Digital Commons Network^™

Association Between Arsenic Exposure From Drinking Water And Longitudinal Change In Blood Pressure Among Heals Cohort Participants, Jieying Jiang, Mengling Liu, Faruque Parvez, Binhuan Wang, Fen Wu, Mahbub Eunus, Sripal Bangalore, Jonathan D. Newman, Alauddin Ahmed, Tariqul Islam, Muhammed Rakibuz-Zaman, Rabiul Hasan, Golam Sarwar, Diane Levy, Vesna Slavkovich, Maria Argos, Molly Scannell Bryan, Shohreh F. Farzan, Richard B. Hayes, Joseph H. Graziano, Habibul Ahsan, Yu Chen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background:

Cross-sectional studies have shown associations between arsenic exposure and prevalence of high blood pressure; however, studies examining the relationship of arsenic exposure with longitudinal changes in blood pressure are lacking.

Method:

We evaluated associations of arsenic exposure in relation to longitudinal change in blood pressure in 10,853 participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS). Arsenic was measured in well water and in urine samples at baseline and in urine samples every 2 years after baseline. Mixed-effect models were used to estimate the association of baseline well and urinary creatinine-adjusted arsenic with annual change in blood pressure …

Effects Of A Clinician Referral And Exercise Program For Men Who Have Completed Active Treatment For Prostate Cancer: A Multicenter Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (Engage)., Patricia M. Livingston, Melinda J. Craike, Jo Salmon, Kerry S. Courneya, Cadeyrn J. Gaskin, Steve F. Fraser, Mohammadreza Mohebbi, Suzanne Broadbent, Mari Botti, Bridie Kent, Engage Uro-Oncology Clinicians' Group

School of Nursing and Midwifery

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a clinician referral and exercise program in improving exercise levels and quality of life for men with prostate cancer. METHODS: This was a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial in Melbourne, Australia comprising 15 clinicians: 8 clinicians were randomized to refer eligible participants (n = 54) to a 12-week exercise program comprising 2 supervised gym sessions and 1 home-based session per week, and 7 clinicians were randomized to follow usual care (n = 93). The primary outcome was self-reported physical activity; the secondary outcomes were quality of life, anxiety, …

Consumption Of Sutherlandia Frutescens By Hiv-Seropositive South African Adults: An Adaptive Double-Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial., Douglas Wilson, Kathy Goggin, Karen Williams, Mary M. Gerkovich, Nceba Gqaleni, James Syce, Patricia Bartman, Quinton Johnson, William R. Folk

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R. Br. is widely used as an over the counter complementary medicine and in traditional medications by HIV seropositive adults living in South Africa; however the plant's safety has not been objectively studied. An adaptive two-stage randomized double-blind placebo controlled study was used to evaluate the safety of consuming dried S. frutescens by HIV seropositive adults with CD4 T-lymphocyte count of >350 cells/μL.

METHODS: In Stage 1 56 participants were randomized to S. frutescens 400, 800 or 1,200 mg twice daily or matching placebo for 24 weeks. In Stage 2 77 additional participants were randomized to …

Fetal, Neonatal, Infant, And Child International Growth Standards: An Unprecedented Opportunity For An Integrated Approach To Assess Growth And Development., Cutberto Garza

Global Health Faculty Publications

The recent publication of fetal growth and gestational age-specific growth standards by the International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century Project and the previous publication by the WHO of infant and young child growth standards based on the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study enable evaluations of growth from ∼9 wk gestation to 5 y. The most important features of these projects are the prescriptive approach used for subject selection and the rigorous testing of the assertion that growth is very similar among geographically and ethnically diverse nonisolated populations when health, nutrition, and other care needs are met …

Treatment Of Severe Metabolic Alkalosis With Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy: Bicarbonate Kinetic Equations Of Clinical Value, Lenar Yessayan, Jerry Yee, Stan Frinak, David Kwon, Balazs Szamosfalvi

