Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Itraconazole-Induced Torsade De Pointes In A Patient Receiving Methadone Substitution Therapy, Noorzurani Robson Associate Prof. Dr., B. Vicknasingam, S. Narayanan

Associate Prof. Dr. Noorzurani Robson

Issues. Methadone, a pharmacological agent used to treat heroin dependence is relatively safe, but may cause cardiac arrhythmias in the concurrent presence of other risk factors. Approach and Key Findings. This case report highlights the risk of Torsade de Pointes, a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia, in a heroin-dependent patient receiving methadone substitution therapy who was prescribed itraconazole for vaginal thrush. The patient presented to the accident and emergency department for chest discomfort and an episode of syncope following two doses of itraconazole (200 mg). Electrocardiogram monitoring at the accident and emergency department showed prolonged rate-corrected QT interval leading to Torsade de …

Ppar Agonists Down-Regulate The Expression Of Atp10c Mrna During Adipogenesis, A Peretich, Maria Cekanova Ms, Rndr, Phd, S Hurst, Sj Baek, Madhu Dahr

Maria Cekanova MS, RNDr, PhD

No abstract provided.

Modeling Brain Tumors Using Avian Retroviral Gene Transfer, Tod D. Holland, Eric C. Holland

Tod D Holland

RCAS/tv-a is a system for post-natal cell type specific gene transfer. It is used for the modeling of gliomas and medulloblastomas. This system provides a combination of lineage tracing from the cell origin with oncogenesis induced by mis-expression of specific genes. The genes that are most potent at inducing tumors are those that encode components of signal transduction and undifferentiated cells are most capable of serving as the cell of origin. The system effectively generates tumors with the histologic characteristics of human disease. Mice bearing RVAS/tv-a induced brain tumors are currently being used for preclinical trials to understand the biology …

E-Science @ Umass: Anticipating And Supporting E-Science Activities At The University Of Massachusetts, Maxine G. Schmidt, Rebecca Reznik-Zellen

Maxine G Schmidt

In March of 2008 an Ad Hoccommittee of Science Librarians from the University of Massachusetts Five Campus System convened to discuss the challenges of e-science and prepare the Libraries for their role in e-science initiatives. Three primary outcomes intended to support e-science activities emerged from the work of the Ad Hoc committee.

Neurosteroid Replacement Therapy For Catamenial Epilepsy, Doodipala S. Reddy, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Perimenstural catamenial epilepsy, the cyclical occurrence of seizure exacerbations near the time of menstruation, affects a high proportion of women of reproductive age with drug refractory epilepsy. Enhanced seizure susceptibility in perimenstrual catamenial epilepsy is believed to be due to the withdrawal of the progesterone-derived GABA-A receptor modulating neurosteroid allopregnanolone as a result of the fall in progesterone at the time of menstruation. Studies in a rat pseudopregnancy model of catamenial epilepsy indicate that following neurosteroid withdrawal there is enhanced susceptibility to chemoconvulsant seizures. There is also a transitory increase in the frequency of spontaneous seizures in epleptic rats that …

E-Science @ The University Of Massachusetts, Maxine G. Schmidt, Rebecca Reznik-Zellen, Raquel Rivera, Cecilia P. Mullen

Maxine G Schmidt

e-Science @ the University of Massachusetts Abstract: What is e-Science and how can libraries and librarians support it? The University of Massachusetts takes a proactive approach to support network-enabled research on its campuses and provides examples where e-Science is already at work. Statement: “e-Science” is a term commonly used to describe research in a networked environment, a growing trend not only in the sciences, but the arts and humanities as well. e-Science creates both opportunities and challenges for academic libraries. The opportunities lie in leveraging the basic skill set that libraries and librarians already possess: the knowledge of and practical …

Dermatoglyphics: Comparison Between Negritos Orang Asli And The Malays, Chinese And Indian, Farahnaz Amini

Farahnaz Amini

No abstract provided.

Uniqueprimer - A Web Utility For Design Of Specific Pcr Primers And Probes, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

We have developed a web-based tool for design of specific PCR primers and probes. The program allows you to enter primer sequence information as well as an optional probe, and sequence similarity searches (MegaBLAST) will be performed to see if the sequences match the same sequence entry in the specified database. If primers (and probe) match, this will be reported. The program can handle overlapping amplicons, amplification from a single primer, ambiguous bases and other problematic cases.

Evaluation Of Polymorphism At Codon 192 Of Paraoxonase 1 On Its Kinetic Behavior, Rozaida @ Poh Yuen Ying

Rozaida @ Poh Yuen Ying

Human paraoxonase 1 (PON1), a High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-associated esterase has been implicated in slowing down the development of atherosclerosis. In the present study, kinetic and inhibition studies on PON1 were conducted to assess three parameters: the Michaelis constant (KM) and maximal rate of metabolisme (Vmax) of paraoxonase and inhibition constant (Ki) of phenylacetate. Human paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity was measured spectrophotometrically at 405 nm, using plasma samples in basal (without added NaCl) and salt-stimulated assays with 1 M NaCl. Inhibition studies were performed using phenylacetate as an inhibitor of PON1 in basal assays, pH 8.0. Estimates of KM and Vmax …

A Program Evaluation Of A Polypharmacy Sub-Population: Medications, Emergency Room Visits, And Hospitalizations, Brian W. Bresnahan, Kent M. Koprowicz, Sanchita Roy Choudhury, Ed Wong

Kent M Koprowicz

No abstract provided.

Hierarchical Hidden Markov Model With Application To Joint Analysis Of Chip-Chip And Chip-Seq Data, Hyungwon Choi, Debashis Ghosh, Zhaohui S. Qin

Debashis Ghosh

Motivation: Identication of transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) is a fundamental problem in understanding the mechanism of gene regulation. The ChIP-chip technology has accelerated this eort by providing a simultaneous genome-wide map of TFBS in a high-throughput fashion. Recently, a sequencing-based ChIP-seq has appeared as a promising alternative that can identify targets with an improved sensitivity/specicity in high resolution. However, studies have suggested that distinct experimental platforms can be complementary in TFBS identication. The availability of data obtained from multiple platforms motivates a meta-analysis for improved identication of candidate motifs.

Results: In this work, we propose a hierarchical hidden Markov …

A Double-Layered Mixture Model For The Joint Analysis Of Dna Copy Number And Gene Expression Data, Debashis Ghosh

Debashis Ghosh

Copy number aberration is a common form of genomic instability in cancer. Gene expression is closely tied to cytogenetic events by the central dogma of molecular biology, and serves as a mediator of copy number changes in disease phenotypes. Accordingly, it is of interest to develop proper statistical methods for jointly analyzing copy number and gene expression data. This work describes a novel Bayesian inferential approach for a double-layered mixture model (DLMM) which directly models the stochastic nature of copy number data and identifies abnormally expressed genes due to aberrant copy number. Simulation studies were conducted to illustrate the robustness …

Discrete Nonparametric Algorithms For Outlier Detection With Genomic Data, Debashis Ghosh

Debashis Ghosh

In high-throughput studies involving genetic data such as from gene expression microarrays, differential expression analysis between two or more experimental conditions has been a very common analytical task. Much of the resulting literature on multiple comparisons has paid relatively little attention to the choice of test statistic. In this article, we focus on the issue of choice of test statistic based on a special pattern of differential expression. The approach here is based on recasting multiple comparisons procedures for assessing outlying expression values. A major complication is that the resulting p-values are discrete; some theoretical properties of sequential testing procedures …

A Double-Layered Mixture Model For The Joint Analysis Of Dna Copy Number And Gene Expression Data, Debashis Ghosh

Debashis Ghosh

Copy number aberration is a common form of genomic instability in cancer. Gene expression is closely tied to cytogenetic events by the central dogma of molecular biology, and serves as a mediator of copy number changes in disease phenotypes. Accordingly, it is of interest to develop proper statistical methods for jointly analyzing copy number and gene expression data. This work describes a novel Bayesian inferential approach for a double-layered mixture model (DLMM) which directly models the stochastic nature of copy number data and identifies abnormally expressed genes due to aberrant copy number. Simulation studies were conducted to illustrate the robustness …

Discrete Nonparametric Algorithms For Outlier Detection With Genomic Data, Debashis Ghosh

Debashis Ghosh

In high-throughput studies involving genetic data such as from gene expression microarrays, differential expression analysis between two or more experimental conditions has been a very common analytical task. Much of the resulting literature on multiple comparisons has paid relatively little attention to the choice of test statistic. In this article, we focus on the issue of choice of test statistic based on a special pattern of differential expression. The approach here is based on recasting multiple comparisons procedures for assessing outlying expression values. A major complication is that the resulting p-values are discrete; some theoretical properties of sequential testing procedures …

A Quantitative Taqman Mgb Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Based Assay For Detection Of The Causative Agent Of Crayfish Plague Aphanomyces Astaci, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

Here we present the development and first validation of a TaqMan minor groove binder (MGB) real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method for quantitative and highly specific detection of Aphanomyces astaci, the causative agent of crayfish plague. The assay specificity was experimentally assessed by testing against DNA representative of closely related oomycetes, and theoretically assessed by additional sequence similarity analyses comparing the primers and probe sequences to available sequences in EMBL/GenBank. The target of the assay is a 59 bp unique sequence motif of A. astaci found in the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the nuclear ribosomal gene cluster. A standard …

Farm Focus - Spring 2009, Brian K. Whitlock, Matt Welborn, Maria Prado, Amy Plummer

Brian K Whitlock, PhD, DVM, DACT

No abstract provided.

Farm Focus - Fall 2009, Brian K. Whitlock, Matt Welborn, Maria Prado, Amy Plummer

Brian K Whitlock, PhD, DVM, DACT

No abstract provided.

"The Natural History Of Truth: The Neurobiology Of Belief", Neil Greenberg

Neil Greenberg

The pursuit of truth is woven into the fabric of every organism*. Any estimate of how best to survive and thrive in the reality in which we are immersed requires a sense of self, of the world, and of their relationship to each other. I wish to explore the idea that this pursuit has at its heart two complementary modes of reality testing utilizing separate cerebral systems which deal, respectively with the correspondence of experience with the world and the coherence of the experience with previous experiences: “is it real” and “does it fit?” At multiple levels of the nervous …

Umass Libraries 2009, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

No abstract provided.