Chemicals and Drugs Commons^™

Bone Health Management In Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy, Vishnuprabha Dhanapal, David J. Reeves

David Reeves

Purpose. Patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy undergo a rapid decline in bone mineral density during the first 6 to 12 months of initiating therapy. The World Health Organization has developed and implemented the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) to predict the ten year risk of a major fracture & hip fracture. Additionally, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the National Osteoporosis Foundation have developed osteoporosis guidelines. This study aims to characterize the fracture risk (based on the FRAX tool) and the current management of bone health based on national guidelines compliance. Methods. A retrospective chart review of patients receiving a …

Ascorbic Acid For The Treatment Of Rasburicase Induced Methemoglobinemia In The Setting Of Acute Renal Failure, David J. Reeves, Lindsay Saum, Ruemu Birhiray

David Reeves

Purpose A case of apparent rasburicase-induced methemoglobinemia and acute kidney injury treated with i.v. ascorbic acid because of suspected glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is reported. Summary A 46-year-old African-American man with a recent diagnosis of multiple myeloma and renal insufficiency was admitted to the hospital with a cough, hemoptysis, and fatigue. His medical history included hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, ventricular tachycardia, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and pleural effusion. No treatments for multiple myeloma were started before hospital admission. Levofloxacin 750 mg orally daily for possible pneumonia, lenalidomide 10 mg orally daily, and dexamethasone 20 mg orally weekly were administered. Plasmapheresis was also initiated. …

Structural And Molecular Analysis Of A Protective Epitope Of Lyme Disease Antigen Ospa And Antibody Interactions, Shivender Shandilya, Nese Kurt Yilmaz, Ejemel Monir, Andrew Sadowski, William D. Thomas, Mark S. Klempner, Celia A. Schiffer, Yan Wang

Celia A. Schiffer

The murine monoclonal antibody LA-2 recognizes a clinically protective epitope on outer surface protein (OspA) of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease in North America. Human antibody equivalence to LA-2 is the best serologic correlate of protective antibody responses following OspA vaccination. Understanding the structural and functional basis of the LA-2 protective epitope is important for developing OspA-based vaccines and discovering prophylactic antibodies against Lyme disease. Here, we present a detailed structure-based analysis of the LA-2/OspA interaction interface and identification of residues mediating antibody recognition. Mutations were introduced into both OspA and LA-2 based on computational predictions on …

In-Season N Fertilization Strategies Using Active Sensors, Daniel Barker, John Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

The objectives of this project were to measure corn yield response to applied nitrogen (N) fertilizer based on active canopy sensing during the mid-vegetative corn growth stage (V10) and compare yield and N use efficiency between pre-plant N (PP-N), pre-plant + sensor N (PP+S-N), split N strategy (SNS), and rescue N strategy (RNS).

In-Season N Fertilization Strategies Using Active Sensors, Daniel Barker, John Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

The objectives of this project were to measure corn yield response to applied nitrogen (N) fertilizer based on active canopy sensing during the mid-vegetative corn growth stage (V10) and compare yield and N use efficiency between pre-plant N (PP-N), pre-plant + sensor N (PP+S-N), split N strategy (SNS), and rescue N strategy (RNS).

In-Season N Fertilization Strategies Using Active Sensors, Daniel Barker, John Sawyer

John E. Sawyer

The objectives of this project were to measure corn yield response to applied nitrogen (N) fertilizer based on active canopy sensing during the mid-vegetative corn growth stage (V10) and compare yield and N use efficiency between pre-plant N (PP-N), pre-plant + sensor N (PP+S-N), split N strategy (SNS), and rescue N strategy (RNS).

Impacts Of Cover Crops On Phosphorus And Nitrogen Loss With Surface Runoff, Antonio Mallarino, Richard Cruse, Dan Jaynes, John Sawyer, Pablo Barbieri

John E. Sawyer

Iowa research has demonstrated that cover crops can improve soil productivity and water quality by increasing soil organic matter and reducing nitrate nitrogen (N) leaching. Other research has investigated and is investigating the agronomic and economic viability of using cereal rye cover crops in continuous corn or corn-soybean rotations. However, no Iowa research has evaluated under natural rainfall the impact of cover crops on phosphorus (P) and N loss with surface runoff interacting with other management practices. The need for this type of research was indicated in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy documents. This effort assessed what would be needed …

Impact Of 4r Management On Crop Production And Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss In Tile Drainage, Matthew Helmers, John Sawyer, Josh Sievers

John E. Sawyer

Corn Belt corn and soybean producers are increasingly challenged to maximize crop production while addressing the contributions farm practices make to Gulf hypoxia. Based on the need for nitrate-N reductions to meet water quality goals, new management practices are needed to reduce nitrate-N losses at minimal cost and maximum economic benefits. This three-year field research and demonstration project is evaluating various promising N management methods and technologies by documenting the nitrate-N export and crop yield from various systems.

