Christine E Kasper
University of Pittsburgh, Doctorate of Nursing, Faculty Member
- Uniformed Services University, Graduate School of Nursing, Faculty Memberadd
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND THE EMPIRICIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT Introduction: Nursing Science for Nursing Practice - Sue Karen Donaldson Contemporary Empiricism - Sandra J Weiss Pragmatism - Christine E Kapser The Problem with the Bottom Line... more
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND THE EMPIRICIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT Introduction: Nursing Science for Nursing Practice - Sue Karen Donaldson Contemporary Empiricism - Sandra J Weiss Pragmatism - Christine E Kapser The Problem with the Bottom Line PART TWO: REVOLUTIONARY/EVOLUTIONARY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Science as Tradition and Tradition Shattering - Jacquelyn Anne K Kegley Thomas Kuhn's Philosophy of Science Moving Beyond - Barbara Riegel et al A Generative Philosophy of Science Science as Problem Solving - Sara T Fry An Evolutionary Approach to the Discipline of Nursing and Nursing Administration - Cathy Rodgers Ward PART THREE: POSTMODERN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Feminism, Science and Nursing - Ruth Ginzberg The Method Question - Sandra Harding Pain: An Issue of Gender - Gayle Giboney Page Phenomenology and Science - Anna Omery and Carol Mack The Experience of Surgery - Marlene Zichi Cohen and Kenneth Norris, Jr. Phenomenological Clinical Nursing Research A Hermeneutical Human Science for Nursing - Richard H Steeves and David L Kahn Passages Through the Heart - Francelyn Reeder A Hermeneutic of Choice Critical Theory for Science of Nursing Practice - Hesook Suzie Kim and Inger Margrethe Holter Methodology for Critical Theory - Inger Margrethe Holter and Hesook Suzie Kim Critical Action Research Post-Structuralist Science - Laura Dzurec An Historical Account for Profound Visibility Severe Mental Disability? Or a Play of Wills? - Laura Dzurec PART FOUR: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PRACTICE Applied Science, Practice and Intervention Technology - Anne H Bishop and John R Scudder, Jr. Science and Practice - Hannah Dean The Nature of Knowledge Science as the Predictor of Professional Recognition and Success - Luther Chrisman Epilogue: The Journey Continues
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The purpose of this investigation was to describe and compare various methods of recovering atrophied fast-twitch skeletal muscle following long-term impaired physical mobility. An animal model was used to study morphological adaptations... more
The purpose of this investigation was to describe and compare various methods of recovering atrophied fast-twitch skeletal muscle following long-term impaired physical mobility. An animal model was used to study morphological adaptations of atrophied plantaris muscles to the effects of 28 days of hindlimb suspension (HS) followed by either sedentary recovery or run training during a 28-day recovery period. Significant atrophy, demonstrated by decreased mean fiber area (MFA,mm2), occurred during the 28-day period of HS. However, run training following long-term atrophy induced by HS did not result in the high levels of frank muscle damage and type IIC fibers previously reported in slow-twitch soleus muscle following longterm (28 days) atrophy.
Research Interests: Nursing, Skeletal muscle biology, Running, Exercise therapy, Medicine, and 15 moreSpinal Muscular Atrophy, Female, Animals, Animal Model, Skeletal Muscle, Atrophy, Rats, Bed Rest, Body Weight, Muscle Damage, Muscle Atrophy, Random Allocation, Recovery of Function, Soleus muscle, and Plantaris Muscle
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The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two different recovery modes from hind-limb suspension-induced hypodynamia on whole body and muscle (soleus) growth as well as soleus composition and size changes of different fiber... more
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two different recovery modes from hind-limb suspension-induced hypodynamia on whole body and muscle (soleus) growth as well as soleus composition and size changes of different fiber types within this same muscle. Following 28 days of tail-suspension, rats were returned to their cages and sedentarily recovered (HS), or were exercised by running on a treadmill 5 days/wk, at progressively increasing workloads (HR) for one month. Sedentary and running control groups of animals (CS, CR) were also evaluated for comparative purposes. The exercise program, which was identical for CR and HR groups, had no effect on body wt., soleus wt., soleus muscle composition or fiber size in CR rats. Atrophied soleus muscle and reduced soleus wt./body wt. ratio (both 60% of control) had returned to control values by day 7 of recovery in both suspended groups despite the fact that whole body wt. gain was significantly reduced (p less than 0.05) in