2020 Abstracts

Gardner, Emily; Floyd, Eden; Taylor, Shaylee (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jensen, Francine (Utah Valley University, Nursing)

Problem Statement: Nurses experience a high incidence of workplace violence.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative research study aims to examine nurses' perceptions of workplace violence, including nurse-to-nurse, patient-to-nurse, and coworker-to-nurse violence, and explore nurses' perceptions of safety measures in their work environment.

Research Question: What are nurses' perceptions and experiences of workplace violence and what factors make them feel safer?

Background: Safety in healthcare is a concern that needs active improvement; "67% of all nonfatal workplace violence injuries occur in healthcare, but healthcare represents only 11.5% of the U.S. workforce" (Locke, Bromley, & Derspiel, 2018). The Joint Commission (2018), an accrediting body for many healthcare organizations, reported that nurses are among the most victimized by violence in healthcare. Certain locations such as the emergency department, psychiatric units, geriatric units, and intensive care units may experience a greater number of violent incidents (Camerino, Estryn-Behar, Conway, van der Heijden, & Hasselhorn, 2008). One study showed that 64% of the nurse respondents felt like violence, both physical or verbal, was an expected part of their jobs (Copeland & Henry, 2017). In addition, it was demonstrated that many nurses accept a level of violence on the job and do not see the importance of reporting incidents and looking for solutions (Copeland & Henry, 2017).

Hope to accomplish: The course of this research will explore how nurses perceive their workplace safety, shed light on experiences of workplace violence they have witnessed, and their perceptions of on-the-job safety. This research will also examine what makes newer and older nurses feel a greater sense of security while performing their jobs. Since some of the factors that make nurses feel safer may involve unit or hospital policies, these findings may offer ideas for potential changes to policies to help improve workplace safety in healthcare.

DeNiro, Adara; Cao, Erhu; Wang, Qinzhe; Wang, Jinliang (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Cao, Erhu (University of Utah, School of Medicine)

The kidneys are responsible for several essential bodily functions critical to our survival. These include filtering blood and excreting metabolic waste into urine. Two proteins, polycystin-1 and polycystin-2, interact in renal tubules and promote the normal development and function of the kidneys. However, the proteins' actions are not well understood. Polycystin-1 and Polycystin-2 are encoded by the PKD1 gene and the PKD2 gene respectively. A mutation in either of these genes can lead to Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD), a common inherited disease leading to progressive renal failure. Several extrarenal manifestations occur as a result of ADPKD including hepatic cysts and intracranial aneurysms. Ultimately, ADPKD often leads to end-stage renal disease that requires dialysis or transplantation. Currently, there is no cure for ADPKD due to setbacks regarding structural determination of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Proteins. Some setbacks are the inability to view the regulatory cytosolic domains of the PKD1/PKD2 channel in atomic detail and understand the function(s) of the polycystic kidney disease proteins. My project examines the ability of Fabs and nanobodies to bind to the PKD2 channel and the PKD1/2 complex as this potentially facilitates structural determination. This is done by stabilizing cytosolic domains and/or promoting a more uniform orientation distribution of these proteins essential for imaging by cryo-electron microscopy.

Chandler L Eyre. David A. Eastley (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Hancock, Chad (Brigham Young University, NDFS)

Purpose: To determine the effects of H2O2 exposure to human hepatocytes on the iron regulatory proteins such as transferrin receptor (TfR), Ferritin Light-Chain (FLC). Methods: Cells were cultured at an initial density of 35,000 cells/cm2 in 6-well plates, grown until confluent, and then harvested. Iron treatments were done using FeCl3 solution with media to desired concentrations, and then incubating for 24 hours. Groups that received both iron and H2O2 treatments were exposed to 12 hours of iron, followed by incubation with media that included both iron and GOX at 4.8 mU/mL and 0.165 mg/mL of CAT (2-5 KU/mg). BCA protein assay was used to assess protein content, and then normalize each sample to each other for subsequent preparation for western blot. Western blots were carried out were analyzed by fluorescence following densitometry. MTT assays were carried out utilizing the mitochondrial reductase enzyme, and colorimetrically measured to assess cell viability. Results: Iron treatments of 10, 50, and 100 µM for 24-hrs did not result in any significant cell death. Treatment with the same concentrations resulted in a significant decrease (n=12) in TfR for all three groups when compared against control cells that were cultured and harvested simultaneously without any addition the growth media. (10 µM p<0.01), (50 µM p<0.01), and (100 µM p<0.01). FTL in the 10 µM group was significantly decreased (n=11, p<0.01), but not for the 50 µM, or 100 µM groups with p values of 0.9867, and 0.9612, respectively. H2O2 treatments produced concentrations of 5-10 µM, mimicking neutrophil release during inflammatory response. Conclusion: Our assay is sufficient to mimic neutrophil release of H2O2. Iron treatments are able to induce TfR decrease but seem to have a threshold at 10 µM for increasing FTL for storage. We hypothesize that this may be due to a dysregulation at higher concentrations.

