http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/ulab_phhs_2023/rss Recent eScholarship items from Research Publications, 2022-2023 Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:56:53 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5d99h9r7 The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has profoundly affected global health, presenting unprecedented challenges to pregnant women and their offspring. This paper explores the impacts of COVID-19 on maternal, neonatal, and childhood health, shedding light on both short-term and potential long-term consequences. The transmission of the virus from mother to child, though relatively low compared to other vertically transmitted diseases, remains a subject of ongoing study. Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is linked to adverse outcomes such as preterm delivery, cesarean section, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes. Additionally, COVID-19 infection appears to influence placental pathology, raising concerns about fetal development and health in the long term. The pandemic has exacerbated maternal mental health challenges, including an increased prevalence of postpartum depression. Infants born to mothers with COVID-19 may experience lower neonatal weight,... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5d99h9r7 Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Kan, Katherine Sanchez, Griselda Greenberg, Nina Villa, Sarah Tizazu, Meron https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0zr9w5jg Despite an increased understanding of the pathophysiology of breast cancer in recent years, the disease remains largely prevalent in the female population due to its disordered process. Breast cancer is known to affect 1 in 8 women and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women as well. Treatments are currently being administered mostly in surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy, but current research indicates that there are potential remedies that could alter the metastasis of breast cancer on the DNA level. The usage of CRISPR(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 within breast cancer treatments has grown in popularity immensely in the last decade. CRISPR/Cas9 is a system that utilizes a guide RNA to target and cut specific DNA sequences with the intention of genetically altering the genome. In cancer treatments, the knockout of specific genes utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system has proven variably successful in apoptosis by indirectly... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0zr9w5jg Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Williams, Etain Chiang, Lauren Giang, Allie Wei, Amber Zhang, Julia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9wf5q2sg Multitudes of epidemiological factors contribute to the resultant effects in the mental health of adolescents, defined by the World Health Organization as between ages of 10 to 19. Presently, both prevailing aspects, including the occuring Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent social lockdown, and inherent social determinants like certain academic environments, poverty, chronic loneliness, and lack of available treatment or research influence the state of adolescent mental health. This literature review seeks to identify critical determinants of adolescent mental health and study their long term influence on mental health epidemiology as a whole. By compiling a plethora of various case studies from publications on PubMed and MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, and PLOS One along with data from important surveys such as Youth Self Report, Adult Self Report, and TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey, this study generates a comprehensive overview of facets underlying the current trends... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9wf5q2sg Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lee, Christopher Liu, Eileen Hanseter, Cerasela Choi, Kailey Thomas, Ann Bae, Keunbeom Nguyen, Ellen https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m00737q The purpose of our research study was to determine the social and ethical aspects of genetic engineering. What originally began as a way to decrease an embryo's risk of genetic diseases has now become a way to alter its appearance; this paper aims to challenge the risks of genetic engineering. To dive deeper into our research question, we were able to examine sources on a global level to determine the perspectives of genetic engineering in different parts of the world. As the current field of genetic engineering is under speculation by many providers, evaluating the pros and cons of each scenario can determine the efficacy of genetic engineering. Employing clinical technology and socially ethical framework were two main criterias which were used in determining the parameters in understanding if genetic engineering is a viable treatment option. The research examined explains any known sideaffects, while also bringing to light the unknown side effects that can result from genetic... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m00737q Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Anand, Aarti Ponder, Jaszmyn P Singh, Maya Nesheiwat, Sam https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6df847qv Several studies have examined the efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool in remedying the toxic effects of Huntington’s disease (HD) as a potential therapy for preventing the neurodegeneration that is observed in HD. Huntington’s disease is caused by an abnormality in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, which leads to the encoding of the mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT). The accumulation of mHTT protein in neurons has been found to cause oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways. Additionally, the abnormality in the HTT gene has been attributed to the abnormal expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat sequence. Therefore, some studies used CRISPR/Cas9 to target the mHTT gene, along with genes that play a role in redox regulation, including Nrf2 and SOD2. The results of this study showed a decrease in oxidative stress and greater mitochondrial function. A second study builds on these findings in recognizing the dangers involved with removing the CAG repeat in the gene. This study... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6df847qv Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lee, Yuna Zhu, Haoyang Mahmoud, Abdurrahmaan Silva, Jimena R Ashman, Kiara Jaiswal, Anshika https://escholarship.org/uc/item/63m4n2dp Public health research has assessed the negative human health outcomes from continued exposure to air pollutants, in particular, fine particulate matter (PM2.5 , PM10), nitrogen oxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). Recent studies have honed in on expectant mothers and their developing fetuses as a large, at-risk population for these exposures. Ambient air pollutant exposure is linked with negative physical, mental, and behavioral health outcomes in both child and mother. Expectant mothers subjected to contaminants (PM2.5 , PM10 , NO2 , O3) over an extended period of time have an increased risk of their child being born prematurely with low birth weight and size, neurological delays, impaired motor and cognitive function, and development of lung related diseases such as cancer and asthma. In their early stages of life, children whose mothers were exposed to air pollutants during pregnancy also had detrimental mental and behavioral health outcomes. These negative health effects were not... