Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prevalence Of Intestinal Parasitic Infections Among Children Under Five Years Of Age With Emphasis On Schistosoma Mansoni In Wonji Shoa Sugar Estate, Ethiopia, Yirgalem G/Hiwot, Abraham Degarege, Berhanu Erko

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Intestinal parasite infections are major public health problems of children in developing countries causing undernutrition, anemia, intestinal obstruction and mental and physical growth retardation. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections among children under five years of age with emphasis on Schistosoma mansoni in Wonji Shoa Sugar Estate, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional parasitological survey was conducted in under-five children living in Wonji Shoa Sugar Estate Ethiopia, April, 2013. Stool samples were collected and examined for intestinal parasites using single Kato-Katz and single Sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin (SAF) solution concentration methods. Out of 374 children examined using single …

Day-To-Day Fluctuation Of Point-Of-Care Circulating Cathodic Antigen Test Scores And Faecal Egg Counts In Children Infected With Schistosoma Mansoni In Ethiopia, Abraham Degarege, Mengistu Legesse, Girmay Medhin, Tilahun Teklehaymanot, Berhanu Erko

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Determining the variation of circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) in urine and egg counts variation in stool between days in Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) infected individuals is vital to decide whether or not to rely on a single-sample test for diagnosis of Schistosomiasis. In this study, the magnitude of day-to-day variation in urine-CCA test scores and in faecal egg counts was evaluated in school children in Ethiopia.

METHODS: A total of 620 school children (age 8 to 12 years) were examined for S. mansoni infection using double Kato-Katz and single urine-CCA cassette methods (batch 32727) on three consecutive days.

RESULTS: …

Short-Duration Stimulation Of The Supplementary Eye Fields Perturbs Anti-Saccade Performance While Potentiating Contralateral Head Orienting., Brendan B Chapman, Brian D Corneil

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Many forms of brain stimulation utilize the notion of state dependency, whereby greater influences are observed when a given area is more engaged at the time of stimulation. Here, by delivering intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) to the supplementary eye fields (SEF) of monkeys performing interleaved pro- and anti-saccades, we show a surprising diversity of state-dependent effects of ICMS-SEF. Short-duration ICMS-SEF passed around cue presentation selectively disrupted anti-saccades by increasing reaction times and error rates bilaterally, and also recruited neck muscles, favoring contralateral head turning to a greater degree on anti-saccade trials. These results are consistent with the functional relevance of the …

Bilateral Saccadic Deficits Following Large And Reversible Inactivation Of Unilateral Frontal Eye Field., Tyler R Peel, Kevin Johnston, Stephen G Lomber, Brian D Corneil

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Inactivation permits direct assessment of the functional contribution of a given brain area to behavior. Previous inactivation studies of the frontal eye field (FEF) have either used large permanent ablations or reversible pharmacological techniques that only inactivate a small volume of tissue. Here we evaluated the impact of large, yet reversible, FEF inactivation on visually guided, delayed, and memory-guided saccades, using cryoloops implanted in the arcuate sulcus. While FEF inactivation produced the expected triad of contralateral saccadic deficits (increased reaction time, decreased accuracy and peak velocity) and performance errors (neglect or misdirected saccades), we also found consistent increases in reaction …

Brain Metastases From Breast Cancer: Lessons From Experimental Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies And Clinical Implications., Donna Murrell, Paula J Foster, Ann F Chambers

Medical Biophysics Publications

Breast cancer that has metastasized to the brain presents difficult clinical challenges. This diagnosis comes with high mortality rates, largely due to complexities in early detection and ineffective therapies associated with both dormancy and impermeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the current gold standard for diagnosis and assessment of brain tumors. It has been used clinically to investigate metastatic development as well as monitor response to therapy. Here, we describe preclinical imaging strategies that we have used to study the development of brain metastases due to breast cancer. Using this approach, we have identified three …