Seaboch, Melissa (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Seaboch, Melissa (University of Utah, Anthropology)

Primates do not make good pets because they are highly social animals that require members of their own species, large amounts of space, and specific diets to maintain positive psychological well-being. Additionally primates can also be aggressive toward their owners and they can transmit diseases (e.g. Salmonella, parasites, etc.) to their owners. Even so, there are over 15,000 pet primates in the United States. Regulations for owning a primate vary from state to state from a complete ban (19 states) to no restrictions (17 states). The goal of this project is to understand the pet primate trade and ownership in the United States, specifically, in which states they are for sale. Data (type of primate for sale and location) were collected bimonthly for five months from six online exotic pet trade websites. We found that 311 primates were offered for sale in 11 states with Florida having the most primates for sale (62%, n=195) followed by Tennessee (8.6%, n=27), and Texas (8%, n=25). The number of primates for sale in Florida is surprising since Florida requires permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission while there are no regulations for owning monkeys in Texas, or Tennessee. The Captive Primate Safety Act currently before Congress would prohibit the sale of all nonhuman primates by including them as "prohibited wildlife species" and would greatly reduce the ownership of primates as pets, though we note that a similar bill failed in 2007.

Jensen, Afton; Claunch, Kelsie; Verdeja, Marco; Dungan, Matthew; Anderson, Shellie; Clayton, Colter K.; Goates, Michael, Thacker, Evan (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Thacker, Evan (Life Sciences, Public Health)

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of lay perspectives on the meaning of successful aging from older adults across multiple cultures and countries. Furthermore, this article allows for a discussion of the complexity of older adults' perspectives on successful aging and how successful aging may be defined differently across cultures and countries. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify, summarize, and evaluate peer-reviewed studies of qualitative data on lay perspectives of older adults. This review included studies on elderly populations published from 2010 to 2017 that addressed older adults' lay perspectives on successful aging. Such studies involved primary research performed in the United States, Germany, Singapore, Lebanon, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. The key concepts that emerged from older adult responses across all studies included physical health, cognitive health, social engagement, attitude/coping, independence/security, and spirituality. The overall emerging themes from our data suggest that older adults were not as concerned with physical health as biomedical previous research of successful aging often suggest. Rather, older adults focused on maintaining positive attitudes in order to cope with life changes, valuing social engagement and contribution as more essential to successful aging. Respondents from Western Europe valued keeping positive attitudes about death and focusing on gratitude instead of worries. Additionally, respondents from the United States and Mexico placed importance on pursuing activities and interests and having strong involvement with family and friends respectively. Noting differences, respondents from the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania Region, as opposed to respondents from North America, moreso prioritized the absence of chronic disease and comfort in one's own environment over keeping active. By providing a more comprehensive organizational framework of older adults' qualitative responses to successful aging, we better understand what successful aging means across cultures.

Parsons, Travis; Lippert, Peter; Bartley, John (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Lippert, Peter (University of Utah - College of Mines and Earth Science, Geology & Geophysics); Bartley, John (University of Utah - College of Mines and Earth Science, Geology & Geophysics)

Field observations and geochronological measurements of plutons in Yosemite Valley suggest that plutons grow incrementally as a series of stacked sheets of smaller intrusions (i.e., dikes and sills) (Coleman et al., 2004; Glazner et al., 2004; Bartley et al., 2006). This interpretation is in contrast to the traditional view of pluton emplacement through crystallization of a single, massive magma chamber. Most of the observations supporting incremental pluton emplacement use the relationship between zircon U-Pb dating of pluton sections and estimated granitic magma cooling rates to argue that a single magmatic event would crystallize significantly faster than the geochronologic data permit. Incremental pluton emplacement also predicts specific relationships between the age of intruded sheets of magma and the original orientation of these sheets, such that older sheets are expected to be tilted or deformed more than younger sheets. Here we test this prediction of differential tilting by measuring the paleomagnetic inclination preserved in well-dated and structurally characterized sheets of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite. Magnetic inclination provides a tilt-meter with respect to the Earth's magnetic field direction at the time of pluton emplacement; the reference inclination assuming an untitled pluton is known from independent data sets. We also present rock magnetic data (temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility, magnetic remanence characteristics) and results from petrographic investigations to characterize the mineralogy and stability of the magnetization. Our results suggest that the low-titanium magnetite remanence carriers are primary and are not biased by secondary magnetizations. The distribution of magnetic inclinations in our sample set — in which older sheets on the periphery of the pluton are shallower than those in younger, more interior sheets, and with respect to the reference inclination — is consistent with predictions from the incremental pluton emplacement hypothesis.