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/63m4n2dp Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Tran, Vivian Perez, Isabella Buxton, Jessica Bordador, Mikayla Edralin, Niam https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4n71x4w8 The goal of this literature review is to analyze various treatment options for Alzheimer’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects many Americans. Four drugs being studied in the paper include Donepezil, Memantine, Lecanemab, and Rivastigmine. Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that is used for patients with mild or moderate AD. Memantine is used to block the overflow of glutamate through NMDA receptors and to treat patients with moderate to severe AD. It can be used in combination therapy with Donepezil and Galantamine. Lecanemab is used to target amyloid-beta plaques and to reduce aggregates. Rivastigmine is a carbamate cholinesterase inhibitor that can be used to inhibit both acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase for mild to moderate cases of AD. All four drugs have been shown to slow down the progression of AD by increasing cognitive performance and to improve the quality of life for patients and their caregivers https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4n71x4w8 Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Ballapuram, Aishwarya Wu, Jenny Oberdorfer, Jack Pham, Hieu Shankar, Sitara Sureshbabu, Srutika https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2g05t3w5 General anesthesia (GA) is a widely used medical intervention, given to patients to eliminate pain during invasive procedures and surgeries, effectively revolutionizing the field of medicine. GA induces a reversible unconscious state by potentiating inhibitory receptors like GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) receptors. Despite the practical uses of GA, recent studies have raised concerns about the potential risks associated with anesthesia exposure on the brain and cognitive function. In recent studies, these adverse effects, like neuronal death, can cause neurotoxicity despite the reversible and transitory nature of most GAs. In this paper, we discuss the neurological and behavioral outcomes after GA in developing and post-developed brains. These findings highlight serious concern on how GA impacts neurocognition and brain activity in both immature and mature brains and the potential harmful long term effects of GA. By understanding anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity, more avenues can... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2g05t3w5 Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lee, Jean Cisse, Farah Flores, Crizel Guo, Dan-Dan Lamden, Rachael https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1xk659wx The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global issue that requires effective control and prevention measures. Understanding how the virus spreads is crucial in implementing non-pharmaceutical measures. Previous studies have focused on the effects of urban socio-political measures on the contagion rate, but the fine-grained geographic urban spreading pattern remains an open question. To address this, we analyzed the trajectory data of 197,808 smartphone users (including 17,808 anonymous confirmed cases) in nine cities in China. Our analysis revealed that the spatial distribution of confirmed cases in all cities followed a power-law-like model and the spreading centroid human mobility remained constant over time. We also found that long average traveling distance resulted in a high growth rate of spreading radius and wide spatial diffusion of confirmed cases in the fine-grained geographic model. Using the Kendall model, we simulated the urban spreading of COVID-19, which matched the... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1xk659wx Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Gunatilake, Tessanya Cho, Charles Huang, Skye Sanchez, Isaac https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x85g6c9 In the United States alone, approximately 2.1 million people are living with limb loss, a number expected to double by 2050. Despite the number of amputees expected to increase, current infrastructures, from policies to health personnel, fail to support amputees in need of prosthetics worldwide. This study explores the variables causing the difficulties in accessibility and turn, the factors that affect the quality of life after limb loss. Included in this research paper is the analysis of different barriers to the implementation of prosthetics on a national and public health scale. Current literature suggests a combination of internal and external factors that influence the access to prosthetics and quality of life for amputees including socioeconomic factors such as income, race or ethnicity, insurance, and geographic location. There will be an exploration into the development of 3D printing as a promising solution to improving the quality of life for amputees while addressing... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x85g6c9 Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Narayanan, Easha Tu, Carina Subijanto, Caitlin Rosales, Alex Ibarra, Britney Hussain, Sameera Rahai, Tara https://escholarship.org/uc/item/14d443qj Maternal mortality remains a significant global health challenge, with roughly 300,000 maternal deaths occurring annually, most of which are preventable. The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal mortality rates (MMR) has been widely studied, with a growing body of evidence suggesting that lower SES is associated with higher MMR. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between SES and MMR across different countries. We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases and included studies that reported the association between SES and MMR. We used a random-effects model to estimate the overall effect size and explored potential sources of heterogeneity using subgroup analyses. Our findings suggest that there is a significant inverse association between SES and MMR, with higher SES being associated with lower MMR. However, the magnitude of the effect varied across different regions, with the strongest association observed in low and... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/14d443qj Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lee, Aidan Aktepe, Asli Hoang, Tiffany Teh, Li Soriano, Lianna Megerditchian, Vars