Digital Commons Network^™

Sensitivity Of The Human Circadian System To Short Wavelength (420 Nm) Light, George C. Brainard, David Silney, John P. Hanifin, Gena Glickman, Brenda Byrne, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Samar Jasser, Edward Gerner, Mark D. Rollag

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

The circadian and neurobehavioral effects of light are primarily mediated by a retinal ganglion cell photoreceptor in the mammalian eye containing the photopigment, melanopsin. Nine action spectrum studies using rodents, monkeys, and human for these responses indicate peak sensitivities in the blue region of the visible spectrum ranging from 459 nm to 484 nm, with some disagreement in short wavelength sensitivity of the spectrum. The aim of this work was to quantify the sensitivity of human volunteers to monochromatic 420 nm light for plasma melatonin suppression. Adult female (N=14) and male (N=12) subjects participated in two studies, each employing a …

Icpd To Mdgs: Missing Links And Common Grounds., Farina G Abrejo, Babar Shaikh, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

The ICPD agenda of reproductive health was declared as the most comprehensive one, which had actually broadened the spectrum of reproductive health and drove the states to embark upon initiatives to improve reproductive health status of their populations. However, like all other countries, Pakistan also seems to have shifted focus of its policies and programs towards achieving MDGs. As a result, concepts highlighted in the ICPD got dropped eventually. In spite of specific goals on maternal and child mortalities in MDGs and all the investment and policy shift, Pakistan has still one of the highest maternal mortality ratios among developing …

Rhabdomyosarcoma Embryonal Type: In A Three And A Half Year Old Girl, Ameer A Khowaja, Saqib Ali Gowani, Asmatullah Khan, Saulat H. Fatimi

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Rhadomyosarcoma is the most common tumour of the soft tissues in infants and children. We report a case of a 3 1/2 year old girl who presented with a swelling over the neck. Swelling was diagnosed as Rhabdomyosarcoma (embryonal type). Tumour mass was found to be unresectable initially. The patient was subjected to multiple courses of checmotherapy, which shrunk the tumour significantly. There was simultaneous development of cystic lesions in upper lobe of right lung. Excision of the remnant rhabdomyosarcoma mass and biopsy of right lung with cystectomy of right upper lobe cystic lesion was performed. The patient fully recovered …

Down-Regulation Of Dnmt3b In Pc3 Cells Effects Locus-Specific Dna Methylation, And Represses Cellular Growth And Migration., Ahmed Yaqinuddin, Sohail A. Qureshi, Romena Qazi, Farhat Abbas

Section of Urology

BACKGROUND:

Aberrations in DNA methylation patterns promote changes in gene expression patterns and are invariably associated with neoplasia. DNA methylation is carried out and maintained by several DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) among which DNMT1 functions as a maintenance methylase while DNMT3a and 3b serve as de novo enzymes. Although DNMT3b has been shown to preferentially target the methylationof DNA sequences residing in pericentric heterochromatin whether it is involved in gene specific methylation remains an open question. To address this issue, we have silenced the expression of DNMT3b in the prostate-derived PC3 cells through RNA interference and subsequently studied the accompanied cellular …

Changing Patterns And Outcome Of Dengue Infection; Report From A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Mohammad Wasay, Roomasa Channa, Maliha Jumani, Afia Zafar

Department of Medicine

Objective: To identify predictors of outcome in patients with Dengue Infections at a tertiary care hospital and to analyze that if pattern of Dengue infection is changing in the past two years.

Methods: We reviewed 225 cases of confirmed dengue virus infection. The diagnosis was confirmed by presence of IgM antibodies against Dengue by ELISA in addition to fever according to WHO criteria.

Results: From years 2000-2004, 30(73%) had Dengue Fever (DF), 10(24%) had Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and 1(2.4%) had Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) while after 2005, 107(58%) had DF, 71(39%) had DHF and 6(3%) had DSS. Six …

