Digital Commons Network^™

Detection Of Simulated Apical Root Resorption Using Three Cone Beam Ct Machines, Marcus Paulson

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine orthodontists' ability to discriminate small differences of simulated apical root resorption (SARR) on extracted teeth, using the output from three cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) machines. Twenty-four unrestored maxillary anterior teeth exhibiting normal morphology, were collected. The teeth were scanned by three CBCT machines: 1) the NewTom 3G (AFP imaging, USA), 2) the iCAT (Imaging Sciences, USA) 3) and the MicroCAT II (Siemens Medical, USA). Using a sandblaster the apical portion of each tooth was reduced in 0.5 mm increments up to a total reduction of 1.5 mm. Each root modification was …

Religious Coping And Depression In Home Care Patients, Kirsten Ingheim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study examined the impact of a medical illness in 36 elderly male and female home health care patients with a primary diagnosis of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and how they coped with their medical condition. Relationships between depression and religious coping, functional status, quality of life, and depression, as well as relationship between functional status and quality of life were investigated. In addition, a moderating effect of the relationship between functional status and depression by religious coping was explored. The participants completed the Religious Problem-Solving Scale (RPSS) (Collaborative, Deferring, and Self-Directing), the SF-12 …

Baseline Hbv Dna Level Is The Most Important Factor Associated With Virologic Breakthrough In Chronic Hepatitis B Treated With Lamivudine., Hee Bok Chae, Hie-Won Hann

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Faculty Papers

Aim: To identify the factors associated with virologic breakthrough and to select a subgroup of patients who respond well to lamivudine without developing virologic breakthrough (VBT).

Methods: Of 79 patients who had received lamivudine therapy for 9-57 mo, 34 were HBeAg-positive and 45 were HBeAg-negative, 24 developed virologic breakthrough and 55 did not. Clinical and virologic factors were compared between the two groups.

Results: The median duration of therapy was 25 (9-57) mo. Virologic breakthrough was defined as a > 1 log HBV DNA increase following initial suppression. When several factors, including gender, duration of infection, baseline HBV DNA, and baseline …

Platelet Hyperreactivity: Predictive And Intrinsic Properties., Paul F. Bray

Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research

Platelet thrombi are central to the development of most vascular ischemic events. There is marked interindividual variation in platelet responsiveness, with some subjects displaying platelet hyperreactivity. An increasing number of reports indicate that there are laboratory measures of platelet function that predict clinical thrombotic events. Some, but not all, measures of platelet function are reproducible. Platelet hyperreactivity can be assessed with multiple stimuli in multiple assays and is more likely to be present in women and in subjects who have elevated fibrinogen levels.

Consider The Source : The Effects Of Adult Sources Of Human Immunodefciency [Sic] Virus And Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Information On Teen Risk Behaviors For Sexually Transmitted Infection, Janet E. Flores

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), are major health problems for adolescents, who represent over 26% of new cases of STIs diagnosed annually in the United States. Half of all HIV cases in people under age 25 result from sexual transmission during adolescence. Adolescent STI prevention is a national priority for the United States, and parents, schools, and medical providers, among others, are expected to have the greatest impact on adolescent STI risk reduction in teens.

This study used secondary Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) data to explore the prevalence of high school students with …

Idiopathic Epilepsy Of Childhood And Potassium Ion Channels, Alper I. Dai, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Potassium can affect the development of common seizure type and can be defined seizure susceptibility allele. The existence of inward-rectifying potassium (Kir) channels was first recognized half a century ago. The biophysical fingerprint of Kir channels is inward rectification in the current-voltage relationship , which limits potassium efflux at depolarizing membrane potentials. Kir channels are essential in the control of resting membrane potential, coupling of the metabolic cellular state with membrane excitability, and maintenance of potassium homeostasis. The critical interval contains several candidate genes, one of which, KCNJ10, exhibits a potentially important polymorphism with regard to fundamental aspects of seizure …

Coexistence Of Neurotransmitters Inparkinson's Disease, G. Ali Qureshi, Aftab A. Qureshi, Shuja Ali Syed, S.H. Parvez

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Role Of Surgery In The Management Of Low Grade Glioma, Faraz Kazim, Ather Enam

Section of Neurosurgery

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Dynamical Analysis Of Brain Electrical Activity Due To Exposure To Weak Environmentally Relevant Electromagnetic Fields, Erik Alfonso Nilsen

