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A Joint Endeavor: Methotrexate vs. JAK Inhibitors for Joint Inflammation Reduction in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Get PDFRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes joint inflammation and damage. This paper investigates the comparative efficacy of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors versus methotrexate (MTX) in reducing joint inflammation in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study addresses the critical research question: In adult patients with RA, does treatment with JAK inhibitors or methotrexate demonstrate superior efficacy in reducing joint inflammation? A literature review was conducted analyzing various clinical trials, including phase II and III studies, that evaluated the effectiveness of JAK inhibitors, both as monotherapy and in combination with MTX. The findings indicate that JAK inhibitors, particularly tofacitinib and baricitinib, consistently show superior or equivalent efficacy in achieving American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response rates and low disease activity scores compared to MTX, especially in patients with inadequate responses to traditional therapies. This literature review concludes that JAK inhibitors represent a promising alternative for RA management, particularly for patients intolerant to MTX, and highlights the need for further research to explore their longterm efficacy and safety in diverse patient populations
Improving Fertility in Women with Endometriosis
Get PDFEndometriosis is a common condition in women and has a strong association with infertility. The purpose of this literature review is to determine the efficacy of hormonal therapy as compared to surgical therapy before assisted reproductive therapy (ART) on endometriosis-related infertility. The electronic databases PubMed and Embase were searched from June 23, 2024, to January 4, 2025. Keywords used were associated with fertility, IVF, and endometriosis. Article selection was limited to research published after the year 2000 with a preference for randomized control trials (RCTs), although one pilot study and one clinical cohort study were also included. The search yielded 59 total articles. Exclusion criteria included lack of hard fertility endpoints including pregnancy rate or live birthrate, and any therapies that did not include either surgery or hormonal therapy in conjunction with ART. A total of seven articles were included in this review. Reviewed literature indicates that prior to ART, both surgical cystectomy and prolonged gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) downregulation improves fertility outcomes in women with endometriosis. However, to date there are no published studies that directly compared the effects of hormonal therapy to surgical therapy on fertility in women with endometriosis, and future research should be conducted to determine and compare those effects to guide clinical decision making for women experiencing infertility secondary to endometriosis
Spatial And Temporal Assessment Of Meteorological Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) And Its Effect On Crop Yield Over The Corn Belt Region Of The United States From 2000 To 2023
Get PDFClimate change and global warming have contributed to extreme weather events and patterns, including severe flooding, earthquakes, wildfires, and drought. Drought happens to be the deadliest catastrophic event around the world. Drought\u27s impact on ecosystems and local communities has been increasing in many parts of the world, including the United States and, most importantly, the corn Belt, which also happens to be the country\u27s food basket. Understanding drought prediction and mitigation can be investigated through drought indices. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is considered the most reliable in this study. It is used in this study to present the critical identifier for diagnosing the intensity, duration, and frequency of drought severity.Additionally, it is also a key identifier in extreme precipitation events. It is comparable to various landscapes across a region and is simple to use concerning its calculation process. This study focuses on the Midwest Corn Belt Region of the United States between the climate record from 2000-2023. This study is designed to understand precipitation regimes and their impact on cropland cover and yield (condition monitoring and crop progress) over the climate record. Results of the study showed drought affecting portions of the region, especially during the first half of the period, with 2012 indicating peak severity plaguing both corn belts. Generally, post-2012 indicated the wettest conditions, especially in 2015, 2018, and 2019. While cropland cover highlighted the widespread distribution of corn and soybean cover in both corn belts, crop condition, and progress corresponded and responded well to low yield during the intense drought years and high yield during the wettest years. Our analysis shows that climate change has undoubtedly resulted in a temperature rise, exacerbating the frequency and severity of heat waves and extreme precipitation events impacting parts of the United States, including the Corn Belt
Gender-Based Perceptions Of Confronting Prejudice In The Classroom
Get PDFDisparities exist between men and women in academia at the faculty and student level. Academically, women are judged as being weaker and inferior, and many describe experiences of sexism, often within the classroom setting. Few studies have investigated the impact of an instructor confronting sexism in the classroom. The current study examined the effects of an instructor’s gender, student’s gender, and instructor’s confrontation decision on students’ perceptions of the instructor, classroom environment, and the moderating effect of self-reported sexism. Participants read one of four vignettes describing an act of sexism in the classroom where a male (or female) instructor confronts (or ignores) a sexist comment from another student during a classroom discussion. Participants reported their perceptions of the instructor, classroom environment, and their level of self-reported sexism. Results indicated that students generally viewed an instructor\u27s confrontation of sexism positively, though this relationship was moderated by the student’s level of sexism
Characterization Of Methylated Histone Modifications During Simian Virus 40 Early Transcription