The Crisis Of Opiates In Appalachia, James B. Becker Md

James Becker

No abstract provided.

Biosimilars In Rheumatology: What The Clinician Should Know, Gilberto Castaneda-Hernandez, Rodrigo Gonzalez-Ramirez, Jonathan Kay, Morton A. Scheinberg

Jonathan Kay

Biosimilars are now a reality in rheumatology. Although analytical and non-clinical procedures to establish similarity have evolved significantly, clinical trials demonstrating equivalent efficacy and safety are absolutely required for all biosimilars. The design of such trials, including equivalence and non-inferiority statistical approaches, are discussed. Clinical evidence on biosimilars that have been approved recently or are presently being developed for use in rheumatology is also reviewed and contrasted with that available for biomimics (or intended copies), which are non-innovator biologics that are marketed in several countries but have not undergone review according to a regulatory pathway for biosimilars.

A Meta-Analysis Of Incidence And Risk Factors Of Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiotoxicity In Breast Cancer, Zeeshan Ali Jawa, Ruth M. Perez, Lydia Garlie, Maharaj Singh, Rubina Qamar, Bijoy K. Khandheria, Arshad Jahangir, Yang Shi

Maharaj Singh

Background: A monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) oncogene that is overexpressed in 25–30% of breast cancers. In combination with first-line therapy, trastuzumab resulted in significant improvement in survival outcomes for those with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Due to its improvement in outcome and prolonged survival, trastuzumab has been established as standard of care in both adjuvant and metastatic settings. However, along with common adverse events, trastuzumab has been found to be associated with cardiotoxicity. An estimated 1–4% of patients treated with trastuzumab will develop heart failure and ~10% of patients will experience a …

Which Drugs Cause Cancer?, Andrew Knight, Jarrod Bailey, Jonathan Balcombe

Andrew Knight, Ph.D.

Animal tests yield misleading results.

Cancerous Contradictions: The Mis-Regulation Of Human Carcinogens Based On Animal Data, Andrew Knight, Jarrod Bailey, Jonathan Balcombe

Andrew Knight, PhD

The regulation of human exposures to potential carcinogens constitutes society’s most important use of animal carcinogenicity data. However, for environmental contaminants of greatest U.S. concern, we found that in most cases (58.1%; 93/160) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered the animal data inadequate to support a classification of probable human carcinogen or noncarcinogen.

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is a leading international authority on carcinogenicity assessments. For chemicals lacking human exposure data (the great majority), IARC classifications of identical chemicals were significantly more conservative than EPA classifications (p

Vitamin D Deficiency: "At Risk" Patient Populations And Potential Drug Interactions, Dana Lycans Md, Elias Salloum Md, Matthew K. Wingate Md, Thomas Melvin Md, Grant S. Buchanan Md, Franklin D. Shuler Md, Phd

Franklin D. Shuler

Vitamin D is known to play an essential role in calcium homeostasis; however, excessive amounts can have harmful effects. Calcium and vitamin D levels are known to be influenced by drug interactions and pathology ranging from of cancer to cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D supplementation has become widespread, and it is important for clinicians to understand the way that certain conditions and medications interact with vitamin D and calcium homeostasis. The purpose of this review is to outline the benefits and adverse effects of vitamin D and how its levels are affected by certain pathologic and pharmacologic interactions.

Essentials Of Herb-Drug Interactions In The Elderly With Cardiovascular Disease, Sulaiman Sultan, Maria Viqar, Rabaiya Ali, A. Jamil Tajik, Arshad Jahangir

Arshad Jahangir, MD

As the number of individuals, particularly the elderly, using herbal products with prescription drugs continues to grow, the risk for adverse interactions increases but remains poorly recognized. The true incidence and nature of adverse herb reactions or herb-drug interactions remains unknown since no postmarketing surveillance mechanism exists. Adverse events are greatly underreported, and information regarding safety mainly comes from case reports and suboptimally conducted studies in a limited number of healthy young volunteers or patients with limited comorbidities. Therefore, convincing evidence for the safety of herbal products in the elderly is lacking, and the true magnitude of problems that herb-drug …