Doctoral Dissertations

The reports dealing with the effects of weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on brain electrical activity have been inconsistent. We suspected that the use of linear models and their associated methods accounted for some of the variability, and we explored the issue by using a novel approach to study the effects of EMFs on the electroencephalogram (EEG) from rabbits and humans. The EEG was embedded in phase space and local recurrence plots were calculated and quantified to permit comparisons between exposed and control epochs from individual subjects. Statistically significant alterations in brain activity were observed in each subject when exposed to …

Energizing Mirna Research: A Review Of The Role Of Mirnas In Lipid Metabolism, With A Prediction That Mir-103/107 Regulates Human Metabolic Pathways, Bernard R. Wilfred, Wang-Xia Wang, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are powerful regulators of gene expression. Although first discovered in worm larvae, miRNAs play fundamental biological roles-including in humans-well beyond development. MiRNAs participate in the regulation of metabolism (including lipid metabolism) for all animal species studied. A review of the fascinating and fast-growing literature on miRNA regulation of metabolism can be parsed into three main categories: (1) adipocyte biochemistry and cell fate determination; (2) regulation of metabolic biochemistry in invertebrates; and (3) regulation of metabolic biochemistry in mammals. Most research into the 'function' of a given miRNA in metabolic pathways has concentrated on a given miRNA acting upon …

Recurrent Pineal Apoplexy In A Child, Kashif Majeed, S. Ather Enam

Department of Surgery Docs

No abstract provided.

Neural Reprogramming In Retinal Degeneration, Robert E Marc, Bryan W Jones, James R Anderson, Krista Kinard, David W Marshak, John H Wilson, Theodore Wensel, Robert J Lucas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Early visual defects in degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) may arise from phased remodeling of the neural retina. The authors sought to explore the functional expression of ionotropic (iGluR) and group 3, type 6 metabotropic (mGluR6) glutamate receptors in late-stage photoreceptor degeneration.

METHODS: Excitation mapping with organic cations and computational molecular phenotyping were used to determine whether retinal neurons displayed functional glutamate receptor signaling in rodent models of retinal degeneration and a sample of human RP.

RESULTS: After photoreceptor loss in rodent models of RP, bipolar cells lose mGluR6 and iGluR glutamate-activated currents, whereas amacrine and ganglion …

Meeting Report: The Role Of Environmental Lighting And Circadian Disruption In Cancer And Other Diseases, Richard G. Stevens, David E. Blask, George C. Brainard, Johnni Hansen, Steven W. Lockley, Ignacio Provencio, Mark S. Rea, Leslie Reinlib

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Light, including artificial light, has a range of effects on human physiology and behavior and can therefore alter human physiology when inappropriately timed. One example of potential light-induced disruption is the effect of light on circadian organization, including the production of several hormone rhythms. Changes in light-dark exposure (e.g., by nonday occupation or transmeridian travel) shift the timing of the circadian system such that internal rhythms can become desynchronized from both the external environment and internally with each other, impairing our ability to sleep and wake at the appropriate times and compromising physiologic and metabolic processes. Light can also have …

Comparison Of Contrast Enhanced Color Doppler Targeted Biopsy To Conventional Systematic Biology: Impact On Gleason Score, M. Mitterberger, G. M. Pinggera, W. Horninger, G. Bartsch, H. Strasser, G. Schafer, A. Brunner, Ethan J. Halpern, J. Gradl, L. Pallwein, F. Frauscher

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

Purpose: Prostate cancer grading with Gleason score is an important prognostic factor. This prospective randomized study compares ultrasound systematic biopsy vs contrast enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsy for the impact on Gleason score findings.

Materials and Methods: We examined 690 men (mean age 56 years, range 41 to 77) with a serum total prostate specific antigen of 1.25 ng/ml or greater, a free-to-total prostate specific antigen ratio less than 18% and/or a suspicious digital rectal examination. Contrast enhanced color Doppler targeted biopsies with a limited number of cores (5 or less) were performed in hypervascular areas of the peripheral zone …

Electromagnetic Differences In The Brain During Memory Retrieval, Warren Scott Merrifield

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The primary objectives for this experiment were to analyze the neuroanatomical correlates of autobiographical, episodic and semantic memory, use a different paradigm to promote episodic memory retrieval, and employ a different analysis technique to understand retrieval processes. Autobiographical and episodic memories are personal memories from the past. Autobiographical is more general (e.g. a street name of a house growing up) and episodic is more specific to time (e.g. 13th birthday party that took place on a street). For autobiographical and episodic memory retrieval operations, there is no general consensus as to the localization of function, but bilateral activation of the …

Diet, Nutrition, Obesity And Their Role In Arthritis, Peter F. Sharkey, David L. Paskin, Thomas D. Meade, Richard H. Rothman

