Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Synaptic Nidogen: Developmental Regulation And Role Of Nidogen-2 At The Neuromuscular Junction, Michael A. Fox, Matthew Sp Ho, Neil Smyth, Joshua R. Sanes

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Background

The skeletal neuromuscular junction is a useful model for elucidating mechanisms that regulate synaptogenesis. Developmentally important intercellular interactions at the neuromuscular junction are mediated by the synaptic portion of a basal lamina that completely ensheaths each muscle fiber. Basal laminas in general are composed of four main types of glycosylated proteins: laminins, collagens IV, heparan sulfate proteoglycans and nidogens (entactins). The portion of the muscle fiber basal lamina that passes between the motor nerve terminal and postsynaptic membrane has been shown to bear distinct isoforms of the first three of these. For laminins and collagens IV, the proteins are …

Arabidopsis Mrna Polyadenylation Machinery: Comprehensive Analysis Of Protein-Protein Interactions And Gene Expression Profiling, Arthur G. Hunt, Ruqiang Xu, Balasubrahmanyam Addepalli, Suryadevara Rao, Kevin P. Forbes, Lisa R. Meeks, Denghui Xing, Min Mo, Hongwei Zhao, Amrita Bandyopadhyay, Lavanya Dampanaboina, Amanda Marion, Carol Von Lanken, Qingshun Quinn Li

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Background

The polyadenylation of mRNA is one of the critical processing steps during expression of almost all eukaryotic genes. It is tightly integrated with transcription, particularly its termination, as well as other RNA processing events, i.e. capping and splicing. The poly(A) tail protects the mRNA from unregulated degradation, and it is required for nuclear export and translation initiation. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that the polyadenylation process is also involved in the regulation of gene expression. The polyadenylation process requires two components, the cis-elements on the mRNA and a group of protein factors that recognize the cis …

Accelerated Exchange Of Exon Segments In Viperid Three-Finger Toxin Genes (Sistrurus Catenatus Edwardsii; Desert Massasauga), Robin Doley, Susanta Pahari, Stephen P. Mackessy, R. Manjunatha Kini

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

Background Snake venoms consist primarily of proteins and peptides showing a myriad of potent biological activities which have been shaped by both adaptive and neutral selective forces. Venom proteins are encoded by multigene families that have evolved through a process of gene duplication followed by accelerated evolution in the protein coding region.

Results Here we report five gene structures of three-finger toxins from a viperid snake, Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii. These toxin genes are structured similarly to elapid and hydrophiid three-finger toxin genes, with two introns and three exons. Both introns and exons show distinct patterns of segmentation, and the insertion/deletion …

Primary Cultured Fibroblasts Derived From Patients With Chronic Wounds: A Methodology To Produce Human Cell Lines And Test Putative Growth Factor Therapy Such As Gmcsf, Harold Brem, Michael S. Golinko, Olivera Stojadinovic, Arber Kodra, Robert F. Diegelmann, Sasa Vukelic, Hyacinth Entero, Donald L. Coppock, Marjana Tomic-Canic

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

Background Multiple physiologic impairments are responsible for chronic wounds. A cell line grown which retains its phenotype from patient wounds would provide means of testing new therapies. Clinical information on patients from whom cells were grown can provide insights into mechanisms of specific disease such as diabetes or biological processes such as aging.

The objective of this study was 1) To culture human cells derived from patients with chronic wounds and to test the effects of putative therapies, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) on these cells. 2) To describe a methodology to create fibroblast cell lines from patients with chronic …

Predicting Outcome After Traumatic Brain Injury: Development And International Validation Of Prognostic Scores Based On Admission Characteristics, Ewout W. Steyerberg, Nino Mushkudiani, Pablo Perel, Isabella Butcher, Juan Lu, Gillian S. Mchugh, Gordon D. Murray, Anthony Marmatou, Ian Roberts, J. D. F. Habbema, Andrew I. R. Maas

Neurosurgery Publications

Background

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability. A reliable prediction of outcome on admission is of great clinical relevance. We aimed to develop prognostic models with readily available traditional and novel predictors.

Methods and Findings

Prospectively collected individual patient data were analyzed from 11 studies. We considered predictors available at admission in logistic regression models to predict mortality and unfavorable outcome according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale at 6 mo after injury. Prognostic models were developed in 8,509 patients with severe or moderate TBI, with cross-validation by omission of each of the 11 studies …

Information Interface - Volume 36, Issue 1 - January/February 2008, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Information Interface (1976 - 2009)

News and information about Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library of interest to users.

