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As the demand for Certified Surgical Technologists (CSTs) continues to grow, traditional educational pathways struggle to meet the urgent workforce needs within the healthcare sector. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of a pilot fast-track surgical technology program implemented at Missoula College, designed to expedite the training of surgical technologists while maintaining high educational standards. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, this study assesses both the quantitative outcomes and qualitative experiences of participants in the fast-track program compared to traditional pathways. Key findings indicate that the fast-track program not only reduces the time required for training but also adequately prepares students for immediate entry into the healthcare workforce without compromising the quality of education. The program effectively integrates innovative teaching methodologies, including asynchronous learning and experiential opportunities with industry partners, facilitating a smoother transition for students into professional roles. This study contributes to the discourse on educational reform in surgical technology by demonstrating that accelerated educational programs can be part of the solution to current CST workforce shortages. Recommendations for future research include exploring the scalability of fast-track programs and their long-term impacts on the surgical technology field. This evaluation underscores the potential of innovative educational strategies to significantly impact healthcare workforce development in response to evolving industry demands.

Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is a service-learning design program run by the College of Engineering at Purdue University. EPICS teaches students design skills by providing solutions for individuals, communities, and organizations in the surrounding area while mirroring engineering industry standards. Biomedical Engineering is a team within EPICS that strives to serve community partners through biomedical applications. HR is a patient who suffers from severe lymphedema. This condition results in her foot swelling three times its original size and requires her to utilize weekly leg compression therapy. Prescription shoes are slightly adequate. However, they lead to sores and pain due to fitting improperly and the expansion of her legs before her next compression treatment. HR reached out to the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering to seek a solution. This project entails the design and fabrication of a prototype shoe that addresses the patient’s need to walk with shoes while effectively accommodating her symptoms. The user needs include condition accommodation, aesthetics, comfort, ease of use, cost, utility, and standardized documentation language. The design uses a novel break-sole passive expansion system that exceeds the normal passive expandable properties of other shoes, in addition to several expandable points that aid in functionality and comfort. The goal is that with this product, HR can get back to the things that she loves, including photography and hiking.

Currently, the NIH reports there are approximately 18 million Americans with a history of cancer. Cancer statistics are projected to rise to 22.1 million by 2030. In addition to cancer, cardiovascular diseases are globally the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The body of research in this area clearly demonstrates that greater amounts of physical activity correspond with a lower risk of cancer recurrence and all-cause mortality, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Exercise rehabilitation success in cancer patients, both during and after treatment, is limited by several barriers, including the lack of facilities, trained personnel and financial resources. In response to this medical need, it seems logical for oncology patients to be able to utilize current cardiac rehabilitation models. Cardio-oncology rehabilitation is a multi-component exercise-based intervention. Current projections suggest that few adjustments to current cardiac rehabilitation models would be needed to address the oncology rehabilitation model, although strategic differences to be addressed include addressing the adverse effects from certain chemotherapies, surgical interventions and lymphedema. Secondary to this narrative, there exists a bidirectional relationship between these two leading chronic diseases: in that cardiovascular diseases increase the likelihood of getting cancer and vice versa. Accordingly, use of cardiac facilities may extend the benefits of exercise beyond therapeutic applications to cancer, in that potential concerns related to CVD could also be addressed. Based on this rationale, the purpose of this professional paper will explore the utilization of existing staff and equipment currently being used in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation (CPR) field and how that can be utilized concomitantly with oncology rehabilitation populations.