Nephrology Articles

Concomitant severe metabolic alkalosis, hypernatremia, and kidney failure pose a therapeutic challenge. Hemodialysis to correct azotemia and abnormal electrolytes results in rapid correction of serum sodium, bicarbonate, and urea but presents a risk for dialysis disequilibrium and brain edema. We describe a patient with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome with persistent encephalopathy, severe metabolic alkalosis (highest bicarbonate 81 mEq/L), hypernatremia (sodium 157 mEq/L), and kidney failure despite 30 hours of intravenous crystalloids and proton pump inhibitor. We used continuous renal replacement therapy (RRT) with delivered hourly urea clearance of ~3 L/hour (24 hour sustained low efficiency dialysis with regional citrate anticoagulation protocol at …

Risk Analysis Of Prostate Cancer In Practical, A Multinational Consortium, Using 25 Known Prostate Cancer Susceptibility Loci., Ali Amin Al Olama, Sara Benlloch, Antonis C Antoniou, Graham G Giles, Gianluca Severi, David E Neal, Freddie C Hamdy, Jenny L Donovan, Kenneth Muir, Johanna Schleutker, Brian E Henderson, Christopher Haiman, Fredrick R Schumacher, Nora Pashayan, Paul D P Pharoah, Elaine A Ostrander, Janet L Stanford, Jyotsna Batra, Judith A Clements, Suzanne K Chambers, Maren Weischer, Børge G Nordestgaard, Sue A Ingles, Karina D Sorensen, Torben F Orntoft, Jong Y Park, Cezary Cybulski, Christiane Maier, Thilo Doerk, Joanne L Dickinson, Lisa Cannon-Albright, Hermann Brenner, Timothy R Rebbeck, Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, Tomonori Habuchi, Stephen N Thibodeau, Kathleen A Cooney, Pierre O Chappuis, Pierre Hutter, Radka P Kaneva, William D Foulkes, Maurice P Zeegers, Yong-Jie Lu, Hong-Wei Zhang, Robert Stephenson, Angela Cox, Melissa C Southey, Amanda B Spurdle, Liesel Fitzgerald, Daniel Leongamornlert, Edward Saunders, Malgorzata Tymrakiewicz, Michelle Guy, Tokhir Dadaev, Sarah J Little, Koveela Govindasami, Emma Sawyer, Rosemary Wilkinson, Kathleen Herkommer, John L Hopper, Aritaya Lophatonanon, Antje E Rinckleb, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Rosalind A Eeles, Douglas F Easton

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk which explain a substantial proportion of familial relative risk. These variants can be used to stratify individuals by their risk of prostate cancer.

METHODS: We genotyped 25 prostate cancer susceptibility loci in 40,414 individuals and derived a polygenic risk score (PRS). We estimated empirical odds ratios (OR) for prostate cancer associated with different risk strata defined by PRS and derived age-specific absolute risks of developing prostate cancer by PRS stratum and family history.

RESULTS: The prostate cancer risk for men in the top 1% of the …

Obesity Early In Adulthood Increases Risk But Does Not Affect Outcomes Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Manal M. Hassan, Reham Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed Kaseb, Ahmed Shalaby, Alexandria Phan, Hashem El-Serag, Ernest Hawk, Jeff Morris, Kanwal Pratap Singh Raghav, Ju-Seog Lee, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Gehan Bortus, Harrys Torres, Christopher Amos, Robert Wolff, Donghui Li

Dartmouth Scholarship

Despite the significant association between obesity and several cancers, it has been difficult to establish an association between obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients with HCC often have ascites, making it a challenge to accurately determine body mass index (BMI), and many factors contribute to the development of HCC. We performed a case–control study to investigate whether obesity early in adulthood affects risk, age of onset, or outcomes of patients with HCC.