Dearden, Heravi, Shen, Arslanian, Shrestha, Mismash, Tinsley, Pay (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Dearden, David (Brigham Young University, Chemistry)

Using the Spartan and Ion Molecular Spectrometry Suite (IMoS), we use the 3D modeling to predict stability and molecule favorability. Previously in our experimentation we have seen and proper capping of a host molecule with cucurbit[5]uril. This was different than cucurbit[6]uril as the cap in some cases didn't bond to all the upward oxygens because on the molecular symmetry, thus host enclosure was less favorable in cucurbit[6]uril than cucurbit[5]uril. We also observed in our lab the energy differences using the Extensible Computation Chemistry Environment (ECCE) of cucurbit[5]uril host transfer based on cap and host interactions. These studies show that cucurbit[5]uril with methane as a host is more favorable than outside the cavity. It also shows that methane inside cucurbit[5]uril is more favored than in decamethylcucurbit[5]uril. The studies using computational study will be testable using mass spectrometry, and we predict that the same behavior trend will show using other caps and hosts with cucurbit[5]uril and decamethylcucurbit[5]uril.

Cromar, Zachary J.; Findlay, Matthew; Turner, Elizabeth; Mills, Ammon (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Gazdik-Stofer, Michaela (College of Science - Utah Valley University, Biology); Sylvester, Steven (College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Utah Valley University, Political Science)

The World Health Organization has included vaccine hesitancy in the top ten threats to global health in 2019. Studies done in the United States have shown that the Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) can be used to identify why individuals are more vaccine-hesitant (VH) than others. Counterintuitively, the dichotomous moral foundations (MF) of care vs. harm, traditionally used in pro-vaccine messaging interventions, or fairness vs. cheating, were not found to be the foundations on which VH parents based their decision not to follow the CDC recommended vaccination schedule. It was discovered that the purity vs. degradation and liberty vs. oppression foundations are more important to VH individuals than all other foundations. Highly VH individuals are twice as likely to emphasize purity and liberty. Concerningly, in 2018, Utah ranked in the bottom ten states for child vaccination rates in 11 of the 19 vaccines reported by the Utah Department of Health. We plan on testing a broader messaging intervention than the current, traditional vaccine messages. Our messaging interventions will emphasize the MFs of liberty vs. oppression and purity vs. degradation to see if they will be more effective than our more traditional messaging intervention emphasizing care vs. harm, or an unrelated control message not related to vaccines. We hypothesize that messages emphasizing the purity and liberty foundations will resonate better with the VH and decrease their vaccine-hesitancy relative to the other groups. If our data supports that the MFs of liberty vs. oppression and purity vs. degradation significantly decrease vaccine-hesitancy than current general vaccine education messaging interventions should be broadened to include these MFs. However, if results do not demonstrate that the liberty vs. oppression MFs are more effective at decreasing vaccine hesitancy, then more research should be performed on the subject.

Tilisa Howell; David Aguilar-Alvarez (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Aguilar-Alvarez, David (Moyes College of Education, Athletic Training & nutrition)

Abstract:

Background:

Recent studies show that water intake plays a major role in the development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. The aim of this study was to determine if the percentage of total fluid intake from water influences Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and identify significant associations between water, dairy, soft drinks and juice consumption with MetS parameters in college students.

Methods:

We measured MetS parameters and collected diet records from 364 college students, ages 18-65 years. Participants were grouped by gender (Male: 112; Female: 252) and by percentage of total fluid consumption from water. Groups were defined as high (>70%) percentage of total fluid intake from water (HPW) and Low percentage (<30%) of total fluid intake from water (LPW). T-test was used to determine mean differences in MetS parameters between HPW and LPW, and Pearson correlations to determine associations between MetS and specific fluids.