In the past 30 years, there have been major advancements on how to treat and diagnose disease because of the improvement and increase in accessibility of sequencing technology. Nucleic acid-based therapeutics can manipulate protein expression. Likewise, pathogens can be identified and detected with single nucleotide specificity. However, the underlying oligonucleotide technology requires protection against natural defense systems that have evolved to destroy foreign nucleic acids. Many chemical modifications that can protect nucleotides also have significant cytotoxic side effects and must be carefully designed into the strands. A novel way to protect against nuclease-mediated degradation is through the use of mirror-image, left-handed nucleotides which twist to the left, as opposed to the right-handed twist of natural DNA (D-DNA). This enantiomer of natural DNA (L-DNA) is thought to have low cytotoxicity and immunogenicity and have the same hybridization and thermodynamic properties of natural DNA. My thesis is that the combination of heterochiral DNA with dynamic, logic based DNA nanotechnology is a powerful tool for biomedical oligonucleotide development. In my work, I have developed an interface which can link an L-DNA bioorthogonal computing system to the natural, right-handed world of biology by using heterochiral DNA, DNA containing sections of left- and right-handed chirality in the same strand. My system can translate signals from one chiral domain to another and can be further improved by the addition of L-DNA domains that act as protective caps on D-DNA domains. I establish that the D-DNA components of strand displacement-based molecular circuits constructed using this technique resist degradation during extended incubations in serum-supplemented media and in a living human cell line.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause progressive neuropathology that leads to chronic impairments, creating a need for biomarkers to detect and monitor this condition to improve outcomes. This study aimed to analyze the ability of data-driven analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion imaging (NODDI) to develop biomarkers to infer symptom severity and determine whether they outperform conventional T1-weighted imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A machine learning-based model was developed using a dataset of hybrid diffusion imaging of patients with chronic traumatic brain injury. We first extracted the useful features from the hybrid diffusion imaging (HYDI) data and then used supervised learning algorithms to classify the outcome of TBI. We developed three models based on DTI, NODDI, and T1-weighted imaging, and we compared the accuracy results across different models. RESULTS: Compared with the conventional T1-weighted imaging-based classification with an accuracy of 51.7-56.8%, our machine learning-based models achieved significantly better results with DTI-based models at 58.7-73.0% accuracy and NODDI with an accuracy of 64.0-72.3%. CONCLUSION: The machine learning-based feature selection and classification algorithm based on hybrid diffusion features significantly outperform conventional T1-weighted imaging. The results suggest that advanced algorithms can be developed for inferring symptoms of chronic brain injury using feature selection and diffusion-weighted imaging.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic skin disorder characterized by nodules, comedones, and sinus tracts that often leave prominent scarring. In recent years, non-invasive imaging techniques have been used to assess the inflammatory activity, vascularization, and treatment response of lesions. Specifically, fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) scans may aid in identifying systemic inflammation in patients with HS, improving diagnosis. Inflamed hypermetabolic tissues exhibit a greater uptake of FDG due to increased glucose uptake and vascularity. A systematic review was conducted to summarize the utility of nuclear imaging techniques in the diagnosis and treatment follow-up of HS. PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases were utilized for relevant articles discussing the utility of PET scans in managing HS. A total of 51 citations were identified in the initial search. Following the review of titles, abstracts, and duplicates, 43 articles were excluded, leaving a total of eight articles for analysis. Data were extracted from each article, encompassing the number of patients, imaging techniques employed, and final results. An analysis of the data demonstrated that FDG-PET showed evidence of identifying subclinical lesions of the disease, improving the visualization of HS, and providing an objective method of assessing severity.

The baroreceptor reflex is a multi-input, multi-output physiological control system that regulates short-term blood pressure by modulating nerve activity between the brainstem and the heart. The computational model by Park et al. (2020) is the most recent iteration in our exploration of the system. However, the contributions of”the little brain of the heart”, the intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICN), to local control of the heart and to the integration of sensory information is unknown and has been overlooked in previous models. We have incorporated a high-fidelity representation of the ICN into a model of the baroreceptor reflex based on anatomical, molecular, and physiological evidence. The model consists of (1) differential equations to represent the cardiovascular system, and (2) transfer functions to represent neural control components, connected in a closed-loop control circuit. We use the model to evaluate the impact of alternative ICN network structures on overall cardiovascular control in response to mean arterial pressure and lung tidal volume perturbations. Our results show that the local circuit neurons that integrate sensory information into the ICN strengthen the response of ICN neuron activity, especially at low blood pressures, suggesting that the ICN amplifies the brainstem's response to perturbations.

Open-source laboratory equipment has become an increasingly popular alternative to commercially available options due to its simple implementation, capability of user-customized modifications, and cost-effectiveness. Presented here is the development of a programmable and open-source fluidic system comprised of three custom-built syringe pumps for cell culture applications. The fluidic system was directly integrated with a multiwell plate on an environmentally controlled microscope platform for live-cell imaging and time-lapse analyses of cellular responses as culture conditions are adjusted using the programmable fluidic system. Proof-of-concept of this system is obtained by controlling autophagic activity in A549 cells by adjustment of nutrient supply. The programmability of this fluidic system allows for straightforward, low-cost implementation of feedback control methods in cell culture systems. These results will enable future research on understanding cell responses to time-dependent modulation of culture conditions or dosing with multiple pharmaceutical reagents.

