Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Ethics And Issues At The Sunset Of Life, Jane Gervasio, Dick Mcgowan, Priscilla Ryder

Priscilla T. Ryder

No abstract provided.

Empowering Patient Safety Outreach Through Interprofessional Partnerships: Educating Our Communities, Chris Childs, A. Faltinek, L. Heinz, Linda Walton, L. Zipperer

Linda J. Walton

No abstract provided.

Changes In Weight Loss, Body Composition And Cardiovascular Disease Risk After Altering Macronutrient Distributions During A Regular Exercise Program In Obese Women, C. M. Kerksick, J. Bunn, D. Fogt, A. Thomas, L. Taylor, B. Campbell, C. Wilborn, T. Harvey, P. Roberts, P. Labounty, M. Galbreath, B. Marcello, C. Rasumussen, R. Kreider

Physical Therapy

No abstract provided.

Anomalous Constitutive Src Kinase Activity Promotes B Lymphoma Survival And Growth, Jiyuan Ke, R. Lakshman Chelvarajan, Vishal Sindhava, Darrell A. Robertson, Lazaros Lekakis, C. Darrell Jennings, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Background: Previously we have shown that B cell receptor (BCR) expression and B cell receptor signaling pathways are important for the basal growth of B lymphoma cells. In particular we have shown that the activation of Syk, a non-src family protein tyrosine kinase and the mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK), ERK and JNK that mediate BCR signals are required for the constitutive growth of B lymphoma cells. Since src family protein tyrosine kinases (SFKs) like Lyn are known to be needed for the phosphorylation of BCR co-receptors, Ig-alpha and Ig-beta, we hypothesized that one or more SFKs will be constitutively ...

Transcriptional Adaptations Following Exercise In Thoroughbred Horse Skeletal Muscle Highlights Molecular Mechanisms That Lead To Muscle Hypertrophy, Beatrice A. Mcgivney, Suzanne S. Eivers, David E. Machugh, James N. Macleod, Grace M. O'Gorman, Stephen D.E. Park, Lisa M. Katz, Emmeline W. Hill

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Selection for exercise-adapted phenotypes in the Thoroughbred racehorse has provided a valuable model system to understand molecular responses to exercise in skeletal muscle. Exercise stimulates immediate early molecular responses as well as delayed responses during recovery, resulting in a return to homeostasis and enabling long term adaptation. Global mRNA expression during the immediate-response period has not previously been reported in skeletal muscle following exercise in any species. Also, global gene expression changes in equine skeletal muscle following exercise have not been reported. Therefore, to identify novel genes and key regulatory pathways responsible for exercise adaptation we have used equine-specific ...

Design And Methods For Testing A Simple Dietary Message To Improve Weight Loss And Dietary Quality, Philip A. Merriam, Yunsheng Ma, Barbara C. Olendzki, Kristin L. Schneider, Wenjun Li, Ira S. Ockene, Sherry L. Pagoto

Preventive and Behavioral Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND: The current food pyramid guidelines have been criticized because of their complexity and the knowledge required for users to understand the recommendations. Simplification of a dietary message to focus on a single key aspect of dietary quality, e.g., fiber intake, may make the message much easier to comprehend and adhere, such that respondents can achieve greater weight loss, better dietary quality and overall metabolic health.

METHODS AND DESIGN: This is a randomized controlled clinical trial with two equal sized arms. In total, 240 obese adults who meet diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome will be randomized to one ...

Fagerstrom Test For Nicotine Dependence Vs Heavy Smoking Index In A General Population Survey, M. Pérez-Ríos, M. I. Santiago-Pérez, B. Alonso, A. Malvar, X. Hervada, Jose De Leon

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) is used for assessing nicotine dependence. A shorter test derived from the FTND used for the general population is the Heavy Smoking Index (HSI) (six questions vs. two). The objective of this study is to compare the validity of the HSI versus the FTND.

