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High Fructose Corn Syrup Induces Metabolic Dysregulation And Altered Dopamine Signaling In The Absence Of Obesity, Allison M. Meyers, Devry Mourra, Jeff A. Beeler

Publications and Research

The contribution of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to metabolic disorder and obesity, independent of high fat, energy-rich diets, is controversial. While high-fat diets are widely accepted as a rodent model of diet-induced obesity (DIO) and metabolic disorder, the value of HFCS alone as a rodent model of DIO is unclear. Impaired dopamine function is associated with obesity and high fat diet, but the effect of HFCS on the dopamine system has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to test the effect of HFCS on weight gain, glucose regulation, and evoked dopamine release using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. …

Infanticide In Chimpanzees: Taphonomic Case Studies From Gombe, Claire A. Kirchhoff, Michael L. Wison, Deus C. Mjungu, Jane Raphael, Shadrack Kamenya, D. Anthony Collins

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives

We present a study of skeletal damage to four chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infanticide victims from Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Skeletal analysis may provide insight into the adaptive significance of infanticide by examining whether nutritional benefits sufficiently explain infanticidal behavior. The nutritional hypothesis would be supported if bone survivorship rates and skeletal damage patterns are comparable to those of monkey prey. If not, other explanations, such as the resource competition hypothesis, should be considered.

Methods

Taphonomic assessment of two chimpanzee infants included description of breakage and surface modification, data on MNE, %MNE, and bone survivorship. Two additional infants …

Vertebrate Body Size Jumps The Wright Way, Peter J. Wagner

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Fossil data provide copious evidence that anatomical (morphological) change within individual lineages is not constant: short bursts of great change commonly separate long durations of little change (1, 2). Despite this, most models of morphological change assume that probabilities of morphological character change are the same from one generation to the next: even if rates change over time—such as in “Cambrian explosion” or “early burst” models, where high disparity among anatomies evolves early—then it is still assumed that fast rates of continuous character change gave way to slow rates of continuous change (3). In statistical parlance, early bursts usually are …

Nanostructured Apatite-Mullite Glass-Ceramics For Enhanced Primary Human Osteoblast Cell Response, Gordon Cooke, Conor Dunne, Sarah Keane, Daithi De Faoite, Seamas Donnelly, Kenneth Stanton

Articles

This work investigates the difference in viability of primary human foetal osteoblast cells on a glass-ceramic surface with nanoscale topography relative to viability on a smooth glass-ceramic surface containing a bioactive phase. Apatite-mullite glass-ceramics containing bioactive fluorapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆F₂) and bioinert mullite (Si₂Al₆O₁₃) were synthesised and subsequent heat-treatment was optimised to form nano-sized fluorapatite crystals. Etching was used to selectively remove the bioactive phase, producing a surface with disordered nanoscale topography. Cells were seeded onto a smooth polished glass-ceramic substrate with the bioactive phase intact, an etched …

Alcohol And Cancer Stem Cells, Mei Xu, Jia Luo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with increased risk of several cancers, including cancer of the colon, rectum, female breast, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, liver, and esophagus. It appears that alcohol exposure not only promotes carcinogenesis but also enhances the progression and aggressiveness of existing cancers. The molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol tumor promotion, however, remain unclear. Cancer stem cells (CSC), a subpopulation of cancer cells with self-renewal and differentiation capacity, play an important role in tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, recurrence, and therapy resistance. The recent research evidence suggests that alcohol increases the CSC population in cancers, which may underlie alcohol-induced …

Natural Sciences At Parkland College - Fall 2017, Parkland College Natural Sciences Department, David Wilson, Elizabeth Phillipi, Scott Siechen, Erik Johnson, Mike Retzer, Sheryl Drake, Christina Beatty, Britt Carlson, Fatemah Hermes, Waylena Mccully, David Leake, Rich Blazier

Department of Natural Sciences Newsletter

The Parkland College Natural Sciences Department Newsletter for Fall 2017 -- this issue features an article on IR cameras, use of display case, engaging students outside the classroom with the Astronomy Club and the Parkland Science Club, the solar eclipse, updates from the professional development subcommittee for faculty, summaries from events and meetings, a report on Phenotypic Pasticity Research Experience for Community College Students (PRECS) first summer, and a special feature from former professor Rich Blazier, with a special feature on the history of the Natural Sciences Department.