Tissue engineering is an emerging field that came from the fields of medicine, materials science, and engineering. The foundation of tissue engineering uses a paradigm that incorporates cells, biomaterials, and exogenous factors to create living tissues for medical, pharmaceutical, and research purposes. Within the last 100 years, biomaterials have been developed to solve many medical and research problems. As biomaterials have developed throughout the years new materials have been developed to have specific properties appropriate for medical applications. Fumarate is a naturally derived molecule in the body and has been found useful for developing polyesters that can be crosslinked into degradable biomaterials. This work explores a new method for synthesizing oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF) and poly(butylene fumarate) (PBF). OPF was used to create a positively charged hydrogel platform for aortic valve engineering and PBF was synthesized with different types of butanediol to modify material properties for bone engineering. Conclusions show that a new acid scavenger free synthesis method creates OPF and PBF with reduced hydrochloric acid and fewer post-processing steps. Oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) can be photocrosslinked into hydrogels with positively charged functional groups for encapsulation of valvular cells. Finally, PBF material properties can be chemically controlled by the type of butanediol used and they can be crosslinked into hard plastic films. Overall, the contributions of this dissertation will aid in the development of a new application for currently used biomaterial (OPF) for soft tissue engineering as well as develop and characterize a new variation of PBF for bone tissue engineering.

Conjunctival hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas are vascular tumors that affect the tissue in the eyes of canines. While relatively rare, these tumors can be costly to remove, and have a possibility of recurrence. Therefore, more understanding of the nature of these tumors and recurrence rates is of importance to the veterinary ophthalmologist. To date, there is limited data in the literature (2 retrospective studies) that examine the development, treatment, and recurrence of these vascular tumors; furthermore, the analyses do not examine the potential recurrence of tumors after treatment with therapies adjunctive to surgery (such as cryoablation, radiotherapy, and others). For this reason, additional information describing the characteristics and outcomes of patients diagnosed with these vascular neoplasms could help guide veterinary ophthalmologists to establish the best route of treatment for their patients. In this work, a retrospective analysis of canines treated at a specialty veterinary hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico between 2011 to 2021 for conjunctival hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas is presented. The recurrence rates between canines diagnosed histologically with conjunctival hemangioma versus hemangiosarcoma after surgical intervention with adjunctive cryotherapy were compared. In addition, analysis of the association between recurrence and location of the neoplasms and recurrence and completeness of surgical excision was done. It was found that there was no statistically significant association between: recurrence and diagnosis, recurrence and location, and recurrence and completeness of excision. Further study is needed to advocate for the role of adjunctive cryotherapy in lessening the chance of recurrence when incomplete or narrow surgical margins are obtained. However, from this study it is recommended that monitoring of both hemangiosarcomas and the more benign hemangiomas is warranted after surgical intervention, as there is no statistical ev

Spatially resolved transcriptomics technologies investigate gene expression in the context of a tissue. While imaging-based technologies enable gene expression quantification at a single-cell level, only two NGS-based technologies are currently capable of single-cell resolution. Both Stereo-seq and Seq-Scope involve two rounds of sequencing: one to sequence the location of spatial barcodes and the other to obtain sequence of cDNA. Thus, the objective of the research study is to develop a technology that can capture transcripts from every cell of a tissue without the need for two rounds of sequencing. To this end, a capture surface or barcoded array (similar to 10x Genomics’ Visium platform) with feature sizes of 2.0µm and 0.6µm was manufactured. Spatial transcriptomics was performed on a fresh-frozen and FFPE mouse brain tissue section. The research study demonstrates successful capture of transcripts from the tissue. Furthermore, spatial domains and spatially variable genes identified were consistent with published literature.

Background: Dietary supplement use has been shown to be significantly prevalent in the United States, especially among the young adult population. Studies have reported increasing use of dietary supplements among college students in the US. However, little research has investigated the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with dietary supplement use in this population. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of dietary supplement use and sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with dietary supplement use in college students and examine the attitudes and beliefs of college students on dietary supplements. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 106 college students. A questionnaire was developed to assess student’s demographic and anthropometric data, physical activity, nutritional knowledge, dietary supplement use, and attitudes towards dietary supplements. The data was analyzed using SAS Version 9.4. Frequency counts, Fisher exact tests, Spearman’s rank, multiple logistic regression, and descriptive statistics were performed. Results: Overall, 66% of college students reported using a dietary supplement in the previous 30 days. The most commonly used dietary supplements used alone or in combination were vitamins (32%), multivitamins/minerals (27%), and proteins (24%). As student age increased, the odds of using a dietary supplement increased by a factor of 1.64 (p < 0.05). The primary reason students reported for using dietary supplements was to improve their overall health (24%) and the most frequently reported source of nutrition information was the media (42%). Conclusions: Dietary supplement use was considerably higher in the college student population than the general US population. Demographic factors such as age might influence the prevalence of dietary supplement use in this population. Nutritional education and consulting should be made available to college students, emphasizing the