Contribution Of The Collagen Adhesin Acm To Pathogenesis Of Enterococcus Faecium In Experimental Endocarditis, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Kavindra V Singh, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococcus faecium is a multidrug-resistant opportunist causing difficult-to-treat nosocomial infections, including endocarditis, but there are no reports experimentally demonstrating E. faecium virulence determinants. Our previous studies showed that some clinical E. faecium isolates produce a cell wall-anchored collagen adhesin, Acm, and that an isogenic acm deletion mutant of the endocarditis-derived strain TX0082 lost collagen adherence. In this study, we show with a rat endocarditis model that TX0082 Deltaacm::cat is highly attenuated versus wild-type TX0082, both in established (72 h) vegetations (P < 0.0001) and for valve colonization 1 and 3 hours after infection (P or=50-fold reduction relative to an Acm producer) were found in three of these five nonadherent isolates, including the sequenced strain TX0016, by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, indicating that acm transcription is downregulated in vitro in these isolates. However, examination of TX0016 cells obtained directly from infected rat vegetations by flow cytometry showed that Acm was present on 40% of cells grown during infection. Finally, we demonstrated a significant reduction in E. faecium collagen adherence by affinity-purified anti-Acm antibodies from E. faecium endocarditis patient sera, suggesting that Acm may be a potential immunotarget for strategies to control this emerging pathogen.

A Functional Collagen Adhesin Gene, Acm, In Clinical Isolates Of Enterococcus Faecium Correlates With The Recent Success Of This Emerging Nosocomial Pathogen, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Kavindra V Singh, Pablo C Okhuysen, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococcus faecium recently evolved from a generally avirulent commensal into a multidrug-resistant health care-associated pathogen causing difficult-to-treat infections, but little is known about the factors responsible for this change. We previously showed that some E. faecium strains express a cell wall-anchored collagen adhesin, Acm. Here we analyzed 90 E. faecium isolates (99% acm(+)) and found that the Acm protein was detected predominantly in clinically derived isolates, while the acm gene was present as a transposon-interrupted pseudogene in 12 of 47 isolates of nonclinical origin. A highly significant association between clinical (versus fecal or food) origin and collagen adherence (P

Decreased Expression Of Caveolin 1 In Patients With Systemic Sclerosis: Crucial Role In The Pathogenesis Of Tissue Fibrosis., Francesco Del Galdo, Federica Sotgia, Cecilia J. De Almeida, Jean-Francois Jasmin, Megan Musick, Michael P. Lisanti, Sergio A. Jimenez

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have implicated caveolin 1 in the regulation of transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) downstream signaling. Given the crucial role of TGFbeta in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc), we sought to determine whether caveolin 1 is also involved in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis in SSc. We analyzed the expression of CAV1 in affected SSc tissues, studied the effects of lack of expression of CAV1 in vitro and in vivo, and analyzed the effects of restoration of caveolin 1 function on the fibrotic phenotype of SSc fibroblasts in vitro.

METHODS: CAV1 expression in tissues was analyzed by …

Staphylococcus Aureus Pbp4 Is Essential For Β-Lactam Resistance In Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Strains, G Memmi, S R. Filipe, M G. Pinho, Z Fu, Ambrose Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

Recent cases of infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (CA-MRSA) strains in healthy individuals have raised concerns worldwide. CA-MRSA strains differ from hospital-acquired MRSAs by virtue of their genomic background and increased virulence in animal models.

Characterizing And Inhibiting Two Pathways Activated In Glioblastoma Multiforme, Andrea Jydstrup, Sheri L. Holmen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Despite major improvements in imaging, radiation, and surgery, the prognosis for patients with Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains clinically challenging. New treatment strategies are badly needed to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with this disease. The resistance of these tumors to conventional treatments makes GBM patients ideal candidates for molecularly targeted therapies and several agents are currently being developed(1). Because GBM is genetically heterogeneous, combination therapies or the use of multikinase inhibitors are more likely to achieve the greatest therapeutic benefit(2,3). However, genes that can be productively targeted for effective therapies in patients remain to be identified. The overall objective …

Vital Signs, Fall 2008, Boonshoft School Of Medicine

Vital Signs

A fifty-five page newsletter created by the Boonshoft School of Medicine to document the current affairs of the school. This issue includes a variety of feature articles, a research spotlight, and more.