Flipped Classroom Instructional Approach In Undergraduate Medical Education, Syeda Sadia Fatima, Fazal Manzoor Arain, Ather Enam

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Objective: In this study we implemented the “flipped classroom” model to enhance active learning in medical students taking neurosciences module at Aga Khan University, Karachi.
Methods: Ninety eight undergraduate medical students participated in this study. The study was conducted from January till March 2017. Study material was provided to students in form of video lecture and reading material for the non-face to face sitting, while face to face time was spent on activities such as case solving, group discussions, and quizzes to consolidate learning under the supervision of faculty. To ensure deeper learning, we used pre- and post-class …

Be Kind To Dentists, They Have Fillings Too, Ryan Gallegos

Biology Posters

The office at ABC pediatric dentistry is bright, colorful, and has a very open concept. It is a place designed for children. The first thing patients notice when they walk in are the building blocks and toys. They can also see the giant glass windows that allow them to look into the north cleaning bay. The purpose of this is to lead by example. They can see other children getting their teeth cleaned, so they feel more comfortable letting us clean their teeth. Each colored chair has a TV placed above it and the children get to choose from one …

Dental Assisting At Comfort Dental, Karissa Horning

Biology Posters

I was able to get the most hands on experience I can before applying to Dental Schools. It gave me a better understanding of all that goes on during the day at a dental office. I got to work with 4 different dentists over the span on 4 months and learn their different techniques and styles. This internship really solidified my profession choice in the coming future. I will be able to take a lot of new knowledge with me as I apply to Dental Schools and hopefully go through school.

Dental Internship, Mokhinur Khamidova

Biology Posters

A dental internship provides an opportunity to confirm and demonstrate your desire to pursue dentistry as well as picture yourself as a practicing dental professional.

Disruption Of Hippocampal Multisynaptic Networks By General Anesthetics., Min-Ching Kuo, L Stan Leung

Physiology and Pharmacology Publications

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that synaptic transmission is affected by general anesthetics, but an anesthetic dose response in freely moving animals has not been done. The hippocampus provides a neural network for the evaluation of isoflurane and pentobarbital on multisynaptic transmission that is relevant to memory function.

METHODS: Male Long-Evans rats were implanted with multichannel and single electrodes in the hippocampus. Spontaneous local field potentials and evoked field potentials were recorded in freely behaving rats before (baseline) and after various doses of isoflurane (0.25 to 1.5%) and sodium pentobarbital (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal).

RESULTS: Monosynaptic population excitatory postsynaptic potentials at the …

Predicting Mental Conditions Based On "History Of Present Illness" In Psychiatric Notes With Deep Neural Networks, Tung Tran, Ramakanth Kavuluru

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background—Applications of natural language processing to mental health notes are not common given the sensitive nature of the associated narratives. The CEGS N-GRID 2016 Shared Task in Clinical Natural Language Processing (NLP) changed this scenario by providing the first set of neuropsychiatric notes to participants. This study summarizes our efforts and results in proposing a novel data use case for this dataset as part of the third track in this shared task.

Objective—We explore the feasibility and effectiveness of predicting a set of common mental conditions a patient has based on the short textual description of patient’s history …

Maximizing The Quality Of Life For Persons With Dementia, Elizabeth B. Fauth, Maria C. Norton, Jessica Weyerman

All Current Publications

This fact sheet show how through simple adjustments to the environment and by providing opportunities for meaningful activities or pleasant experiences, caregivers can play a key role in maximizing the quality of life that people with dementia can maintain despite their impairments.

Development And Validation Of The Microbiology For Health Sciences Concept Inventory, Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst

Publications and Research

Identifying misconceptions in student learning is a valuable practice for evaluating student learning gains and directing educational interventions. By accurately identifying students’ knowledge and misconceptions about microbiology concepts, instructors can design effective classroom practices centered on student understanding. Following the development of ASM’s Curriculum Guidelines in 2012, we developed a concept inventory, the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory (MHSCI), that measures learning gains and identifies student misconceptions in health sciences microbiology classrooms. The 23-question MHSCI was delivered to a wide variety of students at multiple institution types. Psychometric analysis identified that the MHSCI instrument is both discriminatory and reliable …