BACKGROUND: Accrual to oncology clinical trials remains a challenge, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. For late phase clinical trials funded by the National Cancer Institute, the development of these research protocols is a resource-intensive process; however, mechanisms to optimize patient accrual after trial activation are underdeveloped across the National Clinical Trial Network (NCTN). Low patient accrual can lead to the premature closure of clinical trials and can ultimately delay the availability of new, potentially life-saving therapies in oncology. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to formally create an easily implemented tool kit of resources for investigators of oncology clinical trials within the NCTN, specifically the NRG Oncology cooperative group, in order to optimize patient accrual. METHODS: NRG Oncology sought to formally develop a tool kit of resources to use at specific time points during the lifetime of NRG Oncology clinical trials. The tools are clearly described and involve the facilitation of engagement of the study principal investigator with the scientific and patient advocate community during the planning, activation, and accrual periods. Social media tools are also leveraged to enhance such engagement. The principal investigator (PI) tool kit was created in 2019 and thereafter piloted with the NRG Oncology/Alliance NRG-LU005 phase II or III trial in small-cell lung cancer. The PI tool kit was developed by the NRG Oncology Protocol Operations Management committee and was tested with the NRG/Alliance LU005 randomized trial within the NCTN. RESULTS: NRG Oncology/Alliance NRG-LU005 has seen robust enrollment, currently 127% of the projected accrual. Importantly, many of the tool kit elements are already being used in ongoing NRG Oncology trials, with 56% of active NRG trials using at least one element of the PI tool kit and all in-development trials offered the resource. This underscores the feasibility and potential benefits of

The aim of this research work is to ascertain the relevance of health information management practice in health care delivery system. This research reviewed past and presents literature that of relevance to this research topic. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Questionnaire was used to collect necessary information through probability sampling method and specifically the simple random sampling. Fifty (50) questionnaires were distributed to Health Information Practitioners at University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital Complex, Ondo and all the fifty questionnaires were retrieved for data analysis. It has been proved that HIM practice plays a very vital role in effective health care delivery as all the respondents supported this assertion, though, 8% of the respondents dispute the fact that HIM practice had role to play in patients’ confidentiality and cyber security. Factors that contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of HIM practice were examined; all these factors were agreed to, except in view cases where 6% of the respondents disagreed that incentives cannot promote effectiveness and efficiency of HIM practice. It was also discovered that the roles of health information practice are relevant in health care delivery system and it was also noted that a lot of problems are confronting the practice and relevance of health information management practices. Considering factors militating against the prospect of HIM practice, in view of this, recommendations were made.

Clinical coding and indexing is the process by which medical procedure and diagnoses are represented and displayed by universal code number. It is a system that plays a key role in modern healthcare and also allow statistical analyses of diseases and treatment, diagnoses related group, reimbursement, easier observance and tracking of epidemic and production events. The study therefore aimed at examining coding and indexing as indispensable tool in healthcare, teaching and research; a case study of OAUTHC Ile-Ife, Osun State. The target population was 152 health records officer in OAUTHC, Ile-Ife. A cross-sectional research method was adopted. Data was collected using questionnaire as the instrument for the study. A systematic random sampling technique was employed in selecting 80 participants, 80 questionnaires were distributed and 70 were retrieved. This formed a response rate of 87.5%. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for the analysis in order to avoid errors due to manual calculations. Findings reveals that more than 90% of the respondents agreed that coding and indexing is an indispensable tool to health care, teaching and research as it provides standard and quality healthcare services to the patients, policy creation, clinical audit and finance. The study also revealed that coding patching is highly susceptible to human error with clinician-based errors ranging from incorrectly defining a clinical entity to underreporting co-morbidities. It is therefore recommended that clinicians and HROs must work collaboratively to improve the quality of healthcare data flow with frequent review of clinical documentation and coding report to ensure accurate and reliable healthcare data for resource allocation, health planning which enhance patient treatment, teaching and research.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gasotransmitter critical in maintaining microcirculation homeostasis. Impaired microcirculation occurs in multiple disease states such as peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension. Early detection and identification of patients with DM who are at risk for heart attack, stroke and amputation due to microvascular disease is crucial. Human skin is an accessible vascular bed that provides an opportunity to non-invasively measure H2S, which could be used as a biomarker to evaluate microvascular health. In this work, a novel H2S gas sensor, called the transdermal arterial gasotransmitter sensor (TAGSTM), was researched and developed to detect physiological levels of transdermal H2S in humans. Data was collected from 29 individuals (14 DM and 15 non-DM) between the ages of 30-60. 10 of the 29 subjects were used to evaluate the precision of the TAGSTM system by comparing measurements to a commercial H2S-selective Serinus 55 TRSTM analyzer (accurate to 0.5 ppb). Strong correlation was seen between the two devices (R2=0.876, p2S levels were measured using a monobromobimane (MBB) assay and cardiovascular risk markers were measured through blood and urine in order to evaluate correlations between transdermal H2S levels. No significant correlations were seen, although mean TAGSTM readings were lower in the DM group. Thus, the device precisely measures physiological levels of transdermal H2S and further testing is warranted to determine the usefulness of the device in medical applications such as monitoring microvascular disease changes and/or the efficacy of wound healing interventions.