Characterization Of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Orf11 As A Possible Dutpase, Christina N. Ramirez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

A dUTPase is a crucial enzyme that hydrolyzes dUTP to dUMP. This reaction prevents the mutagenic or lethal misincorporation of uracil into DNA. For that reason, the enzyme is required for efficient DNA replication. Previous studies have shown that has ORFl l dUTPase-like motifs and thus may be a dUTPase. Generally, gammaherpesviruses contain six characteristic dUTPase motifs. In particular ORFl 1 and contains motifs 1, 2, 4, 6. While the characteristic motifs of gamroaberpesviruses include motifs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the number of dUTPase-like motifs in ORFl 1 's protein sequence is substantial. Thus, ORFl 1 may …

Influence Of Host Interleukin-10 Polymorphisms On Development Of Traveler's Diarrhea Due To Heat-Labile Enterotoxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Travelers From The United States Who Are Visiting Mexico, Jose Flores, Herbert L Dupont, Stephanie A Lee, Jaime Belkind-Gerson, Mercedes Paredes, Jamal A Mohamed, Lisa Y Armitige, Dong-Chuan Guo, Pablo C Okhuysen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Up to 60% of U.S. visitors to Mexico develop traveler's diarrhea (TD), mostly due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains that produce heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins. Distinct single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the interleukin-10 (IL-10) promoter have been associated with high, intermediate, or low production of IL-10. We conducted a prospective study to investigate the association of SNPs in the IL-10 promoter and the occurrence of TD in ETEC LT-exposed travelers. Sera from U.S. travelers to Mexico collected on arrival and departure were studied for ETEC LT seroconversion by using cholera toxin as the antigen. Pyrosequencing was performed to …

Com Outlook Summer 2008, College Of Osteopathic Medicine

COM Outlook

No abstract provided.

In Vivo Murine Melanoma Tumor Responses To Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Treatment, Xinhua Chen

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

High intensity nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) were applied to melanoma tumors to observe functional and structural biological changes and to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms responsible. An animal model was set up by injecting B16F10 mouse melanoma cells into SKH-1 mice. A treatment (Tx) of 100 pulses: 300 nanosecond duration; 40 kV/cm field strength; at 0.5 Hz rate were delivered to melanoma tumors in 120 mice. The nsPEF Txcaused tumor self-destruction with sharply decreased cell volumes and shrunken nuclei. The apoptotic biochemical tests confirmed nsPEF Tx induced apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. Examination of gross vessel and micro-vessel density …

Brain Fiber Tract Plasticity In Experimental Spinal Cord Injury: Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Jaivijay Ramu, Juan Herrera, Raymond Grill, Tobias Bockhorst, Ponnada Narayana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and immunohistochemistry were performed in spinal cord injured rats to understand the basis for activation of multiple regions in the brain observed in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The measured fractional anisotropy (FA), a scalar measure of diffusion anisotropy, along the region encompassing corticospinal tracts (CST) indicates significant differences between control and injured groups in the 3 to 4 mm area posterior to bregma that correspond to internal capsule and cerebral peduncle. Additionally, DTI-based tractography in injured animals showed increased number of fibers that extend towards the cortex terminating in the regions that were activated …

Water-Soluble Fullerene (C60) Derivatives As Nonviral Gene-Delivery Vectors, Balaji Sitharaman, Tatiana Y Zakharian, Anita Saraf, Preeti Misra, Jared Ashcroft, Su Pan, Quynh P Pham, Antonios G Mikos, Lon J Wilson, David A Engler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A new class of water-soluble C60 transfecting agents has been prepared using Hirsch-Bingel chemistry and assessed for their ability to act as gene-delivery vectors in vitro. In an effort to elucidate the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the fullerene core, the hydrophilicity of the water-solubilizing groups, and the overall charge state of the C60 vectors in gene delivery and expression, several different C60 derivatives were synthesized to yield either positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral chemical functionalities under physiological conditions. These fullerene derivatives were then tested for their ability to transfect cells grown in culture with DNA carrying the green …

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields Induce A Mitochondria-Independent Apoptosis In B16f10 Melanoma Cells In Vitro, Wentia Elissa Ford

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are ultra-short pulses that induce direct electric field and biological effects that initiate apoptosis. Here the application of ten 300ns pulses ranging in electric fields from 12kV/cm-60kV/cm was administered to determine the effects on B16F10 melanoma cells evaluated by in vitro studies. Initial application of nsPEFs demonstrated apoptosis induction in an electric field- and pulse number-dependent manner measured by caspase activation that correlated with decrease in cell viability 24hr post pulse. In addition caspase activity was shown to be independent of calcium mobilization though ions may play a part in other aspects of apoptosis. The …

Role Played By Serum, A Biological Cue, In The Adherence Of Enterococcus Faecalis To Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Collagen, Fibrinogen, And Fibronectin, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Most previous studies have found that Enterococcus faecalis isolates do not show significant adherence to fibronectin and fibrinogen.

