Publications on Chronic Disease in Coal Dependent Communities in Central Appalachia

CONTEXT: Agency and nonprofit reports have traditionally been the source of health information in Appalachia. Recently, publications have appeared in the literature associating coal mining, specifically mountain top mining, with numerous chronic health conditions spurring debate among environmental and industry interest groups. Publication quantity and quality were objectively assessed. This article reports on a literature review and analysis of publications on chronic disease in coal dependent communities in Appalachia. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a review and analysis of original, peer reviewed research publications on chronic health conditions in communities dependent on coal mining with a focus on central Appalachia and report on publication and research quantity and quality. DATA SOURCES: Thorough searches were conducted using PubMed, EBSCO, and CiNAHL computerized databases to identify original, peer-reviewed research articles addressing ‘Appalachia’, ‘health’ and ‘coal’. STUDY SELECTION: The computerized database search identified original research publications relevant to chronic health conditions (heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, cancers, diabetes, obesity, etc.) and coal mining in central Appalachia. DATA EXTRACTION: Quantitative measures of the literature review provided information on author collaborations, year of publication, frequency of publication by contributing authors, etc. Journal impact factors were noted and other objective qualitative criteria were considered. DATA SYNTHESIS: Over 60 publications relevant to mining with 38 publications specific to Appalachia and health were identified. The publications were reviewed relative to relevance and article quality i.e., current, original research, application to central Appalachia and discussions of chronic human health and coal mining. Over the past five years most of the publications relevant to chronic disease and coal mining in central Appalachia resulted from a research group with a single common author. CONCLUSIONS: Science based evidence is needed and data must be provided by independent researchers from various disciplines of study to share different perspectives on how to alleviate the longstanding health disparities in central Appalachia. Studies will require the application of sound methodologies to validate the findings and support future interventions

Extending an Effective Classroom-Based Math Board Game Intervention to Preschoolers’ Homes

The preschool years are a critical time for math development. Unfortunately, children from low-income backgrounds often enter kindergarten with lower math skills than middle-income peers, perhaps due to less math exposure at home. Few home-based math interventions are available for preschool age children; those that do exist are costly and difficult to implement. Interventions conducted in children’s schools using linear numeric board games developed by researchers have been particularly successful with low-income preschool children. Researchers have suggested they may be adapted for home-use by using commercially available board games, such as Chutes and Ladders, and teaching parents how to play. The two studies described in this paper explored the effectiveness of using Chutes and Ladders with a specialized counting procedure with Head Start families. Implementation proved to be challenging and children did not improve as much as in previous classroom-based interventions

Irisin Treatment during Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease in an Rodent Model Improves Bone Formation Rate

Bone is a dynamic tissue that responds to many stressors including physical stress and certain disease states. Chronic systemic inflammatory conditions, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), result in increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation leading to low bone mass and high fracture incidence. There currently are no effective, safe treatments for IBD. Irisin is a hormone that is released during exercise and has previously been shown to increase bone mass. PURPOSE: Determine if exogenous treatment with irisin can mitigate the inflammatory insult of chronic IBD on bone. We hypothesized that young male rats with induced IBD and treatment with exogenous irisin would have increased bone formation rate (BFR) and mitigated loss of bone mineral density compared to rats with only IBD. METHOD: Male Sprague Dawley rats (2 months) were divided into four groups: controls (CON), those given dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water to induce IBD (DSS), CON rats given exogenous irisin (CON+IR), and DSS rats given exogenous irisin (DSS+IR). n per group=8.. Irisin injections began one week after initiation of IBD for the remainder of the four week protocol. RESULTS: Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) of the proximal tibia metaphysis showed a significant decrease in total bone mineral content and volumetric bone mineral density (cortical shell+cancellous core) in both DSS groups compared to both control groups. Dynamic histomorphomery revealed higher cancellous BFR due to irisin treatment in both CON and DSS rats resulting in DSS+IR having higher BFR than DSS. This was due largely to increases in mineralized surface indicating increased numbers of osteoblast teams. At the midshaft tibia, BFR was higher in DSS+IR, but not significantly different than DSS alone. This change was due more to increases in mineral apposition rate indicating higher activity of osteoblast teams. CONCLUSION: In this study, we demonstrated that rats with DSS have low bone mass similar to patients with IBD. Although irisin did not mitigate this bone loss, our data indicates over time it would likely lead to improved bone mass due to increases in bone formation. Additionally, our data indicate greater improvements in BFR in the cancellous bone, a more active bone compartment, than the midshaft tibia, but slight increases in mineral apposition rate at this site demonstrate improved osteoblast activity due to irisin. Since IBD is a chronic, life-long disease, our data highlights the potential benefit of exogenous irisin treatment as well as exercise therapy for patients with IBD