Pax Genes: Regulators Of Lineage Specification And Progenitor Cell Maintenance, Judith A. Blake, Mel R. Ziman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Pax genes encode a family of transcription factors that orchestrate complex processes of lineage determination in the developing embryo. Their key role is to specify and maintain progenitor cells through use of complex molecular mechanisms such as alternate RNA splice forms and gene activation or inhibition in conjunction with protein co-factors. The significance of Pax genes in development is highlighted by abnormalities that arise from the expression of mutant Pax genes. Here, we review the molecular functions of Pax genes during development and detail the regulatory mechanisms by which they specify and maintain progenitor cells across various tissue lineages. We …

Fluid Flow Shear Stress Over Podocytes Is Increased In The Solitary Kidney., Tarak Srivastava, Gianni E. Celsi, Mukut Sharma, Hongying Dai, Ellen T. Mccarthy, Melanie Ruiz, Patricia A. Cudmore, Uri S. Alon, Ram Sharma, Virginia A. Savin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Glomerular hyperfiltration is emerging as the key risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Podocytes are exposed to fluid flow shear stress (FFSS) caused by the flow of ultrafiltrate within Bowman's space. The mechanism of hyperfiltration-induced podocyte injury is not clear. We postulated that glomerular hyperfiltration in solitary kidney increases FFSS over podocytes.

METHODS: Infant Sprague-Dawley rats at 5 days of age and C57BL/6J 14-week-old adult mice underwent unilateral nephrectomy. Micropuncture and morphological studies were then performed on 20- and 60-day-old rats. FFSS over podocytes in uninephrectomized rats and mice was calculated using the recently published equation …

Alternative Splicing In The Variable Domain Of Camkiiβ Affects The Level Of F-Actin Association In Developing Neurons., Jun Zheng, Lori R. Hardy, Chengshi Xu, Jing Kuang, Weijing Liao

PCOM Scholarly Papers

The Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) β has an essential function in dendritic spines via binding to and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton during plasticity events not shared by CaMKIIα isoform. CaMKIIβ and CaMKIIα isoforms have remarkable structural differences within the variable region. Three exons (E1, E3, and E4) are present in CaMKIIβ but not in CaMKIIα gene. Four splice variants of CaMKIIβ isoforms (CaMKIIβ, β', βe and β'e) were discovered in embryonic and adult brains. Exons E1 (lacked in βe and β'e) and E4 (lacked in β' and β'e) are subject to differential alternative splicing. We hypothesized that …

Meglumine Exerts Protective Effects Against Features Of Metabolic Syndrome And Type Ii Diabetes, Arturo Bravo Nuevo, Alice Marcy, Minzhou Huang, Frank Kappler, Jennifer Mulgrew, Lisa Laury-Kleintop, Melvin Reichman, Annette Tobia, George C Prendergast

PCOM Scholarly Papers

Metabolic syndrome, diabetes and diabetes complications pose a growing medical challenge worldwide, accentuating the need of safe and effective strategies for their clinical management. Here we present preclinical evidence that the sorbitol derivative meglumine (N-methyl-D-glucamine) can safely protect against several features of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, as well as elicit enhancement in muscle stamina. Meglumine is a compound routinely used as an approved excipient to improve drug absorption that has not been ascribed any direct biological effects in vivo. Normal mice (SV129) administered 18 mM meglumine orally for six weeks did not display any gastrointestinal or other observable adverse effects, …

Efficient B Cell Responses To Borrelia Hermsii Infection Depend On Baff And Baffr But Not Taci., Gregory S. Dickinson, Phd, Guizhi Sun, Richard J Bram, Kishore Alugupalli

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

T cell-independent antibody responses develop rapidly, within 3 to 4 days, and are critical for preventing blood-borne pathogens from evolving into life-threatening infections. The interaction of BAFF, also known as BLyS, with its receptors BAFFR and TACI on B cells is critical for B cell homeostasis and function. Using a synthetic polysaccharide antigen, it has previously been shown that TACI is critical for T cell-independent antibody responses. To examine the role of BAFFR and TACI in T cell-independent antibody responses to an active infection, we utilized the Borrelia hermsii infection system. In this infection system, T cell-independent responses mediated by …