Publications by authors named "Sandra Miller"

Potential secondhand exposure of exhaled constituents from e-vapor product (EVP) use is a public health concern. We present a computational modeling method to predict air levels of exhaled constituents from EVP use. We measured select constituent levels in exhaled breath from adult e-vapor product users, then used a validated computational model to predict constituent levels under three scenarios (car, office, and restaurant) to estimate likely secondhand exposure to non-users.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Management of food and nutrition systems (MFNS) encompasses the varied roles of registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) with administrative responsibilities for food and nutrition services within an organization. RDNs in MFNS are frequently employed in acute care, but also expand into a multitude of other settings in which management of nutrition and foodservice is required, for example, foodservice departments in assisted living and post-acute and long-term care; colleges and universities, kindergarten through grade 12 and pre-kindergarten schools and childcare; retail foodservice operations; correctional facilities; and companies that produce, distribute, and sell food products. RDNs in MFNS aim to create work environments that support high-quality customer-centered care and services, attract and retain talented staff, and foster an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

High-throughput screening (HTS) is a well-established approach for tumor-specific drug development because of its high efficiency and customizable selection of antineoplastic drugs. However, there is still a lack of an appropriate cell-based HTS specific for migratory cancer cells. In the study presented here, we created a novel assay (mHTS): a single-cell-level screening method targeting migratory cancer cells and can be applied in a high-throughput manner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The Armidilo has two scales-the risk scale and the protective scale. Research has been confined to the risk scale which appears to predict future incidents with medium to large effect sizes. There have been no publications on the use of the protective scale.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This paper examines effective proactive nurse rounding interventions at high-performing hospitals to enhance patient-centered care through three detailed case studies.
  • *Proactive nurse rounding is shown to positively impact patient outcomes, yet there is a scarcity of evidence on its successful implementation.
  • *The findings suggest that such rounding interventions are practical and can help promptly address patients' needs, offering valuable insights for nurse leaders aiming to improve care quality.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In female grasshoppers, oviposition is a highly specialized behavior involving a rhythm-generating neural circuit, the oviposition central pattern generator, unusual abdominal appendages, and dedicated muscles. This study of Schistocerca americana (Drury) grasshoppers was undertaken to determine whether the simpler pregenital abdominal segments, which do not contain ovipositor appendages, share common features with the genital segment, suggesting a roadmap for the genesis of oviposition behavior. Our study revealed that although 5 of the standard pregenital body wall muscles were missing in the female genital segment, homologous lateral nerves were, indeed, present and served 4 ovipositor muscles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cells belonging to the innate immune system, known as natural killer (NK) cells, act as the first line of defense against developing neoplasms. We have previously shown in a leukemia-induced tumor model (mouse) that a proprietary extract (CVT-E002), of North American ginseng, administered in the diet, significantly increased the absolute numbers of NK cells, significantly decreased leukemia cells and significantly increased the life span of CVT-E002-fed leukemic mice. In the present study, we assessed the efficacy of this extract to inhibit the spontaneous development of tumors in elderly mice of the cancer-prone C3H strain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

PAR-2 belongs to a family of G-protein coupled Protease-Activated Receptors (PAR) which are activated by specific proteolytic cleavage in the extracellular N-terminal region. PAR-2 is activated by proteases such as trypsin, tryptase, proteinase 3, factor VIIa, factor Xa and is thought to be a mediator of inflammation and tissue injury, where elevated levels of proteases are found. Utilizing the HuCAL GOLD® phage display library we generated fully human antibodies specifically blocking the protease cleavage site in the N-terminal domain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study assessed the influences of CVT-E002, a proprietary extract of North American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius (Afexa Life Sciences, Inc., Edmonton, AB, Canada), in vivo, on murine hemopoietic and immune cells when administered as a dietary additive. The extract was given daily to young, adult mice for a period of 4 weeks, immediately following which one group was euthanized and the hemopoietic and immune cells of their bone marrow, spleen and blood were assayed for CVT-E002-mediated alterations in any of five cell lineages (lymphocytes, nucleated erythroid cells, granulocytes, immature granuloid precursors and monocytes).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cells belonging to the innate immune system are referred to as natural killer (NK) cells. We recently demonstrated that normal, pre-weaned infant mice, injected with a proprietary extract of ginseng (CVT-E002) had augmented NK cell numbers vs. sham-injected mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a recent study involving normal, juvenile mice, we showed that CVT-E002, a proprietary extract (Afexa Life Sciences, Inc.) of North American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, significantly enhanced the absolute levels of cells acting at the first line of defense in tumor combat, i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recently we found that migration of colonic lamina propria fibroblasts in Crohn's disease patients (CD-CLPF) from inflamed mucosa is significantly reduced as compared to control-CLPF. The behavior of CD-CLPFs isolated from fistulae and strictures was now investigated in detail.