Results:

HPW participants showed lower diastolic blood pressure when compared with their LPW counterparts (µ=78. 51±8. 28 vs µ=81. 2± 9. 28, p=0. 05). Men dairy fluid consumption was associated with increased fasting blood glucose (r=0. 242, p=0. 01. In women, Juice consumption was associated with increased LDL-Cholesterol (r= 0. 205, p=0. 02).

Conclusion:

Consuming non-water fluids showed negative effects on blood pressure. Contrary to previous studies, dairy fluid consumption in men was associated with increased blood glucose. It is possible that high-glycemic foods tied to dairy consumption modulate this association. Our results in women are consistent with previous studies were juice consumption increases triglyceride production and VLDL-Cholesterol.

Keyes, E. Dalles; Alvey, Brighton; Smith, T. Andrew; Roberts, Andrew G. (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Roberts, Andrew G. (University of Utah, Chemistry)

Medicinal chemistry has long relied on the development of small molecule therapeutics to treat human disease. Small molecules affect change at the cellular level through specific interactions with biological targets (e.g. proteins), thereby eliciting a desired physiological response. Conversely, small molecules can also interact non-specifically, which can complicate their targeted application. In many cases, the use of peptide-based medicines can address this limitation. Like small molecules, peptide-therapeutics are designed to modulate specific biological processes. They often exhibit desirable activity at low concentrations as a result of high selectivity. Being comprised of natural amino acid building blocks, peptides offer an inherent advantage. Their natural breakdown leads to minimally toxic degradation products. However, premature and rapid degradation can result in failure to reach an established target in vivo. The cyclization of peptides has shown to be a promising strategy to address this problem. Inspired by Nature's wide collection of non-ribosomal peptides, specifically those comprising electron-rich aromatic moieties, we have developed a new chemical strategy for the synthesis of cyclic peptides. Our cyclization method leverages the inherent reactivity of the tyrosine (Tyr) phenol nucleus with electrophilic 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (TAD) moieties. Using this reaction, we can construct macrocyclic peptidomimetic scaffolds. Upon synthesizing an N4-substituted 1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione (aka urazole) at the N-terminus of a solid-supported peptide, the urazole moiety is chemoselectively oxidized under mild conditions to generate a TAD derivative in situ. The TAD moiety reacts with the sidechain phenol nucleus of internally or terminally located Tyr residues and results in the formation of a macrocyclic peptide. We envision that this method will significantly augment current strategies for constructing macrocyclic peptides by enabling the facile synthesis of complex peptidomimetic scaffolds. Furthermore, this approach is anticipated to expand the repertoire of tools used for developing medicinally relevant peptides and, thus, may be suitable for preparing unique peptide-based therapeutics.

Sevy, Jonathon; Radebaugh, Jani; McDougall, Dylan; Kerber, Laura; Rabinovitch, Jason (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Radebaugh, Jani (Brigham Young University, Geology)

Yardangs are wind-carved linear ridges that are found selectively on Earth and extensively on Mars. The history of the morphologic development of yardangs is not well known. In the Puna high plateau of Argentina there are ignimbrite deposits, many of which have been eroded into yardang fields, commonly called fleets. Yarding fleets are evenly spaced forms, facing into the wind, that resemble a fleet of boats sailing. A prominent fleet, known as Campo de las Piedras Pomez (CCP) was studied to more fully understand their formation and morphology, including field research in December 2018 and 2019. Some physical characteristics looked at in the field included: dedos direction and lengths; heights and lengths of yardangs; structural features; wind and gravel ripple direction. In addition, relationships between yardang organization and structural control have been analyzed. The dedos on the fronts of yardangs averaged 4.0cm in length, while the reverse dedos were 3.3cm. From this it was determined that: Two wind directions, with one dominant, are present; Structural features can shape morphology of yardangs.

Parada, Michelle (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Schramm, Katharina (Weber State University, Botany)

This research focuses on anti-tumor and the biotoxicity of A. millefollium (yarrow).
Yarrow is an interesting plant with a long history of medicinal uses, but very little has been done to research and prove the different beneficial properties claimed. There are two simple bench-top assays performed in this study, the potato disc assay which inoculates potato slices with Agrobacterium tumefaciens as well as different concentrations of yarrow extracts and assesses the resulting tumor formation and the brine shrimp toxicity assay to assess the LD-50 of the extracts. My results will indicate whether or not the native yarrow extracts inhibit or do not inhibit tumor formation and its toxicity level. The results of this research could lead to further studies of the phytochemicals in the plant to be used for cancer treatments.

