Auscultating Through a Patient Gown

Paper submitted to the University of Kansas School of Nursing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Nursing Honors Program.The University of Kansas School of Nursing Bachelor of Science Nursing Honors Progra

The Spectrum of Static Subtracted Geometries

Subtracted geometries are black hole solutions of the four dimensional STU model with rather interesting ties to asymptotically flat black holes. A peculiar feature is that the solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation on this subtracted background can be organized according to representations of the conformal group $SO(2,2)$. We test if this behavior persists for the linearized fluctuations of gravitational and matter fields on static, electrically charged backgrounds of this kind. We find that there is a subsector of the modes that do display conformal symmetry, while some modes do not. We also discuss two different effective actions that describe these subtracted geometries and how the spectrum of quasinormal modes is dramatically different depending upon the action used.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures. v2: references added. v3: minor corrections to match with published versio

Vital Sensory Kit For Use With Telemedicine In Developing Countries

In many developing countries, a large percentage of the population lacks access to adequate healthcare. This is especially true in India where close to 70% of the population lives in rural areas and has little to no access to hospitals or clinics. People living in rural India often times cannot afford to pay to see a doctor should they need to make the journey to a hospital. Telemedicine, a breakthrough in the past couple decades, has broken down the barrier between the patient and the physician. It has slowly been implemented in India to make doctors more available to patients through the use of video conferences and other forms of communication. A compact and affordable kit has been developed that will be used to take a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose concentration and oxygen saturation. Our most novel contribution is the non-invasive glucose sensor that will use a near-infrared LED and photodiode in the patient’s earlobe. Currently millions of diabetics do this by pricking their finger. By wirelessly sending data results from the vital sign kit, the first essential part of a treatment can be carried out via wireless communication, saving the doctor and patient time and money

Atypical Mechanisms of Synthesis, Activation and Release of Interleukin-1β from Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Atherosclerosis is a widespread disease that often leads to serious conditions such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Chronic inflammation plays an overarching role in its pathophysiology, driving initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in humans and animal models. IL-1β is a potent inflammatory cytokine implicated in atherogenesis and other vascular diseases. However, control of its activation and release has been predominantly studied in macrophages, with scant data on whether vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) can release IL-1β. I investigated the expression, activation and release of IL-1β from primary human VSMCs. VSMCs expressed caspase-1, -4, and -8 under basal conditions, but not caspase-5. Stimulation of VSMCs with IL-1α and/or LPS caused rapid processing of IL-1β to the mature form, which could be detected by Western and with a mature IL-1β-specific ELISA. Although IL-1β production and cleavage was dependent on NF-κβ activation, neither caspase or NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors prevented generation of mature IL-1β, suggesting caspase- and NLRP3-independent processing. Instead, production of mature IL-1β was blocked by the serin protease inhibitor dichloroisocoumarin, with cathepsin G the most likely enzyme responsible for pro-IL-1β activation. Interestingly, mature IL-1β was never detected in the conditioned media and instead accumulated to high levels inside VSMCs. VSMCs expressed the pore-forming protein Gasdermin D, and the active form of Gasdermin D permeabilised VSMCs, yet mature IL-1β was still not released. Finally, mature IL-1β extracted from VSMCs has 13-fold lower activity than equal amounts of mature IL-1β from Thp1 cells, however the existence of a binding partner or inhibitor of IL-1β is unlikely the cause of this phenomenon. In conclusion, the work presented in this thesis suggests that VSMCs have a novel mechanism that specifically prevents the release of active IL-1β, and that perturbation of this could potentially contribute to vascular inflammation and atherogenesis.My PhD was generously funded by Darwin College and the Venezuelan National Academy of Medicine (Darwin College - Vargas Scholarship)

Accumulation Features of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Neotropical Migratory Songbirds

