Digital Commons Network^™

Collagenous Myofibroblastic Tumor Of The Mandible: Case Report Of A Unique Locally Aggressive Neoplasm, Jason W. Nash, Amy C. Hessel, Nadarajah Vigneswaran, Adel K. El-Naggar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We report a locally aggressive collagenous myofibroblastic neoplasm of the mandible in an 18-year-old male. Clinically, the lesion presented with rapid growth and irregular mandibular bone destruction. Grossly, the tumor was 10 cm in greatest dimension, light-tan, firm, and involving the posterior one-thirds of the body and inferior half of the left mandibular ramus. Histologically, the lesion was composed of a loose spindle cell proliferation interspersed with periodic dense bands of collagen. The spindle cells reacted positively to smooth muscle actin, calponin, and focally to desmin and were negative for S-100, pan-cytokeratin, CD99, CD34 and caldesmon, supporting myofibroblastic derivation. At …

Hla-Dpb1 And Dpb2 Are Genetic Loci For Systemic Sclerosis: A Genome-Wide Association Study In Koreans With Replication In North Americans, Xiaodong Zhou, Jong Eun Lee, Frank C Arnett, Momiao Xiong, Min Young Park, Yeon Kyeong Yoo, Eun Soon Shin, John D Reveille, Maureen D Mayes, Jin Hyun Kim, Ran Song, Ji Yong Choi, Ji Ah Park, Yun Jong Lee, Eun Young Lee, Yeong Wook Song, Eun Bong Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To identify systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility loci via a genome-wide association study.

METHODS: A genome-wide association study was performed in 137 patients with SSc and 564 controls from Korea using the Affymetrix Human SNP Array 5.0. After fine-mapping studies, the results were replicated in 1,107 SSc patients and 2,747 controls from a US Caucasian population.

RESULTS: The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs3128930, rs7763822, rs7764491, rs3117230, and rs3128965) of HLA-DPB1 and DPB2 on chromosome 6 formed a distinctive peak with log P values for association with SSc susceptibility (P=8.16x10(-13)). Subtyping analysis of HLA-DPB1 showed that DPB1*1301 (P=7.61x10(-8)) and DPB1*0901 (P=2.55x10(-5)) were …

Identification Of A Conserved Cluster In The Rh Domain Of Grk Critical For Activation By Gpcrs, Faiza Baameur

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

One of the most critical aspects of G Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) regulation is their rapid and acute desensitization following agonist stimulation. Phosphorylation of these receptors by GPCR kinases (GRK) is a major mechanism of desensitization. Considerable evidence from studies of rhodopsin kinase and GRK2 suggests there is an allosteric docking site for the receptor distinct from the GRK catalytic site. While the agonist-activated GPCR appears crucial for GRK activation, the molecular details of this interaction remain unclear. Recent studies suggested an important role for the N- and C-termini and domains in the small lobe of the kinase domain in …

The Physiological And Biochemical Understanding Of 5’-Amp Induced Deep Hypometabolism, William G. O'Brien

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Our laboratory’s ability to induce deep hypometabolism (DH) via an injection of adenosine monophosphate (5’-AMP) followed by placement in an ambient temperature (Ta) around 15oC currently can last about 3-9 hours. While we have insight into how 5’-AMP induced hypometabolism is initiated, it remains unclear how arousal from hypometabolism is controlled. Other laboratory members have been unable to prolong this process safely and effectively with previous attempts of re-injecting a dose of 5’-AMP upon arousal or by decreasing the Ta. While these methods worked in suppressing arousal, the mortality rate is also increased. To gather a better understanding of the …

Biological Diversity Of Prokaryotic Type Iv Secretion Systems, Cristina E Alvarez-Martinez, Peter J Christie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) translocate DNA and protein substrates across prokaryotic cell envelopes generally by a mechanism requiring direct contact with a target cell. Three types of T4SS have been described: (i) conjugation systems, operationally defined as machines that translocate DNA substrates intercellularly by a contact-dependent process; (ii) effector translocator systems, functioning to deliver proteins or other macromolecules to eukaryotic target cells; and (iii) DNA release/uptake systems, which translocate DNA to or from the extracellular milieu. Studies of a few paradigmatic systems, notably the conjugation systems of plasmids F, R388, RP4, and pKM101 and the Agrobacterium tumefaciens VirB/VirD4 system, …

