Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Survey Of Certified Asthma Educator (Ae-C) Pharmacists – Who Are They And How Is This Credential Being Used?, Timothy R. Hudd, Susan G. Bollmeier, Enrique Seoane-Vazquez

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: A survey was developed and distributed to pharmacists who have earned the certified asthma educator credential (AE-C) to assess asthma education services provided and their perceived value of the AE-C.

Design: A 28 item survey was developed, pretested and distributed electronically.

Participants: 224 AE-C certified pharmacists practicing within the United States were invited to participate.

Main Outcome Measures: Information pertaining to the level of education, professional affiliations, and practice setting was collected along with other demographic attributes.We also inquired about the types of asthma education services provided, related clinical activities, and whether AE-C pharmacists or …

Effect Of Hydrogen Peroxide On The Biosynthesis Of Heme And Proteins: Potential Implications For The Partitioning Of Glu-TrnaGlu Between These Pathways, Carolina Farah, Gloria Levicán, Michael Ibba, Omar Orellana

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Glutamyl-tRNA (Glu-tRNA^Glu) is the common substrate for both protein translation and heme biosynthesis via the C5 pathway. Under normal conditions, an adequate supply of this aminoacyl-tRNA is available to both pathways. However, under certain circumstances, Glu-tRNA^Glu can become scarce, resulting in competition between the two pathways for this aminoacyl-tRNA. In Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, glutamyl-tRNA synthetase 1 (GluRS1) is the main enzyme that synthesizes Glu-tRNA^Glu. Previous studies have shown that GluRS1 is inactivated in vitro by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). This raises the question as to whether H₂O₂ negatively affects …

Developmental And Cultural Perspectives On Children’S Postoperative Pain Management At Home, Brooke N. Jenkins, Michelle A. Fortier

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Outpatient surgery is extremely common in children, and approximately 4 million children experience significant pain after surgery in the USA each year. Management of children's postoperative pain in the home setting is suboptimal and is impacted by characteristics of children and parents, as well as the larger family and cultural context. In particular, developmental status of the child, parental beliefs regarding pain expression and analgesic use in children, cultural values and language barriers can affect management of children's postoperative pain. Targeting the myriad barriers to children's pain management by capitalizing upon the use of tailored interventions may help bridge the …

Adjusting Learning Parameters To Increase Cognitive Resource Allocation In Persons With Alcoholism Risk, Brooke Snelgrove, Taylor Stephens, Yasmin Akbari, Reyn Yoshiura, Lilian Andrade

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Parental history of alcoholism is associated with increased alcoholism risk in their children. One factor increasing alcoholism risk is the presence of attention and information encoding disruptions in adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) compared to persons who are not ACOAs (NACOA). Alcohol ingestion reduces these disruptions in ACOAs. This study examined whether alterations of information processing parameters can function like alcohol and reduce processing disruptions experienced by the ACOA. Participants were 80 ACOAs and 80 NACOAs, partitioned into four groups of 20 participants. During learning, subjects studied presentations of stimulus items followed by the presentation of associated response items. The …

Increasing Response Time And Response Evaluation Time Compensates For Information Processing Difficulties In Persons At Risk For Alcoholism, Yasmin Akbari

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Parental history of alcoholism is associated with increased alcoholism risk in their children. One factor increasing alcoholism risk is the presence of attention and information encoding disruptions in adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) compared to persons who are not ACOAs (NACOA). Alcohol ingestion reduces these disruptions in ACOAs. This study examined whether alterations of information processing parameters can function like alcohol and reduce processing disruptions experienced by the ACOA.

Participants were 80 ACOAs and 80 NACOAs, partitioned into four groups of 20 participants. During learning, subjects studied presentations of stimulus items followed by the presentation of associated response items. The …

The Effect Of Chronic Sleep Deprivation On Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha And Bone Health In Peri-Menopausal Rats, Megan Robertson, Derek Booth, Erin Wainwright, Cody Arbuckle, Frank Frisch

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Post-menopausal osteoporosis is a common syndrome in the United States. The cessation of estrogen signaling coupled with the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines from sleep deprivation leads to an even greater risk of post-menopausal osteoporosis by creating an imbalance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. With estrogen no longer present to regulate the concentration of osteoclasts and pro-inflammatory cytokines increasing production of osteoclasts, bone is degraded at a faster rate than it is formed. One of the most common treatments for osteoporosis is Zolendronate (a nitrogenous bisphosphonate), which decreases the number of osteoclasts in bone. This preliminary study looked at the effects on …

Engineered Plga Nanoparticles For Delivery Of Sirna In Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cells, Sydney Pong, Samit Shah, Vivek Gupta

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Small interfering RNAs have been an emerging medical treatment for molecular based diseases as they are capable of gene-specific knockdown. Appropriate and efficient delivery remains one of the biggest challenges in the development of siRNA as an anti-cancer treatment. Nanoparticles containing siRNA were characterized and the efficacy of various peptides in the transfection of the nanoparticles were tested. A gene silencing assay was developed in order to determine the effect of siRNA therapeutics on gene functionality in breast cancer cells.