Sensemaking, meaning-making and practice perspectives in strategic planning for a veteran service nonprofit organization

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment Not ListedBrandon W. KliewerThe purpose of this research is both practical and scholarly. From a practical perspective, this study’s purpose is to explore the successes and challenges of a veteran service nonprofit organization through an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process to inform the organization's future priorities and direction. From a scholarly perspective, this research extends organizational literature in that it brings to light the ways members of an organization negotiate roles and navigate tensions in the construction of strategy and the function of the strategic text in inspiring commitment and motivating change. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, this research builds on the principles and concepts of sensemaking and meaning-making in a community of practice and strategy-as-practice. Data collected from in-depth qualitative fieldwork included interviews, a focus group, an open forum, a facilitated virtual board retreat, observations, correspondence, and archival materials. Data were analyzed using two coding techniques, one for the drafting of the strategic plan and the other an inductive approach to explore the research questions. The preliminary findings reveal three tensions (1) tensions in the transition from top-down to more inclusive strategic planning; (2) tensions between conflict and mutual engagement; and (3) tensions in the relationship between practitioners and strategic objects in creating meaning. Ultimately, this research provides perspectives on the broader implications for engaging leadership communication processes, such as appreciative inquiry, in facilitating organizational change

Climate Reregulation in a Biden Administration

On January 20, 2017, Inauguration Day, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School launched the Climate Deregulation Tracker, the first of what would become numerous online trackers, news reports, academic analyses, and other resources designed to spotlight the Trump administration’s use and abuse of executive authority to pursue its agenda to cut back on government regulations and to promote the extraction and use of fossil fuels. The Climate Deregulation Tracker has had a relatively narrow purpose: to keep tabs on the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the federal government’s climate-related regulations and policies and help inform members of the public so they more effectively voice their views on deregulation. In the almost four years since its launch, the Tracker has logged 159 executive branch actions that fit the bill. President Trump’s actions have frequently taken the form of executive orders that describe national policies, such as prioritizing fossil fuel production and distribution, emphasizing economic uses of natural resources, expediting federal environmental reviews for infrastructure projects, and decreasing emissions and efficiency standards across the board. The President’s executive orders have resulted in numerous agency actions designed to achieve outcomes consistent with the orders’ stated policies. Examples include rules delaying, rescinding, and replacing greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants, automobiles, oil and gas operations and landfills, and the revocation of policies and guidance that incorporate climate impacts into federal permitting, investment and other decision making

Simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation Exposure Impairs Mouse Vertebral Bone Adaptations to Exercise During Recovery From Partial Weightbearing

Partial weightbearing that simulates Lunar gravity (1/6th of Earth’s gravitational force) results in a loss of bone volume. High energy radiation like that found in galactic cosmic radiation exposure also negatively affects the skeleton. Because resistance training is the most effective exercise mode to counteract disuse-induced bone loss, this experiment combined low-dose, high-energy simulated galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) exposure, followed by a period of partial weightbearing (PWB), and then a period of resistance exercise or normal cage activity during recovery. Young adult female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to age-matched cage controls (CC) or PWB (G/6) groups. From there, animals were further divided into 0.5 Gy 36Fe radiation exposure (RAD) or sham exposure (SHAM) groups. Radiation exposure was performed at NASA’s Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory before shipping to Texas A&M. GCR was followed by a 21-day period of PWB, equivalent to being placed in a simulated lunar gravity environment. A 21-day recovery period began on Day 22, during which PWB animals were assigned to one of two groups: recovery with normal cage activity (G/6 + Rec) or resistance training during recovery (G/6 + RecEX). The latter group was trained three times every four days with a tower climbing training regimen, climbing a 1-meter wire mesh tower at an 85° angle. This training was repeated for a total of 15 climb sessions. As the exercise period progressed, weights were taped on to the mice tails. Ex vivo micro-computed tomography (μCT) scans were performed by Matthew Allen, PhD at the Indiana University School of Medicine to quantify cancellous bone microarchitecture in the 4th lumbar vertebral body. Means for cancellous bone volume (%BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and trabecular number (Tb.N) from Day 42 of the experiment were compared to Day 21 means by 2-way ANOVA to determine the changes occurring through the recovery period. RecEX had no significant affect on ∆BV/TV or ∆Tb.Th, but ∆BV/TV and ∆Tb.Th were significantly lower in RAD groups than in SHAM groups (p\u3c0.001). ∆Tb.N was significantly higher in exercised groups than non-exercised groups (p\u3c0.05), but no significant differences in ∆Tb.N were shown between RAD and SHAM groups. These data suggest that GCR exposure diminishes the ability of bone to respond to exercise during recovery form a period of reduced weightbearing

