Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Weight Stability In Adults With Obesity Initiating Medical Marijuana Treatment For Other Medical Conditions, Michelle R. Lent, Meghan Visek, Paulina Syracuse, Karen L Dugosh, David Festinger

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Few studies have evaluated weight change in patients who initiate medical marijuana treatment to address diagnosed health concerns. The objective of this study was to examine whether patients initiating medical marijuana use for a qualifying health condition experienced changes in health and biopsychosocial functioning over time, including weight gain or loss. Specifically, this observational, longitudinal study evaluated changes in the body mass index (BMI) of adults with co-morbid obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m²) and severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) who were starting medical marijuana treatment for any of the 23 qualifying medical conditions at …

Antiaging Mechanism Of Natural Compounds: Effects On Autophagy And Oxidative Stress., Elizabeth Taylor, Yujin Kim, Kaleb Zhang, Lenne Chau, Bao Chieu Nguyen, Srujana Rayalam, Xinyu Wang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Aging is a natural biological process that manifests as the progressive loss of function in cells, tissues, and organs. Because mechanisms that are meant to promote cellular longevity tend to decrease in effectiveness with age, it is no surprise that aging presents as a major risk factor for many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and diabetes. Oxidative stress, an imbalance between the intracellular antioxidant and overproduction of reactive oxygen species, is known to promote the aging process. Autophagy, a major pathway for protein turnover, is considered as one of the hallmarks of aging. Given the progressive physiologic …

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Rupture Presenting With Focal Weakness And Altered Mental Status: A Case Report., Brigid M Garrity, Eric Sugarman, Stephen Pulley

PCOM Scholarly Papers

BACKGROUND: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) can present asymptomatically and may be found through routine screening or seen incidentally on imaging. Rupture due to weaking of the aortic wall is the main complication of an AAA and leads to approximately 200,000 deaths annually worldwide. Clinically, AAA rupture most frequently presents with abdominal and/or back pain, pulsatile abdominal mass, and hypotension. Here, we present an unusual presentation of embolic cerebrovascular accident associated with an AAA rupture.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 58-year-old African American man transported to the emergency department via ambulance presents with altered mental status and unilateral extremity weakness. The initial presentation …

Development And Evaluation Of A Remote Training Strategy For The Implementation Of Mental Health Evidence-Based Practices In Rural Schools: Pilot Study Protocol., Ricardo Eiraldi, Barry Mccurdy, Muniya S Khanna, Jessica Goldstein, Rachel Comly, Jennifer Francisco, Laura E Rutherford, Tara Wilson, Kathryn Henson, Thomas Farmer, Abbas F Jawad

PCOM Scholarly Papers

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of schools in rural settings are implementing multi-tier positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) to address school-climate problems. PBIS can be used to provide the framework for the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to address children's mental health concerns. Given the large service disparities for children in rural areas, offering EBPs through PBIS can improve access and lead to better long-term outcomes. A key challenge is that school personnel need technical assistance in order to implement EBPs with fidelity and clinical effectiveness. Providing ongoing on-site support is not feasible or sustainable in the majority of rural …

Electronic Health Record-Based Recruitment And Retention And Mobile Health App Usage: Multisite Cohort Study., Janelle W Coughlin, Lindsay M Martin, Di Zhao, Attia Goheer, Thomas B Woolf, Katherine Holzhauer, Harold P Lehmann, Michelle R. Lent, Kathleen M Mctigue, Jeanne M Clark, Wendy L Bennett

PCOM Scholarly Papers

BACKGROUND: To address the obesity epidemic, there is a need for novel paradigms, including those that address the timing of eating and sleep in relation to circadian rhythms. Electronic health records (EHRs) are an efficient way to identify potentially eligible participants for health research studies. Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer available and convenient data collection of health behaviors, such as timing of eating and sleep.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this descriptive analysis was to report on recruitment, retention, and app use from a 6-month cohort study using a mobile app called Daily24.

METHODS: Using an EHR query, adult patients from …

The Phylogeny Of Rays And Skates (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) Based On Morphological Characters Revisited., Eduardo Villalobos-Segura, Giuseppe Marramà, Giorgio Carnevale, Kerin M. Claeson, Charlie J Underwood, Gavin J P Naylor, Jürgen Kriwet

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Elasmobranchii are relatively well-studied. However, numerous phylogenetic uncertainties about their relationships remain. Here, we revisit the phylogenetic evidence based on a detailed morphological re-evaluation of all the major extant batomorph clades (skates and rays), including several holomorphic fossil taxa from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and an extensive outgroup sampling, which includes sharks, chimaeras and several other fossil chondrichthyans. The parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses found more resolved but contrasting topologies, with the Bayesian inference tree neither supporting nor disfavouring any of them. Overall, the analyses result in similar clade compositions and topologies, with the Jurassic batomorphs forming the sister clade …