Accommodating Hyperaroused Information Processing In Persons At Risk For Alcoholism, Kellianne Clark, Jaclyn Cutler

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In the search for the factors related to the heightened alcoholism risk in adult children of alcoholics (ACOA), it has been reported that these persons possess a high incidence of attention deficit disorders (ADD) as determined by clinical assessment instruments. However, investigations of alcoholism risk and ADD indicate that, in contrast to the hypoarousal model of ADD, the ACOA’s attention problems represent hyperarousal of attention mechanisms resulting in reduced ability to select and encode relevant information. If true, then unlike persons with ADD, clinical and cognitive assessments of ACOAs would benefit if the ACOA was provided with more time to …

Toxicity And Cosmesis Outcomes For Single Fraction Intra-Operative Electron Radiotherapy (Ioert) For Breast Cancer, Monica Hanna, Robert Ash, Wesley Babaran, Michele M. Carpenter, Afshin Forouzannia, Jay K. Harness, Brian Kaltenecker, Snehith Maddula, Venita Williams, Lawrence Wagman

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Background: Adjuvant radiation therapy is proven to reduce local recurrence in patients with early stage breast cancer. To reduce toxicity, improve geographic accuracy, and reduce treatment time, IOERT can be utilized as an alternative to external beam radiation therapy. The study’s objective was to determine the short term toxicity and cosmesis profile of single fraction IOERT given as definitive treatment in a community setting. Materials and Methods: From Mar 2012 to Jul 2014, 84 patients (3 bilateral), ages 45-91 y.o. with stage 0-II were treated with IOERT (Mobetron, IntraOp Medical, Sunnyvale, CA). A single 21 Gy fraction was administered to …

Assessment Of The Effects Of Caffeine, Gallic Acid, And Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate On Cell Inhibition, Pim-3 And E. Cadherin Protein Levels In Two Lines Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Lena Haddad, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. In addition to being an exceptionally aggressive form of cancer, it is particularly difficult to treat because it is usually diagnosed in late stages after the onset of metastasis (1). Consequently, the current treatments used, including chemotherapy and radiation, have been rendered ineffective (2). As a result, focus has been placed on using dietary alternatives which are known to possess chemopreventive properties (3). Previous studies have indicated that Gallic acid (an important phytochemical in pomegranates) and Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (the …

Molecular Insights Into Prostate Field Cancerization: Telomere Length, Egr-­‐1 Expression, And Regulation Of Mic-­‐1, Pdgf-­‐A, And Fas, Emily Frisch, Kristin Gabriel, Marco Bisoffi

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The diagnosis of prostate cancer (adenocarcinoma) relies on screening for elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood samples and on digital rectal examination (DRE). With high PSA levels and/or abnormal DRE, physicians recommend a biopsy, which often misses the location of the adenocarcinoma and results in false negatives. Previous studies have shown expression of the key transcription factor early growth response 1 (EGR-1), the pro-survival factor macrophage inhibitor cytokine 1 (MIC-1), and the growth stimulatory platelet derived growth factor A (PDGF-A) to be up-regulated in histologically normal tissues 1 centimeter adjacent to prostate adenocarcinomas. We hypothesize that tumors emerge from “field …

Prostate Field Cancerization -- Thinking Outside The Tumor, Dor Shoshan, Marco Bisoffi

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Prostate field cancerization (or field effect) is characterized by the presence of molecular alterations in histologically normal tissues adjacent to adenocarcinomas. Accordingly, our research indicates deregulated expression of several proteins that define this type of molecular pathology. The scope of the present study was to determine the expression of the key transcription factor and potential marker of field cancerization early growth response 1 (EGR-1) in human prostate tissues derived from prostatectomies and biopsy cores.