XROMM analysis of tooth occlusion and temporomandibular joint kinematics during feeding in juvenile miniature pigs

Like humans, domestic pigs are omnivorous and thus are a common model for human masticatory function. Prior attempts to characterize food–tooth interactions and jaw movements associated with mastication have been limited to aspects of the oral apparatus that are visible externally (with videography) and/or to 2D movements of oral structures (with monoplanar videofluoroscopy). We used XROMM, a 3D technique that combines CT-based morphology with biplanar videofluoroscopy, to quantify mandibular kinematics, tooth occlusion and mandibular condylar displacements within the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) during feeding. We observed that the pig TMJ moved detectably in only three of six possible degrees of freedom during mastication: two rotations, pitch and yaw; and one translation, protraction–retraction. Asymmetrical yaw around a dorsoventral axis produced the observed alternating left–right chewing cycles responsible for food reduction. Furthermore, the relative motions of the upper and lower premolars contained a substantial mesiodistal component in addition to the buccolingual component, resulting in an oblique (rather than a strictly transverse) power stroke. This research demonstrates the capacity of XROMM to explore the kinematic underpinnings of key masticatory movements, such as the occlusal power stroke, by integrating tooth, joint and rigid body jaw movements. XROMM also allowed us to test kinematic hypotheses based on skeletal anatomy with actual kinematics observed during naturalistic feeding behaviors. We observed that the soft tissue structures of the TMJ appear to play a significant role in limiting the range of motion of a joint, and thus analyses based solely on osseous morphology may over-estimate joint mobility

Impact of Anti-Resorptive Treatment on Recovery of Bone After Disuse

Bisphosphonates (BP), drugs that inhibit bone resorption, are used to minimize bone loss in long-duration spaceflight, extended bed rest, and acute spinal cord injury; however, the long term impact of BP use on recovery of bone after disuse is not well understood. This experiment tests the hypothesis that the BP zoledronic acid (ZOL) administered 7 days before hindlimb unloading (HU) will protect against loss of bone mass during 28 days of HU by suppressing bone resorption activity while also diminishing the ability of cancellous bone formation rate (BFR) to recover following HU. Male Sprague Dawley rats (6 mo) were assigned to aging control (AC), HU, and HU+ZOL groups and subjected to 28 days of HU, then to 56 days of weight-bearing recovery (REC). One group of rats was given 2 fluorescent labels 7 days apart to measure BFR in the final week of HU and the other group was given the same labels in the final week of REC. Histomorphometric analyses of the proximal tibia and distal femur showed lower osteoclast surface, a measure of bone resorption, 35 days after injection and 119 days after injection (-50% and -75%, respectively, compared to HU). This verified that ZOL successfully suppressed bone resorption. Dynamic histomorphometry revealed that cancellous BFR was lower in ZOL+HU versus AC both immediately after HU (-96.6%) and after the recovery period (-99.9%) (

Positive impact of low-dose, high-energy radiation on bone in partial- and/or full-weightbearing mice

Astronauts traveling beyond low Earth orbit will be exposed to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR); understanding how high energy ionizing radiation modifies the bone response to mechanical unloading is important to assuring crew health. To investigate this, we exposed 4-mo-old female Balb/cBYJ mice to an acute space-relevant dose of 0.5 Gy 56Fe or sham (n = ~8/group); 4 days later, half of the mice were also subjected to a ground-based analog for 1/6 g (partial weightbearing) (G/6) for 21 days. Microcomputed tomography (µ-CT) of the distal femur reveals that 56Fe exposure resulted in 65-78% greater volume and improved microarchitecture of cancellous bone after 21 d compared to sham controls. Radiation also leads to significant increases in three measures of energy absorption at the mid-shaft femur and an increase in stiffness of the L4 vertebra. No significant effects of radiation on bone formation indices are detected; however, G/6 leads to reduced % mineralizing surface on the inner mid-tibial bone surface. In separate groups allowed 21 days of weightbearing recovery from G/6 and/or 56Fe exposure, radiation-exposed mice still exhibit greater bone mass and improved microarchitecture vs. sham control. However, femoral bone energy absorption values are no longer higher in the 56Fe-exposed WB mice vs. sham controls. We provide evidence for persistent positive impacts of high-LET radiation exposure preceding a period of full or partial weightbearing on bone mass and microarchitecture in the distal femur and, for full weightbearing mice only and more transiently, cortical bone energy absorption values