effect and delivery research is examined and the ideal contrast delivery methods are reported. Dose falloff and skull dose are then investigated through treatment planning and …

Integrated Analysis Of The Value Of Wetland Services In Coastal Adaptation; Methodology And Case Study Of Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, New Hampshire, Paul Kirshen, Semra Aytur, David M. Burdick, Diane Foster, Tom Lippmann, Ellen Douglas, Sydney Nick, Chris Watson

Jackson Estuarine Laboratory

The present impacts from coastal storms and high tides grow significantly over time due to SLR even over the relatively short period to 2060. Hydrodynamic model simulations of storm surge with and without sea level rise scenarios show that although flooding and inundation increases with increasing subtidal forcing and higher sea level, dissipation of the tide and storm surge in the estuary channel somewhat limits the maximum inundation that might otherwise be expected in the back marsh areas. The estuary is dominated by high marsh, which lies high in the intertidal zone and by 2060 it will convert to mostly …

Tolle Lege Works Published In 2018, Mcquade Library

Bibliographies

Compiled Tolle Lege bibliography of works published by members of the Merrimack College Community in 2018. Works include journal articles, books, book chapters, conference presentations and posters, and more.

A Sketch Of Consciousness Space Beyond Freudian Mental Model And Implications To Socio-Economics Modeling And Integrative Cancer Therapy, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we give an outline of an ongoing study to go beyond Freudian mental archetypal model. First, we discuss the essence of numerous problems that we suffer in our sophisticated and modernized society. Then we discuss possibility to reintroduce spirit into human consciousness. While we are aware that much remain to be done and we admit that this is only a sketch, we hope that this paper will start a fresh approach of research towards more realistic nonlinear consciousness model with wide ranging implications to socio-economic modeling and also integrative cancer therapy. At the last section we also …

Neutrosophic Computing And Machine Learning, Vol. 1, Florentin Smarandache, Maikel Leyva-Vázquez

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

La neutrosofía es una nueva rama de la filosofía la cual estudia el origen, naturaleza y alcance de las neutralidades, así como sus interacciones con diferentes espectros ideacionales: (A) es una idea, proposición, teoría, evento, concepto o entidad; anti (A) es el opuesto de (A); y (neut-A) significa ni (A) ni anti (A), es decir, la neutralidad entre los dos extremos. Etimológicamente neutron-sofía [Frances neutre < Latin neuter, neutral, y griego sophia, conocimiento] significa conocimiento de los pensamiento neutrales y comenzó en 1995. Su teoría fundamental afirma que toda idea < A > tiende a ser neutralizada, disminuida, balaceada por las ideas (no solo como Hegel planteó)- como un estado de equilibrio.

Discerning Suicide In Drug Intoxication Deaths: Paucity And Primacy Of Suicide Notes And Psychiatric History, Ian Rh Rockett, Eric D. Caine, Hilary S. Connery, Gail D'Onofrio, David J. Gunnell, Ted R. Miller, Kurt B. Nolte, Mark S. Kaplan, Nestor D. Kapusta, Christa L. Lilly, Lewis S. Nelson, Sandra L. Putnam, Steven Stack, Peeter Varnik, Lynne R. Webster, Haomiao Jia

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objective

A paucity of corroborative psychological and psychiatric evidence may be inhibiting detec- tion of drug intoxication suicides in the United States. We evaluated the relative importance of suicide notes and psychiatric history in the classification of suicide by drug intoxication versus firearm (gunshot wound) plus hanging/suffocation—the other two major, but overtly violent methods.

Methods

This observational multilevel (individual/county), multivariable study employed a general- ized linear mixed model (GLMM) to analyze pooled suicides and undetermined intent deaths, as possible suicides, among the population aged 15 years and older in the 17 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System …

Novel Caries Loci In Children And Adults Implicated By Genome-Wide Analysis Of Families, Manika Govil, Nandita Mukhopadhyay, Daniel E. Weeks, Eleanor Feingold, John R. Shaffer, Steven M. Levy, Alexandre R. Vieira, Rebecca L. Slayton, Daniel W. Mcneil, Robert J. Weyant, Richard J. Crout, Mary L. Marazita

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Dental caries is a common chronic disease among children and adults alike, posing a substantial health burden. Caries is affected by multiple genetic and environmental factors, and prior studies have found that a substantial proportion of caries susceptibility is genetically inherited.