EGR-1 was detected by immunofluorescence using a polyclonal anti-human EGR-1 and Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated secondary antibodies. EGR-1 expression was quantitated by determining the pixel count per …

Is Postpartum Depression A Disease Of Modern Civilization?, Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, Martie Haselton

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Access to calorie-dense foods, medicine, and other comforts has made modern humans healthier than our prehistoric ancestors in many respects. However, the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease suggest that there are also drawbacks to modern living. Here, we address the question of whether the dramatic cultural changes that have occurred over the past century have inflated rates of postpartum depression, adding postpartum depression to the list of diseases of modern civilization. We review evidence from cross-cultural, epidemiological, and experimental studies documenting associations between postpartum depression and modern patterns of early weaning, diets deficient in essential fatty acids, low …

Structure-Based Network Analysis Of Activation Mechanisms In The Erbb Family Of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases: The Regulatory Spine Residues Are Global Mediators Of Structural Stability And Allosteric Interactions, Kevin A. James, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The ErbB protein tyrosine kinases are among the most important cell signaling families and mutation-induced modulation of their activity is associated with diverse functions in biological networks and human disease. We have combined molecular dynamics simulations of the ErbB kinases with the protein structure network modeling to characterize the reorganization of the residue interaction networks during conformational equilibrium changes in the normal and oncogenic forms. Structural stability and network analyses have identified local communities integrated around high centrality sites that correspond to the regulatory spine residues. This analysis has provided a quantitative insight to the mechanism of mutation-induced ‘‘superacceptor’’ activity …

Longer Gestation Among Children Born Full Term Influences Cognitive And Motor Development, Emma V. Espel, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Elyssia Poggi Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Children born preterm show persisting impairments in cognitive functioning, school achievement, and brain development. Most research has focused on implications of birth prior to 37 gestational weeks; however, the fetal central nervous system continues to make fundamental changes throughout gestation. Longer gestation is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality even among infants born during the period clinically defined as full term (37–41 gestational weeks). The implications of shortened gestation among term infants for neurodevelopment are poorly understood. The present study prospectively evaluates 232 mothers and their full term infants (50.4% male infants) at three time points across the first postnatal …

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Possess Intrinsic Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Benjamin J. Fowler, Bradley D. Gelfand, Younghee Kim, Nagaraj Kerur, Valeria Tarallo, Yoshio Hirano, Shoba Amarnath, Daniel H. Fowler, Marta Radwan, Mark T. Young, Keir Pittman, Paul Kubes, Hitesh Agarwal, Keykavous Parang, David R. Hinton, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Shengjian Li, Testuhiro Yasuma, Takeshi Mizutani, Reo Yasuma, Charles Wright, Jayakrishna Ambati

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are mainstay therapeutics for HIV that block retrovirus replication. Alu (an endogenous retroelement that also requires reverse transcriptase for its life cycle)–derived RNAs activate P2X7 and the NLRP3 inflammasome to cause cell death of the retinal pigment epithelium in geographic atrophy, a type of age-related macular degeneration. We found that NRTIs inhibit P2X7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation independent of reverse transcriptase inhibition. Multiple approved and clinically relevant NRTIs prevented caspase-1 activation, the effector of the NLRP3 inflammasome, induced by Alu RNA. NRTIs were efficacious in mouse models of geographic atrophy, choroidal neovascularization, graft-versus-host disease, and sterile …

On Reporting The Onset Of The Intention To Move, Uri Maoz, Liad Mudrik, Ram Rivlin, Ian Ross, Adam Mamelak, Gideon Yaffe

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In 1965, Hans Kornhuber and Luder Deecke made a discovery that greatly influenced the study of voluntary action. Using electroencephalography (EEG), they showed that when aligning some tens of trials to movement onset and averaging, a slowly decreasing electrical potential emerges over central regions of the brain. It starts 1 second ( s) or so before the onset of the voluntary action1 and continues until shortly after the action begins. They termed this the Bereitschaftspotential, or readiness potential (RP; Kornhuber & Deecke, 1965).2 This became the first well-established neural marker of voluntary action. In that, the RP allowed for more …

Peptide Arrays For Detecting Naphthenic Acids In Oil Sands Process Affected Water, Kamaljit Kaur, Subir Bhattacharjee, Rajesh G. Pillai, Sahar Ahmed, Sarfuddin Azmi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are water-soluble components of petroleum. The characterization and quantification of NAs by analytical methods have proved quite challenging, whilst the toxic effects of these water-soluble compounds on a variety of organisms adversely affecting reproduction and steroid production is becoming apparent. In this study, we report a fluorescence-based competitive binding method for rapid sensing of the presence of NAs using cellulosic peptide array strips as sensors. The peptide array was designed from sequences derived from the estrogen receptor (ER). Several of these peptides were able to detect the presence of NAs at low micromolar (∼5 mg L^{−1 …}