HR as compared to HS rats. Atrophied soleus Type I fiber mean cross-sectional area in both HR and HS groups demonstrated similar and significant (p less than 0.01) increases during recovery. Increases in Type IIa and IIc fiber area during this same period were significant only in the HR group. While the percentage area of muscle composed of Type I fibers increased in both hypodynamic groups during recovery, the reduction in area percentage of muscle made up of Type IIa fibers was again only significant in the HR group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Nursing, Medicine, Biopsy, Female, and 15 moreAnimals, Muscles, Feeding Behavior, Atrophy, Muscle development, Public health systems and services research, Bed Rest, Grooming, Muscle contraction, Body Weight, Immobilization, Empirical Model, Clinical Nursing Research, Muscle Atrophy, and Plantaris Muscle
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The effects of prolonged hypokinesia on the contractile properties and myosin isozymes of single fibers from the synergistic fast-twitch plantaris (PL) and slow-twitch soleus (SOL) skeletal muscles of adult rats were studied after 28 days... more
The effects of prolonged hypokinesia on the contractile properties and myosin isozymes of single fibers from the synergistic fast-twitch plantaris (PL) and slow-twitch soleus (SOL) skeletal muscles of adult rats were studied after 28 days of hindlimb suspension. There was a 31% increase in the mean maximal velocity of unloaded shortening (Vmax) among fibers from SOL with no change in the mean Vmax of fibers from PL after suspension. The myosin heavy and light chain (MHC and MLC) composition of bundles and the MHC composition of single fibers from control and suspended muscles were examined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. There was a marked increase in the relative amount of fast-type MHC's in hypokinetic SOL and a smaller increase in the amount of fast-type MHC's in the PL. Relatively minor changes occurred in the MLC's during hypokinesia. As Vmax increased among individual fibers from control and suspended muscles, the relative amount of fast-type MHC's increased. The results demonstrate that the myosin isozyme composition of skeletal muscle, especially the heavy chains, is altered during hypokinesia, and this finding provides an explanation for changes in Vmax of rat single muscle fibers under the same conditions.
Research Interests: Chemistry, Medicine, Biological Sciences, Applied, Female, and 13 moreAnimals, Muscles, Myosin, Applied Physiology, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, Skeletal Muscle, Rats, Time Factors, Isoenzymes, Muscle contraction, Hypokinesia, Immobilization, and Medical and Health Sciences
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The cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio in the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles of juvenile rats after 5.4 days of microgravity was studied. Three groups of rats (n = 8 each) were used. The experimental group (space rats)... more
The cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio in the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles of juvenile rats after 5.4 days of microgravity was studied. Three groups of rats (n = 8 each) were used. The experimental group (space rats) was flown aboard the space shuttle Discovery (NASA, STS-48), while two ground-based groups, one hindlimb suspended (suspended rats), one non-suspended (control), served as controls. Single fibre analysis revealed a significant decrease in cross-sectional area (microns2) in the gastrocnemius for both the space and the suspended rats; in the tibialis anterior only the suspended rats showed a significant decrease. Myonuclei counts (myonuclei per mm) in both the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius were significantly increased in the space rats but not in the suspended rats. The mean myonuclear volume (individual nuclei: microns3) in tibialis anterior fibres from the space rats, and in gastrocnemius fibres from both the space and the suspended rats, was significantly lower than that in the respective control group. Estimation of the total myonuclear volume (microns3 per.mm), however, revealed no significant differences between the three groups in either the tibialis anterior or gastrocnemius. The described changes in the cross-sectional area and myonuclei numbers resulted in significant decreases in the cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio (microns3 x 10(3)) in both muscles and for both space and suspended rats (tibialis anterior; 15.6 +/- 0.6 (space), 17.2 +/- 1.0 (suspended), 20.8 +/- 0.9 (control): gastrocnemius; 13.4 +/- 0.4 (space) and 14.9 +/- 1.1 (suspended) versus 18.1 +/- 1.1 (control)). These results indicate that even short periods of unweighting due to microgravity or limb suspension result in changes in skeletal muscle fibres which lead to significant decreases in the cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio.