A Meta-Analysis Of Incidence And Risk Factors Of Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiotoxicity In Breast Cancer, Zeeshan Ali Jawa, Ruth Perez, Lydia Garlie, Maharaj Singh, Rubina Qamar, Bijoy Khandheria, Arshad Jahangir, Yang Shi

Arshad Jahangir, MD

Background: A monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) oncogene that is overexpressed in 25–30% of breast cancers. In combination with first-line therapy, trastuzumab resulted in significant improvement in survival outcomes for those with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Due to its improvement in outcome and prolonged survival, trastuzumab has been established as standard of care in both adjuvant and metastatic settings. However, along with common adverse events, trastuzumab has been found to be associated with cardiotoxicity. An estimated 1–4% of patients treated with trastuzumab will develop heart failure and ~10% of patients will experience a …

Stinging Nettle: The Bad, The Good, The Unknown, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is native to most of the United States. It has a characteristic description and distribution in the environment. Physical contact with numerous tiny needlelike hairs present on leaves and stems of this plant may result in a contact urticarial dermatitis due to chemical and mechanical irritation triggered by skin penetration of the hairs. The manifestations are self-limited in humans and may be treated by washing the skin, topical preparations and oral antihistamines. Explanation of the natural history of these encounters to the patient is helpful in reducing the sometimes significant anxiety. Preparations and extracts of stinging …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Implementation Of Unified Workflow In Improvement Of Medication Reconciliation For Aurora St. Luke’S Family Medicine Residency Outpatients, Katherine Meyers, Jessica Konarske, Jessica J.F. Kram, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

Background: Medication errors are the most common errors occurring in hospitals. Preventable adverse drug events are linked with 1 in 5 injuries or deaths; 23% of medication errors in primary care occur due to inaccuracies in the medication list. Quality improvement projects designed to improve accuracy of outpatient medication reconciliations may decrease the number of medication errors and increase patient safety by preventing adverse drug events. Purpose: To determine whether a unified workflow for medication reconciliation improves the accuracy of ambulatory, electronic medical record (EMR)-based patient medication records. Methods: Retrospective study of random sample of patients from Aurora Family Medicine …

Methyl Transfer By Substrate Signaling From A Knotted Protein Fold, Thomas Christian, Reiko Sakaguchi, Agata P. Perlinska, George Lahoud, Takuhiro Ito, Erika A. Taylor, Shigeyuki Yokoyama, Joanna I. Sulkowska, Ya-Ming Hou

Erika A. Taylor, Ph.D.

Interrogating Metabolism In Brain Cancer, Travis Salzillo, Jingzhe Hu, Linda Nguyen, Nicholas Whiting, Jaehyuk Lee, Joseph Weygand, Prasanta Dutta, Shivanand Pudakalakatti, Niki Zacharias Millward, Seth Gammon, Frederick F. Lang, Amy B. Heimberger, Pratip Bhattacharya

Nicholas Whiting

The Effect Of All-Trans Retinoic Acid And Fatty Acids On Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cell Progression, David Brown

David C. Brown

Vitamin A metabolites and retinoids may slow the progression of breast cancer and elicit anti-neoplastic properties similar to those of omega-3 fatty acids. Studies using animal models show a decrease in the incidence, growth and metastisis of mammary tumors in the presence of specific fatty acids. This effect is also seen with use of retinoids, specifically all-trans retinoic acid (AtRA). Thus, fatty acids may also alter retinoid homeostasis in mammary carcinoma cells (MCF-7s). The potential for inter/co dependency among fatty acids and retinoids is considerable, and here it has been hypothesized that a decrease in cancer progression will occur in …

Getting To The Root Of Bacterial Hairs: What Is “S”?, Rebecca Gaddis, Samantha O'Conner, Evan Anderson, Terri Camesano, Nancy Burnham

Nancy A. Burnham

An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure the steric forces of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on the biofilm-forming bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is well known that LPS play a vital role in biofilm formation. These forces were characterized with a modified version of the Alexander and de Gennes (AdG) model for polymers, which is a function of equilibrium brush length, L, probe radius, R, temperature, T, separation distance, D, and an indefinite density variable, s. This last parameter was originally distinguished by de Gennes as the root spacing or mesh spacing depending upon the type of polymer adhesion; however since …

Topical Administration Of Psychotropic Medications In Pluronic Lecithin Organogel To Treat Patients With Dementia: A Retrospective Observational Study, Cornelius W. Thomas, Md, Suzanne Holroyd, Md. Chair, Department Of Psychiatry

