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Chemical Applications Of Transition Metal Nanomaterials: Nanoscale Toughening Mechanism Of Molybdenum Disulfide-Epoxy Nanocomposites And Mammalian Toxicity Of Silver Nanoparticles, John David Ryan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The emerging world of nanotechnology has been of great interest within the last few decades. In this regard, nanomaterials have since been implemented in a number of commercial applications including: aerospace technology, coatings, sensors, and biomedical technology. This work aimed to elucidate upon the applications of transition metal nanomaterials in two separate experimental studies. The first of these studies involved the investigation of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles, and their role in the toughening mechanism of epoxy composites. Two separate exfoliation techniques were implanted to target the influence surface chemistry of the nanomaterial and solvent quality had on the bulk …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Blue Light Poly(Β-Amino Ester)S, Nicholas John Kohrs

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is a debilitating injury which results in full or partial loss of function. Current clinical options utilize tissue grafts and bracing to restore function. Tissue graft implantation oftentimes leads to serious complications, some of which end in graft rejection and thereby necessitate further surgeries and procedures. Polymeric scaffolds show promise as scaffolding systems due to their mechanical properties and overall degradation profiles. Scaffolds need appropriate mechanical properties, 10-60 kPa modulus, and overall degradation times, five days to two weeks, to initiate tissue regeneration. Poly(β-amino ester)s (PBAE), a class of synthetic polymers, act as a safe biocompatible …

Gender Disparities In Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests, Glenn Goodwin, Dyana Picache, Nicholas Gaeto, Brian J. Louie, Tarik Reid, Paxton P. Aung, Sonu Sahni

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (New York) Publications and Research

Background

Despite advances in resuscitation science and public health, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) has an average survival rate of only 12% nationwide, compared to 24.8% of patients who suffer from cardiac arrest while in hospital. Additionally, gender is an important element of human health, and there is a clear pattern for gender-specific survivability in cardiac arrest. This study examined differences in presentations, treatment, management, and outcomes.

Aim

The primary focus of this study was to shed light on differences in presentations, treatments, and outcomes between men and women suffering from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the accompanying contributing factors.

Methods …

The Effectiveness Of Anatomy Laboratory Videos On Osteopathic Medical Students’ Performance, Sumathilatha Sakthi Velavan, Bedia Castellanos

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (New York) Publications and Research

Introduction: The usage of audio-visual aids in medical education has always been rewarding. This study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of supplementing traditional dissection based laboratories with the video demonstration of specimens.

Methods: The study was conducted among first-year osteopathic medical students of two consecutive years. The laboratory demonstration videos were recorded and provided to the experimental group and the previous class served as the historical controls. Two Likert scale based questionnaires were completed by the experimental group before and after their final examination. The students' performance in the Anatomy practical examinations were compared between the two groups. …

Estimating Taxon-Specific Population Dynamics In Diverse Microbial Communities, Benjamin J. Koch, Theresa A. Mchugh, Michaela Hayer, Egbert Schwartz, Steven J. Blazewicz, Paul Dijkstra, Natasja Van Gestel, Jane C. Marks, Rebecca L. Mau, Ember M. Morrissey, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Bruce A. Hungate

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Understanding how population-level dynamics contribute to ecosystem-level processes is a primary focus of ecological research and has led to important breakthroughs in the ecology of macroscopic organisms. However, the inability to measure population-specific rates, such as growth, for microbial taxa within natural assemblages has limited ecologists’ understanding of how microbial populations interact to regulate ecosystem processes. Here, we use isotope incorporation within DNA molecules to model taxon- specific population growth in the presence of 18O-labeled water. By applying this model to phylogenetic marker sequencing data collected from stable-isotope probing studies, we estimate rates of growth, mortal- ity, and turnover for …

A Functional Signature Ontology (Fusion) Screen Detects An Ampk Inhibitor With Selective Toxicity Toward Human Colon Tumor Cells, Binita Das, Beth K. Neilsen, Kurt W. Fisher, Drew Gehring, Youcai Hu, Deanna J. Volle, Hyun Seok Kim, Jamie L. Mccall, David L. Kelly, John B. Macmillian, Michael A. White, Robert E. Lewis

