Sorn Family: Leakhena Sorn (Youth)

In October 1991, Leakhena Sorn was 13 years old when she immigrated to Stockton from Cambodia. Learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture often made her feel isolated during the transition to life in Stockton. Because of Leakhena’s arrival after the first major emigration from Cambodia, she enjoyed the support of an already established Cambodian community. Many Stockton Cambodians were already graduating from universities and had established careers as pharmacists, physicians or as business owners…https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/ss-ca/1002/thumbnail.jp

Wong Family: John Wong (Elder)

In 1932, at the age of 15, John Wong and his family received news of a terrible tragedy—the death of his mother. John was the oldest of 10 children, and with this news, his world changed. He took on new responsibilities; he worked to be a good example for his siblings, and helped instruct them as a parent would. The death of his mother made him feel more like an adult because he became the second parental figure, along with his dad. The passing of his mother left a painful reminder that his childhood had ended abruptly and his adulthood was to begin…https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/ss-cha/1003/thumbnail.jp

Inhibition of Runx by Ro5-3335 Affects Nematostella Regeneration

This undergraduate research project is being made available in KU ScholarWorks with the permission of the author. The project was supervised by Dr. Paulyn Cartwright, associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas.The sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, has the ability to fully regenerate amputated body parts. We hypothesize that Runx, a transcription factor, controls the cellular processes for regeneration, specifically the transition between cellular proliferation and cellular differentiation. A known inhibitor to the Runx pathway is Ro5-3335, a benzodiazepine. Inhibiting the Runx pathway by Ro5-3335 will help determine if Runx is necessary for proper regeneration in Nematostella. We introduced bisected Nematostella polyps to Ro5-3335 for a 24-48 period and observed regeneration of oral ends. Tentacle regeneration appeared delayed in treated polyps compared to the controls. It was not until three weeks post-treatment that the treated animals recovered normal regeneration. We conclude that Ro5-3335 appears to repress regeneration in the polyps which suggests that the Runx pathway is important for proper regeneration in Nematostella

Phylogenetic Relationships of Foliar Bacteria Within Cover Crops in an Organic Cropping System.

As the human population continues to grow, there is an increasing realization that there is a finite amount of land available to grow enough food to feed people in the long-term. Sustainable agriculture is one key part of the solution to this issue. One technique used in sustainable agriculture is cover cropping, which involves the planting of a non-cash crop that is used to restore nutrients or structure within the soil. Although these benefits of cover cropping are well documented, the effect that this practice has on the reduction of pathogens on cash crops has yet to be fully explored. Even though endophytes (asymptomatic microbes living inside of plant tissues) live cryptically within their plant host, they have also been noted to help reduce the disease symptoms of their plant host. If the relationship between endophytes and pathogens could be better understood, these interactions could be used to aid in pathogen reduction. Our objective is thus to quantify which bacterial taxa inhabit the leaves of cover crops (purple vetch, Vicia americana; daikon radish, Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus; and fava beans, Vicia faba) in an organic agricultural setting. In coordination with a working farm in Marin County, California (Star Route Farms), we sampled cover crop leaves prior to the start of the cash crop growing season. Leaves were surface sterilized with dilute bleach and ethanol and leaf fragments were placed into slant tubes with malt extract agar to isolate emergent foliar bacteria. Microbial slant tube growth was quantified, and bacterial isolates were identified using 16S Sanger sequencing and BLAST queries of the NCBI Genbank database. The results from this research could provide a new technique for improving agricultural sustainability and could also contribute towards a better ecological understanding of these complex and economically critical agricultural systems

Neonatal Blood Methylation Marks Associated with Obstetric Pain Relief

The placenta, responsible for intrauterine development, can facilitate modifications within the placental epigenome in response to changes in the mother. In turn these changes have the potential to also influence the neonate1. Pain relief during delivery is widely used and frequently involves the use of nitrous oxide (N2O, commonly referred to as laughing gas), and pudendal blocks. These treatments, alone or in combination, are generally accepted as safe methods of providing pain relief to mothers. However, laughing gas and local anesthetics such as the ones used during pudendal blocks have been known to cross the placental barrier from mother to child2,3. Furthermore, although current literature about the effects of laughing gas and pudendal blocks on the epigenome, when used as maternal pain relief, is very limited, some evidence implicates effects of obstetric anesthesia on the neonatal methylome2,4,5. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that obstetric pain relief administered to the mother during childbirth may affect the methylome of the child. In conclusion, we detected methylome-wide significantly associated loci for laughing gas and pudendal block treatment when studied in combination, but not for either of the treatments separately.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1421/thumbnail.jp