Migratory songbirds have seen significant population declines over the last several decades. One threat to songbird populations may be due to adverse health effects of legacy contaminants such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Migratory songbirds spend the vast majority of their annual cycle either migrating or on their wintering grounds in Latin America; due to their annual movements they may be exposed to a wide variety of contaminants. The major aim of this dissertation was to examine accumulation features of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in migratory songbirds. The specific objectives were to 1) examine seasonal variation of contaminant accumulation in migrant and resident songbirds, 2) determine what ecological factors, through the use of stable isotopes (δv13C, δv15N, and δv2H), best explain contaminant levels and 3) determine the current state of the research on POPs levels for birds in Latin America. In general, no significant accumulation of contaminants during migration was observed for migratory songbirds. Resident birds from Texas were significantly more contaminated with €DE and €PBDEs compared to resident species from wintering areas (Yucatán and Costa Rica). Residents from Costa Rica also had the lowest levels of €PCBs. Stable isotopes revealed that there were only minor differences (≤ 2‰) in mean liver δ13C and δ15N values between migrants and residents, indicating similar diets. Results from linear regression models showed that δ15N was only useful in explaining €PCBs concentrations in resident birds from Texas and in songbirds from Yucatán. A significant relationship was found between δ13C and DDE and €PBDEs in residents from Texas; birds from College Station were more enriched in ^13C and had elevated levels of POPs suggesting proximity to urban environments as a source of contaminant exposure. Significant temporal decreases in POPs levels was observed in birds from 1980 – 2018. DDE was the most frequently reported contaminant, followed by €PCBs. Levels of contaminants were generally below those known to cause adverse health effects. The regional distribution of the data is currently uneven with most studies coming from Mexico, followed by Brazil, and centered on coastal regions and aquatic species

Propiedades antioxidantes y caracterizacion quimica de Haplopappus taeda

42 p.El bailahuén es una planta nativa con reconocidas propiedades antioxidantes y estimulantes del hígado. Sin embargo, bajo el nombre común de bailahuén se usan al menos siete especies del género Haplopappus sp. Las más utilizadas son H. multifolius, H. remyanus, H. baylahuen y H. taeda, siendo esta última la que se da en la VII región. Cada una de ellas tiene diferente composición química, lo que hace necesario estudiar sus actividades antioxidantes y realizar una caracterización química que permita diferenciarlas, para establecer que metabolitos posee cada especie y qué beneficio médico trae para la comunidad. Para responder estas interrogantes se midió la capacidad antioxidante de extractos con diclorometano, extractos metanólicos e infusos de hojas de la especie H. taeda mediante el método espectrofotométrico de captura del radical libre DPPH. La caracterización química de la especie se llevó a cabo mediante la obtención de compuestos puros aislados por cromatografía en columna con sílica gel. Finalmente se midió la capacidad antioxidante de los compuestos aislados mediante el método espectrofotométrico de captura del radical libre DPPH al igual que para los extractos. La presente investigación dió a conocer una significativa capacidad antioxidante para la especie H. taeda. Posteriormente se aislaron 3 compuestos de esta especie mostrados mediante cromatografía en capa fina, de los cuales uno presentó una significativa capacidad antioxidante. Estos compuestos mostraron ser propios de esta especie al ser comparados con otras tres especies de Haplopappus importantes en nuestro país

Evaluación de la técnica antiglobulina humana directa convencional e incubado, para uso diagnóstico de la enfermedad hemolítica en recién nacidos

38 p.La enfermedad hemolítica del recién nacido (EHRN) es una afección de origen inmune, en la cual la sobrevida del glóbulo rojo del recién nacido se ve disminuida como consecuencia de la acción de anticuerpos maternos, que pasan a través de la placenta y que tienen especificidad contra antígenos del niño, heredados del padre, presentes en sus células rojas. Aunque se han identificado una variedad de antígenos eritrocitarios capaces de originar una respuesta inmunitaria en una gestante, este trastorno se relaciona principalmente con el antígeno D del sistema Rh con previa aloinmunización de la madre frente a este antígeno y con los antígenos A y B del sistema ABO, en donde habitualmente los anticuerpos ABO de clase IgG están preformados. El paso de anticuerpos de la clase IgG a través de la placenta y posterior unión a la membrana del glóbulo rojo del niño seria la etiopatogenia. La prueba utilizada para hacer el diagnóstico precoz de la EHRN consiste en identificar la presencia de anticuerpos antieritrocitarios del isotipo IgG, provenientes del suero materno en la superficie de los eritrocitos del recién nacido. Esta prueba es universalmente conocida como Test Antiglobulina Humana Directo (TAD) o Prueba de Coombs Directa (TCD). En este trabajo se evaluó la eficacia del TAD convencional en comparación con una prueba de TAD modificada, la que se llamó TAD Incubado. Se analizaron 208 muestras de sangre de cordón umbilical, de las cuales se obtuvo 3 muestras positivas por ambos métodos. Se concluye que la variación del método no mejora la sensibilidad diagnóstica de la prueba