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

AMPK is a serine threonine kinase composed of a heterotrimer of a catalytic, kinase-containing α and regulatory β and γ subunits. Here we show that individual AMPK subunit expression and requirement for survival varies across colon cancer cell lines. While AMPKα1 expression is relatively consistent across colon cancer cell lines, AMPKα1 depletion does not induce cell death. Conversely, AMPKα2 is expressed at variable levels in colon cancer cells. In high expressing SW480 and moderate expressing HCT116 colon cancer cells, siRNA-mediated depletion induces cell death. These data suggest that AMPK kinase inhibition may be a useful component of future therapeutic strategies. …

Total Sulfane Sulfur Bioavailability Reflects Ethnic And Gender Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease, Saurabh Rajpal, Pavan Katikaneni, Matthew Deshotels, Sibile Pardue, John Glawe, Xinggui Shen, Nuri Akkus, Kalgi Modi, Ruchi Bhandari, Paari Dominic, Pratap Reddy, Gopi K. Kolluru, Christopher G. Kevil

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has emerged as an important physiological and pathophysiological signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system influencing vascular tone, cytoprotective responses, redox reactions, vascular adap- tation, and mitochondrial respiration. However, bioavailable levels of H2S in its various biochemical metabolite forms during clinical cardiovascular disease remain poorly understood. We performed a case-controlled study to quantify and compare the bioavailability of various biochemical forms of H2S in patients with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD). In our study, we used the reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography monobromobimane assay to analytically measure bioavailable pools of H2S. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were also identified …

Dysregulation Of Daf-16/Foxo3a-Mediated Stress Responses Accelerates T Oxidative Dna Damage Induced Aging, Aditi U. Gurkar, Andria R. Robinson, Yuxiang Cui, Xuesen Li, Shailaja K. Allani, Amanda Webster, Mariya Muravia, Mohammad Fallahi, Herbert Weissbach, Paul D. Robbins, Yinsheng Wang, Eric E. Kelley, Claudette M. St. Croix, Laura J. Niedernhofer, Matthew S. Gill

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

DNA damage is presumed to be one type of stochastic macromolecular damage that contributes to aging, yet little is known about the precise mechanism by which DNA damage drives aging. Here, we attempt to address this gap in knowledge using DNA repair-deficient C. elegans and mice. ERCC1-XPF is a nuclear endonuclease required for genomic stability and loss of ERCC1 in humans and mice accelerates the incidence of age-related pathologies. Like mice, ercc-1 worms are UV sensitive, shorter lived, display premature functional decline and they accumulate spontaneous oxidative DNA lesions (cyclopurines) more rapidly than wild-type worms. We found that ercc-1 worms …

Discourses Of Forgiveness And Resilience In Stepchild–Stepparent Relationships, Vincent R. Waldron, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Bailey M. Oliver, Dayna N. Kloeber, Jaclyn S. Marsh

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Challenges and conflicts experienced by stepfamilies are well documented, but researchers are increasingly focused on communication processes that facilitate resilience in these relationships. In other contexts, communicating forgiveness has been linked to relational healing after transgressions or adversity. In the current study, the researchers sought to understand how stepchildren talk about the role of forgiveness in the development of positive adult stepchild–stepparent relationships. Data were drawn from interviews with adult stepchildren who have a positive relationship with a stepparent. Following an interpretive analysis, the researchers identified five themes representing the ways forgiveness was conceptualized and enacted in these positive stepchild–stepparent …

Anti-Tau Conformational Scfv Mc1 Antibody Efficiently Reduces Pathological Tau Species In Adult Jnpl3 Mice., F. Vitale, L. Giliberto, S. Ruiz, K. Steslow, P. Marambaud, C. D'Abramo