Tb Research At Ut-Houston – A Review Of Cord Factor: New Approaches To Drugs, Vaccines And The Pathogenesis Of Tuberculosis, Robert L Hunter, Lisa Armitige, Chinnaswamy Jagannath, Jeffrey K Actor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tuberculosis remains a major threat as drug resistance continues to increase. Pulmonary tuberculosis in adults is responsible for 80% of clinical cases and nearly 100% of transmission of infection. Unfortunately, since we have no animal models of adult type pulmonary tuberculosis, the most important type of disease remains largely out of reach of modern science and many fundamental questions remain unanswered. This paper reviews research dating back to the 1950's providing compelling evidence that cord factor (trehalose 6,6 dimycolate [TDM]) is essential for understanding tuberculosis. However, the original papers by Bloch and Noll were too far ahead of their time …

Dopamine-Stimulated Dephosphorylation Of Connexin 36 Mediates Aii Amacrine Cell Uncoupling, W Wade Kothmann, Stephen C Massey, John O'Brien

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gap junction proteins form the substrate for electrical coupling between neurons. These electrical synapses are widespread in the CNS and serve a variety of important functions. In the retina, connexin 36 (Cx36) gap junctions couple AII amacrine cells and are a requisite component of the high-sensitivity rod photoreceptor pathway. AII amacrine cell coupling strength is dynamically regulated by background light intensity, and uncoupling is thought to be mediated by dopamine signaling via D(1)-like receptors. One proposed mechanism for this uncoupling involves dopamine-stimulated phosphorylation of Cx36 at regulatory sites, mediated by protein kinase A. Here we provide evidence against this hypothesis …

Cross Currents In Protein Misfolding Disorders: Interactions And Therapy, Rodrigo Morales, Kristi M Green, Claudio Soto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Protein Misfolding Disorders (PMDs) are a group of diseases characterized by the accumulation of abnormally folded proteins. Despite the wide range of proteins and tissues involved, PMDs share similar molecular and pathogenic mechanisms. Several epidemiological, clinical and experimental reports have described the co-existence of PMDs, suggesting a possible cross-talk between them. A better knowledge of the molecular basis of PMDs could have important implications for understanding the mechanism by which these diseases appear and progress and ultimately to develop novel strategies for treatment. Due to their similar molecular mechanisms, common therapeutic strategies could be applied for the diseases in this …

Adherence To Host Extracellular Matrix And Serum Components By Enterococcus Faecium Isolates Of Diverse Origin, Meng Zhao, Jouko Sillanpää, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococcus faecium has emerged as an important cause of nosocomial infections over the last two decades. We recently demonstrated collagen type I (CI) as a common adherence target for some E. faecium isolates and a significant correlation was found to exist between acm-mediated CI adherence and clinical origin. Here, we evaluated 60 diverse E. faecium isolates for their adherence to up to 15 immobilized host extracellular matrix and serum components. Adherence phenotypes were most commonly observed to fibronectin (Fn) (20% of the 60 isolates), fibrinogen (17%) and laminin (Ln) (13%), while only one or two of the isolates adhered to …

5-Ht And Gaba Modulate Intrinsic Excitability Of Type I Interneurons In Hermissenda, Nan Ge Jin, Lian-Ming Tian, Terry Crow

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The sensory neurons (photoreceptors) in the visual system of Hermissenda are one site of plasticity produced by Pavlovian conditioning. A second site of plasticity produced by conditioning is the type I interneurons in the cerebropleural ganglia. Both photoreceptors and statocyst hair cells of the graviceptive system form monosynaptic connections with identified type I interneurons. Two proposed neurotransmitters in the graviceptive system, serotonin (5-HT) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), have been shown to modify synaptic strength and intrinsic neuronal excitability in identified photoreceptors. However, the potential role of 5-HT and GABA in plasticity of type I interneurons has not been investigated. Here …

Comparing Clinician Knowledge And Online Information Regarding Alli (Orlistat), Stuart Nelson, Kevin O Hwang, Elmer V Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Many consumers join online communities focused on health. Online forums are a popular medium for the exchange of health information between consumers, so it is important to determine the accuracy and completeness of information posted to online forums.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the accuracy and completeness of information regarding the FDA-approved over-the counter weight-loss drug Alli (Orlistat) from forums and from clinicians.

