Digital Commons Network^™

Cyclosporin A Inhibits Caspase-Independent Death Of Ngf-Deprived Sympathetic Neurons: A Potential Role For Mitochondrial Permeability Transition., Louis K. Chang, Eugene M. Johnson

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - 2002 - 120th Commencement, Office Of The Registrar, Lsu Health Sciences Center-No

Graduation & Commencement Programs

The program for the 120th Commencement of LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans held May 18, 2002.

How Vulnerable Is The Nation's Food Supply? Linking Food Safety And Food Security, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

This paper reviews the food safety regulatory apparatus in place today, especially the activities of the two lead agencies in assuring food safety — the Food and Drug Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food Safety and Inspection Service within the Department of Agriculture. It examines the system's strengths and vulnerabilities, particularly in light of the post–September 11 environment that includes the heightened threat of terrorism. The paper also touches upon legislative and budgetary proposals aimed at improving food security, including the growing but debated interest in a single food safety agency.

Fibroblast Growth Factor–Specific Modulation Of Cellular Response By Syndecan-4, Arie Horowitz, Eugene Tkachenko, Michael Simons

Dartmouth Scholarship

Proteoglycans participate in growth factor interaction with the cell surface through their heparan sulfate chains (HS), but it is not known if they are otherwise involved in growth factor signaling. It appears now that the syndecan-4 core protein, a transmembrane proteoglycan shown previously to bind phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) and activate PKC alpha, participates in mediating the effects of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)2 on cell function. Mutations in the cytoplasmic tail of syndecan-4 that either reduced its affinity to PIP(2) (PIP(2)(-)) or disrupted its postsynaptic density 95, disk large, zona occludens-1 (PDZ)-dependent binding (PDZ(-)) produced a FGF2-specific dominant negative phenotype in …

What's Happening: May 8, 2002, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

30s Ribosomal Subunit Assembly Is A Target For Inhibition By Aminoglycoside Antibiotics In Escherichia Coli., Roopal Manoj Mehta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Antibacterial agents specific for the 50S ribosomal subunit not only inhibit translation but also prevent assembly of that subunit. I examined the 30S ribosomal subunit in growing Escherichia coli cells to see if antibiotics specific for that subunit also had a second inhibitory effect. I used the aminoglycoside antibiotics paromomycin and neomycin, which bind specifically to the 30S ribosomal subunit. Both antibiotics inhibited the growth rate, viable cell number, and protein synthesis. I used a ³H-uridine pulse and chase assay to examine the kinetics of ribosome subunit assembly in the presence and absence of each antibiotic. Analysis revealed a …

Feature Retention And Phonological Knowledge Across Children With Suspected Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Phonological Impairment, And Typically Developing Speech., Tracy A. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research effort was to examine whether the feature retention patterns and phonological knowledge of children with suspected apraxia of speech (AOSc) in comparison to those of children with phonological impairment (PI). A second purpose was to determine if a relationship exists between phonological knowledge and feature retention.

The study consisted of three groups of children: PI, AOSc, and typically developing (TD), ages four to seven. A 245-item speech sample was collected from each group. Feature retention percentages and phonological knowledge, represented by percent correct underlying representations (PCUR) were calculated for each child.

All groups retained place …

Special Article: Outline On Status Of Post-9/11 Aviation Security Initiatives, Part I, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides a commentary in an outline format on post-9/11 aviation security initiatives within the United States (US).

Do Cellular Phones Cause Headaches?, Jasmine Gay

McCabe Thesis Collection

Many people have recently complained about experiencing headaches in association with the use of their cellular telephones. There is much controversy over this subject because it has not yet been proven that the microwaves emitted by cellular telephones cause headaches. The research questions include the following: What are the effects, if any, of the use of cellular telephones on human health? Do they cause headaches? Are they responsible for the increase in size of some brain tumors?

There have been many experiments performed by various scientists in the field of bioelectromagnetics and by the World Health Organization (WHO); however, these …

Timing Of New Black Box Warnings And Withdrawals For Prescription Medications, Karen Lasser, Paul D. Allen, Steffie Woolhandler, David U. Himmelstein, Sidney M. Wolfe, David H. Bor

Publications and Research

Context Recently approved drugs may be more likely to have unrecognized adverse drug reactions (ADRs) than established drugs, but no recent studies have examined how frequently postmarketing surveillance identifies important ADRs.