Get PDFModifications of histone proteins play an important role in transcription. These modifications regulate how chromatin is compacted by the histone proteins and either made available for transcription or prevents transcription machinery from proceeding. The modifications can be added or removed by histone acetyltransferases and histone methyltransferases for the former, and histone deacetylates and demethylases for the latter. To explore the dynamicity of these modifications we used the simple but effective Simian Virus 40 (SV40) model. SV40 continues to be an important tool in understanding eukaryotic transcription. It experiences similar processes as cellular chromatin, utilizing host proteins to propagate its own growth. This hijacking includes using host histone modifying enzymes to modify its own histone tails. We have shown existing modifications during wild – type infection, but in this study, we use inhibitors for these modifying enzymes to observe the effects of changing the modifications compared to normal conditions. Utilizing ChIP to measure modified histones, we are able to demonstrate the decrease or increase of histone modifications. These measurements are then used along with ChIP-seq data to visualize where the modifications are on the genome. Furthermore, we evaluated total RNA produced to evaluate the effects of the inhibitors on overall RNA levels of small T-antigen and large T-antigen. Finally, we utilize RNA-seq to seek an understanding to the overall effects the inhibitors are having on SV40 genes. Surprisingly, we observed that DMSO as a solvent should be avoided when studying epigenetics as it had dramatic effects on not only the cell after 30 minutes, but the virus\u27 chromatin structure and early transcription. This made it difficult for us to make any conclusions from treatment with DMSO. We did try alternative solvents which gave us minimal differences, however; we did observe and can conclude that impacting one histone modifying enzyme has an impact on other histone modifications and early transcription. We see a reduction in the amount of T - antigen spliced during early transcription compared to the untreated samples and the alternative solvent treated samples, and we observed a difference in histone modification location compared to the untreated samples. We conclude that DMSO is having an effect on SV40 chromatin structure that is likely causing the change in early transcription. The drugs themselves also appear to have an effect when dissolved in the alternative solvent on chromatin structure, however; the impact on early transcription is minimal
Creating Equitable Employment Practices For Adjunct Faculty: Perceptions Of Academic Administrators At Public Institutions In A Great Plains State
Get PDFAdjunct faculty are a substantial feature of the higher education classroom. Their increased prevalence has contributed to elevated concerns regarding the employment practices of these part-time faculty. While numerous published accounts of adjunct faculty experiences are available, recorded perceptions of academic administrators are less prevalent. Eighty-six academic administrators from six public universities in a Great Plains state participated in a researcher-developed survey to determine the expectations placed upon and compensation practices for adjunct faculty, as well as perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the adjunct system and the feasibility of providing more equitable compensation. Survey findings suggest there is potential for more equitable compensation packages and greater clarity in the expectations of the position. The project culminated in a research brief, with recommendations to support more equitable adjunct faculty employment practices
Evaluating Human Factors In Isolation And Confinement During Analog Spaceflight: A Decadal Survey Assessing Ilmah Crew Psychology
Get PDFThis study examined 13 crews participating in analog Martian surface simulations to investigate psychological experiences within the first collegiate planetary surface habitat. The University of North Dakota (UND) Integrated Lunar-Martian Analog Habitat (ILMAH) was utilized with high-performing participant crews (n=42) who were recognized and recruited for their skills. Common environmental similarities that each crew faced included isolation, confinement, time-latent communications, demanding work hours, monotonous tasks, physically strenuous Extravehicular Activities (EVA), personal psychological adaptations, and interpersonal psychosocial challenges. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate self-appraised crew performance measures across continuous phases of isolation and confinement lasting up to 21 days in the four-person habitat. This study utilized the ILMAH Evening Rating Forms (ERF), which included individual responses assessing stress, anxiety, exertion, fatigue, sleep measures, positive affect, and negative affect reported during the simulation. Missions were divided into four phases, with each phase of crew performance compared to baseline assessments using within-subjects repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine significant differences between baseline data and target mission phases. The overall findings provided data on self-assessed metrics from the ILMAH crews, who independently completed nightly reports, under time-delayed communications, in a planetary analog setting. Crew participants ranged in age from 26 to 57 years (M = 34.90, SD = 9.61). A total of 43% (n = 18) of the participants were female, and 57% (n = 24) were male. Participant demographics represented a diverse age range of educated individuals. They were enrolled in various graduate schools nationwide, serving in the military, and military veterans. During this time, the ILMAH facility consisted of a modular design Lunar-Martian habitat, an electric crew rover, and prototype surface exploration suits. These habitat components were deployed for each mission to help simulate isolation, confinement, and support realistic tasks representative of future human missions to the Moon and Mars. The findings related to initial hypotheses included significant phase differences in 9 of 11 self-appraised performance measures when comparing baseline data to the four quartile phases of the mission. The findings also supported the hypothesis that third-quarter phases would be elevated for stress, anxiety, fatigue, and exertion measures compared to baseline. Significant differences were regularly observed to peak during the third-quarter phase of each mission compared to the baseline and other notable flight phases. The findings did not indicate significant differences in sleep measurements when comparing baseline reports to mission quartiles. However, the worst sleep levels were reported during the baseline and early phases of data collection. Findings indicated positive affect was lowest during the third quarter, and negative affect was highest in the third quarter compared to baseline. ILMAH analog missions focused on the effectiveness of the crew and habitat operations for safety and UND mission goals. Psychological assessment techniques explored and expanded here on Earth will better prepare crews for farther, longer-duration exploration-class missions on or beyond Earth destinations. This study proposed a novel and confidential stress reporting approach as a tangible countermeasure strategy for analyzing crew stressors and performance. The ERF survey assessed performance reports applicable to analog simulations, career aviators, astronauts, and possibly other high-demand professions. The underlying premise remains that this information could better support field applications, where significant concerns include facades of underreporting stress, depression, and fitness for duty
Treatment of Adult ADHD
Get PDFPharmaceutical therapy, particularly stimulants, is the mainstay treatment for ADHD • The systematic literature review focuses on nonpharmaceutical therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, mindfulness behavioral therapy) as potential alternatives for the management of adult ADHD • Nonpharmaceutical treatments could be beneficial for patients where pharmaceutical therapy is not preferred or contraindicated • Research supports the use of pharmaceutical therapy for adult ADHD in combination with nonpharmaceutical therapies • Future research could explore nonpharmaceutical therapies along as a long-term management option for adult ADHDhttps://commons.und.edu/pas-grad-posters/1330/thumbnail.jp