METHODS: We identified Alli-related questions posted on online forums and then posed the questions to 11 primary care providers. We then compared the clinicians' answers to the answers given on the forums. A panel of blinded experts evaluated …

Keap1 E3 Ligase-Mediated Downregulation Of Nf-Kappab Signaling By Targeting Ikkbeta, Dung-Fang Lee, Hsu-Ping Kuo, Mo Liu, Chao-Kai Chou, Weiya Xia, Yi Du, Jia Shen, Chun-Te Chen, Longfei Huo, Ming-Chuan Hsu, Chia-Wei Li, Qingqing Ding, Tsai-Lien Liao, Chien-Chen Lai, Ann-Chi Lin, Ya-Hui Chang, Shih-Feng Tsai, Long-Yuan Li, Mien-Chie Hung

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) is involved in tumor development and progression through activation of the nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB pathway. However, the molecular mechanism that regulates IKKbeta degradation remains largely unknown. Here, we show that a Cullin 3 (CUL3)-based ubiquitin ligase, Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1), is responsible for IKKbeta ubiquitination. Depletion of KEAP1 led to the accumulation and stabilization of IKKbeta and to upregulation of NF-kappaB-derived tumor angiogenic factors. A systematic analysis of the CUL3, KEAP1, and RBX1 genomic loci revealed a high percentage of genome loss and missense mutations in human cancers that failed to facilitate IKKbeta degradation. Our …

Intracranial Eeg Reveals A Time- And Frequency-Specific Role For The Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus And Primary Motor Cortex In Stopping Initiated Responses, Nicole Swann, Nitin Tandon, Ryan Canolty, Timothy M Ellmore, Linda K Mcevoy, Stephen Dreyer, Michael Disano, Adam R Aron

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inappropriate response tendencies may be stopped via a specific fronto/basal ganglia/primary motor cortical network. We sought to characterize the functional role of two regions in this putative stopping network, the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the primary motor cortex (M1), using electocorticography from subdural electrodes in four patients while they performed a stop-signal task. On each trial, a motor response was initiated, and on a minority of trials a stop signal instructed the patient to try to stop the response. For each patient, there was a greater right IFG response in the beta frequency band ( approximately 16 Hz) …

Ethnic Differences In Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders After Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Darin B Zahuranec, Devin L Brown, Lynda D Lisabeth, Nicole R Gonzales, Paxton J Longwell, Melinda A Smith, Nelda M Garcia, Lewis B Morgenstern

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To explore ethnic differences in do-not-resuscitate orders after intracerebral hemorrhage.

DESIGN: Population-based surveillance.

SETTING: Corpus Christi, Texas.

PATIENTS: All cases of intracerebral hemorrhage in the community of Corpus Christi, TX were ascertained as part of the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were reviewed for do-not-resuscitate orders. Unadjusted and multivariable logistic regression were used to test for associations between ethnicity and do-not-resuscitate orders, both overall ("any do-not-resuscitate") and within 24 hrs of presentation ("early do-not-resuscitate"), adjusted for age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale, intracerebral hemorrhage volume, intraventricular hemorrhage, infratentorial hemorrhage, …

New Library Fees; Updated Database And Journal Cancellations, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Insider Express (2003-2013)

No abstract provided.

Library Hosts Holocaust Exhibition, Vol.23 (1) July - September 2009, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Library Lines (1998-2009)

No abstract provided.

Clinical Decision Support Capabilities Of Commercially-Available Clinical Information Systems, Adam Wright, Dean F Sittig, Joan S Ash, Sapna Sharma, Justine E Pang, Blackford Middleton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The most effective decision support systems are integrated with clinical information systems, such as inpatient and outpatient electronic health records (EHRs) and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems. Purpose The goal of this project was to describe and quantify the results of a study of decision support capabilities in Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) certified electronic health record systems.

METHODS: The authors conducted a series of interviews with representatives of nine commercially available clinical information systems, evaluating their capabilities against 42 different clinical decision support features.