Objective To determine the frequency and timing of discovery of new ADRs described in black box warnings or necessitating withdrawal of the drug from the market.

Design and Setting Examination of the Physicians' Desk Reference for all new chemical entities approved by the US Food and Drug Administration between 1975 and 1999, and all drugs withdrawn from the market between 1975 and 2000 (with or without a prior black …

Mutagenesis Induced By The Tumor Microenvironment: Implications Of Increased Dna Damage And Diminished Dna Repair, Jianling Yuan

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Tumors are characterized by microenvironmental heterogeneity, with regions of hypoxia, low pH, and nutrient deprivation. It has been proposed that such conditions may be an important factor contributing to cancer genetic instability. Using a chromosomally based lambda phage shuttle vector as a mutation reporter, we show that growth of cells in hypoxia and/or at low pH results in elevated mutation frequencies in two different reporter genes. To elucidate the mechanism of the tumor microenvironment-induced genetic instability, we first measured the production of DNA damage upon hypoxia and re-oxygenation in culture. We found that under such conditions, the intracellular level of …

Residential Radon Exposure And Lung Cancer: Variation In Risk Estimates Using Alternative Exposure Scenarios, R. William Field, Brian J. Smith, Daniel J. Steck, Charles F. Lynch

Physics Faculty Publications

The most direct way to derive risk estimates for residential radon progeny exposure is through epidemiologic studies that examine the association between residential radon exposure and lung cancer. However, the National Research Council concluded that the inconsistency among prior residential radon case-control studies was largely a consequence of errors in radon dosimetry. This paper examines the impact of applying various epidemiologic dosimetry models for radon exposure assessment using a common data set from the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study (IRLCS). The IRLCS uniquely combined enhanced dosimetric techniques, individual mobility assessment, and expert histologic review to examine the relationship between cumulative …

Resilience: The Lived Experience Of Elderly Widowers Following The Death Of A Spouse, Dorothy Battersby Crummy Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Aged widowers are at risk for increased incidence of health problems and higher mortality rates following the death of a spouse. Mens' abilities for dealing with loss have been questioned, but little research has been done with this group. Surviving widowers provided significant insights illuminating the experience of resilience and providing relevant information regarding this population. Utilizing interpretive phenomenology, a methodology advocated by van Manen, in-depth interviews were conducted researching the lived experience of resilience among nineteen elderly widowers between 71 years and 100 years of age. Participants, identified by network sampling, lived independently and had survived the death of …

Development Of The Postpartum Smoking Questionnaire (Ppsq), Cynthia J. Gantt Phd, Msn, C-Fnp, Rn

Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Smoking also accounts for significant morbidity for others exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Many women stop smoking during pregnancy. Most women relapse to smoking following delivery, yet postpartum smoking issues have received little attention. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument, the Postpartum Smoking Questionnaire (PPSQ) using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The belief-based items of the PPSR-Q were developed following content analysis of 35 individual, structured elicitation study interviews with postpartum women in the military healthcare system. Beliefs that prevented women …

Update - May 2002, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- The Compleat Physician
-- Informed Consent Documentation for Total Artificial Hearth Technology
-- Ralph J. and Carolyn Thompson Endowment established in 2001

Hla-Cw*04 And Hepatitis C Virus Persistence, Chloe L. Thio, Xiaojiang Gao, James J. Goedert, David Vlahov, Kenrad E. Nelson, Margaret Hilgartner, Stephen J. O'Brien, Peter Karacki, Jacquie Astemborski, Mary Carrington, David L. Thomas

Biology Faculty Articles

In studies of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the early host immune response is one of the determinants of viral persistence. The class I human leukocyte antigens (HLA), which present foreign antigen to cytolytic T cells, are integral components of this response. We hypothesized that the highly polymorphic HLA genes affect the outcome of an HCV infection. To test this hypothesis, we molecularly typed 231 persons with well-documented clearance of an HCV infection and 444 matched persistently infected persons. HLA-A*1101 (odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.27 to 0.89), HLA-B*57 (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39 to …