METHODS: The influence of various conditions on E. faecalis adherence to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins was evaluated using a radiolabeled-cell adherence assay.

RESULTS: Among the conditions studied, growth in 40% horse serum (a biological cue with potential clinical relevance) elicited adherence of all 46 E. faecalis strains tested to fibronectin and fibrinogen but not to elastin; adherence levels were independent of strain source, and adherence was eliminated by treating cells with trypsin. As previously reported, serum also elicited adherence to collagen. …

Fluorescence Tomography Characterization For Sub-Surface Imaging With Protoporphyrin Ix, Dax Kepshire, Scott C. Davis, Hamid Dehghani, Keith D. Paulsen, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

Optical imaging of fluorescent objects embedded in a tissue simulating medium was characterized using non-contact based approaches to fluorescence remittance imaging (FRI) and sub-surface fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT). Using Protoporphyrin IX as a fluorescent agent, experiments were performed on tissue phantoms comprised of typical in-vivo tumor to normal tissue contrast ratios, ranging from 3.5:1 up to 10:1. It was found that tomographic imaging was able to recover interior inclusions with high contrast relative to the background; however, simple planar fluorescence imaging provided a superior contrast to noise ratio. Overall, FRI performed optimally when the object was located on or …

Drug Overdose: A Wake Up Call! Experience At A Tertiary Care Centre In Karachi, Pakistan, Muhammad Junaid Patel, Muhammad Shahid, Mehmood Riaz, Waqaruddin Kashif, Syed Imran Ayaz, Muhammad Shoaib Khan, A. Jawwad Samdani, Ayesha L Sorathia, Muhammad Furqan

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of patients admitted with drug overdose caused either by accidental overdose of the prescribed medications or as an act of deliberate self harm (DSH) at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.METHODS: A retrospective case series review was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from January 2002 to October 2006. Three hundred and twenty four adult patients admitted with drug overdose were included in the study.RESULTS: Our sample group revealed mean age of 36.2 +/- 17.0 years, more females (59%), housewives (34%), and students (20%). Fifty six percent of patients committing DSH were married …

Skeletal Abnormalities In Mice Lacking Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Thrombospondin-1, Thrombospondin-3, Thrombospondin-5, And Type Ix Collagen, Karen L Posey, Kurt Hankenson, Alka C Veerisetty, Paul Bornstein, Jack Lawler, Jacqueline T Hecht

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Thrombospondin-5 (TSP5) is a large extracellular matrix glycoprotein found in musculoskeletal tissues. TSP5 mutations cause two skeletal dysplasias, pseudoachondroplasia and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia; both show a characteristic growth plate phenotype with retention of TSP5, type IX collagen (Col9), and matrillin-3 in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Whereas most studies focus on defining the disease process, few functional studies have been performed. TSP5 knockout mice have no obvious skeletal abnormalities, suggesting that TSP5 is not essential in the growth plate and/or that other TSPs may compensate. In contrast, Col9 knockout mice have diminished matrillin-3 levels in the extracellular matrix and early-onset osteoarthritis. …

Partner Communication And Factors Associated With The Decision To Obtain An Hiv Test Among Chinese/Chinese American Community College Students In Northern California, Sang Leng Trieu

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

HIV testing and counseling is considered the cornerstone of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention and education. Little is known, however, about HIV prevention, including HIV testing rates for Asian Pacific Islander (API) women, because data for this ethnic group is aggregated, thus limiting specific data for Chinese/Chinese American population or other API subgroups. This dissertation research examined factors associated with the decision to obtain an HIV test among Chinese/Chinese American community college women and explored the association among relationship status, partnership communication, and discussions of HIV testing.

Using constructs of the health belief model, an online and paper-pencil, crosssectional …

Neuronal Connections From The Cervix To The Spinal Cord Before Parturition, Mary Medina Groves

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

By the day before birth, the density of nerve fibers in the cervix has increased compared to earlier in pregnancy or in nonpregnant mice. Similar findings are reported in parturient women. To test the hypothesis that connections between the cervix and spinal cord are enhanced by term, the cervix of nonpregnant and time-dated pregnant mice (day 15 or 18 post-breeding) was injected with pseudorabies virus (PRV), a trans-synaptic retrograde neural tract tracer. Mice were euthanized and perfused 5 days later. The spinal cord and cervix were removed and postfixed overnight, immersed in sucrose, and cryostat sections through the thoracic to …