RESULTS: Six of the nine reviewed systems offered all the applicable …

Advances In Progenitor Cell Therapy Using Scaffolding Constructs For Central Nervous System Injury, Peter A Walker, Kevin R Aroom, Fernando Jimenez, Shinil K Shah, Matthew T Harting, Brijesh S Gill, Charles S Cox

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Current clinical therapy is focused on optimization of the acute/subacute intracerebral milieu, minimizing continued cell death, and subsequent intense rehabilitation to ameliorate the prolonged physical, cognitive, and psychosocial deficits that result from TBI. Adult progenitor (stem) cell therapies have shown promise in pre-clinical studies and remain a focus of intense scientific investigation. One of the fundamental challenges to successful translation of the large body of pre-clinical work is the delivery of progenitor cells to the target location/organ. Classically used vehicles such as intravenous and …

Holocaust Survivor To Speak At The Ham-Tmc Library; Library To Complete Process Of Individual User Authentication, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Insider Express (2003-2013)

No abstract provided.

Modern Approaches To Pediatric Brain Injury Therapy, Peter A Walker, Matthew T Harting, James E Baumgartner, Stephen Fletcher, Nathan Strobel, Charles S Cox

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Each year, pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for 435,000 emergency department visits, 37,000 hospital admissions, and approximately 2,500 deaths in the United States. TBI results in immediate injury from direct mechanical force and shear. Secondary injury results from the release of biochemical or inflammatory factors that alter the loco-regional milieu in the acute, subacute, and delayed intervals after a mechanical insult. Preliminary preclinical and clinical research is underway to evaluate the benefit from progenitor cell therapeutics, hypertonic saline infusion, and controlled hypothermia. However, all phase III clinical trials investigating pharmacologic monotherapy for TBI have shown no benefit. A recent …

Workload And Performance Factors Associated With Multimedia Job Aids For Community Health Workers, Jose F. Florez-Arango

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

This dissertation focuses on factors of multimedia job aids that modify workload, protocol adherence and clinical errors in community health workers. Literature shows that community health workers performance is not acceptable even with support of paper job aids. There are cognitive theories that try to explain reasons why the performance of community health workers is poor regardless of the access to paper based-job aid. Based on cognitive science and multimedia design theories an intervention was designed to compare alternative representations for the information contained on paper job aids and the capability of this new designed job aids to enhance community …

Gsbs News, Summer 2009, Graduate School Of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston/M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

GSBS News

No abstract provided.

Dicer Is Required For Female Reproductive Tract Development And Fertility In The Mouse, Gabriel Gonzalez, Richard R Behringer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Dicer encodes a riboendonuclease required for microRNA biosynthesis. Dicer was inactivated in Müllerian duct mesenchyme-derived tissues of the reproductive tract of the mouse, using an Amhr2-Cre allele. Although Amhr2-Cre; Dicer conditional mutant males appeared normal and were fertile, mutant females were infertile. In adult mutant females, there was a reduction in the size of the oviducts and uterine horns. The oviducts were less coiled compared to controls and cysts formed at the isthmus near the uterotubal junction. Unfertilized, degenerate oocytes were commonly found within these cysts, indicating a defect in embryo transit. Beads transferred into the mutant oviduct failed to …

Improving Clinical Quality Indicators Through Electronic Health Records: It Takes More Than Just A Reminder, Dean F Sittig, Jonathan M Teich, Jerome A Osheroff, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Therapeutic Targeting Of Atp7b In Ovarian Carcinoma, Lingegowda S Mangala, Vesna Zuzel, Rosemarie Schmandt, Erik S Leshane, Jyotsna B Halder, Guillermo N Armaiz-Pena, Whitney A Spannuth, Takemi Tanaka, Mian M K Shahzad, Yvonne G Lin, Alpa M Nick, Christopher G Danes, Jeong-Won Lee, Nicholas B Jennings, Pablo E Vivas-Mejia, Judith K Wolf, Robert L Coleman, Zahid H Siddik, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, Svetlana Lutsenko, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Resistance to platinum chemotherapy remains a significant problem in ovarian carcinoma. Here, we examined the biological mechanisms and therapeutic potential of targeting a critical platinum resistance gene, ATP7B, using both in vitro and in vivo models.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Expression of ATP7A and ATP7B was examined in ovarian cancer cell lines by real-time reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot analysis. ATP7A and ATP7B gene silencing was achieved with targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) and its effects on cell viability and DNA adduct formation were examined. For in vivo therapy experiments, siRNA was incorporated into the neutral nanoliposome 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC).