Procollagen C-Endopeptidase Enhancer Protein 2 (Pcpe2) Reduces Atherosclerosis In Mice By Enhancing Scavenger Receptor Class B1 (Sr-Bi)-Mediated High-Density Lipoprotein (Hdl)-Cholesteryl Ester Uptake, Ricquita D. Pollard, Christopher N. Blesso, Manal Zabalawi, Brian Fulp, Mark Gerelus, Xuewei Zhu, Erica W. Lyons, Nebil Nuradin, Omar L. Francone, Xiang-An Li, Daisy Sahoo, Michael J. Thomas, Mary G. Sorci-Thomas

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Studies in human populations have shown a significant correlation between procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer protein 2 (PCPE2) single nucleotide polymorphisms and plasma HDL cholesterol concentrations. PCPE2, a 52-kDa glycoprotein located in the extracellular matrix, enhances the cleavage of C-terminal procollagen by bone morphogenetic protein 1 (BMP1). Our studies here focused on investigating the basis for the elevated concentration of enlarged plasma HDL in PCPE2-deficient mice to determine whether they protected against diet-induced atherosclerosis. PCPE2-deficient mice were crossed with LDL receptor-deficient mice to obtain LDLr^-/-, PCPE2^-/- mice, which had elevated HDL levels compared with LDLr^-/- mice with similar …

Integrative Medical Approaches To Allergic Rhinitis, Benjamin F. Asher, Michael Seidman, William D. Reddy, Folashade S. Omole

Otolaryngology Articles

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM), formerly known as alternative medicine, is now part of the mainstream management for patients with a host of medical issues. This current opinion focuses on the use of CIM, more specifically, the use of nutritional and herbal therapies and homeopathic medications for patients with allergic symptoms.

RECENT FINDINGS: The literature review revealed that naturally occurring substances when compared with placebo more often than not resulted in significant improvement of the allergic rhinitis symptoms.

SUMMARY: Despite encouraging results, additional studies with greater rigor are needed.

Genome-Wide Association Study And Admixture Mapping Reveal New Loci Associated With Total Ige Levels In Latinos, Maria Pino-Yanes, Christopher R. Gignoux, Joshua M. Galanter, Albert M. Levin, Catarina D. Campbell, Celeste Eng, Scott Huntsman, Katherine K. Nishimura, Pierre-Antoine Gourraud, Kiana Mohajeri, Brian O'Roak, Donglei Hu, Rasika A. Mathias, Elizabeth A. Nguyen, Lindsey A. Roth, Badri Padhukasahasram, Andres Moreno-Estrada, Karla Sandoval, Cheryl A. Winkler, Fred Lurmann, Adam Davis, Harold J. Farber, Kelley Meade, Pedro C. Avila, Denise Serebrisky, Rocio Chapela, Jean G. Ford, Michael A. Lenoir, Shannon M. Thyne, Emerita Brigino-Buenaventura, Luisa N. Borrell, William Rodriguez-Cintron, Saunak Sen, Rajesh Kumar, Jose R. Rodriguez-Santana, Carlos D. Bustamante, Fernando D. Martinez, Benjamin A. Raby, Scott T. Weiss, Dan L. Nicolae, Carole Ober, Deborah A. Meyers, Eugene R. Bleecker, Steven J. Mack, Ryan D. Hernandez, Evan E. Eichler, Kathleen C. Barnes, Keoki L. Williams, Dara G. Torgerson, Esteban G. Burchard

Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research Articles

BACKGROUND: IgE is a key mediator of allergic inflammation, and its levels are frequently increased in patients with allergic disorders.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify genetic variants associated with IgE levels in Latinos.

METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study and admixture mapping of total IgE levels in 3334 Latinos from the Genes-environments & Admixture in Latino Americans (GALA II) study. Replication was evaluated in 454 Latinos, 1564 European Americans, and 3187 African Americans from independent studies.