Antidepressant Medications, Amir A. Afkhami

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Medical Education Digest, Vol. 10 No. 1 (January/February 2008), Nova Southeastern University

Medical Education Digest

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Mentoring-Based Professional Development On Physical Education Teachers' Pedometer And Computer Efficacy And Anxiety, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Pamela Hodges Kulinna, Donetta Cothran, Roberta Faust

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of our study was to examine the impact of mentoring-based professional development on physical education teachers' efficacy. Experienced mentor teachers were paired (n = 15) with inexperienced protégé teachers (n = 15) at the beginning of a yearlong intervention study. It was hypothesized that teachers would increase their efficacy to use pedometers and computers to enhance instruction, and reduce their computer anxiety. Repeated-measures ANOVAs for mentors and protégés revealed a variety of significant main effects. We found increases in computer and pedometer efficacy. A second set of repeated-measures ANOVAs based on mentors', protégés', and control groups' …

Book Review: Drugs During Pregnancy And Lactation: Treatment Options And Risk Assessment, Robert L. Brent

The Selected Works of Robert Brent

No abstract provided.

The Role And Legal Status Of Health Care Ethics Committees In The United States, Diane E. Hoffmann, Anita J. Tarzian

Faculty Scholarship

Over a quarter of a century has passed since health care ethics committees (HCECs) in the United States received legal recognition as alternatives to the courts in resolving conflicts related to patient end-of-life care. By the mid to late 1980s HCECs had been established in over half of U.S. hospitals and had received a certain legitimacy in the health care system. Given their age and growth one could characterize them developmentally as emerging from adolescence and establishing themselves in young adult-hood. As a result, we might expect that they would have resolved the identify crisis characterizing the adolescent years. Yet, …

Book Review: "Human Dignity And Bioethics: Essays Commissioned By The President's Council On Bioethics, Leslie Meltzer Henry

Faculty Scholarship

The President’s Council on Bioethics frequently invokes -- but never defines -- the notion of human dignity in its reports on caregiving, stem-cell research, cloning, assisted reproduction, and biomedical enhancement. This article argues that the Council employs the language of dignity so loosely in its policy recommendations that the word is often nothing more than a rhetorical trump card to reject policies at odds with the Bush administration’s perspective. This article examines how the Council uses the word dignity; explores competing philosophical, theological, and political understandings of the word; and suggests ways in which a more productive dialogue about dignity's …

Inflammatory And Coagulation Biomarkers And Mortality In Patients With Hiv Infection, Lewis H. Kuller, Russell Tracy, Waldo Belloso, Stephane De Wit, Fraser Drummond, H. Clifford Lane, Bruno Ledergerber, Jens Lundgren, Jacqueline Neuhaus, Daniel Nixon, Nicholas I. Paton, James D. Neaton

Internal Medicine Publications

Background

In the Strategies for Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy trial, all-cause mortality was higher for participants randomized to intermittent, CD4-guided antiretroviral treatment (ART) (drug conservation [DC]) than continuous ART (viral suppression [VS]).

We hypothesized that increased HIV-RNA levels following ART interruption induced activation of tissue factor pathways, thrombosis, and fibrinolysis.

Methods and Findings

Stored samples were used to measure six biomarkers: high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), amyloid A, amyloid P, D-dimer, and prothrombin fragment 1+2. Two studies were conducted: (1) a nested case–control study for studying biomarker associations with mortality, and (2) a study to compare DC and …

Metformin For The Treatment Of The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, John E. Nestler

Internal Medicine Publications

This Journal feature begins with a case vignette that includes a therapeutic recommendation. A discussion of the clinical problem and the mechanism of benefit of this form of therapy follows. Major clinical studies, the clinical use of this therapy, and potential adverse effects are reviewed. Relevant formal guidelines, if they exist, are presented. The article ends with the author’s clinical recommendations.

A 23-year-old woman with known polycystic ovary syndrome visits her family physician. She has taken oral contraceptive pills in the past but did not tolerate them and is not currently receiving any treatment. She has three or four menstrual …

Treatment Of Patients With The Hypereosinophilic Syndrome With Mepolizumab, Marc E. Rothenberg, Amy D. Klion, Florence E. Roufosse, Jean E. Kahn, Peter F. Weller, Hans-Uwe Simon, Lawrence B. Schwartz, Lanny J. Rosenwasser, Johannes Ring, Elaine F. Griffin, Ann E. Haig, Paul I. H. Frewer, Jacqueline M. Parkin, Gerald J. Gleich

Internal Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND

The hypereosinophilic syndrome is a group of diseases characterized by persistent blood eosinophilia, defined as more than 1500 cells per microliter with end-organ involvement and no recognized secondary cause. Although most patients have a response to corticosteroids, side effects are common and can lead to considerable morbidity.