METHODS: A survey of tobacco use in the general population was carried out in the northern Spanish region of Galicia using both the FTND and the HSI to study a representative sample of 1655 daily smokers. The HSI was compared with the FTND, considered the gold standard. Measures ...

Rearrangement Of The Rna Polymerase Subunit H And The Lower Jaw In Archaeal Elongation Complexes, Sebastian Grünberg, Christoph Reich, Mirijam E. Zeller, Michael S. Bartlett, Michael Thomm

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The lower jaws of archaeal RNA polymerase and eukaryotic RNA polymerase II include orthologous subunits H and Rpb5, respectively. The tertiary structure of H is very similar to the structure of the C-terminal domain of Rpb5, and both subunits are proximal to downstream DNA in pre-initiation complexes. Analyses of reconstituted euryarchaeal polymerase lacking subunit H revealed that H is important for open complex formation and initial transcription. Eukaryotic Rpb5 rescues activity of the ΔH enzyme indicating a strong conservation of function for this subunit from archaea to eukaryotes. Photochemical cross-linking in elongation complexes revealed a striking structural rearrangement of RNA ...

Ccl2 Responses To Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Are Associated With Disease Severity In Tuberculosis, Zahra Hasan, Jacqueline M. Cliff, Hazel M. Dockrell, Bushra Jamil, Muhammad Irfan, Mussarat Ashraf, Rabia Hussain

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

Background

Leucocyte activating chemokines such as CCL2, CCL3, and CXCL8 together with proinflammatory IFNγ, TNFα and downmodulatory IL10 play a central role in the restriction of M. tuberculosis infections, but is unclear whether these markers are indicative of tuberculosis disease severity.

Methodology

We investigated live M. tuberculosis- and M. bovis BCG- induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell responses in patients with tuberculosis (TB) and healthy endemic controls (ECs, n = 36). TB patients comprised pulmonary (PTB, n = 34) and extrapulmonary groups, subdivided into those with less severe localized extrapulmonary TB (L-ETB, n = 16) or severe disseminated ETB (D-ETB, n = 16). Secretion of ...

Proteolytic Regulation Of Toxin-Antitoxin Systems By Clppc In Staphylococcus Aureus, Niles P. Donegan, Earl T. Thompson, Zhibiao Fu, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems typically consist of a small, labile antitoxin that inactivates a specific longer-lived toxin. In Escherichia coli, such antitoxins are proteolytically regulated by the ATP-dependent proteases Lon and ClpP. Under normal conditions, antitoxin synthesis is sufficient to replace this loss from proteolysis, and the bacterium remains protected from the toxin. However, if TA production is interrupted, antitoxin levels decrease, and the cognate toxin is free to inhibit the specific cellular component, such as mRNA, DnaB, or gyrase. To date, antitoxin degradation has been studied only in E. coli, so it remains unclear whether similar mechanisms of regulation ...

Stem Cell Matching For Patients Of Mixed Race, Ted C. Bergstrom

Ted C Bergstrom

Patients with leukemia and other blood diseases stand a good chance of recovery and a return to normal life if they receive a stem cell transplant from a living donor. In the absence of a transplant, their survival prospects are grim. For a transplant to be successful, the human leukocyte antigens (HLA) of the donor and recipient must be a close genetic match. To facilitate non-sibling matches, the developed nations of the world have set up national volunteer registries. The larges such registry is the NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program). We estimate the distribution of HLA types for individuals of ...

Chylomicrons Promote Intestinal Absorption And Systemic Dissemination Of Dietary Antigen (Ovalbumin) In Mice, Yuehui Wang, Sarbani Ghoshal, Martin Ward, Willem De Villiers, Jerold Woodward, Erik Eckhardt

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: A small fraction of dietary protein survives enzymatic degradation and is absorbed in potentially antigenic form. This can trigger inflammatory responses in patients with celiac disease or food allergies, but typically induces systemic immunological tolerance (oral tolerance). At present it is not clear how dietary antigens are absorbed. Most food staples, including those with common antigens such as peanuts, eggs, and milk, contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT), which stimulate mesenteric lymph flux and postprandial transport of chylomicrons through mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and blood. Most dietary antigens, like ovalbumin (OVA), are emulsifiers, predicting affinity for chylomicrons. We hypothesized that chylomicron ...