RESULTS: We confirmed associations of 6 genes identified by means of previous genome-wide association studies and identified a novel genome-wide significant association of …

Understanding Nucleus Pulposus Cell Phenotype: A Prerequisite For Stem Cell Based Therapies To Treat Intervertebral Disc Degeneration., Hyowon Choi, Zariel I. Johnson, Makarand V. Risbud

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and associated low back pain (LBP) remains a major burden to our society without significant improvements in treatment strategies or patient's quality of life. While the recent cell-transplantation studies for treatment of degenerative disc disease have shown promising results, to better gauge the success and functional outcomes of these therapies, it is crucial to understand if transplanted cells give rise to healthy nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue. NP cell phenotype is unique and is defined by expression of a characteristic set of markers that reflect specialized physiology and function. This review summarizes phenotypic markers that mirror the …

Hypertension In Ckd: Sodium Still At The Nexus, Jerry Yee

Nephrology Articles

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Pharmacist-Led Medication Assessment Used To Identify Prevalence Of And Associations With Polypharmacy And Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use Among Ambulatory Senior Adults With Cancer., Ginah Nightingale, Emily Hajjar, Kristine Swartz, Jocelyn Andrel-Sendecki, Andrew Chapman

College of Pharmacy Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: The use of multiple and/or inappropriate medications in seniors is a significant public health problem, and cancer treatment escalates its prevalence and complexity. Existing studies are limited by patient self-report and medical record extraction compared with a pharmacist-led comprehensive medication assessment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined medication use in ambulatory senior adults with cancer to determine the prevalence of polypharmacy (PP) and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use and associated factors. PP was defined as concurrent use of five or more and less than 10 medications, and excessive polypharmacy (EPP) was defined as 10 or more medications. PIMs were …

Cell Signaling Events Differentiate Er-Negative Subtypes From Er-Positive Breast Cancer, Maria Worsham, Dhananjay A. Chitale, Kang-Mei Chen, Indrani Datta, George Divine

Otolaryngology Articles

Currently available markers routinely used in clinical practice are of limited value to patients with estrogen receptor-negative (ER(-)) breast cancer [basal-like and HER2neu-positive (HER(+))], an aggressive subtype. Our aim was to uncover molecular pathways and signaling networks exposed by differentially methylated genes informative of the biology of ER(-) breast cancer (BC) subtypes versus ER-positive (ER(+)). Whole-genome methylation array analysis was carried out using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation27 BeadChip on 14 primary BC: five ER(+), four triple-negative (TNBC), and five ER(-)HER2(+). Degree of methylation was calculated as a β-value (ranging from 0 to 1), and M-values [log (β/(1 - β)] were …

Sex-Specific Parental Effects On Offspring Lipid Levels, Irene M. Predazzi, Rafal S. Sobota, Serena Sanna, William S. Bush, Jacquelaine Bartlett, Jessica S. Lilley, Macrae F. Linton, David Schlessinger, Francesco Cucca, Sergio Fazio, Scott M. Williams

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background:

Plasma lipid levels are highly heritable traits, but known genetic loci can only explain a small portion of their heritability.

Methods and Results:

In this study, we analyzed the role of parental levels of total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and triglycerides (TGs) in explaining the values of the corresponding traits in adult offspring. We also evaluated the contribution of nongenetic factors that influence lipid traits (age, body mass index, smoking, medications, and menopause) alone and in combination with variability at the genetic loci known to associate with TC, LDL‐C, HDL‐C, and TG levels. …

Adolescent And Adult African Americans Have Similar Metabolic Dyslipidemia., Samuel S. Gidding, Scott W. Keith, Bonita Falkner

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: African Americans (AAs) have lower triglyceride (TG) and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than other ethnic groups; yet, they also have higher risk for developing diabetes mellitus despite the strong relationship of dyslipidemia with insulin resistance. No studies directly compare adolescents and adults with regard to relationships among dyslipidemia, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and insulin resistance. Here, we compare AA adolescents to adults with regard to the relationships of adiposity-related lipid risk markers (TG-to-HDL ratio and non-HDL-C) with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA), and hs-CRP.