RESULTS: ATP7A …

Biomedical Language Understanding And Extraction (Blue-Text): A Minimal Syntactic, Semantic Method, Parsa Mirhaji

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Clinical text understanding (CTU) is of interest to health informatics because critical clinical information frequently represented as unconstrained text in electronic health records are extensively used by human experts to guide clinical practice, decision making, and to document delivery of care, but are largely unusable by information systems for queries and computations. Recent initiatives advocating for translational research call for generation of technologies that can integrate structured clinical data with unstructured data, provide a unified interface to all data, and contextualize clinical information for reuse in multidisciplinary and collaborative environment envisioned by CTSA program. This implies that technologies for the …

Antibodies Targeting Hepatoma-Derived Growth Factor As A Novel Strategy In Treating Lung Cancer, Hening Ren, Zuoming Chu, Li Mao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is overexpressed in lung cancer and the overexpression correlates with aggressive biological behaviors and poor clinical outcomes. We developed anti-HDGF monoclonal antibodies and tested their antitumor activity in lung cancer xenograft models. We also determined biological effects in tumors treated with the antibody alone or in combination with bevacizumab/avastin (an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody) and/or gemcitabine (a chemotherapeutic agent). We found the anti-HDGF was effective to inhibit tumor growth in non-small cell lung cancer xenograft models. In the A549 model, compared with control IgG, tumor growth was substantially inhibited in animals treated with anti-HDGF antibodies, …

Understanding Nurse Created Cognitive Artifacts: Personally-Created-Cognitive-Artifacts As External Representations Of Distributed Cognition, Sharon Mclane

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Manuscript 1: “Conceptual Analysis: Externalizing Nursing Knowledge”

We use concept analysis to establish that the report tool nurses prepare, carry, reference, amend, and use as a temporary data repository are examples of cognitive artifacts. This tool, integrally woven throughout the work and practice of nurses, is important to cognition and clinical decision-making. Establishing the tool as a cognitive artifact will support new dimensions of study. Such studies can characterize how this report tool supports cognition, internal representation of knowledge and skills, and external representation of knowledge of the nurse.

Manuscript 2: “Research Methods: Exploring Cognitive Work”

The purpose of this …

Evaluating Statistical Methods Used To Estimate The Number Of Postsynaptic Receptors, Georgios Kalantzis, Yoshira Kubota, Harel Z Shouval

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Calcium levels in spines play a significant role in determining the sign and magnitude of synaptic plasticity. The magnitude of calcium influx into spines is highly dependent on influx through N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and therefore depends on the number of postsynaptic NMDA receptors in each spine. We have calculated previously how the number of postsynaptic NMDA receptors determines the mean and variance of calcium transients in the postsynaptic density, and how this alters the shape of plasticity curves. However, the number of postsynaptic NMDA receptors in the postsynaptic density is not well known. Anatomical methods for estimating the number …

Physical And Functional Interaction Between The Dopamine Transporter And The Synaptic Vesicle Protein Synaptogyrin-3, Loreto A Egaña, Rolando A Cuevas, Tracy B Baust, Leonardo A Parra, Rehana K Leak, Sarah Hochendoner, Karina Peña, Marisol Quiroz, Weimin C Hong, Mario M Dorostkar, Roger Janz, Harald H Sitte, Gonzalo E Torres

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Uptake through the dopamine transporter (DAT) represents the primary mechanism used to terminate dopaminergic transmission in brain. Although it is well known that dopamine (DA) taken up by the transporter is used to replenish synaptic vesicle stores for subsequent release, the molecular details of this mechanism are not completely understood. Here, we identified the synaptic vesicle protein synaptogyrin-3 as a DAT interacting protein using the split ubiquitin system. This interaction was confirmed through coimmunoprecipitation experiments using heterologous cell lines and mouse brain. DAT and synaptogyrin-3 colocalized at presynaptic terminals from mouse striatum. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy, we show …