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In multinucleated skeletal muscle fibres the size of the cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio is related to the myosin heavy chain phenotype, with the ratio being larger in those fibres expressing the fast myosin heavy chain phenotype.... more
In multinucleated skeletal muscle fibres the size of the cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio is related to the myosin heavy chain phenotype, with the ratio being larger in those fibres expressing the fast myosin heavy chain phenotype. It is unknown, however, whether this ratio is modulated during muscle fibre adaptation, such as that which occurs following muscle unloading. In this study the relationship between cross sectional area, myonuclear number and myosin type, in single fibres from the plantaris and soleus muscles of adult rats following 28 days of hindlimb suspension was examined. Each fibre was cut transversely into two segments; one segment was used for immunohistochemical identification of myosin type, the other for determination of cross sectional area and myonuclei number. Single fibre analysis revealed significant atrophy of both plantaris fast and soleus slow fibres; the mean cross sectional area (microns2) of these fibres, 3104 +/- 183 and 2082 +/- 107 (mean +/- SE), being 70 and 45%, respectively, of control means. The decreases in cross sectional area were not accompanied by corresponding decreases in the number of myonuclei (myonuclei/mm); in plantaris fast fibres the mean myonuclei counts were within the control range (88 +/- 8 (hindlimb suspension), 76 +/- 7 (control), in soleus slow fibres the counts were significantly increased (185 +/- 12 (hindlimb suspension), 154 +/- 11 (control)). The changes resulted in a significant decrease in the cytoplasmic volume-to-myonucleus ratio (microns3 x 10(3) for both fibre types; the mean ratios of 39 +/- 3 and 12 +/- 1, were 60% and 36% of control means for the plantaris fast and soleus slow fibres, respectively. These results indicate that following hindlimb suspension atrophy of muscle fibres the myonuclei numbers remain constant or increase and, hence, the effective cytoplasmic-to-myonucleus ratio is decreased. Further, the decreased changes are significantly greater in soleus slow than plantaris fast fibres.
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Malignant hyperthermia (MH) crises may induce morbidity or death in MH-susceptible (MHS) individuals. The only sensitive method of determining susceptibility is the caffeine-halothane contracture test, requiring muscle biopsy. Early... more
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) crises may induce morbidity or death in MH-susceptible (MHS) individuals. The only sensitive method of determining susceptibility is the caffeine-halothane contracture test, requiring muscle biopsy. Early research on MH demonstrated an abnormal response to catecholamines in MHS individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MHS B lymphocytes would demonstrate an increased sensitivity to norepinephrine as indicated by an adrenergic augmentation of intracellular calcium ion (Ca2+) accumulation, to possibly develop a less invasive laboratory assay for determining MH susceptibility. The fluorescent Ca2+ indicator dye fura-2 acetoxymethyl was used to identify Ca2+ flux within Epstein-Barr virus- immortalized MH-negative (MHN) and MHS B cells exposed to the RyR1 agonist 4-chloro-m-cresol (4-CmC) before and after administration of 1 μM of norepinephrine. In the presence of 4-CmC and norepinephrine, the area under the curve dose responses were significantly elevated in MHS B cells compared with MHN B cells (F[1,10] = 27.37; P < .01). Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized B cells from MHS humans displayed an increased sensitivity to norepinephrine compared with those from MHN individuals. These data suggest that an abnormal response to exogenous norepinephrine could potentially be used to develop a diagnostic laboratory assay to determine MH susceptibility.
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Animal models have been invaluable in the conduct of nursing research for the past 40 years. This review will focus on specific animal models that can be used in nursing research to study the physiologic phenomena of exercise and obesity... more
Animal models have been invaluable in the conduct of nursing research for the past 40 years. This review will focus on specific animal models that can be used in nursing research to study the physiologic phenomena of exercise and obesity when the use of human subjects is either scientifically premature or inappropriate because of the need for sampling tissue or the conduct of longitudinal studies of aging. There exists an extensive body of literature reporting the experimental use of various animal models, in both exercise science and the study of the mechanisms of obesity. Many of these studies are focused on the molecular and genetic mechanisms of organ system adaptation and plasticity in response to exercise, obesity, or both. However, this review will narrowly focus on the models useful to nursing research in the study of exercise in the clinical context of increasing performance and mobility, atrophy and bedrest, fatigue, and aging. Animal models of obesity focus on those that best approximate clinical pathology.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in all of its forms—blast, concussive, and penetrating—has been an unfortunate sequela of warfare since ancient times. The continued evolution of military munitions and armor on the battlefield, as well as the... more
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in all of its forms—blast, concussive, and penetrating—has been an unfortunate sequela of warfare since ancient times. The continued evolution of military munitions and armor on the battlefield, as well as the insurgent use of improvised explosive devices, has led to blast-related TBI whose long-term effects on behavior and cognition are not yet known. Advances in medical care have greatly increased survival from these types of injuries. Therefore, an understanding of the potential health effects of TBI is essential. This review focuses on specific aspects of military-related TBI. There exists a large body of literature reporting the environmental conditions, forces, and staging of injury. Many of these studies are focused on the neuropathology of TBI, due to blast overpressure waves, and the emergence of large numbers of mild blast-related TBI cases.