METHODS: Two cohorts of healthy AA …

Increasing Adipocyte Lipoprotein Lipase Improves Glucose Metabolism In High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, R. Grace Walton, Beibei Zhu, Resat Unal, Michael Spencer, Manjula Sunkara, Andrew J. Morris, Richard Charnigo, Wendy S. Katz, Alan Daugherty, Deborah A. Howatt, Philip A. Kern, Brian S. Finlin

Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center Faculty Publications

Lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle contributes to co-morbidities associated with diabetes and obesity. We made a transgenic mouse in which the adiponectin (Adipoq) promoter drives expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in adipocytes to potentially increase adipose tissue lipid storage. These mice (Adipoq-LPL) have improved glucose and insulin tolerance as well as increased energy expenditure when challenged with a high fat diet (HFD). To identify the mechanism(s) involved, we determined whether the Adipoq-LPL mice diverted dietary lipid to adipose tissue to reduce peripheral lipotoxicity, but we found no evidence for this. Instead, characterization …

Can Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Signatures And Enantiomer Fractions Be Used For Source Identification And To Age Date Occupational Exposure?, David Megson, Jean Françios Focant, Donald G. Patterson, Matthew Robson, Maeve C. Lohan, Paul J. Worsfold, Sean Comber, Robert Kalin, Eric Reiner, Gwen O'Sullivan

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Detailed polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) signatures and chiral Enantiomer Fractions (EFs) of CB-95, CB-136 and CB-149 were measured for 30 workers at a transformer dismantling plant. This was undertaken to identify sources of exposure and investigate changes to the PCB signature and EFs over different exposure periods. Approximately 1.5 g of serum was extracted and PCB signatures were created through analysis by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS) and EFs calculated following analysis by gas chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). A total of 84 PCBs were identified in the serum samples with concentrations of the 7 …

Identifying Cases Of Undiagnosed, Clinically Significant Copd In Primary Care: Qualitative Insight From Patients In The Target Population, Nancy K. Leidy, Katherine Kim, Elizabeth D. Bacci, Barbara P. Yawn, David M. Mannino, Byron M. Thomashow, R. Graham Barr, Stephen I. Rennard, Julia F. Houfek, Meilan K. Han, Catherine A. Meldrum, Barry J. Make, Russ P. Bowler, Anna W. Steenrod, Lindsey T. Murray, John W. Walsh, Fernando Martinez

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Many cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are diagnosed only after significant loss of lung function or during exacerbations.

AIMS: This study is part of a multi-method approach to develop a new screening instrument for identifying undiagnosed, clinically significant COPD in primary care.

METHODS: Subjects with varied histories of COPD diagnosis, risk factors and history of exacerbations were recruited through five US clinics (four pulmonary, one primary care). Phase I: Eight focus groups and six telephone interviews were conducted to elicit descriptions of risk factors for COPD, recent or historical acute respiratory events, and symptoms to inform the …

Management Of The Hospitalized Transplant Patient., Brian P. Boerner, Vijay Shivaswamy, Whitney Goldner, Jennifer Larsen

Journal Articles: Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism

Significant hyperglycemia is commonly observed immediately after solid organ and bone marrow transplant as well as with subsequent hospitalizations. Surgery and procedures are well known to cause pain and stress leading to secretion of cytokines and other hormones known to aggravate insulin action. Immunosuppression required for transplant and preexisting risk are also major factors. Glucose control improves outcomes for all hospitalized patients, including transplant patients, but is often more challenging to achieve because of frequent and sometimes unpredictable changes in immunosuppression doses, renal function, and nutrition. As a result, risk of hypoglycemia can be greater in this patient group when …

Chaperone Hsp47 Drives Malignant Growth And Invasion By Modulating An Ecm Gene Network, Jieqing Zhu, Gaofeng Xiong, Hanjiang Fu, B. Mark Evers, Binhua P. Zhou, Ren Xu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a determining factor in the tumor microenvironment that restrains or promotes malignant growth. In this report, we show how the molecular chaperone protein Hsp47 functions as a nodal hub in regulating an ECM gene transcription network. A transcription network analysis showed that Hsp47 expression was activated during breast cancer development and progression. Hsp47 silencing reprogrammed human breast cancer cells to form growth-arrested and/or noninvasive structures in 3D cultures, and to limit tumor growth in xenograft assays by reducing deposition of collagen and fibronectin. Coexpression network analysis also showed that levels of microRNA(miR)-29b and -29c were …

