Publications by authors named "Kitchens K"

Background And Objectives: Recent literature has applied locus of control (LOC), a psychological measure for understanding individuals' perceived control, to forcibly displaced populations. An internal LOC is generally considered beneficial for well-being in the Western context. However, the cross-cultural validity of this construct warrants further examination.

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Background And Objective: Older adult refugees from Burma face unique challenges in third-country resettlement, yet their experiences are often overlooked in research and policy. This scoping review aims to examine the literature on refugees aged 45 and older from Burma in third-country resettlement contexts, identify factors contributing to successful integration, and elucidate the unique challenges they encounter.

Research Design And Methods: We systematically searched seven databases using Arksey and O'Malley's framework.

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Local government policies and practices shape the context of the places that can alter a population's life chances through socioeconomic factors, built environments, and healthcare access. County governments, one of the most ubiquitous U.S.

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Cognitive impairment is pronounced in forcibly displaced populations. This study examined how education and English proficiency are associated with cognitive difficulties between refugee and non-refugee older immigrants. Analyses assessed the moderating effect of refugee status on the association of education and English proficiency with cognitive difficulty.

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Patient-centered outcomes research helps youth and families using behavioral health services make informed decisions about treatments to help them achieve the outcomes most important to them. However, there are few efforts to identify the outcomes valued by youth and families systematically. This project aimed to support the development of behavioral health services that deliver outcomes valued by families by identifying the outcomes that youth and young adults with behavioral health needs and caregivers say matter most to them.

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Refugees within the post-migration context experience higher rates of mental health symptoms due to a variety of pre- and post-migration factors. However, there is a lack of research in understanding best practices in culturally grounded interventions aimed at improving well-being outcomes. Recent research shows group interventions are a potential pathway to mental health treatment for refugees.

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This study considers residential segregation as a critical driver of racial/ethnic health disparities and introduces a proxy measure of segregation that estimates the degree of segregation at the census tract level with a metric capturing the overrepresentation of a racialized/ethnic group in a census tract in relation to that group's representation at the city level. Using Dallas, Texas as a pilot city, the measure is used to investigate mean life expectancy at birth for relatively overrepresented Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Asian census tracts and examine for significant differences between mean life expectancy in relatively overrepresented census tracts and that group's mean life expectancy at the state level. Multivariable linear regression analysis was utilized to assess how segregation measured at the census tract level associates with life expectancy across different racialized/ethnic groups, controlling for socioeconomic disparities.

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Following the U.S. military's departure from Afghanistan, a significant number of Afghan refugees have resettled in the United States, presenting complex mental health challenges exacerbated by extensive traumatic exposure.

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This project documents the service outcomes that caregivers value most. A diverse group of caregivers, representing six regions of the United States, participated in two rounds of virtual one-hour focus groups. In round 1, participants identified what they hoped to gain from using behavioral health services for themselves, their families, and their child and discussed what made services a positive experience for them.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion affects health coverage and disparities between African Americans and white individuals in the U.S.
  • It reviewed twenty-six national studies comparing states that expanded Medicaid to those that did not, focusing on changes in health care access and treatment outcomes.
  • Overall, while some improvements in health coverage disparities were seen in expansion states, significant issues in access and treatment for African Americans remain, indicating a need for further research to fully understand these disparities.
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Tight junctions (TJs) control paracellular permeability and apical-basolateral polarity of epithelial cells, and can be regulated by exogenous and endogenous stimuli. Dysregulated permeability is associated with pathological conditions, such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Herein we studied the mechanism by which larazotide acetate, an 8-mer peptide and TJ regulator, inhibits the cellular changes elicited by gliadin fragments, AT-1002, and cytokines.