Significados que terapeutas ocupacionales atribuyen a sus prácticas con niños y niñas diagnosticados con TDAH, en el sistema público de atención, Región Metropolitana de Chile

Tesis (Magíster en Terapia Ocupacional, mención Intervención Psicosocial)La presente investigación realiza una aproximación crítica a la práctica de la Terapia Ocupacional, develando los significados que terapeutas ocupacionales otorgan a sus prácticas, a través de entrevistas en profundidad indagan en sus experiencias de trabajo con niños y niñas diagnosticados/as con Trastorno de Déficit Atencional con Hiperactividad, en diversos dispositivos de salud provenientes de la Región Metropolitana, Santiago de Chile. Se utiliza una metodología cualitativa, de tipo descriptiva-relacional, a través de la aplicación de entrevistas en profundidad individuales como técnica de producción de información y la teoría fundamentada como estrategia de análisis de información. Finalmente, se obtienen cuatro categorías de análisis: (1) Comprensión de niño o niña, (2) TDAH y configuración de sujeto, (3)Tipos de intervenciones de Terapia Ocupacional en TDAH y (4)Experiencias de Terapeutas Ocupacionales, que han producido sus prácticas. La información obtenida desde el análisis de cada categoría, y la identificación de relaciones entre estas, es expuesta en dos modelos explicativos: (1) “Sujeto Producido” y (2) “Sujeto Productor (producido): Pensar, Decir y Hacer”. Los aspectos más relevantes del análisis de la información son volcados en un cierre conclusivo

Pupillary Dynamics Reveal Computational Cost in Sentence Planning

This study investigated the computational cost associated with grammatical planning in sentence production. We measured people's pupillary responses as they produced spoken descriptions of depicted events. We manipulated the syntactic structure of the target by training subjects to use different types of sentences following a colour cue. The results showed higher increase in pupil size for the production of passive and object dislocated sentences than for active canonical subject–verb–object sentences, indicating that more cognitive effort is associated with more complex noncanonical thematic order. We also manipulated the time at which the cue that triggered structure-building processes was presented. Differential increase in pupil diameter for more complex sentences was shown to rise earlier as the colour cue was presented earlier, suggesting that the observed pupillary changes are due to differential demands in relatively independent structure-building processes during grammatical planning. Task-evoked pupillary responses provide a reliable measure to study the cognitive processes involved in sentence production.Fil: Sevilla, Yamila Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Maldonado, Mora. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; ArgentinaFil: Shalóm, Diego Edgar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Neurociencia Integrativa; Argentin

The Right of adequate housing: the legal security of tenure and the role of the ombudsman in it¿s guarantee

La seguridad jurídica de la tenencia, es decir el derecho de quienes disponen de una vivienda a conservarla, es uno de los elementos esenciales del derecho a la vivienda según la interpretación del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos Sociales y Culturales realizada por el Comité de Derechos Económicos Sociales y Culturales. En España, como consecuencia de la crisis económica, este elemento del derecho fue seriamente vulnerado, principalmente, mediante los procedimientos de ejecuciones hipotecarias y los desalojos. En este artículo, luego de describir el marco jurídico general del derecho a la vivienda, se analizan las repuestas de ese Comité ante las comunicaciones individuales correspondientes a España y las actuaciones relevantes del Defensor del Pueblo para garantizar la seguridad jurídica de la tenencia en ese EstadoLegal security of tenure, i.e. the right of those who have a home to keep it, is one of the essential elements of the right to adequate housing, according to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This element of the right was severely violated in Spain, mainly by means of foreclosure, during the economic crisis. In this paper, after describing the general legal framework of the right to housing, we will analyze the CESCR's responses to individual communications in relation to Spain and the relevant interventions of the Ombudsman in guaranteeing the legal security of tenure in Spain.Universidad Pablo de Olavid