Inpatient Management Of Migraine, Michael J. Marmura, Stephanie Wrobel Goldberg

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Migraine is a frequently disabling disorder which may require inpatient treatment. Admission criteria for migraine include intractable migraine, nausea and/or vomiting, severe disability, and dependence on opioids or barbiturates. The inpatient treatment of migraine is based on observational studies and expert opinion rather than placebo-controlled trials. Well-established inpatient treatments for migraine include dihydroergotamine, neuroleptics/antiemetics, lidocaine, intravenous aspirin, and non-pharmacologic treatment such as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Short-acting treatments possibly associated with medication overuse, such as triptans, opioids, or barbiturate-containing compounds, are generally avoided. While the majority of persons with migraine are admitted on an emergency basis for only a few days, outcome …

Development And Pilot Feasibility Study Of A Health Information Technology Tool To Calculate Mortality Risk For Patients With Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis: The Carotid Risk Assessment Tool (Carat), Adrienne E. Faerber, Rebecca Horvath, Carey Stillman, Melissa L. O'Connell, Amy L. Hamilton, Karina A. Newhall, Donald S. Likosky, Philip P. Goodney

Dartmouth Scholarship

Patients with no history of stroke but with stenosis of the carotid arteries can reduce the risk of future stroke with surgery or stenting. At present, a physicians’ ability to recommend optimal treatments based on an individual’s risk profile requires estimating the likelihood that a patient will have a poor peri-operative outcomes and the likelihood that the patient will survive long enough to gain benefit from the procedure. We describe the development of the CArotid Risk Assessment Tool (CARAT) into a 2-year mortality risk calculator within the electronic medical record, integrating the tool into the clinical workflow, training the clinical …

Lifelong Physical Exercise Delays Age-Associated Skeletal Muscle Decline., S Zampieri, L Pietrangelo, S Loefler, H Fruhmann, M Vogelauer, S Burggraf, A Pond, M Grim-Stieger, J Cvecka, M Sedliak, V Tirpáková, W Mayr, N Sarabon, K Rossini, L Barberi, M De Rossi, V Romanello, S Boncompagni, A Musarò, M Sandri, F Protasi, U Carraro, H Kern

Publications

Aging is usually accompanied by a significant reduction in muscle mass and force. To determine the relative contribution of inactivity and aging per se to this decay, we compared muscle function and structure in (a) male participants belonging to a group of well-trained seniors (average of 70 years) who exercised regularly in their previous 30 years and (b) age-matched healthy sedentary seniors with (c) active young men (average of 27 years). The results collected show that relative to their sedentary cohorts, muscle from senior sportsmen have: (a) greater maximal isometric force and function, (b) better preserved fiber morphology and ultrastructure …

Biomarkers Of Animal Health: Integrating Nutritional Ecology, Endocrine Ecophysiology, Ecoimmunology, And Geospatial Ecology, Robin Warne, Glenn Proudfoot, Erica Crespi

Publications

Diverse biomarkers including stable isotope, hormonal, and ecoimmunological assays are powerful tools to assess animal condition. However, an integrative approach is necessary to provide the context essential to understanding how biomarkers reveal animal health in varied ecological conditions. A barrier to such integration is a general lack of awareness of how shared extraction methods from across fields can provide material from the same animal tissues for diverse biomarker assays. In addition, the use of shared methods for extracting differing tissue fractions can also provide biomarkers for how animal health varies across time. Specifically, no study has explicitly illustrated the depth …

Identifying Cases Of Undiagnosed, Clinically Significant Copd In Primary Care: Qualitative Insight From Patients In The Target Population, Nancy K. Leidy, Katherine Kim, Elizabeth D. Bacci, Barbara P. Yawn, David M. Mannino, Byron M. Thomashow, R. Graham Barr, Stephen I. Rennard, Julia F. Houfek, Meilan K. Han, Catherine A. Meldrum, Barry J. Make, Russ P. Bowler, Anna W. Steenrod, Lindsey T. Murray, John W. Walsh, Fernando Martinez, High-Risk-Copd Screening Study Group

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

BACKGROUND: Many cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are diagnosed only after significant loss of lung function or during exacerbations.