Interrater Reliability Of The Wolf Motor Function Test–Functional Ability Scale: Why It Matters, Susan V. Duff, Jiaxue He, Monica A. Nelsen, Christianne J. Lane, Veronica T. Rowe, Steve L. Wolf, Alexander W. Dromerick, Carolee J. Winstein

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background. One important objective for clinical trialists in rehabilitation is determining efficacy of interventions to enhance motor behavior. In part, limitation in the precision of measurement presents a challenge. The few valid, low-cost observational tools available to assess motor behavior cannot escape the variability inherent in test administration and scoring. This is especially true when there are multiple evaluators and raters, as in the case of multisite randomized controlled trials (RCTs). One way to enhance reliability and reduce variability is to implement rigorous quality control (QC) procedures. Objective. This article describes a systematic QC process used to refine …

Targeting The Small- And Intermediate Conductance Ca2+- Activated Potassium Channels: The Drug Binding Pocket At The Channel/Calmodulin Interface, Meng Cui, Guangrong Qin, Kunqian Yu, M. Scott Bowers, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The small- and intermediate-conductance Ca 2+ -activated potassium (SK/IK) channels play important roles in the regulation of excitable cells in both the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Evidence from animal models has implicated SK/IK channels in neurological conditions such as ataxia and alcohol use disorders. Further, genome-wide association studies have suggested that cardiovascular abnormalities such as arrhythmias and hypertension are associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms that occur within the genes encoding the SK/IK channels. The Ca 2+ sensitivity of the SK/IK channels stems from a constitutively bound Ca 2+ -binding protein: calmodulin. Small-molecule positive modulators of SK/IK channels have been …

The Non-Canonical Hydroxylase Structure Of Yfcm Reveals A Metal Ion-Coordination Motif Required For Ef-P Hydroxylation, Kan Kobayashi, Assaf Katz, Andrei Rajkovic, Ryohei Ishii, Owen E. Branson, Michael A. Freitas, Ryuichiro Ishitani, Michael Ibba, Osamu Nureki

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

EF-P is a bacterial tRNA-mimic protein, which accelerates the ribosome-catalyzed polymerization of poly-prolines. In Escherichia coli, EF-P is post-translationally modified on a conserved lysine residue. The post-translational modification is performed in a two-step reaction involving the addition of a β-lysine moiety and the subsequent hydroxylation, catalyzed by PoxA and YfcM, respectively. The β-lysine moiety was previously shown to enhance the rate of poly-proline synthesis, but the role of the hydroxylation is poorly understood. We solved the crystal structure of YfcM and performed functional analyses to determine the hydroxylation mechanism. In addition, YfcM appears to be structurally distinct from any …

“Me & My Brain”: Exposing NeuroscienceʼS Closet Dualism, Liad Mudrik, Uri Maoz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Our intuitive concept of the relations between brain and mind is increasingly challenged by the scientific world view. Yet, although few neuroscientists openly endorse Cartesian dualism, careful reading reveals dualistic intuitions in prominent neuroscientific texts. Here, we present the “double-subject fallacy”: treating the brain and the entire person as two independent subjects who can simultaneously occupy divergent psychological states and even have complex interactions with each other—as in “my brain knew before I did.” Although at first, such writing may appear like harmless, or even cute, shorthand, a closer look suggests that it can be seriously misleading. Surprisingly, this confused …

Mapping Regions Of Rnf168 Required For Its Degradation By Icp0, Andrea Cyr, Matthew Weitzman

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

Viruses establish infection by overtaking host cell processes and developing mechanisms that promote viral replication. Herpes simplex virus undergoes lytic and latent cycles of infection throughout the lifespan of its host. The viral genome is transcriptionally silent during latency, but viral proteins are produced upon reactivation. Herpes simplex virus type 1 encodes the ICP0 protein, an E3 ubiquitin ligase required for reactivation from latency of the infectious virus. The immediate-early protein ICP0 regulates the herpes simplex virus by activating viral gene expression thereby initiating lytic infection. Cellular proteins are degraded by ICP0, promoting the virus to enter the lytic cycle. …

Treating Cocaine Dependency With Psychopharmacotherapy And Behavioral Therapy, Robyn Liebman