Relationships between diversity demographics, psychological distress, and suicidal thinking in the veterinary profession: a nationwide cross-sectional study during COVID-19

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the relationship between demographic diversity and veterinary professionals regarding their psychological distress and suicidal experiences. This study also aimed to determine what demographic factors were associated with psychological distress and suicidal experiences for veterinary professionals.MethodsThis study used a cross-sectional web-based questionnaire to assess the prevalence of diversity, psychological distress, and suicidality in individuals over 18 working in the veterinary field within the United States. The study received 2,482 responses resulting in 2,208 responses that were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics were performed to identify the categories with the highest rates of psychological distress, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal behaviors. Binomial logistic regressions were conducted to identify the strongest statistical predictors of psychological distress (Kessler-6-K6), suicidal thinking and suicide behaviors.ResultsOf the 2,208 respondents included in the analysis, 888 (41%) were experiencing serious psychological distress and 381 (17.3%) had considered suicide in the past 12 months. Results of the binomial regressions indicate gender, social class, age, and disability status were the strongest predictors of psychological distress. When controlling for psychological distress, the strongest predictors of suicidal thinking were sexual orientation, marital status, and professional role.ImplicationsLimited research has been done to explore the relationship between demographic diversity of veterinary professionals and psychological distress, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal behaviors specifically. These results shed light on multiple demographic factors that promote and attenuate mental health, as well as the importance of asking respondents their demographic identities in veterinary medicine research. This research attempts to identify these mental health factors without collapsing categories with small sample sizes, which does cause a limitation in statistical power, yet also demonstrates how to increase inclusivity in research

Suicide attempt in a rural area of Vietnam: Incidence, methods used and access to mental health care

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to determine the incidence of suicide attempt, describe the methods used, and assess use of health care services including mental health care after suicide attempt in a rural area of Vietnam. METHODS: All suicide attempters (104) during 2003-2007 were listed, diagnosed and re-evaluated by trained physicians according to the research criteria of the WHO Multicentre Study of Attempted Suicide. All attempters were interviewed by trained medical staff to investigate methods used, socio-demographic characteristics and use of health services. RESULTS: The yearly incidence was 10.2 per 100000 person-years, 10.6 per 100000 in males and 9.8 per 100000 in females. 99% of cases committed suicide attempt by poisoning, 62.6% by pesticides and 36.3% by pharmaceutical drugs. 34.3% reported having been in contact with somatic care and 13.2% had received mental health care. Among those who reported some treatment received, 47.5% had been in contact with official health care services, 8.1% had pharmacy keepers' consultation or were treated by traditional healers and 4% reported self treatment. CONCLUSION: The incidence of suicide attempt was lower in this population compared to other settings. While the majority of attempters use pesticides, many had used psychotropic drugs. Contact with mental health services following the attempt was very limited in this setting. Suicide prevention for this high risk group should focus on reducing access to pesticides and psychotropic drugs. Mental health services should be made more accessible in rural areas

External Model Performance Evaluation of Twelve Infliximab Population Pharmacokinetic Models in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Infliximab is approved for treatment of various chronic inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, high variability in infliximab trough levels has been associated with diverse response rates. Model-informed precision dosing (MIPD) with population pharmacokinetic models could help to individualize infliximab dosing regimens and improve therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive performance of published infliximab population pharmacokinetic models for IBD patients with an external data set. The data set consisted of 105 IBD patients with 336 infliximab concentrations. Literature review identified 12 published models eligible for external evaluation. Model performance was evaluated with goodness-of-fit plots, prediction- and variability-corrected visual predictive checks (pvcVPCs) and quantitative measures. For anti-drug antibody (ADA)-negative patients, model accuracy decreased for predictions > 6 months, while bias did not increase. In general, predictions for patients developing ADA were less accurate for all models investigated. Two models with the highest classification accuracy identified necessary dose escalations (for trough concentrations < 5 µg/mL) in 88% of cases. In summary, population pharmacokinetic modeling can be used to individualize infliximab dosing and thereby help to prevent infliximab trough concentrations dropping below the target trough concentration. However, predictions of infliximab concentrations for patients developing ADA remain challenging