Prenatal Maternal Attachment: The Lived Experience, Regina Ann Leva-Giroux Dnsc

Dissertations

Prenatal maternal attachment and the practice of health promoting behaviors during pregnancy are considered universal phenomena to women. Yet, the understanding of these phenomena from the lived experiences of pregnant women has not been well researched. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of maternal attachment to the unborn child and how that attachment might relate to the practice of these behaviors during pregnancy. The participants in this study were ten English speaking women, college educated, professionally employed, who were pregnant for the first time. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants at 14–16 weeks and …

Inhibition Of Apoptosis By Gamma Interferon In Cells And Mice Infected With Chlamydia Muridarum (The Mouse Pneumonitis Strain Of Chlamydia Trachomatis), Jean-Luc Perfettini, Toni Darville, Alice Dautry-Varsat, Roger G. Rank, David M. Ojcius

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

The effect of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) on apoptosis due to infection by Chlamydia muridarum (the mouse pneumonitis strain of Chlamydia trachomatis) was studied in epithelial cells in culture and in the genital tracts of mice. IFN-γ concentrations that induce the formation of aberrant, persistent chlamydiae inhibit apoptosis due to C. muridarum infection. In cells treated with an IFN-γ concentration that leads to the development of a heterogenous population of normal and aberrant Chlamydia vacuoles, apoptosis was inhibited preferentially in cells that contained the aberrant vacuoles. The inhibitory effect of IFN-γ appears to be due in part to expression of host …

Isolation And Characterization Of Endophytic Colonizing Bacteria From Agronomic Crops And Prairie Plants, Denise K. Zinniel, Patricia A. Lambrecht, N. Beth Harris, Zhengyu Feng, Daniel Kuczmarski, Phyllis Higley, Carol A. Ishimaru, Alahari Arunakumari, Raul G. Barletta, Anne K. Vidaver

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Endophytic bacteria reside within plant hosts without causing disease symptoms. In this study, 853 endophytic strains were isolated from aerial tissues of four agronomic crop species and 27 prairie plant species. We determined several phenotypic properties and found approximately equal numbers of gram-negative and gram-positive isolates. In a greenhouse study, 28 of 86 prairie plant endophytes were found to colonize their original hosts at 42 days postinoculation at levels of 3.5 to 7.7 log₁₀ CFU/g (fresh weight). More comprehensive colonization studies were conducted with 373 corn and sorghum endophytes. In growth room studies, none of the isolates displayed pathogenicity, …

Eating Trends In Childhood, Emily Willmore

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Children ages 6 through 11 years are progressing in many aspects of their life. Of interest, children are establishing eating patterns that will be carried throughout their lives. Some of these patterns can be considered problematic and need to be addressed, these include: overfeeding or obesity, adequacy of major minerals and establishing healthy eating patterns. We conclude that while some children's eating patterns are problematic, there are means to resolve these trends. They include counseling, family involvement, physical exercise and nutrition education in school at a young age.

Clinical, Pathological And Molecular Factors Predicting Axillary Node Involvement In Primary Breast Cancer In Pakistani Women, T. Siddiqui, A. Salam, S. Khan, N. Kayani, Shahid Pervez

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:

Axillary lymph node involvement in primary breast cancer is one of its most important prognostic features. Thus any factors that may predict axillary lymph node involvement in this setting could be potentially helpful in treatment planning and other interventions.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical, pathological and immuno-histochemical markers in univariate and multivariate analysis, which may be helpful predictors of axillary lymph node involvement in breast cancer.

Method:

A retrospective analysis of 555 cases. Of these 58% had axillary nodal positivity and 42% were negative.

Conclusion:

Factors of no significance included patient’s age, height, weight, …

Wordless Picture Books Versus Standard Stories For Language Assessment Of Spanish-Speaking Children, Yvonne De Anda

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Narrative samples from Spanish-speaking children will be analyzed using a wordless picture book and standard storybook. Ages of participants will be between 6.0 and 7.11 years and demonstrate: normal hearing and vision, no familiarity with books used in study, and receptive and expressive language skills 1.5 to 2 standard deviations below the mean as predetermined by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. The first story will be orally presented. Afterwards, children will respond to questions and retell the story. A silent presentation of the second story will follow, along with retelling of story and questions. Utterance length, sentence complexity, and vocabulary will …

Composition And Method For The Prevention And Treatment Of Oxidative Damage In Ocular Tissues, Marjorie F. Lou, Nalini Raghavachari;, Fengyu Qiao

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Thioltransferase and derivatives thereof are provided. Methods of treating or preventing cataract formation comprosing administering thioltransferase or a derivative thereof are also provided. Thioltransferase or derivatives thereof are also useful for treating or preventing diseases resulting from or associated with oxidative stress. Human lens thioltransferase and a DNA sequence encoding the same are also provided.