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This chapter describes common genomic and proteomic methods and their application to the study of vulnerable population groups. The International HapMap project is discussed in relation to unique Haplotype single nucleotide polymorphisms... more
This chapter describes common genomic and proteomic methods and their application to the study of vulnerable population groups. The International HapMap project is discussed in relation to unique Haplotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) in population groups. In addition, studies, which have used these methods to investigate aging, ethnic, and racial specific conditions, as well as psychiatric diseases, are reviewed. Advantages and limitations of various genomic and proteomic approaches are discussed in relation to population admixture and sample selection.
Research Interests: Nursing, Research Design, Genomics, Obesity, Aging, and 15 moreBiology, Proteomics, Asthma, Health Policy, Medicine, Nursing Research, Population, Humans, Haplotypes, Pharmacogenetics, Diffusion of Innovation, Mental Disorders, Neoplasms, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Genetic predisposition to disease
Research Interests: Business, Nursing, Disaster Studies, Expert testimony, Disaster Management, and 15 moreMedicine, Social Trust, Teaching, Professional Role Socialization, Knowledge, Nursing Research, Humans, Personnel Selection, Subject Matter Knowledge, Educational Status, Professional Competence, Subject Matter, guidelines as topic, Professional Role, and interprofessional relations
Research Interests: Chemistry, Military Medicine, Cytotoxicity, Medicine, Cell line, and 15 moreMice, Animals, Battlefield, Rats, In Vitro Toxicology, Powders, Metal Toxicity, Lysosomes, Health Effect, Alloys, Improvised Explosive Device, Cell Survival, Neutral Red, Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, and Muscle fibers skeletal
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This study examined the spatial distributions of different fiber types in the soleus muscle of control rats and in rats subjected to hindlimb unloading for 28 days. The frequencies with which muscle fibers of one type were adjacent to... more
This study examined the spatial distributions of different fiber types in the soleus muscle of control rats and in rats subjected to hindlimb unloading for 28 days. The frequencies with which muscle fibers of one type were adjacent to each other and to fibers of other types were tabulated and compared to expectations generated from Monte Carlo simulations. In the normal rat, there is a tendency for Type I fibers to avoid adjacency with each other, a tendency that persisted in the hindlimb-suspended group, despite the substantial shrinkage in size of Type I fibers. We conclude that this treatment, unlike neurogenic pathologies, does not cause any remodeling of the adjacency relations of fibers.
Research Interests: Nursing, Skeletal muscle biology, Biology, Medicine, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and 14 moreMuscle, Animal, Female, Animals, Spatial Pattern, Disease models, Rats, Wistar Rats, Skeletal Pathology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Immobilization, Monte Carlo Method, Random Allocation, and Muscle fibers skeletal
Abstract: Tungsten-based materials have been proposed as replacements for depleted uranium in armor-penetrating munitions and for lead in small-arms ammunition. A recent report demonstrated that a military-grade composition of tungsten,... more
Abstract: Tungsten-based materials have been proposed as replacements for depleted uranium in armor-penetrating munitions and for lead in small-arms ammunition. A recent report demonstrated that a military-grade composition of tungsten, nickel, and cobalt induced a highly-aggressive, metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma when implanted into the leg muscle of laboratory rats to simulate a shrapnel wound. The early genetic changes occurring in response to embedded metal fragments are not known. In this study, we utilized two cultured rodent myoblast cell lines, exposed to soluble tungsten alloys and the individual metals comprising the alloys, to study the genotoxic effects. By profiling cell transcriptomes using microarray, we found slight, yet distinct and unique, gene expression changes in rat myoblast cells after 24 h metal exposure, and several genes were identified that correlate
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) crises may induce morbidity or death in MH-susceptible (MHS) individuals. The only sensitive method of determining susceptibility is the caffeine-halothane contracture test, requiring muscle biopsy. Early... more
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) crises may induce morbidity or death in MH-susceptible (MHS) individuals. The only sensitive method of determining susceptibility is the caffeine-halothane contracture test, requiring muscle biopsy. Early research on MH demonstrated an abnormal response to catecholamines in MHS individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MHS B lymphocytes would demonstrate an increased sensitivity to norepinephrine as indicated by an adrenergic augmentation of intracellular calcium ion (Ca2+) accumulation, to possibly develop a less invasive laboratory assay for determining MH susceptibility. The fluorescent Ca2+ indicator dye fura-2 acetoxymethyl was used to identify Ca2+ flux within Epstein-Barr virus- immortalized MH-negative (MHN) and MHS B cells exposed to the RyR1 agonist 4-chloro-m-cresol (4-CmC) before and after administration of 1 μM of norepinephrine. In the presence of 4-CmC and norepinephrine, the area under the curve dose responses were si...