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Obesity and poor nutrition, individually and together, have created costly musculoskeletal disease epidemic in the United States. Processed food, with abundant "empty" calories, has contributed greatly to our dietary woes. Much of the food consumed today is packed with calories but refined to the point that essential nutrients are lacking. Even worse, processed food may have ingredients added that are detrimental to good health. Abundant research has documented a close relationship between obesity, poor diet and orthopaedic problems. Dietary supplements have been proven to provide both disease prevention and therapeutic benefits. Unfortunately, many weight loss programs and methods are ineffective …

Different Dark Conformations Function In Color-Sensitive Photosignaling By The Sensory Rhodopsin I-Htri Complex, Jun Sasaki, Brian J Phillips, Xinpu Chen, Ned Van Eps, Ah-Lim Tsai, Wayne L Hubbell, John L Spudich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The haloarchaeal phototaxis receptor sensory rhodopsin I (SRI) in complex with its transducer HtrI delivers an attractant signal from excitation with an orange photon and a repellent signal from a second near-UV photon excitation. Using a proteoliposome system with purified SRI in complex with its transducer HtrI, we identified by site-directed fluorescence labeling a site (Ser(155)) on SRI that is conformationally active in signal relay to HtrI. Using site-directed spin labeling of Ser(155)Cys with a nitroxide side chain, we detected a change in conformation following one-photon excitation such that the spin probe exhibits a splitting of the outer hyperfine extrema …

Short-Term Plasticity In A Computational Model Of The Tail-Withdrawal Circuit In Aplysia, Douglas A Baxter, John H Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The tail-withdrawal circuit of Aplysia provides a useful model system for investigating synaptic dynamics. Sensory neurons within the circuit manifest several forms of synaptic plasticity. Here, we developed a model of the circuit and investigated the ways in which depression (DEP) and potentiation (POT) contributed to information processing. DEP limited the amount of motor neuron activity that could be elicited by the monosynaptic pathway alone. POT within the monosynaptic pathway did not compensate for DEP. There was, however, a synergistic interaction between POT and the polysynaptic pathway. This synergism extended the dynamic range of the network, and the interplay between …

Eight Key Household Practices Of Integrated Management Of Childhood Illnesses (Imci) Amongst Mothers Of Children Aged 6 To 59 Months In Gambat, Sindh, Pakistan, Ajmal Agha, Muhammad Younus, Muhammed Masood Kadir, Sajid Ali, Zafar Fatmi

Community Health Sciences

Objective:

To determine Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) regarding eight key integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) suggested practices and the association of these key practices with stunting as outcome.

Methods:

Sampling proportionate to sub-population sizes was employed to ensure representation from all the Union Councils of taluka Gambat-Sindh.

Results:

Low female education and mobility show the status of child's first care provider in a typical rural community. Few women knew about giving more food to a child suffering from diarrhoea. Moreover, very few exclusively breastfed their children for first 4-6 months, got their children completely immunized, washed hands before …

Importance Of The Ebp (Endocarditis- And Biofilm-Associated Pilus) Locus In The Pathogenesis Of Enterococcus Faecalis Ascending Urinary Tract Infection, Kavindra V Singh, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We recently demonstrated that the ubiquitous Enterococcus faecalis ebp (endocarditis- and biofilm-associated pilus) operon is important for biofilm formation and experimental endocarditis. Here, we assess its role in murine urinary tract infection (UTI) by use of wild-type E. faecalis OG1RF and its nonpiliated, ebpA allelic replacement mutant (TX5475).

METHODS: OG1RF and TX5475 were administered transurethrally either at an ~1 : 1 ratio (competition assay) or individually (monoinfection). Kidney pairs and urinary bladders were cultured 48 h after infection. These strains were also tested in a peritonitis model.

RESULTS: No differences were observed in the peritonitis model. In mixed UTIs, …

Inhibition Of Enterococcus Faecium Adherence To Collagen By Antibodies Against High-Affinity Binding Subdomains Of Acm, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Jouko Sillanpää, Vannakambadi K Ganesh, Magnus Höök, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Strains of Enterococcus faecium express a cell wall-anchored protein, Acm, which mediates adherence to collagen. Here, we (i) identify the minimal and high-affinity binding subsegments of Acm and (ii) show that anti-Acm immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) purified against these subsegments reduced E. faecium TX2535 strain collagen adherence up to 73 and 50%, respectively, significantly more than the total IgGs against the full-length Acm A domain (28%) (P < 0.0001). Blocking Acm adherence with functional subsegment-specific antibodies raises the possibility of their use as therapeutic or prophylactic agents.