Many are approaching vegetarianism as a viable diet option in recent years, presuming that adopting a vegetarian diet would provide health benefits. This paper explores the possibilities of physical and mental effects that vegetarianism may have on humans and its extent by the use of regression analysis. To measure the possible impacts vegetarian diets may hold on both the physiology and physical aspects of humans, we have utilized the measures of life expectancy and prevalence of depression respectively. Cross-sectional data were examined from sources such as the World Health Organization, Our World In Data and the World Bank, with figures on vegetarian adoption rates to be made available on Statista. Current studies on mental health impacts are inconclusive, and many relied on survey data to produce findings. The utilization of cross-sectional data on a macro basis would allow our study to account for regional differences whilst providing an objective result. This study aims to raise awareness of the positive and negative impacts of a vegetarian diet, to assist people to make informed decisions. This would be essential as plant-based diets have been receiving more attention in the media.

The sustainable health IoT has the strong potential to bring tremendous improvements in human health and well-being through sensing, and monitoring of health impacts across the whole spectrum of climate change. The sustainable health IoT enables development of a systems approach in the area of human health and ecosystem. It allows integration of broader health sub-areas in a bigger archetype for improving sustainability in health in the realm of social, economic, and environmental sectors. This integration provides a powerful health IoT framework for sustainable health and community goals in the wake of changing climate. In this chapter, a detailed description of climate-related health impacts on human health is provided. The sensing, communications, and monitoring technologies are discussed. The impact of key environmental and human health factors on the development of new IoT technologies also analyzed.

BioScience Trends (BST) is a peer-reviewed journal belongs to the International Research and Cooperation Association for Bio & Socio-Sciences Advancement (IRCA-BSSA) Group of Japan. Despite a decade of existence, no study was performed to measure the bibliometric profile of the journal. The objective of this study was to investigate the bibliometric characteristic of BST. A bibliometric analysis will specifically measure: 1) growth rate of the scientific publications, 2) dynamics of authorship and collaboration pattern; 3) core research themes of articles that have been published, and 4) citation pattern of BST. Bibliographical archives of BST were obtained from the Core Collection database of the Web of Science (WoS). We divided the dataset into three interval periods, 2007-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2017 respectively. Data processing and analysis was performed using Bibliometrix, a bibliometric analysis package in R software, VOSViewer 1.66, Orange 3.15 and CitNetExplorer. Within one decade of scientific production, BST continues to attract global researchers in life sciences. However, it is still dominated by authors from China and Japan. Annual journal growth of BST is 12.83 %. Reaching the end of the first decade, number of first author and the country origin multiplied, 20 and 5 times respectively, compared to the first-year. Research themes are consistent with the Aims and Scope of the Journal with strong emphasizes on molecular biology, biochemistry, and clinical research. Entering the second decade, strategies to promote and enlarge authors participation from countries that are not in the current list are encouraged.

Assessing Healthcare Leader Competency Proficiency Levels in Evaluating Graduate Healthcare Leadership Student Competency Proficiency Levels and Curriculum

Abnormal functioning of small GTPases is implicated in a variety of diseases, ranging from neurological and developmental diseases to cancer. In fact, mutant GTPases are found in up to 30% of cancers. Thus, small GTPases are a highly relevant target in drug discovery and development. High-throughput targeted screening of small molecules is the most productive method of discovering compounds that can give insights into drug development. This thesis describes improvements made to a high-throughput GTPase-targeted screening method to minimize confounding systematic error. It also describes the follow-up characterization of a compound that was identified in a high-throughput screen. The compound under investigation, PR-619, was shown to be a pan-GTPase inhibitor that competitively inhibits guanine nucleotide binding in a panel of sixteen members of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases. Additionally, PR-619 was demonstrated to inhibit GTPase-effector interaction and to produce effects in cellular studies.