Asay, Spencer; Graham, Andrew; Burke, Lexady; Barnes, Brad; Oblad, Richard; Kenealey, Jason (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Kenealey, Jason (Life Sciences; Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science)

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, and metastatic prostate cancer is currently incurable. Prostate cancer frequently becomes resistant to standard of care treatments. Moreover, the administration of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, such as docetaxel (DOC), poses the risk of debilitating toxic side effects. Combination therapy, in which several compounds targeting multiple cellular pathways are administered jointly, is one tool that can be used to combat therapeutic resistance and drug toxicity. Vitamin E (VE) compounds and analogs have been proposed as potential non-toxic chemotherapeutics. We modeled combination therapy using mixture design response surface methodology (MDRSM), a statistical technique designed to optimize mixture compositions, to determine whether combinations of three chemotherapeutic agents (γ-tocotrienol (γ-T3), γ-tocopherol ether acetate (ɑ-TEA), and DOC) would prove more effective than DOC alone in the treatment of PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. A response surface was generated for cell viability, and the optimal treatment combination for reducing cell viability was calculated. We found that a combination of 30 µM ɑ-TEA, 20 µM γ-T3, and 25 nm DOC was most effective in the treatment of PC-3 cells. We also found that combining γ-T3 and ɑ-TEA with DOC decreased the dose of DOC required to significantly reduce cell viability in PC-3 cells. Finally, we found that combining γ-T3 and ɑ-TEA with DOC enhanced treatment efficacy in DOC-resistant PC-3 cells.

Ouzts, Ethan (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Matheson, Rebekka (BYU Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology)

Ketamine was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a therapeutic approach to treat individuals with treatment-resistant depression. This approval opens the door for other hallucinogens to be approved for psychiatric use. This review compares the antidepressant efficacy and safety of ketamine to serotonergic hallucinogens, such as lysergic diethylamide acid (LSD). Ketamine acts as the standard of comparison in this review. Serotonergic hallucinogens demonstrate similar short to mid-term responses in patients with depression and compares well to ketamine's safety. Researchers should conduct additional randomized, controlled experiments to better establish serotonergic hallucinogens' antidepressant potential. Despite this limitation, serotonergic hallucinogens warrant serious consideration for potential antidepressant treatment.

Sundstrom, Rebecca; Jensen, Joseph B. (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jensen, Joseph (Utah Valley University, Physics)

We will measure Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) in three galaxies (ESO137-G006, NGC 3309, and NGC 5128) using images from two cameras: the GeMS Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system and the FLAMINGOS-2 (F-2) near-infrared imaging spectrograph, at the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope in Chile. To make an accurate measurement we need to first determine a photometric calibration for the MCAO system by comparing flux, or captured light, from both detectors. This is necessary because MCAO collects crisp, sharp images but omits some of the total incoming flux from the stars in the galaxies. F-2 takes broader images but includes more measurable flux. By finding the ratio of the flux collected by MCAO to the flux collected by F-2 we can take this "missing" light into account without compromising the crisp, sharp resolution MCAO provides.

Morgan Howard, Corinna Trujillo Tanner, Boyd Tanner, Brandon Thatcher, Janelle Macintosh (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Trujillo Tanner, Corinna (Nursing, Nursing)

Purpose/Aims: The purpose of this Review of Literature is to present the most current and accurate information about e-cigarette use, or vaping, with recommendations for nursing practice.

Rationale/Conceptual Basis/Background: According to the CDC, to date over 1300 individuals have developed severe lung injury, associated with vaping, including 216 fatalities. Most of these cases involved young people in their teens or twenties. There are concerns that marketing for vaping specifically targets young people and leads potential users to consider the practice relatively safe. On the contrary, vaping is associated with several serious health risks, including lipoid pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and popcorn lung. Little is known about the effects of the 60+ compounds identified in vaping aerosol, which is inhaled directly into the lungs. Nurses are often the first point of contact for patients in primary care and urgent/emergent settings. Nurses provide valuable patient education, health assessment, and referral. It is important for nurses to have access to the latest information about this developing problem.

Methods: We conducted a review of literature. We reviewed and summarized information from the Food and Drug administration, Centers for Disease Control, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and other reputable sources. All information reviewed had been published within the last six months. Research questions which guided this review sought to identify important considerations for nursing assessment, and nursing interventions.