Identification Of Novel Somatic Fusions Of Erg-Vegfa, Tmprss2-Erg, And Vegfa-Tmprss2 In Prostate Cancer Treated With Anlotinib And Androgen Deprivation Therapy: A Case Report, Qiuli Liu, Shuo Wang, Ze Wang, Peng Tang, Dianzheng Zhang, Weihua Lan, Jun Jiang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

The TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene has frequently been found in prostate cancer and is associated with malignancy. Identifying novel fusions will help to stratify patients and establish patient-tailored therapies. A 78-year-old man presented to our hospital with severe symptoms of urinary urgency and frequency for 2 years, as well as severe bone pain for 1 year. He was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 5 + 5. Three gene fusions, ERG_VEGFA, TMPRSS2_ERG, and VEGFA_TMPRSS2, were identified in the patient's prostate cancer tissue. Notably, administration of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, anlotinib, in combination with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist …

Clinical Characteristics And Quality Of Life In Adults Initiating Medical Marijuana Treatment, Lydia S. Buonomano, Matthew M. Mitnick, Thomas R. Mccalmont, Paulina Syracuse, Karen L. Dugosh, David S. Festinger, Michelle R. Lent

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Introduction: Despite the rising availability and use of medical marijuana (MM) in the USA, little is known about the demographics, clinical characteristics, or quality of life of MM patients. This study describes the demographic characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of MM patients who are initiating treatment in Pennsylvania. Methods: Two-hundred adults naive to MM and referred for any of the 23 state-approved qualifying conditions were recruited at three MM dispensaries in Pennsylvania between September 2020 and March 2021. All participants consented to the study; completed semi-structured interviews that included demographic questionnaires, the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and …

Motherhood And Me (Mom-Me): The Development Of An Acceptance-Based Group For Women With Postpartum Mood And Anxiety Symptoms, Victoria A Grunberg, Pamela A Geller, Kelley Durham, Alexa Bonacquisti, Jennifer L Barkin

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Untreated postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) place women and their families at risk for negative biopsychosocial sequelae. Innovative and tailored treatments are needed to address potential disruptions in maternal functioning. Third-wave cognitive-behavioral approaches, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), hold promise for optimizing functioning given the focus on values-based living, rather than symptom reduction.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an innovative psychotherapy group for women with symptoms of PMADs.

Methods: This seven-session group, Motherhood and Me (Mom-Me), includes selected skills training from ACT, DBT, and Emotion-Centered …

Opposite Trends Of Glycosides And Alkaloids In Dendrobium Nobile Of Different Age Based On Uplc-Q/Tof-Ms Combined With Multivariate Statistical Analyses., An-Jing Lu, Yuan Jiang, Jia Wu, Dao-Peng Tan, Lin Qin, Yan-Liu Lu, Yong Qian, Chao-Jun Bai, Ji-Yong Yang, Hua Ling, Jing-Shan Shi, Zhou Yang, Yu-Qi He

PCOM Scholarly Papers

INTRODUCTION: Alkaloids and glycosides are the active ingredients of the herb Dendrobium nobile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The pharmacological effects of alkaloids include neuroprotective effects and regulatory effects on glucose and lipid metabolism, while glycosides improve the immune system. The pharmacological activities of the above chemical components are significantly different. In practice, the stems of 3-year-old D. nobile are usually used as the main source of Dendrobii Caulis. However, it has not been reported whether this harvesting time is appropriate.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the chemical characteristics of D. nobile in different …

Pharmacological Antagonism Of Ep2 Receptor Does Not Modify Basal Cardiovascular And Respiratory Function, Blood Cell Counts, And Bone Morphology In Animal Models., Varun Rawat, Avijit Banik, Radhika Amaradhi, Asheebo Rojas, Shashidharamurthy Taval, Tamas Nagy, Raymond Dingledine, Thota Ganesh

PCOM Scholarly Papers

The EP2 receptor has emerged as a therapeutic target with exacerbating role in disease pathology for a variety of peripheral and central nervous system disorders. We and others have recently demonstrated beneficial effects of EP2 antagonists in preclinical models of neuroinflammation and peripheral inflammation. However, it was earlier reported that mice with global EP2 knockout (KO) display adverse phenotypes on fertility and blood pressure. Other studies indicated that EP2 activation with an agonist has a beneficial effect of healing fractured bone in animal models. These results impeded the development of EP2 antagonists, and EP2 antagonism as therapeutic strategy. To determine …