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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND THE EMPIRICIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT Introduction: Nursing Science for Nursing Practice - Sue Karen Donaldson Contemporary Empiricism - Sandra J Weiss Pragmatism - Christine E Kapser The Problem with the Bottom Line... more
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND THE EMPIRICIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT Introduction: Nursing Science for Nursing Practice - Sue Karen Donaldson Contemporary Empiricism - Sandra J Weiss Pragmatism - Christine E Kapser The Problem with the Bottom Line PART TWO: REVOLUTIONARY/EVOLUTIONARY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Science as Tradition and Tradition Shattering - Jacquelyn Anne K Kegley Thomas Kuhn's Philosophy of Science Moving Beyond - Barbara Riegel et al A Generative Philosophy of Science Science as Problem Solving - Sara T Fry An Evolutionary Approach to the Discipline of Nursing and Nursing Administration - Cathy Rodgers Ward PART THREE: POSTMODERN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Feminism, Science and Nursing - Ruth Ginzberg The Method Question - Sandra Harding Pain: An Issue of Gender - Gayle Giboney Page Phenomenology and Science - Anna Omery and Carol Mack The Experience of Surgery - Marlene Zichi Cohen and Kenneth Norris, Jr. Phenomenological Clinical Nursing Research A Hermeneutical Human Science for Nursing - Richard H Steeves and David L Kahn Passages Through the Heart - Francelyn Reeder A Hermeneutic of Choice Critical Theory for Science of Nursing Practice - Hesook Suzie Kim and Inger Margrethe Holter Methodology for Critical Theory - Inger Margrethe Holter and Hesook Suzie Kim Critical Action Research Post-Structuralist Science - Laura Dzurec An Historical Account for Profound Visibility Severe Mental Disability? Or a Play of Wills? - Laura Dzurec PART FOUR: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PRACTICE Applied Science, Practice and Intervention Technology - Anne H Bishop and John R Scudder, Jr. Science and Practice - Hannah Dean The Nature of Knowledge Science as the Predictor of Professional Recognition and Success - Luther Chrisman Epilogue: The Journey Continues
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This completely updated second edition encompasses the many recent advances in genetic research and knowledge, providing essential new information on the science, technology, and clinical application of genomics. It focuses on the... more
This completely updated second edition encompasses the many recent advances in genetic research and knowledge, providing essential new information on the science, technology, and clinical application of genomics. It focuses on the provision of individualized patient care based on personal genetics and dispositions. The second edition is designed for use by advanced practice nursing programs, as well as undergraduate programs. It pinpoints new developments in prenatal, maternity, and pediatric issues and supplies new information on genomics-based personal drug therapy, environmental susceptibilities, genetic therapies, epigenetics, and ethics.
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Nurses must have appropriate knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective nursing care in recognition of evolving science. Knowledge of genomics is required to ensure appropriate referral and education of patients who would benefit... more
Nurses must have appropriate knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective nursing care in recognition of evolving science. Knowledge of genomics is required to ensure appropriate referral and education of patients who would benefit from genetic services. This article describes the process the Veterans Healthcare Administration's (VHA's) Office of Nursing Services used to determine the nursing genomic competencies appropriate for VHA nurses and identify available resources for educating nurses on these nursing competencies and a strategic plan for long-term implementation.
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Neuropathic pain is common and debilitating with limited effective treatments. Macrophage/microglial activation along ascending somatosensory pathways following peripheral nerve injury facilitates neuropathic pain. However, polarization... more
Neuropathic pain is common and debilitating with limited effective treatments. Macrophage/microglial activation along ascending somatosensory pathways following peripheral nerve injury facilitates neuropathic pain. However, polarization of macrophages/microglia in neuropathic pain is not well understood. Photobiomodulation treatment has been used to decrease neuropathic pain, has anti-inflammatory effects in spinal injury and wound healing models, and modulates microglial polarization in vitro. Our aim was to characterize macrophage/microglia response after peripheral nerve injury and modulate the response with photobiomodulation. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to sham (N = 13), spared nerve injury (N = 13), or injury + photobiomodulation treatment groups (N = 7). Mechanical hypersensitivity was assessed with electronic von Frey. Photobiomodulation (980 nm) was applied to affected hind paw (output power 1 W, 20 s, 41cm above skin, power density 43.25 mW/cm(2),...