Methods: Initially migration assays for all CLPF cultures (CD-CLPF, fibrosis-CLPF, and fistula-CLPF) were performed in the modified 48-well Boyden chamber.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present study evaluated the dose-related effects of CVT-E002, a proprietary extract of Panax quinquefolius (CV Technologies Inc., Edmonton, AB), in the treatment of a tumor of viral origin, that is, erythroleukemia, in mice. Three treatments including ingestion of 2, 40, and 120 mg/d were compared.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article discusses Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) preparedness. A literature search reveals articles discussing varying tactics for addressing JCAHO preparedness (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Axonal degeneration is a major cause of permanent disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent observations from our and other laboratories suggest that sodium accumulation within compromised axons is a key, early step in the degenerative process, and hence that limiting axonal sodium influx may represent a mechanism for axonal protection in MS. Here we assess whether lamotrigine, a sodium channel-blocking agent, is effective in preventing axonal degeneration in an animal model of MS, namely chronic-relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (CR-EAE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Melatonin, a neurohormone produced mainly by the pineal gland, is a modulator of haemopoiesis and of immune cell production and function, both in vivo and in vitro. Physiologically, melatonin is associated with T-helper 1 (Th1) cytokines, and its administration favours Th1 priming. In both normal and leukaemic mice, melatonin administration results in quantitative and functional enhancement of natural killer (NK) cells, whose role is to mediate defenses against virus-infected and cancer cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epidemiological studies indicate that the incidence of Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, is rising rapidly. However, none of the current therapies produces life long remission, or can prevent the disease onset. The NOD (non-obese diabetic) mouse is currently regarded as an excellent animal model of human Type 1 diabetes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The metabolism and disposition of varenicline (7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-6,10-methano-6H-pyrazino[2,3-h][3]benzazepine), a partial agonist of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor for the treatment of tobacco addiction, was examined in rats, mice, monkeys, and humans after oral administration of [14C]varenicline. In the circulation of all species, the majority of drug-related material was composed of unchanged varenicline. In all four species, drug-related material was primarily excreted in the urine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Echinacea has been viewed as an immunoenhancing herb since it became commercially available several years ago. Indeed, its medicinal significance is responsible for billions of dollars in worldwide sales annually. Unfortunately, most of the 'evidence' for the purported medicinal efficacy of Echinacea has been anecdotal and, moreover, to this day, there is no formal proof on how to achieve the best results-whether it should be consumed daily throughout life as a prophylactic; consumed by either young or old; or consumed after diseases, such as cancer, have taken hold.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In spite of Echinacea-based products being among the best-selling herbs in the world to date, to allay assorted ailments, the debate is still on-going with respect to the efficacy of ingesting the herb intermittently, continuously, or only at the beginning of an affliction. We sought, therefore, to find out if mice, receiving dietary Echinacea daily, throughout life, from youth until late middle-age, demonstrated any longevity/survival differences, and/or any differences in their various populations of immune/ hemopoietic cells. Sustained and/or high levels of these cells are crucial for longevity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The majority of B lymphocytes, virgin T lymphocytes and a subpopulation of memory T cells express the addressin, L-selectin. Natural killer (NK) cells in rodents and humans also express L-selectin. We have shown that a similar proportion (40%) of NK cells in mouse spleen also express the integrin, CD18Mac-1, and moreover, that NK cells express both the addressin and the integrin constitutively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hematopoietic stem cells, numbering approximately 1/100,000 cells in mammalian bone marrow, are capable of complete hematopoietic and immune reconstitution upon injection into a myeloablated host. The present study aimed to analyze the earliest events in reconstitution of lethally irradiated, host murine bone marrow and spleen, after injecting purified Thy 1(lo)Lin(-)Sca-1(+) stem cells. Thy-1(lo)Lin(-)Sca-1(+) cells were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) from the bone marrow of 4-week-old C57BL(Thy1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Notice

Message: fwrite(): Write of 34 bytes failed with errno=28 No space left on device

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 272

Backtrace:

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_write_close(): Failed to write session data using user defined save handler. (session.save_path: /var/lib/php/sessions)

Filename: Unknown

Line Number: 0

Backtrace: