Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Cold Plasma On Glial Cell Morphology Studied By Atomic Force Microscopy., Nina Recek, Xiaoqian Cheng, Michael Keidar, Uros Cvelbar, Alenka Vesel, Miran Mozetic, Jonathan Sherman

Neurological Surgery Faculty Publications

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is broadly used to study the morphology of cells. The morphological characteristics and differences of the cell membrane between normal human astrocytes and glial tumor cells are not well explored. Following treatment with cold atmospheric plasma, evaluation of the selective effect of plasma on cell viability of tumor cells is poorly understood and requires further evaluation. Using AFM we imaged morphology of glial cells before and after cold atmospheric plasma treatment. To look more closely at the effect of plasma on cell membrane, high resolution imaging was used. We report the differences between normal human …

Educational Neuroscience, Constructivism, And The Mediation Of Learning And Creativity In The 21st Century., M. Layne Kalbfleisch

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Absolute Reticulocyte Count Acts As A Surrogate For Fetal Hemoglobin In Infants And Children With Sickle Cell Anemia., Emily Riehm Meier, Colleen Byrnes, Maxine Weissman, Y Terry Lee, Jeffery L Miller

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Hemoglobin switching is largely complete in humans by six months of age. Among infants with sickle cell anemia (HbSS, SCA), reticulocytosis begins early in life as fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is replaced by sickle hemoglobin (HbS). The objective of this study was to determine if absolute reticulocyte count (ARC) is related to HbF levels in a cohort of pediatric SCA patients. A convenience sample of 106 children with SCA between the ages of 1 month and 20 years who were not receiving hydroxyurea or monthly blood transfusions were enrolled in this observational study. Hematologic data, including ARC and HbF levels, were …

Characterizing The Propagation Of Uterine Electrophysiological Signals Recorded With A Multi-Sensor Abdominal Array In Term Pregnancies., Diana Escalona-Vargas, Rathinaswamy B. Govindan, Adrian Furdea, Pam Murphy, Curtis L Lowery, Hari Eswaran

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to quantify the number of segments that have contractile activity and determine the propagation speed from uterine electrophysiological signals recorded over the abdomen. The uterine magnetomyographic (MMG) signals were recorded with a 151 channel SARA (SQUID Array for Reproductive Assessment) system from 36 pregnant women between 37 and 40 weeks of gestational age. The MMG signals were scored and segments were classified based on presence of uterine contractile burst activity. The sensor space was then split into four quadrants and in each quadrant signal strength at each sample was calculated using center-of-gravity (COG). To …

Making The Leap From Research Laboratory To Clinic: Challenges And Opportunities For Next-Generation Sequencing In Infectious Disease Diagnostics., Brittany Goldberg, Heike Sichtig, Chelsie Geyer, Nathan Ledeboer, George M Weinstock

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) has progressed enormously over the past decade, transforming genomic analysis and opening up many new opportunities for applications in clinical microbiology laboratories. The impact of NGS on microbiology has been revolutionary, with new microbial genomic sequences being generated daily, leading to the development of large databases of genomes and gene sequences. The ability to analyze microbial communities without culturing organisms has created the ever-growing field of metagenomics and microbiome analysis and has generated significant new insights into the relation between host and microbe. The medical literature contains many examples of how this new technology can be …

Genes Required For Survival In Microgravity Revealed By Genome-Wide Yeast Deletion Collections Cultured During Spaceflight, Corey Nislow, Anna Y. Lee, Patricia L. Allen, Guri Giaever, Andrew Smith, Marinella Gebbia, Louis S. Stodieck, Jeffrey S. Hammond, Holly H. Birdsall, Timothy R. Hammond

Medicine Faculty Publications

Spaceflight is a unique environment with profound effects on biological systems including tissue redistribution and musculoskeletal stresses. However, the more subtle biological effects of spaceflight on cells and organisms are difficult to measure in a systematic, unbiased manner. Here we test the utility of the molecularly barcoded yeast deletion collection to provide a quantitative assessment of the effects of microgravity on a model organism. We developed robust hardware to screen, in parallel, the complete collection of ~4800 homozygous and ~5900 heterozygous (including ~1100 single-copy deletions of essential genes) yeast deletion strains, each carrying unique DNA that acts as strain identifiers. …

Integrating Spirituality As A Key Component Of Patient Care, Suzette Bremault-Phillips, Joanne Olson, Pamela Brett-Maclean, Doreen Oneschuk, Shane Sinclair, Ralph Magnus, Jeanne Weis, Marjan Abbasi, Jasneet Parmar, Christina M. Puchalski

Medicine Faculty Publications

Patient care frequently focuses on physical aspects of disease management, with variable attention given to spiritual needs. And yet, patients indicate that spiritual suffering adds to distress associated with illness. Spirituality, broadly defined as that which gives meaning and purpose to a person’s life and connectedness to the significant or sacred, often becomes a central issue for patients. Growing evidence demonstrates that spirituality is important in patient care. Yet healthcare professionals (HCPs) do not always feel prepared to engage with patients about spiritual issues. In this project, HCPs attended an educational session focused on using the FICA Spiritual History Tool …

Cardiac Metabolomics And Autopsy In A Patient With Early Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis Presenting With Dyspnea: A Case Report, Tracy M. Frech, Monica P. Revelo, John J. Ryan, Ami A. Shah, Jessica Gordon, Victoria K. Shanmugam, +11 Additional Authors

Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction Diffuse systemic sclerosis is associated with high mortality; however, the pathogenesis of cardiac death in these patients is not clear.

Case presentation A 56-year-old Caucasian female patient presented with dyspnea and requested to donate her body to science in order to improve understanding of diffuse systemic sclerosis pathogenesis. She had extensive testing for dyspnea including pulmonary function tests, an echocardiogram, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and right heart catheterization to characterize her condition. Her case highlights the morbidity seen in this disease, including the presence of extensive skin thickening, digital ulcerations, and scleroderma renal crisis.

Conclusion In this case report, …

Feasibility Of Focused Cardiac Ultrasound In Pre-Participation Screening, Miriam L. Fishman, Jennifer Shea, Brian G. Choi, Allen J. Solomon

Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: Current American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for pre-participation athletic screening recommend a 12-point history and exam to minimize the risk of sudden cardiac death. We tested the hypothesis that focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) performed and simultaneously interpreted by a cardiologist using a handheld ultrasound device would be a feasible addition. Methods: We performed pre-participation screening according to AHA recommendations on high school athletes in a multi-purpose room at their school. In addition to the standard 12-point assessment, a cardiologist simultaneously performed and interpreted a FCU on each athlete using a handheld ultrasound. Results: The mean age of the athletes …

Reactivation Of Latent Hiv-1 Provirus Via Targeting Protein Phosphatase-1., Mudit Tyagi, Sergey Iordanskiy, Tatyana Ammosova, Namita Kumari, Kahli Smith, + 9 More

Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

HIV-1 escapes antiretroviral drugs by integrating into the host DNA and forming a latent transcriptionally silent HIV-1 provirus. This provirus presents the major hurdle in HIV-1 eradication and cure. Transcriptional activation, which is prerequisite for reactivation and the eradication of latent proviruses, is impaired in latently infected T cells due to the lack of host transcription factors, primarily NF-κB and P-TEFb (CDK9/cyclin T1). We and others previously showed that protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) regulates HIV-1 transcription by modulating CDK9 phosphorylation. Recently we have developed a panel of small molecular compounds targeting a non-catalytic site of PP1.

RESULTS:

Here we generated …

Lithium As An Alternative Option In Graves Thyrotoxicosis, Ishita Prakash, Eric S. Nylen, Sabyasachi Sen

Medicine Faculty Publications

A 67-year-old woman was admitted with signs and symptoms of Graves thyrotoxicosis. Biochemistry results were as follows: TSH was undetectable; FT4 was >6.99 ng/dL (0.7–1.8); FT3 was 18 pg/mL (3–5); TSI was 658% (0–139). Thyroid uptake and scan showed diffusely increased tracer uptake in the thyroid gland. The patient was started on methimazole 40 mg BID, but her LFTs elevated precipitously with features of fulminant hepatitis. Methimazole was determined to be the cause and was stopped. After weighing pros and cons, lithium was initiated to treat her persistent thyrotoxicosis. Lithium 300 mg was given daily with a goal to maintain …

Acupuncture And Postpartum Pyogenic Sacroiliitis: A Case Report., Farida Millwala, Shuo Chen, Vladislav Tsaltskan, Gary Simon

Medicine Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Pyogenic sacroiliitis, a rare form of septic arthritis, occurs in patients following trauma, intravenous drug use, genitourinary infections and pregnancy. Here we report a rare case where both acupuncture and pregnancy served as predisposing risk factors to the development of this infection.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 33-year-old white woman received several sessions of acupuncture treatment during her gestation at the site of her sacroiliac joint for sciatica; she developed biopsy-confirmed sacroiliitis with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus during the immediate postpartum period. The diagnosis, medical management and treatment course are described.

CONCLUSIONS: Low back and pelvic pain are common conditions during pregnancy …

Isolation Of Leclercia Adecarboxylata From A Patient With A Subungual Splinter., Rina Allawh, Brendan J Camp

Medicine Faculty Publications

Leclercia adecarboxylata is a rarely described motile, aerobic, gram-negative bacillus reported to cause clinically significant solitary infections in immunocompromised patients and polymicrobial wound infections in immunocompetent patients [1-5]. We present a case of a polymicrobial infection including L. adecarboxylata in a healthy female patient with a subungual splinter, to increase awareness and aid in the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous L. adecarboxylata infections. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of trauma-related subungual L. adecarboxylata infection reported in the dermatology literature.

Diagnostic Ultrasound Estimates Of Muscle Mass And Muscle Quality Discriminate Between Women With And Without Sarcopenia, Catheeja Ismail, Johannah Zabal, Haniel J. Hernandez, Paula Woletz, Heather Manning, Carla Teixeira, Loretta Dipietro, Marc R. Blackman, Michael O. Harris-Love

Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction: Age-related changes in muscle mass and muscle tissue composition contribute to diminished strength in older adults. The objectives of this study are to examine if an assessment method using mobile diagnostic ultrasound augments well-known determinants of lean body mass (LBM) to aid sarcopenia staging, and if a sonographic measure of muscle quality is associated with muscle performance.

Methods: Twenty community-dwelling female subjects participated in the study (age = 43.4 ±20.9 years; BMI: 23.8, interquartile range: 8.5). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and diagnostic ultrasound morphometry were used to estimate LBM. Muscle tissue quality was estimated via the echogenicity using …

Genetic Modification Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Helps To Reduce Adiposity And Improve Glucose Tolerance In An Obese Diabetic Mouse Model., Sabyasachi Sen, Cleyton C. Domingues, Carol Rouphael, Cyril Chou, Chul Kim, Nagendra Yadava

Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Repeated Plasmodium Vivax Malaria Relapses In A Peruvian Sailor., Adam P. Mcfarland, Juan F Sanchez, Alejandro Mercado, Julio A Ventocilla, Sofia Cavalcanti, Sofia Gonzalez, Andres G Lescano

Medicine Faculty Publications

Two Plasmodium vivax recurrences in a Peruvian sailor with weight above the 60 kg (cap for primaquine dosage) highlight the importance of adequate radical cure weight dosage for patient treatment and control efforts, particularly within the military.

The Development And Application Of An Oncology Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist For Adults (Trsc) And Children (Trsc-C) And E-Health Applications., Arthur R Williams, David D Williams, Phoebe D Williams, Farrokh Alemi, Hosai Hesham, Blaine Donley, Raya Kheirbek

Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Studies found that treatment symptoms of concern to oncology/hematology patients were greatly under-identified in medical records. On average, 11.0 symptoms were reported of concern to patients compared to 1.5 symptoms identified in their medical records. A solution to this problem is use of an electronic symptom checklist that can be easily accessed by patients prior to clinical consultations.

PURPOSE: Describe the oncology Therapy-Related Symptom Checklists for Adults (TRSC) and Children (TRSC-C), which are validated bases for e-Health symptom documentation and management. The TRSC has 25 items/symptoms; the TRSC-C has 30 items/symptoms. These items capture up to 80% of the …

Meeting The Challenge Of Abortion As A Topic In Medical Education, Julia B. Frank, Seema Kakar, Gisela Butera, Maria Jarkowiec, Suzanne Gouda

Medicine Faculty Posters and Presentations

Abortions typically occur outside of academic medical centers, in a highly politicized context. As adult learners. students may have well formed beliefs about abortion. Few schools address the subject in the clinical years and even fewer in the pre-clinical years. Fulfilling the APGO mandate to provide abortion education requires the development of innovative approaches.

Genetic Modifiers Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy And Dilated Cardiomyopathy., Andrea Barp, Luca Bello, Luisa Politano, Paola Melacini, Chiara Calore, Eric P. Hoffman, +16 Additional Authors

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major complication and leading cause of death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DCM onset is variable, suggesting modifier effects of genetic or environmental factors. We aimed to determine if polymorphisms previously associated with age at loss of independent ambulation (LoA) in DMD (rs28357094 in the SPP1 promoter, rs10880 and the VTTT/IAAM haplotype in LTBP4) also modify DCM onset.

METHODS: A multicentric cohort of 178 DMD patients was genotyped by TaqMan assays. We performed a time-to-event analysis of DCM onset, with age as time variable, and finding of left ventricular ejection fraction < 50% and/or end diastolic volume > 70 mL/m2 as …

Transcriptional Pathways Associated With Skeletal Muscle Changes After Spinal Cord Injury And Treadmill Locomotor Training., Celine Baligand, Yi-Wen Chen, Fan Ye, Sachchida Nand Pandey, San-Huei Lai, Min Liu, Krista Vandenborne

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

The genetic and molecular events associated with changes in muscle mass and function after SCI and after the implementation of candidate therapeutic approaches are still not completely known. The overall objective of this study was to identify key molecular pathways activated with muscle remodeling after SCI and locomotor training. We implemented treadmill training in a well-characterized rat model of moderate SCI and performed genome wide expression profiling on soleus muscles at multiple time points: 3, 8, and 14 days after SCI. We found that the activity of the protein ubiquitination and mitochondrial function related pathways was altered with SCI and …

Quit4baby: Results From A Pilot Test Of A Mobile Smoking Cessation Program For Pregnant Women, Lorien C. Abroms, Judy M. Van Alstyne, Christina L. Heminger, Leah E. Leavitt, Jennifer M. Schindler-Ruwisch

GW Research Days 2015

Background: Text messaging programs have been shown to be effective in helping adult smokers quit smoking. This study describes the results of a pilot test of Quit4baby, a smoking cessation text messaging program for pregnant smokers that was adapted from Text2quit.

Objective: The study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of Quit4baby for women currently enrolled in Text4baby, a perinatal health text messaging program.

Methods: Pregnant women enrolled in Text4baby and who were current smokers or had quit within the last 4 weeks (N=20) were enrolled in Quit4baby. Those under age 18, not pregnant, not current smokers, …

Nitric Oxide Generating/Releasing Materials, Honying Liang, Parimala Nacharaju, Adam J. Friedman, Joel Friedman

Dermatology Faculty Publications

Harnessing the impressive therapeutic potential of nitric oxide (NO) remains an ongoing challenge. This paper describes several of the current strategies both with respect to the underlying chemistry and physics and to the applications where they have shown promise. Included in this overview are molecular systems such as NONOates that release NO through chemical reactions and delivery vehicles such as nanoparticles that can generate, store, transport and deliver NO and related bioactive forms of NO such as nitrosothiols. Although there has been much positive movement, it is clear that we are only at the early stages of knowing how to …

Complications And Predictors Of Need For Return To The Operating Room In The Treatment Of Supracondylar Humerus Fractures In Children, Matthew E. Oetgen, Gudrun E. Mirick, Lara Atwater, John F. Lovejoy

Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Publications

Supracondylar humerus fractures are common pediatric injuries. Little is known about the risk factors for repeat operative procedures. A retrospective chart review of 709 patients treated for a displaced supracondylar humerus fracture was performed to identify risk factors for return to the operating room during the initial post-operative period. Deviations of routine fracture care were recorded and complication rates were compared between Gartland type 2 and 3 fractures using logistic regression. Type 3 fractures were found to have a higher complication rate, and, specifically, more peri-operative nerve palsies, more likely to need to return to the operating room for hardware …

Initial Report Of The Osteogenesis Imperfecta Adult Natural History Initiative., Laura L. Tosi, Matthew E. Oetgen, Marianne K Floor, Mary Beth Huber, Ann M Kennelly, Robert J. Mccarter, +5 Additional Authors

Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of the natural history of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) in adulthood should improve health care for patients with this rare condition.