Redox-Active Nanomaterials For Nanomedicine Applications, C. M. Sims, S. K. Hanna, D. A. Heller, C. P. Horoszko, M. E. Johnson, A. R. Montoro Bustos, V. Reipa, Kathryn R. Riley, B. C. Nelson

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Nanomedicine utilizes the remarkable properties of nanomaterials for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Many of these nanomaterials have been shown to have robust antioxidative properties, potentially functioning as strong scavengers of reactive oxygen species. Conversely, several nanomaterials have also been shown to promote the generation of reactive oxygen species, which may precipitate the onset of oxidative stress, a state that is thought to contribute to the development of a variety of adverse conditions. As such, the impacts of nanomaterials on biological entities are often associated with and influenced by their specific redox properties. In this review, we overview …

Differential Roles For Inner Membrane Complex Proteins Across Toxoplasma Gondii And Sarcocystis Neurona Development, Rashmi Dubey, Brooke Harrison, Sriveny Dangoudoubiyam, Giulia Bandini, Katherine Cheng, Aziz Kosber, Carolina Agop-Nersesian, Daniel K. Howe, John Samuelson, David J. P. Ferguson, Marc-Jan Gubbels

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

The inner membrane complex (IMC) of apicomplexan parasites contains a network of intermediate filament-like proteins. The 14 alveolin domain-containing IMC proteins in Toxoplasma gondii fall into different groups defined by their distinct spatiotemporal dynamics during the internal budding process of tachyzoites. Here, we analyzed representatives of different IMC protein groups across all stages of the Toxoplasma life cycle and during Sarcocystis neurona asexual development. We found that across asexually dividing Toxoplasma stages, IMC7 is present exclusively in the mother’s cytoskeleton, whereas IMC1 and IMC3 are both present in mother and daughter cytoskeletons (IMC3 is strongly enriched in daughter buds). In …

Exopolysaccharides Regulate Calcium Flow In Cariogenic Biofilms, Monika Astasov-Frauenhoffer, Muth M. Varenganayil, Alan W. Decho, Tuomas Waltimo, Olivier Braissant

Faculty Publications

Caries-associated biofilms induce loss of calcium from tooth surfaces in the presence of dietary carbohydrates. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) provide a matrix scaffold and an abundance of primary binding sites within biofilms. The role of EPS in binding calcium in cariogenic biofilms is only partially understood. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the calcium dissolution rates and calcium tolerance of caries-associated bacteria and yeast as well as to examine the properties of EPS to quantify its binding affinity for dissolved calcium. Calcium dissolution was measured by dissolution zones on Pikovskaya’s agar. Calcium tolerance was assessed …

Associative Learning Contributes To The Increased Water Intake Observed After Daily Injections Of Angiotensin Ii, Maggie Postolache, Jessica Santollo, Derek Daniels

Biology Faculty Publications

Daily injections of angiotensin II (AngII) cause a progressive increase of water intake that resembles a classically ascribed non-associative sensitization. Consistent with the presumption that the observed increase in intake was sensitization, we hypothesized that it resulted from a pharmacological interaction between AngII and its receptor. To test this hypothesis, and remove the influence of drinking itself, we implemented a delay in water access after injection of AngII (icv) on four consecutive ‘induction days,’ and then measured intake on the next day (‘test day’) when rats were allowed to drink immediately after AngII. The delay in water access effectively reduced …

Major Complications And Management Options Of Obesity, Shreja Patel, Mir Saleem

Biology Faculty Articles

Obesity is a disorder that consists of many factors, which has become a global epidemic since it is associated with various crucial diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, stroke, sleep apnea, as well as other conditions. In order to manage obesity, a variety of strategies are taken into account in order to direct attention on those with current weight problems as well as those that are at a high risk of developing obesity. Therefore, obesity prevention should be focused during the early ages as there is a high risk of developing it in the later years. This article focuses …

Stability Of Cacopsylla Pyricola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) Populations In Pacific Northwest Pear Orchards Managed With Long-Term Mating Disruption For Cydia Pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Kaushalya G. Amarasekare, Peter W. Shearer