Today - December 23, 2009, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Heart patient reunites with LLU Overseas Heart Surgery Team members 35 years after they saved her life in Saigon
-- CAPS welcomes Helping Hands Pantry to SACHS–Norton
-- Nursing professors research diabetes management in local community
-- LLU Heart & Surgical Hospital physician performs groundbreaking procedure
-- School of Public Health advances health geoinformatics education
-- Wyatt Caley raises funds to buy an Xbox 360 Elite for kids in Children’s Hospital
-- Milton Murray passes away
-- Trees of Hope bring beauty to Children’s Hospital lobby
-- LLU physician to appear on ‘The Doctors’
-- How becoming a guild lady made me a better ...

Chromatin 'Programming' By Sequence - Is There More To The Nucleosome Code Than %Gc, Amanda Hughes, Oliver J. Rando

Open Access Publications by UMass Chan Authors

The role of genomic sequence in directing the packaging of eukaryotic genomes into chromatin has been the subject of considerable recent debate. A new paper from Tillo and Hughes shows that the intrinsic thermodynamic preference of a given sequence in the yeast genome for the histone octamer can largely be captured with a simple model, and in fact is mostly explained by %GC. Thus, the rules for predicting nucleosome occupancy from genomic sequence are much less complicated than has been claimed.

Economic And Other Barriers To Adopting Recommendations To Prevent Childhood Obesity: Results Of A Focus Group Study With Parents, Kendrin R. Sonneville, Nancy R. Lapelle, Elsie M. Taveras, Matthew W. Gillman, Lisa A. Prosser

Open Access Publications by UMass Chan Authors

BACKGROUND: Parents are integral to the implementation of obesity prevention and management recommendations for children. Exploration of barriers to and facilitators of parental decisions to adopt obesity prevention recommendations will inform future efforts to reduce childhood obesity.

METHODS: We conducted 4 focus groups (2 English, 2 Spanish) among a total of 19 parents of overweight (BMI >or= 85th percentile) children aged 5-17 years. The main discussion focused on 7 common obesity prevention recommendations: reducing television (TV) watching, removing TV from child's bedroom, increasing physically active games, participating in community or school-based athletics, walking to school, walking more in general ...

Reduced Pain And Inflammation In Juvenile And Adult Rats Fed A Ketogenic Diet, David N. Ruskin, Masahito Kawamura Jr., Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen that forces ketone-based rather than glucose-based cellular metabolism. Clinically, maintenance on a ketogenic diet has been proven effective in treating pediatric epilepsy and type II diabetes, and recent basic research provides evidence that ketogenic strategies offer promise in reducing brain injury. Cellular mechanisms hypothesized to be mobilized by ketone metabolism and underlying the success of ketogenic diet therapy, such as reduced reactive oxygen species and increased central adenosine, suggest that the ketolytic metabolism induced by the diet could reduce pain and inflammation. To test the effects of a ketone-based metabolism on pain ...

Guyon's Canal Syndrome Due To Tortuous Ulnar Artery With Dequervain Stenosing Tenosynovitis, Ligamentous Injuries And Dorsal Intercalated Segmental Instability Syndrome, A Rare Presentation: A Case Report., Muhammad Zeeshan, Farhan Ahmed, Darakhshan Kanwal, Qazi Saad Bin Khalid, Muhammad Nadeem Ahmed

Department of Radiology

The Guyon's canal syndrome is a well known clinical entity and may have significant impact on Patient's quality of life. We report a case of 43-year-old male who presented with complaints of pain and numbness in right hand and difficulty in writing for past one month. On imaging diagnosis of Guyon's canal syndrome because of tortuous ulnar artery was made with additional findings of DeQuervain's stenosing tenosynovitis and dorsal intercalated segmental instability syndrome with ligamentous injury and subsequently these were confirmed on surgery. Although it is a rare syndrome, early diagnosis and treatment prevents permanent neurological ...