Journal Articles

Tau, the main component of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), is an attractive target for immunotherapy in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. MC1/Alz50 are currently the only antibodies targeting a disease-specific conformational modification of tau. Passive immunization experiments using intra-peritoneal injections have previously shown that MC1 is effective at reducing tau pathology in the forebrain of tau transgenic JNPL3 mice. In order to reach a long-term and sustained brain delivery, and avoid multiple injection protocols, we tested the efficacy of the single-chain variable fragment of MC1 (scFv-MC1) to reduce tau pathology in the same animal model, with focus on brain …

Identification Of Ethyl Pyruvate As A Nlrp3 Inflammasome Inhibitor That Preserves Mitochondrial Integrity, S. Li, F. Liang, K. Kwan, Y. Tang, X. Wang, H. Yang, S. S. Chavan, H. Wang, K. J. Tracey, +3 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Lessons Learned From Bone Marrow Failure In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Case Reports And Review Of The Literature, E. Anderson, B. Shah, A. Davidson, R. Furie

Journal Articles

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. Objective: In the present review, four new cases of bone marrow failure are presented and the potential contribution of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is discussed. Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review of cases of autoimmune myelofibrosis (AIMF), aplastic anemia (AA), and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) with concurrent SLE aims to allow their direct comparison. Based on a clearer characterization of reported cases and our own experience, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of these disorders in SLE are proposed based on lessons learned from the present and previous cases. Methods: A literature search was done in PubMed, accessed via …

Declining Use Of Combination Infliximab And Immunomodulator For Inflammatory Bowel Disease In The Community Setting., J. C. Berkowitz, J. Stein-Fishbein, S. Khan, R. Furie, K. S. Sultan

Journal Articles

To describe trends of combination therapy (CT) of infliximab (IFX) and immunomodulator (IMM) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the community setting.A retrospective study was conducted of all IBD patients referred for IFX infusion to our community infusion center between 04/01/01 and 12/31/14. CT was defined as use of IFX with either azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine, or methotrexate. We analyzed trends of CT usage overall, for Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), and for the subgroups of induction patients. We also analyzed the trends of CT use in these groups over the study period, and compared the rates of CT use …

Merkel Cell Carcinoma Masquerading As Cellulitis: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, F. Safa, M. Pant, C. Weerasinghe, R. Felix, T. Terjanian

Journal Articles

© 2018 Multimed Inc. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon malignancy of the skin arising from cells located in the deeper layers of the epidermis called Merkel cells. This malignancy rarely presents as a metastatic disease, and the field is therefore deficient in regards to management. We report the case of a 49-year-old woman who presented with a presumptive diagnosis of osteomyelitis of the left fifth digit that was resistant to treatment with antibiotics; she underwent debridement of the digit that revealed MCC and was later to have metastatic disease to her lungs, liver, and musculoskeletal system. The management …

Mesalamine Associated Bradycardia., M. Krzyzak, A. Gupta, E. Antonov, S. M. Mulrooney

Journal Articles

A 38-year-old female presented with an acute flare of ulcerative colitis. She was started on prednisone and mesalamine. Within 24 hours of initiating mesalamine, she developed sinus bradycardia. After holding mesalamine, the heart rate returned to normal within five days. Our case illustrates the third described case, to our knowledge, of severe sinus bradycardia secondary to mesalamine.

Nicotine Enhances Mesangial Cell Proliferation And Fibronectin Production In High Glucose Milieu Via Activation Of Wnt/Beta-Catenin Pathway, X. Lan, H. Wen, R. Aslam, S. S. Shoshtari, A. Mishra, V. Kumar, H. Wang, G. Wu, A. Malhotra, P. C. Singhal, +1 Additional Author

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Modulation Of Apolipoprotein L1-Microrna-193a Axis Prevents Podocyte Dedifferentiation In High-Glucose Milieu, A. Mishra, K. Ayasolla, V. Kumar, X. Lan, H. Vashistha, R. Aslam, A. Hussain, S. Chowdhary, A. Malhotra, P. C. Singhal, +6 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Intravenous Epoetin Alfa-Epbx Versus Epoetin Alfa For Treatment Of Anemia In End-Stage Kidney Disease, S. Fishbane, B. Singh, S. Kumbhat, W. A. Wisemandle, N. E. Martin