AIMS: This study is part of a multi-method approach to develop a new screening instrument for identifying undiagnosed, clinically significant COPD in primary care.

METHODS: Subjects with varied histories of COPD diagnosis, risk factors and history of exacerbations were recruited through five US clinics (four pulmonary, one primary care). Phase I: Eight focus groups and six telephone interviews were conducted to elicit descriptions of risk factors for COPD, recent or historical acute respiratory events, and symptoms to inform the …

The Effect Of Statins On Blood Gene Expression In Copd, Ma'en Obeidat, Nick Fishbane, Yunlong Nie, Virginia Chen, Zsuzsanna Hollander, Scottj Tebbutt, Yohan Bossé, Raymond T. Ng, Bruce E. Miller, Bruce Mcmanus, Stephen I. Rennard, Peter D. Paré, Don D. Sin

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

BACKGROUND: COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Statins are lipid lowering agents with documented cardiovascular benefits. Observational studies have shown that statins may have a beneficial role in COPD. The impact of statins on blood gene expression from COPD patients is largely unknown.

OBJECTIVE: Identify blood gene signature associated with statin use in COPD patients, and the pathways underpinning this signature that could explain any potential benefits in COPD.

METHODS: Whole blood gene expression was measured on 168 statin users and 451 non-users from the ECLIPSE study using the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.1 ST microarray chips. …

Mk591, A Second Generation Leukotriene Biosynthesis Inhibitor, Prevents Invasion And Induces Apoptosis In The Bone-Invading C4-2b Human Prostate Cancer Cells: Implications For The Treatment Of Castration-Resistant, Bone-Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Sivalokanathan Sarveswaran, Ritisha Ghosh, Shravan Morisetty, Jagadananda Ghosh

Urology Articles

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a major clinical challenge for which no cure is currently available primarily because of the lack of proper understanding about appropriate molecular target(s). Previously we observed that inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-Lox) activity induces apoptosis in some types of prostate cancer cells, suggesting an important role of 5-Lox in the viability of prostate cancer cells. However, nothing is known about the role of 5-Lox in the survival of castration-resistant, metastatic prostate cancer cells. Thus, we tested the effects of MK591, a second-generation, specific inhibitor of 5-Lox activity, on the viability and metastatic characteristics of CRPC cells. …

Undernutrition And Associated Risk Factors Among School Age Children In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dawit Degarege, Abraham Degarege, Abebe Animut

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Causes of child undernutrition are diverse and change in space and time. Investigating current determinants of undernutrition remains vital to design an effective intervention strategy. The study assessed prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among children living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

METHODS: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 459 school age children and their parents or caregivers living in Lideta sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Height and weight of children was measured and their parents or care givers were interviewed for factors associated with undernutrition.

RESULTS: About …

Discrimination Of Mild Cognitive Impairment And Alzheimer's Disease Using Transfer Entropy Measures Of Scalp Eeg, Joseph Mcbride, Xiaopeng Zhao, Nancy Munro, Gregory Jicha, Charles Smith, Yang Jiang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurological condition related to early stages of dementia including Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigates the potential of measures of transfer entropy in scalp EEG for effectively discriminating between normal aging, MCI, and AD participants. Resting EEG records from 48 age-matched participants (mean age 75.7 years)-15 normal controls, 16 MCI, and 17 early AD-are examined. The mean temporal delays corresponding to peaks in inter-regional transfer entropy are computed and used as features to discriminate between the three groups of participants. Three-way classification schemes based on binary support vector machine models demonstrate overall discrimination accuracies …