Findings/Clinical Implications:

Nursing Assessment: An important part of nursing assessment should include documentation of a patient's history of vaping. When a patient presents with respiratory symptoms and has a history of vaping, a detailed vaping history covering the previous 90 days should be obtained. When acute lung injury, caused by vaping is identified, it must be reported to local and state health departments, per the new CDC guidelines.

Nursing interventions should include patient education as follows: 98.7% of "vape juice" assayed by the FDA contained the addictive substance nicotine (even if labeled "nicotine free") Nicotine is highly addictive and damages developing brain tissue in fetuses, infants, children and teens Inhaled "second hand" vape aerosol is dangerous for pregnant women, infants, children and those with lung disease The inhaled solution is not "water vapor" but rather an aerosol created by an electric heating element within the vaping device The inhaled solution contains up to 60 + chemicals including heavy metals

There is no established standard for vaping safety

Flavorings in vape juice, although considered safe for ingestion, have not been approved for inhalation and are not known to be safe

Additional information and recommendations will be forthcoming as our understanding of the risks associated with vaping is rapidly evolving.

Barlow, Andrew; Beales, Joseph; Ekpo, Idongesit; Krueger, Emily; Lloyd, Trevor; Ross, Mimi; Sheets, Jared; Tessem, Jeffery; (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Tessem, Jeffery (Brigham Young University; Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science)

One in eleven people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and 12% of the global health expenditure is attributed to its treatment. Despite spending over $300 billion on the treatment of diabetes, none offer curative therapies. Diabetes is characterized by the loss of pancreatic β-cell function, but research has shown changes in diet are beneficial in treating Type 2 Diabetes. Phytochemicals are commonly utilized in these diets, and recent studies show diets high in derived flavanols exert beneficial bioactivity for β-cells. However, given that these phytochemicals are rarely found in circulation, the direct mechanism of action is still under investigation. Gut bacteria metabolize flavanols into smaller, absorbable metabolites, which can be found in circulation. We hypothesize that these gut bacteria derived flavanol metabolites are absorbed and have direct effects on β-cell function. We test this hypothesis by feeding rats control diets or diets rich in the flavanol monomers catechin hydrate and epicatechin or grape seed extract. Here we present data regarding the in vitro effects of these absorbed gut bacteria derived flavanols on β-cell function. This study sheds further light on flavanols and their potential to promote insulin secretion and, ultimately, glucose homeostasis.

Wankier, Zakary; Sinclair, Sarina PhD; Drew, Alex PhD; Taylor, Carolyn MS; Kubiak, Eric MD; Agarwal, Jayant MD (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Sinclair, Sarina (School of Medicine, Orthopaedics)

Introduction:

Osseointegration (�OI�) technology is the direct skeletal attachment of a prosthetic limb to bone using an intramedullary stem. For OI to be effective and secure, bone in-growth and remodeling around the implant must be achieved. Physicians need an effective way to measure bone remodeling in order to make informed decisions on treatments. This work describes methodology that was developed that utilizes computed tomography (CT) imaging as a tool for analyzing bone remodeling around an OI implant.

Method:

Subjects implanted with a new Percutaneous Osseointegrated Prosthesis (POP) had CTs taken of their residual femur at 6 and 52-weeks post-op. The CT images were used to segment and create three-dimensional models of the femur.

Following segmentation, models were aligned to a common world coordinate system. STLs of the aligned medullary cavity and femur volume were entered into custom Matlab code to calculate cortical and medullary morphology measurements. Morphology data from 6 and 52-week scans were compared in order to determine if bone remodeling around the POP implant could be detected.

Results:

Comparing data from post-operative visits suggests that important indicators of bone remodeling around the device could be detected. One year after implantation of the POP device the medullary parameters had minimal % differences (-1.5 and 2.2) compared to 6-weeks, validating that consistent alignment was achieved between scans from different time points. Cortical area, perimeter, and thickness around the POP implant showed positive percent changes at 12-months of 19.44%, 4.04% and 14.36% respectively. Increases in cortex morphology values indicate bone remodeling around the implant, with largest increases observed at the distal end for each parameter.

Discussion:

This pilot study utilized CT imaging as a tool for quickly and accurately analyzing bone remodeling around a new osseointegrated device. Additional work will further validate and optimize these methods for clinical use.

This study described an investigational device, limited by federal law to investigational use. No long-term data exists about its performance.