METHODS

We conducted an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of an anti–interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody, mepolizumab, in patients with the hypereosinophilic syndrome. Patients were negative for the FIP1L1–PDGFRA fusion gene and required prednisone monotherapy, 20 to 60 mg per day, to maintain a stable clinical status and a …

Prolonged Therapy Of Advanced Chronic Hepatitis C With Low-Dose Peginterferon, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Gregory T. Everson, Karen L. Lindsay, James E. Everhart, Elizabeth C. Wright, William M. Lee, Anna S. Lok, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Timothy R. Morgan, Marc G. Ghany, Chihiro Morishima, Kristin K. Snow, Jules L. Dienstag

VCU Health Publications

Background

In patients with chronic hepatitis C who do not have a response to antiviral treatment, the disease may progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. Whether long-term antiviral therapy can prevent progressive liver disease in such patients remains uncertain.

Methods

We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of peginterferon alfa-2a at a dosage of 90 μg per week for 3.5 years, as compared with no treatment, in 1050 patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced fibrosis who had not had a response to previous therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin. The patients, who were stratified according to stage of …

Accuracy Of Ct Colonography For Detection Of Large Adenomas And Cancers, Daniel C. Johnson, Mei-Hsiu Chen, Alicia Y. Toledano, Jay P. Heiken, Abraham Dachman, Mark D. Kuo, Christine O. Menias, Betina Siewert, Jugesh I. Cheema, Richard G. Obregon, Jeff L. Fidler, Peter Zimmerman, Karen M. Horton, Kevin Coakley, Revathy B. Iyer, Amy K. Hara, Robert A. Halvorsen Jr, Giovanna Casola, Judy Yee, Benjamin A. Herman, Lawrence J. Burgart, Paul J. Limburg

Radiology Publications

Background

Computed tomographic (CT) colonography is a noninvasive option in screening for colorectal cancer. However, its accuracy as a screening tool in asymptomatic adults has not been well defined.

Methods

We recruited 2600 asymptomatic study participants, 50 years of age or older, at 15 study centers. CT colonographic images were acquired with the use of standard bowel preparation, stool and fluid tagging, mechanical insufflation, and multidetector-row CT scanners (with 16 or more rows). Radiologists trained in CT colonography reported all lesions measuring 5 mm or more in diameter. Optical colonoscopy and histologic review were performed according to established clinical protocols …

Protocol: Streamline Cloning Of Genes Into Binary Vectors In Agrobacterium Via The Gateway® Topo Vector System, Ruqiang Xu, Qingshun Quinn Li

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Background

In plant functional genomic studies, gene cloning into binary vectors for plant transformation is a routine procedure. Traditionally, gene cloning has relied on restriction enzyme digestion and ligation. In recent years, however, Gateway^® cloning technology (Invitrogen Co.) has developed a fast and reliable alternative cloning methodology which uses a phage recombination strategy. While many Gateway- compatible vectors are available, we frequently encounter problems in which antibiotic resistance genes for bacterial selection are the same between recombinant vectors. Under these conditions, it is difficult, if not sometimes impossible, to use antibiotic resistance in selecting the desired transformants. We have, …

It's About The People, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The Virginia Center on Aging celebrates 30 years and the people who have made accomplishments possible.

Geriatric Training And Education (Gte) Projects, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The Geriatric Training and Education (GTE) initiative is supporting 15 different projects in the current fiscal year that are affecting Virginians in each region, from certified nursing assistants to family caregivers of relatives with dementia to long-term care staff helping elders at the end of life.

Tackling Elder Abuse, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The Central Virginia Training Alliance to Stop Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation was selected to pilot a three-year training initiative for criminal justice professionals on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Our overall intention is to improve the expertise of each component in investigating and prosecuting maltreatment against our elders.

Priorities In A Time Of Crisis, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

Now, amidst economic stress, is the time to defend certain sections of the budget, including the protection of those among us who are least able.

No Wrong Door: Virginia’S Key Strategic Initiative For Long-Term Care, Molly Huffstetler

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the rationale, current activities, and vision for No Wrong Door as it pertains to seniors, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers throughout Virginia.