Tslp Regulates Intestinal Immunity And Inflammation, Betsy C. Taylor

Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations

This thesis characterizes and explores the role of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) – TSLP receptor (TSLPR) interactions in the regulation of intestinal immunity and inflammation. TSLP is known to promote TH2 cytokine-mediated inflammation in the skin and the lung. Firstly, this thesis focuses on the characterization of TSLP and TSLPR expression within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and in the immune cells of the associated lymphoid tissues. Our findings suggest that TSLP is primarily produced by intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) under homeostatic conditions. Expression of the heterodimeric TSLPR complex was exhibited on gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) CD4+ T cells and CD11c+ dendritic ...

The Relationships Between Parenting Stress, Growth, And Development In Infants With Congenital Heart Defects During The First Six Months Of Life, Danica Fulbright Sumpter

Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations

The stress experienced by parents at the time of diagnosis and hospitalization for their infant’s congenital heart defect (CHD) is well recognized by healthcare professionals. Increased parenting stress has been negatively correlated with development in low birthweight infants. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the parenting stress as experienced by parents of infants with CHD during their first six months of life. In addition, the relationship between parenting stress and the growth and development of infants with CHD was explored. Due to the transactional nature of mother-infant interaction, both directions of this relationship were examined, the ...

Gbdr Regulates Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Plch And Pchp Transcription In Response To Choline Catabolites, Matthew J. Wargo, Tiffany C. Ho, Maegan J. Gross, Laurie A. Whittaker, Deborah A. Hogan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Pseudomonas aeruginosa hemolytic phospholipase C, PlcH, can degrade phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin in eukaryotic cell membranes and extracellular PC in lung surfactant. Numerous studies implicate PlcH in P. aeruginosa virulence. The phosphorylcholine released by PlcH activity on phospholipids is hydrolyzed by a periplasmic phosphorylcholine phosphatase, PchP. Both plcH gene expression and PchP enzyme activity are positively regulated by phosphorylcholine degradation products, including glycine betaine. Here we report that the induction of plcH and pchP transcription by glycine betaine is mediated by GbdR, an AraC family transcription factor. Mutants that lack gbdR are unable to induce plcH and pchP in media ...

Initiation And Regulation Of Type 2 Immunity And Inflammation At Mucosal Sites, Jacqueline Gage Perrigoue

Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations

Identifying the cellular and molecular requirements for initiating and regulating type 2 immunity and inflammation is essential for the development of new vaccines against helminth parasites and treatments for atopic diseases. CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs) are critical antigen-presenting cells (APCs) capable of priming and promoting the differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells. However, the role of DCs in the initiation of Th2 cell differentiation following exposure to helminth parasites and allergens remains unclear. In Chapter 2, we examine the cellular requisites for initiating Th2 cytokine-dependent immunity and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract utilizing infection with the helminth Trichuris muris. By ...

Organizational Form And Niche Overlap: The Dynamics Of Surgery Center Entry And Exit, Michael G. Housman

Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations

The literature on organizational niche suggests that competition between firms that have overlapping niches tends to elevate exit risks. Thus, firms tend to enter markets that are relatively uncrowded in order to minimize direct competition with other firms. Although this research has focused on organizational “micro-niches,” it has not been applied to organizational populations occupying different “macro-niches” and possessing different organizational forms. We apply niche overlap theory to the market for outpatient surgical procedures in order to compare the entry and exit patterns of firms in a mature population of general hospitals to those of firms within a growing population ...