Rtr1 Is The Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Homolog Of A Novel Family Of Rna Polymerase Ii-Binding Proteins, Patrick A Gibney, Thomas Fries, Susanne M Bailer, Kevin A Morano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cells must rapidly sense and respond to a wide variety of potentially cytotoxic external stressors to survive in a constantly changing environment. In a search for novel genes required for stress tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we identified the uncharacterized open reading frame YER139C as a gene required for growth at 37 degrees C in the presence of the heat shock mimetic formamide. YER139C encodes the closest yeast homolog of the human RPAP2 protein, recently identified as a novel RNA polymerase II (RNAPII)-associated factor. Multiple lines of evidence support a role for this gene family in transcription, prompting us to rename …

A New Age In Dementia Care: Turning Evidence Into Practice

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Conferences

A New Age in Dementia Care: Turning Evidence into Practice Come celebrate the opening of the new Living Laboratory for Elder Care.

September 17, 2008 7:30 am - 4:30 pm Thomas Jefferson University, Dorrance H. Hamilton Building 1001 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107

Speakers Include:
Christine Arenson, MD Associate Professor Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine Jefferson Medical College Director, Eastern-Pennsylvania Delaware Geriatric Education Center Co-Director Jefferson InterProfessional Education Center Thomas Jefferson University

Louis D. Burgio, PhD Harold R. Johnson Endowed Chair in Gerontology, Professor of Social Work Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology School …

Cif Is Negatively Regulated By The Tetr Family Repressor Cifr, Daniel P. Maceachran, Bruce A. Stanton, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

We previously reported that the novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa toxin Cif is capable of decreasing apical membrane expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). We further demonstrated that Cif is capable of degrading the synthetic epoxide hydrolase (EH) substrate S-NEPC [(2S,3S)-trans-3-phenyl-2-oxiranylmethyl 4-nitrophenol carbonate], suggesting that Cif may be reducing apical membrane expression of CFTR via its EH activity. Here we report that Cif is capable of degrading the xenobiotic epoxide epibromohydrin (EBH) to its vicinal diol 3-bromo-1,2-propanediol. We also demonstrate that this epoxide is a potent inducer of cif gene expression. We show that the predicted TetR family transcriptional …

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Common In Primary Hypothyroidism, Abdul Jabbar, Aasma Yawar, Sabiha Waseem, Najmul Islam, Naeem Ul Haque, Lubna Zuberi, Ataullah Khan, J. Akhter

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and clinical features of B12 deficiency in hypothyroid patients and to evaluate clinical response in symptoms to B12 replacement therapy.

METHODS: One hundred and sixteen hypothyroid patients from our endocrine clinic were evaluated for signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency. Laboratory parameters including Haemoglobin (Hb), MCV, Vitamin B12 levels and presence of anti thyroid antibodies were analyzed. Patients with low B12 levels were treated with parenteral intramuscular vitamin B12 monthly, and monitored for improvement of symptoms.

RESULTS: A total of 116 patients (95 females and 21 males) were evaluated. Forty six (39.6%) hypothyroid patients …

Cleaning Methods For Ultrasound Probes, Waseem Akhtar Mirza, Syed Hadi Imam, Kharal Mohd Salim, Mubashir Aslam, Syed Arif Ali, I. Masroor, M. Nadeem Ahmad

Department of Radiology

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of three different methods of ultrasound probe cleaning for the prevention of nosocomial infections.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi and Microbiology Department, JPMC, Karachi, from December 2006 to April 2007.

Patients and Methods: A total of 75 culture swabs from ultrasound probes used for sonographic examinations of different body parts of patients were included in the study. Probes were prospectively randomized into three equal groups with 25 probes in each group. Culture was sent before and after using three different techniques of cleaning …

Unusual Presentation Of Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis: Case Report, N. Twahirwa, J. Rees

Imaging & Diagnostic Radiology, East Africa

Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (IRF) is an uncommon entity described as progressive proliferation of connective tissues leading to a fibrous plaque-like lesions that encases the aorta and inferior vena cava inferior to the level of the renal arteries. Mass forming retroperitoneal fibrosis is rare. We present a rare case of a unilateral focal retroperitoneal mass simulating a tumour encasing the middle third of the left ureter, with involvement of the ipsilateral scrotum.