2. Demonstrate the positive potential for collaboration among local long-term care service providers, both public and private.

3. Illustrate the benefits of coordinating long-term care services for an individual through Virginia’s No Wrong Door.

Confident Living Program For Senior Adults Experiencing Combined Vision And Hearing Loss, Paige Berry, Mia Kelley-Bock, Christine Reid

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Identify needs common among older adults who have combined vision and hearing loss.

2. Describe a model program that provides information, resources, and training to older adults experiencing combined vision and hearing loss.

3. Describe how the program benefits not only consumers, but also family, friends, caregivers, students, and service providers.

Making Affordable Assisted Living Work: The Mountainside Senior Living Story, Cheryl Cooper, Gordon Walker

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the challenges of providing affordable assisted living in Virginia.

2. Describe the experience of the Jefferson Area Board for the Aging (JABA), an Area Agency on Aging, in becoming owner and operator of an assisted living facility.

3. Describe the culture change that made Mountainside a unique and award-winning facility.

The Aging Together Partnership: Collaborating To Improve Quality Of Life For Older Adults, April Holmes, Chris Miller

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives 1. Demonstrate how the Aging Together experience improves services for older adults. 2. Describe the partnership structure and participation that makes this an effective model for community services amidst demographic changes. 3. Illustrate tangible service improvements resulting from Aging Together collaborations.

Dengue Virus Pathogenesis In Mouse Central Nervous System: Studies On Host Response To Dengue Virus Infection, Juliano Bordignon, Christian Probst, Ana Luiza P. Mosimann, Vanessa Stella, Daniela Pavoni, Gregory A. Buck, Paul Fawcett, Silvio M. Zanata, Lucia Noronha, Marco Krieger, Claudia Nunes Duarte Dos Santos

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Dengue virus (DENV) causes a self-limiting fever (DF) or severe hemorrhagic fever/shock-syndrome (DHF/DSS). Recently, clinical profile of DENV infection is changing, and neurological manifestations are becoming frequent. We previously demonstrated that mutations on E and NS3 proteins may account for DENV neurovirulence for mice. To validate the involvement of the observed mutations in the appearance of neurovirulent viral phenotypes, we constructed cDNA infectious clones encompassing the observed mutations. Aiming to determine host response to infection with neurovirulent and parental strains of DENV-1, we used a Mus musculus biochip (Virginia Commonwealth University) encompassing whole mouse genome. Newborn Swiss mice were infected …

Impaired Clearance Of Methotrexate In Organic Anion Transporter 3 (Slc22a8) Knockout Mice: A Gender Specific Impact Of Reduced Folates, Adam L. Vanwert, Douglas H. Sweet

Pharmaceutics Publications

Purpose

To elucidate the role of the renal basolateral transporter, Oat3, in the disposition of methotrexate.

Materials and Methods

Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing mouse Oat3 were used to determine kinetics and specificity of inhibition of methotrexate transport. Methotrexate clearance was then examined in vivo in wildtype and Oat3 knockout mice.

Results

NSAIDs, ß-lactams, and uremic toxins inhibited mOat3-mediated methotrexate uptake by 70–100%, while folate, leucovorin, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate inhibited transport by 25–50%. A Km of 60.6±9.3 μM for methotrexate transport was determined. Oat3 knockout mice exhibited reduced methotrexate-to-inulin clearance ratios versus wildtype. Male wildtype mice, but not knockouts or …

Strengthening A Traditional Fire Protection Course By Using Fault Trees, Roger C. Jensen

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

Traditional courses and textbooks in occupational safety emphasize rules, standards, and guidelines. This paper describes the early stage of a project to upgrade a traditional college course on fire protection by incorporating learning materials to develop the higher-level cognitive ability known as synthesis. Students will be challenged to synthesize textbook information into fault tree diagrams. The paper explains the place of synthesis in Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive abilities and the utility of fault trees diagrams as a tool for synthesis. The intended benefits for students are: improved abilities to synthesize, a deeper understanding of fire protection practices, ability to construct …

Formats For Section Safety Messages In Printed Manuals, Roger C. Jensen, Erin Jenrich

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

This study compared four formats for safety messages in printed manuals based on layouts found in a new standard of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z535.6, 2006). These four designs are specifically for use as section safety messages. Two used a signal word panel, and two used a safety alert symbol (exclamation in a triangle). The four formats were rated by 55 college students from three different classes using a five-point scale for hazardousness. All four messages were presented on the same page of a test booklet, with order balanced using a Latin Square. Results of a Friedman test …