Suzanne Holroyd

OBJECTIVE: Treatment of mood and behavioral symptoms in geriatric patients with advanced dementia may be impeded by poor compliance with oral medications. Pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) is a compounding substrate that can be used for the topical administration of psychotropic medications. METHODS: Charts of patients treated with psychotropic medications compounded with PLO cream were reviewed for treatment outcomes. All patients were treated by a nursing home outreach service. RESULTS: Records from twenty-four patients, mean age 86.8 + 5.9, were reviewed. Common psychiatric symptoms included agitation, aggressive behavior, and depression. Medications most commonly administered as a PLO cream included quetiapine and …

Alkali Therapy In Lactic Acidosis, Zeid J. Khitan, Md, Deepak Malhotra, Md, Dominic S. Raj, Md, Antonios H. Tzamaloukas, Md, Joseph I. Shapiro, Md

Zeid J. Khitan

This report attempts to frame the debate about clinical administration of sodium bicarbonate in the setting of lactic acidosis in terms of simple questions. Specifically, we address why we develop lactic acidosis in some circumstances, how acute lactic acidosis impairs cardiovascular function and why sodium bicarbonate may have deleterious effects which limit its utility. We also attempt to explore treatment alternatives to sodium bicarbonate.

A Biopsychosocial Examination Of Atod Use Among Middle And High School Students, Russell Warne

Russell T Warne

Physico-Chemical Behaviour Of Benzophenone With Benzene At 303.15 K Using Ultrasonic Measurements, G. S. Gayathri, S. Jayakumar, S.Bangaru Sudarsan Alwar

Innovative Research Publications IRP India

Ultrasonic investigations throw a light on the molecular interactions between solute and solvent molecules. The ultrasonic velocities, densities and viscosities have been measured for the binary liquid mixtures benzophenone and benzene of different mole fractions at 303.15 K. The obtained experimental data are used to calculate the acoustical parameters like adiabatic compressibility (β), free length (Lf), free volume (Vf), internal pressure (πi), interaction parameter (χ) and acoustic impedance (Z). The deviations in the parameters suggest the structure breaking tendency of the solvent molecules.

Unexpected Synthesis Of 1,3,5-Triarly-1,5-Diketones From Aryl Ketones Via Di-Enamine Mechanism, Bin Liu, Junfeng Wang, Yi Pang, Zemei Ge, Runtao Li

Yi Pang

An unexpected reaction of aryl ketone with acetohydrazone of aromatic aldehyde via 1,2-di-enamine/diiminium mechanism was discovered, leading to efficient synthesis of 1,3,5-triaryl-1,5-diketones in good to excellent yields. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased Number Of Circulating Exosomes And Their Microrna Cargos Are Potential Novel Biomarkers In Alcoholic Hepatitis, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Banishree Saha, Karen Kodys, Donna Catalano, Abhishek Satishchandran, Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo

BACKGROUND: It has been well documented that alcohol and its metabolites induce injury and inflammation in the liver. However, there is no potential biomarker to monitor the extent of liver injury in alcoholic hepatitis patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are involved in various physiologic and pathologic processes. In the circulation, a great proportion of miRNAs is associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs)/exosomes. Here, we hypothesized that the exosome-associated miRNAs can be used as potential biomarkers in alcoholic hepatitis (AH).

METHODS: Exosomes were isolated from sera of alcohol-fed mice or pair-fed mice, and plasma of alcoholic hepatitis …

Heliox For Croup In Children, Irene Moraa, Nancy Sturman, Treasure Mcguire, Mieke Van Driel

Treasure McGuire

Croup is thought to be triggered by a viral infection and is characterised by respiratory distress due to upper airway inflammation and swelling of the subglottic mucosa in children. Mostly it is mild and transient and resolves with supportive care. In moderate to severe cases, treatment with corticosteroids and nebulised epinephrine (adrenaline) is required. Corticosteroids improve symptoms but it takes time for a full effect to be achieved. In the interim, the child is at risk of further deterioration. This may rarely result in respiratory failure necessitating emergency intubation and ventilation. Nebulised epinephrine may result in dose-related adverse effects including …

Health Action Process Approach: Application To Medication Adherence In Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients, Anna Greer, Kerry Milner, Richard Marcello, Katie Mazin

Anna E. Greer

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) post-intentional constructs (maintenance self-efficacy, recovery self-efficacy, action planning, coping planning) and medication adherence among phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients. Research Method: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 91 phase II CR patients age 50 years and over. All respondents completed paper and pencil questionnaire examining HAPA post-intentional constructs (action planning, coping planning, maintenance self-efficacy, recovery self-efficacy), medication adherence, and demographic characteristics. Validity and reliability were confirmed for all scales included in the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe respondents’ characteristics. Bivariate statistics …