Aloin Isoforms (A And B) Selectively Inhibits Proteolytic And Deubiquitinating Activity Of Papain Like Protease (Plpro) Of Sars-Cov-2 In Vitro., Devin S M Lewis, Joanna Ho, Savannah Wills, Anasha Kawall, Avini Sharma, Krishna Chavada, Maximilian C C J C Ebert, Stefania Evoli, Ajay Singh, Srujana Rayalam, Vicky Mody, Shashidharamurthy Taval

PCOM Scholarly Papers

The most common host entry point of human adapted coronaviruses (CoV) including SARS-CoV-2 is through the initial colonization in the nostril and mouth region which is responsible for spread of the infection. Most recent studies suggest that the commercially available oral and nasal rinse products are effective in inhibiting the viral replication. However, the anti-viral mechanism of the active ingredients present in the oral rinses have not been studied. In the present study, we have assessed in vitro enzymatic inhibitory activity of active ingredients in the oral mouth rinse products: aloin A and B, chlorhexidine, eucalyptol, hexetidine, menthol, triclosan, methyl …

Study Protocol: Cluster Randomized Trial Of Consultation Strategies For The Sustainment Of Mental Health Interventions In Under-Resourced Urban Schools: Rationale, Design, And Methods., Ricardo Eiraldi, Barry L. Mccurdy, Muniya S Khanna, Courtney Benjamin Wolk, Henry A Glick, Quinn A Rabenau-Mcdonnell, Rachel Comly, Laura E Rutherford, Jayme Banks, Steven A Rufe, Kristina M Popkin, Tara Wilson, Kathryn Henson, Abraham Wandersman, Abbas F Jawad

PCOM Scholarly Papers

BACKGROUND: The school is a key setting for the provision of mental health services to children, particularly those underserved through traditional service delivery systems. School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a tiered approach to service delivery based on the public health model that schools use to implement universal (Tier 1) supports to improve school climate and safety. As our prior research has demonstrated, PBIS is a useful vehicle for implementing mental and behavioral health evidence-based practices (EBPs) at Tier 2 for children with, or at risk for, mental health disorders. Very little research has been conducted regarding the …

A Signature Of Saliva-Derived Exosomal Small Rnas As Predicting Biomarker For Esophageal Carcinoma: A Multicenter Prospective Study, Kai Li, Yusheng Lin, Yichen Luo, Xiao Xiong, Lu Wang, Kameron Durante, Junkuo Li, Fuyou Zhou, Yi Guo, Shaobin Chen, Yuping Chen, Dianzheng Zhang, Sai-Ching Jim Yeung, Hao Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

BACKGROUND: The tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are produced in a nuclease-dependent manner in responses to variety of stresses that are common in cancers. We focus on a cancer-enriched tsRNA signature to develop a salivary exosome-based non-invasive biomarker for human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS: Cancer-enriched small RNAs were identified by RNA sequencing of salivary exosomes obtained from ESCC patients (n = 3) and healthy controls (n = 3) in a pilot study and further validated in discovery cohort (n = 66). A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted in two ESCC high-incidence regions (n = 320 and 200, respectively) …

Generation And Application Of Inducible Chimeric Rna, Yichen Luo, Liang Du, Zhimeng Yao, Fan Liu, Kai Li, Feifei Li, Jianlin Zhu, Robert P Coppes, Dianzheng Zhang, Yunlong Pan, Shegan Gao, Hao Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Chimeric RNAs (chiRNAs) play many previously unrecognized roles in different diseases including cancer. They can not only be used as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases but also serve as potential therapeutic targets. In order to better understand the roles of chiRNAs in pathogenesis, we inserted human sequences into mouse genome and established a knockin mouse model of the tamoxifen-inducible expression of ASTN2-PAPPA antisense chimeric RNA (A-PaschiRNA). Mice carrying the A-PaschiRNA knockin gene do not display any apparent abnormalities in growth, fertility, histological, hematopoietic, and biochemical indices. Using this model, we dissected the role of …

Editorial: Infection, Inflammation, And Neurodegeneration: A Critical Path To Alzheimer's Disease, Volume Ii., Roberta Mancuso, Simone Agostini, Denah Appelt, Brian J. Balin

PCOM Scholarly Papers

No abstract available

Germline Mutations In Patients With Early-Onset Prostate Cancer., Tang Tang, Xintao Tan, Ze Wang, Shuo Wang, Yapeng Wang, Jing Xu, Xiajie Wei, Dianzheng Zhang, Qiuli Liu, Jun Jiang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Objective: To investigate the inherited mutations and their association with clinical features and treatment response in young-onset prostate cancer patients.

Method: Targeted gene sequencing on 139 tumor susceptibility genes was conducted with a total of 24 patients diagnosed with PCa under the age of 63 years old. Meanwhile, the related clinical information of those patients is collected and analyzed.