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Pathway Signaling During Neuronal Apoptosis: Lessons From The Analysis Of Mutant Mice, Girish V. Putcha, Charles A. Harris, Krista L. Moulder, Rachael M. Easton, Craig B. Thompson, Eugene M. Johnson

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Mangrove Response To Attack By A Root Boring Isopod: Root Repair Versus Architectural Modification, Robert Allen Brooks, Susan S. Bell

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

The nature of the plant-animal interaction between wood-boring isopods and the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle L. has been controversial, with discussion ranging from the damage caused by the isopod being detrimental to beneficial for the mangroves they attack. Initiation of lateral roots by the mangrove in response to isopod burrowing has been one of the most commonly cited examples as support for the concept of beneficial herbivory. In this study, the possibility of root repair as a response of Rhizophora to burrowing by Sphaeroma terebrans Bate was evaluated. Previously burrowed prop roots were tagged in the field and the fate …

Enhanced Gene Delivery In Vitro And In Vivo By Improved Transferrin-Lipoplexes, Conchita Tros De Ilarduya, M. A. Arangoa, M. J. Moreno-Aliaga, Nejat Düzgüneş

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Cationic liposomes and the complexes they form with DNA (lipoplexes) constitute the most promising alternative to the use of viral vectors for gene therapy. One of the limitations to their application in vivo, however, is the inhibition of gene delivery by serum. In a previous study, we demonstrated that transferrin (Tf)-lipoplexes were superior to plain lipoplexes in transfecting HeLa cells in the presence of high concentrations of serum. With the goal of obtaining efficient gene expression in vivo, we evaluated the efficacy of Tf-lipoplexes (containing DOTAP and cholesterol) in transfecting primary hepatocytes and adipocytes in the presence of high serum …

2002 - The Seventh Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Seventh Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 5, 2002. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Fundamentals Of The "System", Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper examines the existing public health infrastructure, with an emphasis on the resources and activities necessary for public health emergency preparedness and response. It provides a brief historical overview of the evolution of public health and contrasts public health interventions with medicine and health care services. The paper summarizes the broad range of activities that constitute public health practice today and provides a more detailed review of functions and services that are critical to emergency response capabilities. It explores the legal foundation for public health authorities, discussing constitutional, federal, and state public health law. The paper also summarizes how …

Comparative Genomic Hybridization Array Analysis, Annette M. Molinaro, Mark J. Van Der Laan, Dan H. Moore

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

At the present time, there is increasing evidence that cancer may be regulated by the number of copies of genes in tumor cells. Through microarray technology it is now possible to measure the number of copies of thousands of genes and gene segments in samples of chromosomal DNA. Microarray comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) provides the opportunity to both measure DNA sequence copy number gains and losses and map these aberrations to the genomic sequence. Gains can signify the over-expression of oncogenes, genes which stimulate cell growth and have become hyperactive, while losses can signify under-expression of tumor suppressor genes, …

Murine Epidermal Cell Antigen (Skn)-Directed Autoimmunity Induced By Transfer Of Cd4+ T Cells, Susan H. Jackman, Shivaleela Keerthy, Giselle Perry

Biochemistry and Microbiology

While pathogenic T cells have been identified for several diseases with epithelial cell damage, an autoimmune T cell-mediated response targeted against a known keratinocyte antigen has not been reported. Previously we described an autoimmune response directed to the mouse epidermal cell antigens, Skn. For our murine model, primed Skn-immune lymphocytes are adoptively transferred to recipients, which develop lesions at the site of mild skin trauma. In this study we investigated the nature of the autoimmune component of the Skn response. A time-course study demonstrated a relationship between the number of primed Sknimmune cells injected and the severity of skin lesions …