Acquisition Of A Natural Resistance Gene Renders A Clinical Strain Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Resistant To The Synthetic Antibiotic Linezolid, Seok-Ming Toh, Liqun Xiong, Cesar A Arias, Maria V Villegas, Karen Lolans, John Quinn, Alexander S Mankin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Linezolid, which targets the ribosome, is a new synthetic antibiotic that is used for treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens. Clinical resistance to linezolid, so far, has been developing only slowly and has involved exclusively target site mutations. We have discovered that linezolid resistance in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus hospital strain from Colombia is determined by the presence of the cfr gene whose product, Cfr methyltransferase, modifies adenosine at position 2503 in 23S rRNA in the large ribosomal subunit. The molecular model of the linezolid-ribosome complex reveals localization of A2503 within the drug binding site. The natural function of …

Concave Pit-Containing Scaffold Surfaces Improve Stem Cell-Derived Osteoblast Performance And Lead To Significant Bone Tissue Formation., Antonio Graziano, Riccardo D'Aquino, Maria Gabriella Cusella-De Angelis, Gregorio Laino, Adriano Piattelli, Maurizio Pacifici, Alfredo De Rosa, Gianpaolo Papaccio

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Scaffold surface features are thought to be important regulators of stem cell performance and endurance in tissue engineering applications, but details about these fundamental aspects of stem cell biology remain largely unclear.

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: In the present study, smooth clinical-grade lactide-coglyolic acid 85:15 (PLGA) scaffolds were carved as membranes and treated with NMP (N-metil-pyrrolidone) to create controlled subtractive pits or microcavities. Scanning electron and confocal microscopy revealed that the NMP-treated membranes contained: (i) large microcavities of 80-120 microm in diameter and 40-100 microm in depth, which we termed primary; and (ii) smaller microcavities of 10-20 microm in diameter …

Agrobacterium Para/Mind-Like Virc1 Spatially Coordinates Early Conjugative Dna Transfer Reactions, Krishnamohan Atmakuri, Eric Cascales, Oliver T Burton, Lois M Banta, Peter J Christie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Agrobacterium tumefaciens translocates T-DNA through a polar VirB/D4 type IV secretion (T4S) system. VirC1, a factor required for efficient T-DNA transfer, bears a deviant Walker A and other sequence motifs characteristic of ParA and MinD ATPases. Here, we show that VirC1 promotes conjugative T-DNA transfer by stimulating generation of multiple copies per cell of the T-DNA substrate (T-complex) through pairwise interactions with the processing factors VirD2 relaxase, VirC2, and VirD1. VirC1 also associates with the polar membrane and recruits T-complexes to cell poles, the site of VirB/D4 T4S machine assembly. VirC1 Walker A mutations abrogate T-complex generation and polar recruitment, …

Dynamics Of A Minimal Model Of Interlocked Positive And Negative Feedback Loops Of Transcriptional Regulation By Camp-Response Element Binding Proteins, Hao Song, Paul Smolen, Evyatar Av-Ron, Douglas A Baxter, John H Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

cAMP-response element binding (CREB) proteins are involved in transcriptional regulation in a number of cellular processes (e.g., neural plasticity and circadian rhythms). The CREB family contains activators and repressors that may interact through positive and negative feedback loops. These loops can be generated by auto- and cross-regulation of expression of CREB proteins, via CRE elements in or near their genes. Experiments suggest that such feedback loops may operate in several systems (e.g., Aplysia and rat). To understand the functional implications of such feedback loops, which are interlocked via cross-regulation of transcription, a minimal model with a positive and negative loop …

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Jefferson Surgical Solutions

No abstract provided.

On The Job

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

No abstract provided.

Innovative Therapies For Pancreatic-Related Cancers

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

No abstract provided.

Clinical Presentation And Genotype Of Hepatitis Delta In Karachi, Tariq Moatter, Zaigham Abbas, Sabhita Shabir, Wasim Jafri

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Aim:
To assess the clinical presentation and genotypes of delta hepatitis in local population.
Methods:
In this prospective study, 39 consecutive patients who were positive for HBsAg and hepatitis D virus (HDV) antibody were included. The patients were divided in two groups on the basis of presence or absence of HDV RNA and a comparative study was done. Genotype of HDV was determined in PCR positive patients.
Results:
Overall there is male dominance, in which 34 patients out of 39 (87.2%) were male. Twenty (51%) patients were from the adjacent areas of three provinces; Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan indicating the …

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Jefferson Surgical Solutions

No abstract provided.