METHODS: The Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation established the Adult Natural History Initiative (ANHI) in 2010 to give voice to the health concerns of the adult OI community and to begin to address existing knowledge gaps for this condition. Using a web-based platform, 959 adults with self-reported OI, representing a wide range of self-reported disease severity, reported symptoms and health conditions, estimated the impact of these concerns on present and future health-related quality of life (QoL) and completed …

Optical Measurement Of Skin Temperature In Mr-Hifu, Daniel Yang, Haydar Celik, Doug Wackerle, David Kinnaird, Avinash Eranki, Matthew E. Oetgen, Aerang Kim, Karun Sharma, Harry Kim, Peter Kim, Pavel Yarmolenko

Pediatrics Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

An Innovative Interactive Modeling Tool To Analyze Scenario-Based Physician Workforce Supply And Demand, Saurabh Gupta, W. Stephen Black-Schaffer, James M. Crawford, David Gross, Donald S. Karcher, Jill Kaufman, +13 Additional Authors

Pathology Faculty Publications

Effective physician workforce management requires that the various organizations comprising the House of Medicine be able to assess their current and future workforce supply. This information has direct relevance to funding of graduate medical education. We describe a dynamic modeling tool that examines how individual factors and practice variables can be used to measure and forecast the supply and demand for existing and new physician services. The system we describe, while built to analyze the pathologist workforce, is sufficiently broad and robust for use in any medical specialty. Our design provides a computer-based software model populated with data from surveys …

The Transcriptional Profile Of Coronary Arteritis In Kawasaki Disease., Anne H Rowley, Kristine M Wylie, Kwang-Youn A Kim, Adam J Pink, Amy Yang, Jan M. Orenstein, +6 Additional Authors

Pathology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki Disease (KD) can cause potentially life-threatening coronary arteritis in young children, and has a likely infectious etiology. Transcriptome profiling is a powerful approach to investigate gene expression in diseased tissues. RNA sequencing of KD coronary arteries could elucidate the etiology and the host response, with the potential to improve KD diagnosis and/or treatment.

METHODS: Deep RNA sequencing was performed on KD (n = 8) and childhood control (n = 7) coronary artery tissues, revealing 1074 differentially expressed mRNAs. Non-human RNA sequences were subjected to a microbial discovery bioinformatics platform, and microbial sequences were analyzed by Metastats for association …

Gene Function In Schistosomes: Recent Advances Toward A Cure, Arnon D. Jurburg, Paul J. Brindley

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cervical Instability In Klippel-Feil Syndrome: Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Aaron Wessell, Peter Derosa, Abraham Cherrick, Jonathan H. Sherman

Neurological Surgery Faculty Publications

Background

The authors present a case of cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy in the setting of multiple Klippel-Feil syndrome abnormalities treated surgically with a single-level C3–C4 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. We discuss the clinical presentation, radiographic findings, and various treatment options for cervical spine abnormalities in Klippel-Feil syndrome.

Case Presentation

This 22-year-old female with Klippel-Feil syndrome presented with intermittent neck pain, left upper extremity weakness, and paresthesias. Preoperative MRI, CT, and X-rays of the cervical spine revealed anterolisthesis at C3/4 with unstable movement on flexion and extension imaging. In addition, there were multiple segmental fusion abnormalities including hemivertebrae and other …

Impact Of Prenatal Environmental Stress On Cortical Development, Seiji Ishii, Kazue Hashimoto-Torii

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Prenatal exposure of the developing brain to various types of environmental stress increases susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. Given that even subtle perturbations by prenatal environmental stress in the cerebral cortex impair the cognitive and memory functions, this review focuses on underlying molecular mechanisms of pathological cortical development. We especially highlight recent works that utilized animal exposure models, human specimens or/and induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells to demonstrate: 1. molecular mechanisms shared by various types of environmental stressors, 2. the mechanisms by which the affected extracortical tissues indirectly impact the cortical development …