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

This study focused on conservation biological control of pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola, in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We hypothesized that insecticides applied against the primary insect pest, codling moth Cydia pomonella, negatively impact natural enemies of pear psylla, thus causing outbreaks of this secondary pest. Hence, the objective of this study was to understand how codling moth management influences the abundance of pear psylla and its natural enemy complex in pear orchards managed under long-term codling moth mating disruption programs. We conducted this study within a pear orchard that had previously been under seasonal mating disruption for codling moth for …

T-Cell Responses Targeting Hiv Nef Uniquely Correlate With Infected Cell Frequencies After Long-Term Antiretroviral Therapy., Allison S Thomas, Kimberley L Jones, Rajesh T Gandhi, Deborah K Mcmahon, Joshua C Cyktor, Dora Chan, Szu-Han Huang, Ronald Truong, Alberto Bosque, Amanda B Macedo, Colin Kovacs, Erika Benko, Joseph J Eron, Ronald J Bosch, Christina M Lalama, Samuel Simmens, Bruce D Walker, John W Mellors, R Brad Jones

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses limit viral replication in untreated infection. After the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), these responses decay and the infected cell population that remains is commonly considered to be invisible to T-cells. We hypothesized that HIV antigen recognition may persist in ART-treated individuals due to low-level or episodic protein expression. We posited that if persistent recognition were occurring it would be preferentially directed against the early HIV gene products Nef, Tat, and Rev as compared to late gene products, such as Gag, Pol, and Env, which have higher barriers to expression. Using a primary cell model of …

Mutations Of Conserved Non-Coding Elements Of Pitx2 In Patients With Ocular Dysgenesis And Developmental Glaucoma., Meredith E. Protas, Eric Weh, Tim Footz, Jay Kasberger, Scott C. Baraban, Alex V. Levin, L. Jay Katz, Robert Ritch, Michael A. Walter, Elena V. Semina, Douglas B. Gould

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Mutations in FOXC1 and PITX2 constitute the most common causes of ocular anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD), and confer a high risk for secondary glaucoma. The genetic causes underlying ASD in approximately half of patients remain unknown, despite many of them being screened by whole exome sequencing. Here, we performed whole genome sequencing on DNA from two affected individuals from a family with dominantly inherited ASD and glaucoma to identify a 748-kb deletion in a gene desert that contains conserved putative PITX2 regulatory elements. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to delete the orthologous region in zebrafish in order to test the pathogenicity of …

Pteronura Brasiliensis (Carnivora: Mustelidae), Paula Noonan, Siobhan Prout, Virginia Hayssen

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Pteronura brasiliensis (Zimmermann, 1780), the giant otter, is the largest freshwater otter. Found in South America, it inhabits slow-moving rivers and creeks and feeds predominantly on fish. Extinct in the southern portions of its former range, P. brasiliensis is listed as "Endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Threats to P. brasiliensis include habitat destruction, illegal hunting, and disease.

Dusquetide: Reduction In Oral Mucositis Associated With Enduring Ancillary Benefits In Tumor Resolution And Decreased Mortality In Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Mahesh Kudrimoti, Amarinthia Curtis, Samar Azawi, Francis Worden, Sanford Katz, Douglas Adkins, Marcelo Bonomi, Zack Scott, Jenna Elder, Stephen T. Sonis, Richard Straube, Oreola Donini

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Innate immunity is a key component in the pathogenesis of oral mucositis, a universal toxicity of chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Dusquetide, a novel Innate Defense Regulator, has demonstrated both nonclinical and clinical efficacy in ameliorating severe oral mucositis (SOM). Long term follow-up studies from the Phase 2 clinical study evaluating dusquetide as a treatment for SOM in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving CRT have now been completed. Extended analysis indicates that dusquetide therapy was well-tolerated and did not contribute to increased infection, tumor growth or mortality. Potential ancillary benefits of duquetide therapy were also identified.