Methods: To identify such genetic factors, we conducted a genome-wide linkage scan in 464 extended families with 2616 individuals from Iowa, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for three dental caries phenotypes: (1) PRIM: dichotomized as zero versus one or more affected primary teeth, (2) QTOT1: age-adjusted quantitative caries measure for both primary and permanent dentitions including pre-cavitated lesions, and …

Instructions To Authors For The Journal Of The Arkansas Academy Of Science, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address And Meeting Program Report, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Journal Acknowledgments And Editorial Board, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Expression Of The Microrna-143/145 Cluster Is Decreased In Hepatitis B Virus-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma And May Serve As A Biomarker For Tumorigenesis In Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B, Qi Zhao, Xiangfei Sun, Chao Liu, Tao Li, Juan Cui, Chengyong Qin

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The aims of the present study were to identify the expression profile of microRNA (miR)‑143/145 in hepatitis B virus (HBV)‑associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), explore its association with prognosis and investigate whether the serum miR‑143/145 expression levels may serve as a diagnostic indicator of HBV‑associated HCC. The microRNA (miRNA) chromatin immunoprecipitation dataset was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus databases, and analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test. It was observed that the expression of miR‑143 and miR‑145 was decreased 1.5‑fold in HBV‑associated HCC samples compared with non‑tumor tissue in the TCGA and the GSE22058 datasets …

Graduate Admissions Recruitment Project, Kevin Anderson, Chiemela Dike, Yixin Du, Arvinder Kaur, Amanda Popp, Huizhong Yang

School of Professional Studies

In this project, several comparison schools were interviewed and disclosed to have used search lists to find candidates. The organizations that have valuable search lists which may be of good use for the School of Professional Studies include Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). By choosing criteria such as demographics, location, academic performance, educational history provided by search lists, we believe there are many quality candidates for SPS programs. However, as we further investigated the functionality and cost-efficiency or return of investment of GRE search list, we spotted many uncertainties and few solid and successful …

Audubon Data Project Final Report, Askhat Beygenov, Valinur Kutlambetov, Shrikant Patel, Phoebe Roberts, Ulfat Sayyed, Shriram Sivaraman

School of Professional Studies

The Audubon Data Project was initiated as a Clark University Capstone project. The project’s client, Mass Audubon’s Shaping the Future of Your Community program, had identified a need to improve their data management methods and make better use of their data. The Capstone team, composed of Clark University graduate students, met with the client regularly to review the current state of the data and potential improvements to be made. The process began with a data review. During the review we worked with the client to explicitly define the purposes and requirements of the data, the current process for updating and …

Worcester Center For Crafts: A Transition To Online Sales, Monica Gow, Carly Branconnier, Srilatha Prodduturi, Ekaterina Shusharina, Alberta Yamoah

School of Professional Studies

The Clark University School of Professional Studies created a capstone team consisting of Monica Gow, Carly Branconnier, Iana Matkovskaia, Srilatha Prodduturi, Ekaterina Shusharina, and Alberta Yamoah to assist Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) with the launch of their new online store. Worcester Center for Crafts wanted to showcase their beautiful American handmade crafts on an online platform, Shopify, in order to increase their sales and expand their market reach. The capstone team created a charter that outlined the scope of the project and what the team would deliver to WCC by the end of the project. The team agreed to …

Facile Synthesis Of Ligand-Free Iridium Nanoparticles And Their In Vitro Biocompatibility, Anna L. Brown, Hayden Winter, Andrea M. Goforth, Gaurav Sahay, Conroy Sun

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-density inorganic nanoparticles have shown promise in medical applications that utilize radiation including X-ray imaging and as radiation dose enhancers for radiotherapy. We have developed an aqueous synthetic method to produce small (~ 2 nm) iridium nanoparticles (IrNPs) by reduction of iridium(III) chloride using a borohydride reducing agent. Unlike other solution-based synthesis methods, uniform and monodispersed IrNPs are produced without the use of surfactants or other solubilizing ligands. These nanoparticles are highly crystalline as observed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In vitro metabolic toxicity assays using hepatocyte and macrophage cells demonstrate that both IrNPs and iridium(III) …