Results: Sixty-two germline mutations in 45 genes were verified in 22 patients.

Conclusion: Mutations in DRGs are more prevalent in early-onset PCa with advanced clinical stages, and these patients had shorter progression-free survival. ADT Combined with either radiotherapy or chemotherapy may …

Modulation Of Arginase-2 Mrna Levels By Ω-3 Pufas And Aspirin In Asthmatic Human Lung Fibroblasts, Vamsee K Duggirala, Kyla Geary, Donald Hasenmayer, Farzaneh Daghigh

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Airway remodeling (AR) increases disease severity, and morbidity of asthmatic patients by contributing to irreversible airflow obstruction and progressive declines in lung function. Arginase isoenzymes and the downstream enzymes ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) have been implicated in the hyperplastic and fibrotic changes of AR, respectively. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) and resolvin metabolites have anti-AR effects, but whether they are mediated through the arginase pathway is unclear. Our study intended to determine the effects of the ω-3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), resolvin D1 (RvD1), TH1 cytokines, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), cAMP, …

Regulation, Targets And Functions Of Chk, Shudong Zhu, Rong Sun, Xialing Guo, Yuanwu Bao, Dianzheng Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Src family kinases (SFKs) play pivotal roles in multiple signaling pathways (Yeatman, 2004). SFK activity is inhibited by phosphorylation at its C-terminal tyrosine, by CSK (C-terminal Src kinase) and CHK (CSK-homologous kinase). CHK expression is restricted to normal hematopoietic cells, brain, and colon tissues. Downregulation of CHK in brain and colon tumors contributes to tumorigenicity in these tissues. CHK does not phosphorylate Src efficiently, however, in contrast to CSK, CHK inhibits Src kinase activity allosterically. Although the functions of CHK are still largely unknown, potential substrates of CHK including β-synuclein, α-tubulin, α-spectrin, 14-3-3, and Hsp90 have been identified. CHK is …

Inhibitory Effect Of Phytochemicals Towards Sars-Cov-2 Papain Like Protease (Plpro) Proteolytic And Deubiquitinase Activity, Anasha Kawall, Devin S M Lewis, Avini Sharma, Krishna Chavada, Rahul Deshmukh, Srujana Rayalam, Vicky Mody, Shashidharamurthy Taval

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Recent studies have shown that RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), and papain-like protease (PLpro) are necessary for SARS-CoV-2 replication. Among these three enzymes, PLpro exhibits both proteolytic and deubiquitinase (DUB) activity and is responsible for disrupting the host's innate immune response against SARS-CoV-2. Because of this unique property of PLpro, we investigated the inhibitory effects of phytochemicals on the SARS-CoV-2 PLpro enzyme. Our data indicates that the phytochemicals such as catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), mangiferin, myricetin, rutin, and theaflavin exhibited inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 14.2, 128.4, 95.3, 12.1, and 43.4, and 7.3 μM, respectively, towards …

Learning Deficits And Attenuated Adaptive Stress Response After Early-Life Seizures In Zebrafish., Harsimran Singh, Alfonsina Ramon, Dana Finore, Kaleigh Burnham, Scott Mcrobert, Jocelyn Lippman-Bell

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Early-life seizures (ELS) are often associated with the development of cognitive deficits. However, methods to predict and prevent these deficits are lacking. To increase the range of research models available to study cognitive consequences of ELS, we investigated whether seizures in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) lead to behavioral deficits later in life. We thus modified the existing pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure model in larval zebrafish, exposing zebrafish to PTZ daily from 5 to 7 days post-fertilization (dpf). We then compared later-life learning, social behavior (shoaling), and behavioral and chemical measures of anxiety in the PTZ-exposed zebrafish (PTZ group) to …

Tyrosine Phosphatase Ptpro Deficiency In Erbb2-Positive Breast Cancer Contributes To Poor Prognosis And Lapatinib Resistance., Hongmei Dong, Liang Du, Songwang Cai, Wan Lin, Chaoying Chen, Matthew Still, Zhimeng Yao, Robert P Coppes, Yunlong Pan, Dianzheng Zhang, Shegan Gao, Hao Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Despite the initial benefit from treating ERBB2-positive breast cancer with tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib, resistance develops inevitably. Since the expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-type O (PTPRO), a member of the R3 subfamily of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), is inversely correlated with the aggressiveness of multiple malignancies, we decided to explore the correlation between PTPRO and lapatinib resistance in ERBB2-positive breast cancer. Results of immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and the correlation analysis between the expression levels of PTPRO and the clinicopathological parameters indicate that PTPRO is downregulated in cancer tissues as compared with normal tissues and negatively associated with differentiation, …