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We used fluorescence spectroscopy and surface tensiometry to study the interaction between low-generation (G1 and G4) poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers, potential vehicles for intracellular drug delivery, and model lipid bilayers. Membrane association of fluorescently labeled dendrimers, measured by fluorescence anisotropy, increased with increasing size of the dendrimer and with increasing negative charge density in the membrane, indicating the electrostatic nature of the interaction. When the membrane was doped with pyrene-labeled phosphatidyl glycerol (pyrene-PG), pyrene excimer fluorescence demonstrated a dendrimer-induced selective aggregation of negatively charged lipids when the membrane was in the liquid crystalline state.

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AT-1002 a 6-mer synthetic peptide belongs to an emerging novel class of compounds that reversibly increase paracellular transport of molecules across the epithelial barrier. The aim of this project was to elaborate on the structure-activity relationship of this peptide with the specific goal to replace the P2 cysteine amino acid. Herein, we report the discovery of peptides that exhibit reversible permeability enhancement properties with an increased stability profile.

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Previous studies from our group demonstrated visual evidence that endocytosis mechanism(s) contribute to the internalization and intracellular trafficking of cationic and anionic poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers across Caco-2 cells. These dendrimers colocalized with established endocytosis markers, which suggested PAMAM dendrimers may be internalized by a clathrin-dependent endocytosis mechanism and are rapidly trafficked to endosomal and lysosomal compartments. In the present study, generation 4 PAMAM-NH2 (G4NH2) dendrimer was labeled with tritium to measure the rate of uptake and permeability in Caco-2 cells.

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Improving the oral bioavailability of therapeutic compounds remains a challenging area of research. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are promising candidates for oral drug delivery due to their well-defined compact structure, versatility of surface functionalities, low polydispersity, and ability to enhance transepithelial transport. However, potential cytotoxicity has hampered the development of PAMAM dendrimers for in vivo applications.

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Purpose: To investigate the internalization and subcellular trafficking of fluorescently labeled poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers in intestinal cell monolayers.

Materials And Methods: PAMAM dendrimers with positive or negative surface charge were conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and visualized for colocalization with endocytosis markers using confocal microscopy. Effect of concentration, generation and charge on the morphology of microvilli was observed using transmission electron microscopy.

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Purpose: To investigate the transport of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers with positive, neutral and negatively charged surface groups across Caco-2 cell monolayers.

Methods: Cationic PAMAM-NH2 (G2 and G4), neutral PAMAM-OH (G2), and anionic PAMAM-COOH (G1.5-G3.

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This article summarizes our efforts to evaluate the potential of poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers as carriers for oral drug delivery. Specifically, the permeability of a series of cationic PAMAM-NH2 (G0-G4) dendrimers across Caco-2 cell monolayers was evaluated as a function of dendrimer generation, concentration, and incubation time. The influence of dendrimer surface charge on the integrity, paracellular permeability, and viability of Caco-2 cell monolayers was monitored by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), 14C-mannitol permeability, and leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme, respectively.

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This study compared the efficacy of 2 traditional methods of smoking cessation, gradual reduction and "cold turkey," with a new approach involving variation in the intercigarette interval. One hundred twenty-eight participants quit smoking on a target date, after a 3-week period of (a) scheduled reduced smoking (progressive increase in the intercigarette interval), (b) nonscheduled reduced smoking (gradual reduction, no specific change in the intercigarette interval), (c) scheduled nonreduced smoking (fixed intercigarette interval, no reductions in frequency), or (c) nonscheduled nonreduced smoking (no change in intercigarette interval or smoking frequency). Participants also received cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention training.

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Following a period of overnight deprivation, 58 smokers participated in a 90-min laboratory assessment in which they viewed a non-stressful movie and smoked two 0.5-mg nicotine-containing cigarettes. The first cigarette was given to all subjects following 25 min of adaptation and baseline.

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The purpose of this study was to assess nicotine regulation among "heavy" and "light" smokers. Previous studies supporting the nicotine regulation model of smoking behavior have suggested that smokers compensate for a reduction in the amount of nicotine available in their cigarette by altering smoking frequency, puff volume, or other aspects of smoking topography. However, little is known about a smoker's decision to smoke a specific cigarette, and the concurrent changes in their blood nicotine.

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