Journal Articles

© 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology. Background and objectives This study was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous epoetin alfa-epbx, an epoetin alfa biosimilar, to epoetin alfa in patients on hemodialysis with ESKD and anemia. Design, setting, participants, & measurements In this 24-week, multicenter, double-blind comparative efficacy and safety study, 612 patients on hemodialysis with ESKD and anemia who had stable hemoglobin and were receiving stable doses of intravenous epoetin alfa were randomized (1:1) to intravenous epoetin alfa or epoetin alfa-epbx. Dosing was adjusted according to the epoetin alfa prescribing information. The coprimary efficacy endpoints …

Apol1 Risk Variants Cause Podocytes Injury Through Enhancing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, H. Wen, V. Kumar, X. Lan, S. S. Shoshtari, J. M. Eng, X. Zhou, F. Wang, H. Wang, A. Malhotra, P. C. Singhal, +4 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

c 2018 The Author(s). Two coding sequence variants (G1 and G2) of Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene have been implicated as a higher risk factor for chronic kidney diseases (CKD) in African Americans when compared with European Americans. Previous studies have suggested that the APOL1 G1 and G2 variant proteins are more toxic to kidney cells than the wild-type APOL1 G0, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To determine whether endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to podocyte toxicity, we generated human podocytes (HPs) that stably overexpressed APOL1 G0, G1, or G2 (Vec/HPs, G0/HPs, G1/HPs, and G2/HPs). Propidium iodide staining showed …

Renal Involvement In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia., R. Wanchoo, C. Bernabe Ramirez, J. Barrientos, K. D. Jhaveri

Journal Articles

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most commonly diagnosed adult leukemia in the USA and Western Europe. Kidney disease can present in patients with CLL as a manifestation of the disease process such as acute kidney injury with infiltration or with a paraneoplastic glomerular disease or as a manifestation of extra renal obstruction and tumor lysis syndrome. In the current era of novel targeted therapies, kidney disease can also present as a complication of treatment. Tumor lysis syndrome associated with novel agents such as the B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitor venetoclax and the monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab are important nephrotoxicities associated with …

Severe De Novo Ulcerative Colitis Following Ixekizumab Therapy, J. Philipose, M. Ahmed, P. S. Idiculla, S. M. Mulrooney, V. V. Gumaste

Journal Articles

© 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel. Ixekizumab is a selective monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-17A, approved for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. It has rarely been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in randomized trials only. We report a unique case of severe new-onset ulcerative colitis in a young male complicated by cytomegalovirus infection who was on ixekizumab therapy for plaque psoriasis. We recommend that clinicians should exercise caution before prescribing ixekizumab as it seems to induce and exacerbate IBD.

Preliminary Assessment Of Hurricane Harvey Exposures And Mental Health Impact, R. M. Schwartz, S. Tuminello, S. M. Kerath, J. Rios, W. Lieberman-Cribbin, E. Taioli

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Sports Hernia/Athletic Pubalgia Among Women, M. P. Zoland, J. C. Iraci, S. Bharam, L. E. Waldman, J. P. Koulotouros, D. Klein

Journal Articles

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: “Athletic pubalgia,” a term that has gained acceptance over “sports hernia,” is more common in men than women; however, it represents a significant source of morbidity for patients of both sexes. Inconsistent terminology surrounding this entity poses a diagnostic challenge and makes studying the populations at risk difficult. Purpose: To review a case series of women with athletic pubalgia by analyzing their presentations, concomitant pathologies, and surgical outcomes. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Between 2013 and 2016, 197 patients were seen and evaluated for the diagnosis of athletic pubalgia. Eighteen patients …

High Mobility Group Box 1 Orchestrates Tissue Regeneration Via Cxcr4, M. Tirone, N. L. Tran, C. Ceriotti, A. Gorzanelli, M. Canepari, R. Bottinelli, A. Raucci, M. He, Y. Al-Abed, E. Vénéreau, +17 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