Probing The Metabolic Phenotype Of Breast Cancer Cells By Multiple Tracer Stable Isotope Resolved Metabolomics, Andrew N. Lane, Julie Tan, Yali Wang, Jun Yan, Richard M. Higashi, Teresa W. -M. Fan

Center for Environmental and Systems Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Breast cancers vary by their origin and specific set of genetic lesions, which gives rise to distinct phenotypes and differential response to targeted and untargeted chemotherapies. To explore the functional differences of different breast cell types, we performed Stable Isotope Resolved Metabolomics (SIRM) studies of one primary breast (HMEC) and three breast cancer cells (MCF-7, MDAMB-231, and ZR75-1) having distinct genotypes and growth characteristics, using ¹³C₆-glucose, ¹³C-1+2-glucose, ¹³C₅,¹⁵N₂-Gln, ¹³C₃-glycerol, and ¹³C₈-octanoate as tracers. These tracers were designed to probe the central energy producing …

Enhanced Physical Endurance And Improved Memory Performance Following Taurine Administration In Rats, Irfan Sajid, Saara Muddasir, Shaista Emad, Zehra Batool, Saima Khaliq, Lubna Anis, Saiqa Tabassum, Syeda Madiha, Laraib Liaquat, Sadia Sadir, Tahira Perveen, Saida Haider

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Energy drinks enhance physical endurance and cognitive ability. The ingredients present in these drinks are considered as ergogenic and have memory boosting effects. In the present study effects of taurine administration for one week was monitored on physical exercise and memory performance in rats. Animals were divided into two groups namely control and test. Taurine was injected intraperitoneally to the test group at the dose of 100mg/kg. After one week of treatment rats were subjected to physical exercise and memory task. Results of this study revealed that rats injected with taurine for one week exhibited improved muscular strength as well …

Conflicting Evolutionary Histories Of The Mitochondrial And Nuclear Genomes In New World Myotis Bats, Thomas Lee Jr.

Biology

The rapid diversification of Myotis bats into more than 100 species is one of the most extensive mammalian radiations available for study. Efforts to understand relationships within Myotis have primarily utilized mitochondrial markers and trees inferred fromnuclear markers lackedresolution. Our current understanding of relationships withinMyotis is therefore biased towards a set of phylogenetic markers that may not reflect the history of the nuclear genome. To resolve this,we sequenced the full mitochondrial genomes of 37 representativeMyotis, primarily fromtheNewWorld, in conjunction with targeted sequencing of 3648 ultraconserved elements (UCEs). We inferred the phylogeny and explored the effects of concatenation and summary phylogenetic …

Dietary Phytochemicals As Inhibitors Of Primary Amine Oxidase, Padraig Shanahan, Jeffrey O'Sullivan, Keith F. Tipton, Gemma Kinsella, Barry J. Ryan, Gary T. Henehan

Articles

Phytochemicals such as methylxanthines, catechins and polyphenols show health benefits in a range of diseases although their mechanism of action is not fully understood. Primary Amine Oxidase (PrAO) is widely recognised as a therapeutic drug target for the treatment of inflammatory, vascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Previous work in our laboratories showed that caffeine inhibited bovine PrAO activity with a Ki of 1.0mM. In the present study we examined a range of methylxanthines and catechins as inhibitors of bovine PrAO. The methylxanthines tested were caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline, theobromine and 7-methylxanthine. Of these, only theobromine was an inhibitor with an IC50 of …

Knowledge And Perceptions About Zika Virus In A Middle East Country, Sohaila Cheema, Patrick Maisonneuve, Ingmar Weber, Luis Fernandez-Luque, Amit Abraham, Albert B. Lowenfels, Ravinder Mamtani

NYMC Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Zika virus, an emerging serious infectious disease, is a threat to persons living or travelling to regions where it is currently endemic, and also to contacts of infected individuals. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge about this new public health threat to persons residing in a Middle Eastern country.

METHODS: We conducted a survey at several international universities in Qatar to assess knowledge and awareness about this disease. An adapted version of the survey was also conducted using online channels from Qatar.

RESULTS: The median age of the 446 participants, was 25 years, 280 (63%) were …

Antimicrobial Hydroxyapatite-Gelatin-Silica Composite Pastes With Tunable Setting Properties, Vuk Uskoković, Shreya Ghosh, Victoria M. Wu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Bone grafting is one of the commonest surgical procedures, yet all bone substitutes developed so far suffer from specific weaknesses and the search for a bone graft material with ideal physical and biological properties is still ongoing. Calcium phosphate pastes are the most frequently used synthetic bone grafts, yet they (a) often take an impractically long time to set, (b) release the drug content too fast, and (c) do not form pores large enough to accommodate host cells and foster osseointegration. To make up for these deficiencies, we introduced gelatin and silica to pastes composed of 5–15 nm sized hydroxyapatite …