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

Cocaine is an addictive drug that affects more than 14 million people globally, according to the United Nations. This paper is a conceptual meta-analysis of numerous studies that tested the effects of psychopharmacological therapy along with behavioral therapy in the treatment of cocaine addiction. It is hypothesized that cocaine dependent individuals treated with a combination of psychopharmacological and behavioral therapies will be less likely to use cocaine. Measurements of cocaine use throughout the experiments were generally assessed by urine screenings. Results indicate that there is more evidence that a combination of psychopharmacological and behavioral therapies will reduce cocaine use. There …

The Effect Of Pomegranate Juice Extract On The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway In Pancreatic Cancer, Veronica Gomez, Talia Shackelford, Autumn Tocchi, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. There have been several reports indicating that phytochemicals in fruits can reduce the risk of cancer due to the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the polyphenols. Our lab has shown that pomegranate juice extract (PJE) has anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in human pancreatic cancer cells. In the past, we have shown that cells adhere more strongly to the plate when treated with PJE. This observation prompted an investigation of how PJE regulates cell adhesion proteins. Previously, our lab investigated E-cadherin, a cell adhesion protein. Upon activation …

Mistranslation Of The Genetic Code, Adil Moghal, Kyle Mohler, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

During mRNA decoding at the ribosome, deviations from stringent codon identity, or “mistranslation,” are generally deleterious and infrequent. Observations of organisms that decode some codons ambiguously, and the discovery of a compensatory increase in mistranslation frequency to combat environmental stress have changed the way we view “errors” in decoding. Modern tools for the study of the frequency and phenotypic effects of mistranslation can provide quantitative and sensitive measurements of decoding errors that were previously inaccessible. Mistranslation with non‐protein amino acids, in particular, is an enticing prospect for new drug therapies and the study of molecular evolution.

Relaxed Substrate Specificity Leads To Extensive Trna Mischarging By Streptococcus Pneumoniae Class I And Class Ii Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases, Jennifer Shepherd, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases provide the first step in protein synthesis quality control by discriminating cognate from noncognate amino acid and tRNA substrates. While substrate specificity is enhanced in many instances by cis- and trans-editing pathways, it has been revealed that in organisms such as Streptococcus pneumoniae some aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases display significant tRNA mischarging activity. To investigate the extent of tRNA mischarging in this pathogen, the aminoacylation profiles of class I isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS) and class II lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS) were determined. Pneumococcal IleRS mischarged tRNA^Ile with both Val, as demonstrated in other bacteria, and Leu in a tRNA sequence-dependent …

Selective Phosphorylation Modulates The Pip2 Sensitivity Of The Cam-Sk Channel Complex, Miao Zhang, Xuan-Yu Meng, Meng Cui, John M. Pascal, Diomedes E. Logothetis, Ji-Fang Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2) regulates the activities of many membrane proteins including ion channels through direct interactions. However, the affinity of PIP2 is so high for some channel proteins that its physiological role as a modulator has been questioned. Here we show that PIP2 is an important cofactor for activation of small conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels (SK) by Ca2+-bound calmodulin (CaM). Removal of the endogenous PIP2 inhibits SK channels. The PIP2-binding site resides at the interface of CaM and the SK C-terminus. We further demonstrate that the affinity of PIP2 for its target proteins can be regulated by cellular signaling. Phosphorylation …

Intentions And Voluntary Actions: Reframing The Problem, Aaron Schurger

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Nachev and Hacker are justified in drawing our attention to the importance of conceptual clarity and coherence as these are too often overshadowed by technical sophistication and methodological rigor, which by themselves count for little. But can a process of “conceptual analysis” actually help us to avoid pitfalls, or does it merely serve to expose those pitfalls in hindsight? What is needed is a method for making scientific arguments formulaic and laying bare the implicit assumptions. We have tools for this, but not everyone uses them.

Translation Initiation Rate Determines The Impact Of Ribosome Stalling On Bacterial Protein Synthesis, Steven J. Hersch, Sara Elgamal, Assaf Katz, Michael Ibba, William Wiley Navarre

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Ribosome stalling during translation can be caused by a number of characterized mechanisms. However, the impact of elongation stalls on protein levels is variable, and the reasons for this are often unclear. To investigate this relationship, we examined the bacterial translation elongation factor P (EF-P), which plays a critical role in rescuing ribosomes stalled at specific amino acid sequences including polyproline motifs. In previous proteomic analyses of both Salmonella and Escherichia coli efp mutants, it was evident that not all proteins containing a polyproline motif were dependent on EF-P for efficient expression in vivo . The α- and β-subunits of …