© 2018 Tirone et al. Inflammation and tissue regeneration follow tissue damage, but little is known about how these processes are coordinated. High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) is a nuclear protein that, when released on injury, triggers inflammation. We previously showed that HMGB1 with reduced cysteines is a chemoattractant, whereas a disulfide bond makes it a proinflammatory cytokine. Here we report that fully reduced HMGB1 orchestrates muscle and liver regeneration via CXCR4, whereas disulfide HMGB1 and its receptors TLR4/MD-2 and RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) are not involved. Injection of HMGB1 accelerates tissue repair by acting on …

B Cell-Intrinsic Role For Irf5 In Tlr9/Bcr-Induced Human B Cell Activation, Proliferation, And Plasmablast Differentiation, S. De, B. Zhang, T. Shih, S. Singh, A. Winkler, R. Donnelly, B. J. Barnes

Journal Articles

© 2018 De, Zhang, Shih, Singh, Winkler, Donnelly and Barnes. Upon recognition of antigen, B cells undergo rapid proliferation followed by differentiation to specialized antibody secreting cells (ASCs). During this transition, B cells are reliant upon a multilayer transcription factor network to achieve a dramatic remodeling of the B cell transcriptional landscape. Increased levels of ASCs are often seen in autoimmune diseases and it is believed that altered expression of regulatory transcription factors play a role in this imbalance. The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is one such candidate as polymorphisms in IRF5 associate with risk of numerous …

Disruption Of Network For Visual Perception Of Natural Motion In Primary Dystonia, K. Fujita, W. Sako, A. Vo, S. B. Bressman, D. Eidelberg

Journal Articles

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. In healthy subjects, brain activation in motor regions is greater during the visual perception of “natural” target motion, which complies with the two-thirds power law, than of “unnatural” motion, which does not. It is unknown whether motion perception is normally mediated by a specific network that can be altered in the setting of disease. We used block-design functional magnetic resonance imaging and covariance analysis to identify normal network topographies activated in response to “natural” versus “unnatural” motion. A visual motion perception-related pattern (VPRP) was identified in 12 healthy subjects, characterized by covarying activation responses in …

Folic Acid Derived-P5779 Mimetics Regulate Damp-Mediated Inflammation Through Disruption Of Hmgb1:Tlr4:Md-2 Axes, S. Sun, M. He, Y. Wang, H. Yang, Y. Al-Abed

Journal Articles

© 2018 Sun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) protein that mediates inflammatory responses after infection or injury. Previously, we reported a peptide inhibitor of HMGB1 (P5779) that acts by directly interrupting HMGB1/MD-2 binding. Here, fingerprint similarity search and docking studies suggest folic acid derived-drugs function as P5779 mimetopes. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation studies demonstrate that folic acid …

Histopathologic Characteristics Of Biopsies From Dogs Undergoing Surgery With Concurrent Gross Splenic And Hepatic Masses: 125 Cases (2012-2016), F. J. Leyva, C. A. Loughin, C. W. Dewey, D. J. Marino, M. Akerman, M. L. Lesser

Journal Articles

© 2018 The Author(s). Objective: To investigate the histopathologic characteristics of concurrent splenic and liver masses in dogs undergoing splenectomy and liver mass biopsy/resection. Medical records of 125 client-owned dogs found to have splenic mass or masses and a liver mass or masses during surgery were examined. Signalment (age, sex, breed), body weight, and results of histopathology were recorded for all dogs. Results: Twenty-seven percent (34/125) of the dogs in this study had no evidence of malignancy in either the liver or the spleen. Sixty of 125 dogs (48.0%) had malignancy in the spleen and liver, and 56 (56/60, 93.3%) …

Persons With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Have Decreased Natural Killer Cell And Increased Toll-Like Receptor/Inflammatory Gene Expression, P. Herman, A. Stein, K. Gibbs, I. Korsunsky, P. Gregersen, O. Bloom

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Comprehensive Analysis Of Phospholipids In The Brain, Heart, Kidney, And Liver: Brain Phospholipids Are Least Enriched With Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, J. Choi, T. Yin, K. Shinozaki, J. W. Lampe, J. F. Stevens, L. B. Becker, J. Kim

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.