Corticosteroids For Pain Relief In Sore Throat: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Gail Hayward, Matthew J. Thompson, Carl J. Heneghan, Rafael Perera, Paul P. Glasziou, Chris B. Del Mar

Christopher Del Mar

Objective: To evaluate whether systemic corticosteroids improve symptoms of sore throat in adults and children. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: Cochrane Central, Medline, Embase, Database of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE), NHS Health Economics Database, and bibliographies. Outcome measures: Percentage of patients with complete resolution at 24 and 48 hours, mean time to onset of pain relief, mean time to complete resolution of symptoms, days missed from work or school, recurrence, and adverse events. Results: We included eight trials, consisting of 743 patients in total (369 children, 374 adults). 348 (47%) had exudative sore throat, and 330 (44%) were ...

Neuraminidase Inhibitors For Preventing And Treating Influenza In Healthy Adults: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Tom Jefferson, Mark Jones, Peter Doshi, Chris Del Mar

Christopher Del Mar

Objectives: To update a 2005 Cochrane review that assessed the effects of neuraminidase inhibitors in preventing or ameliorating the symptoms of influenza, the transmission of influenza, and complications from influenza in healthy adults, and to estimate the frequency of adverse effects. Search strategy: An updated search of the Cochrane central register of controlled trials (Cochrane Library 2009, issue 2), which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group’s specialised register, Medline (1950-Aug 2009), Embase (1980-Aug 2009), and post-marketing pharmacovigilance data and comparative safety cohorts. Selection criteria: Randomised placebo controlled studies of neuraminidase inhibitors in otherwise healthy adults exposed to naturally occurring ...

Transparent Development Of The Who Rapid Advice Guidelines, Holger J. Schunemann, Suzanne R. Hill, Meetali Kakad, Gunn E. Vist, Richard Bellamy, Lauren Stockman, Torbjorn Fosen Wisloff, Chris Del Mar, Frederick Hayden, Timothy M. Uyeki, Jeremy Farrar, Yazdan Yazdanpanah, Howard Zucker, John Beigel, Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, Tran Tinh Hien, Bulent Ozbay, Norio Sugaya, Andrew D. Oxman

Christopher Del Mar

Emerging health problems require rapid advice. We describe the development and pilot testing of a systematic, transparent approach used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop rapid advice guidelines in response to requests from member states confronted with uncertainty about the pharmacological management of avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection. We first searched for systematic reviews of randomized trials of treatment and prevention of seasonal influenza and for nontrial evidence on H5N1 infection, including case reports and animal and in vitro studies. A panel of clinical experts, clinicians with experience in treating patients with H5N1, influenza researchers, and methodologists ...

Possible Harms Of Oseltamivir—A Call For Urgent Action, Tom Jefferson, Mark Jones, Peter Doshi, Chris Del Mar

Christopher Del Mar

Extract: Oseltamivir is a successful drug: between July, 2004, and June, 2009, more than 11·5 million new prescriptions were issued in the USA, and nearly all influenza pandemic plans recommend antiviral drugs as a mainstay of containment on a population basis and treatment on an individual basis, with oseltamivir preferred because of ease of administration and storage. Because 75% of the world production of oseltamivir has been used in Japan,¹ this is where to look for any serious harms the drug might cause. ¹ See note in article.

Party Favors For Sports: Strong Usoc, Spectacular World Cup, Rick Burton, Norm O'Relly

Sport Management

No abstract provided.

Digging Deeper: Quality Of Patient-Provider Communication Across Hispanic Subgroups, Lorraine S. Wallace, Jennifer E. Devoe, Edwin S. Rogers, Joanne Protheroe, Gillian Rowlands, George E. Fryer

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- UT Graduate School of Medicine

Background

Recent research suggests that ethnic subgroup designation plays an important role in health-related disparities among Hispanics. Our objective was to examine the influence of Hispanics' self-reported ethnic subgroup designation on perceptions of their health care providers' communication behaviors.

Methods

Cross-sectional analysis of the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Participants included non-institutionalized Hispanics (n = 5197; US population estimate = 27,070,906), aged ≥18 years, reporting visiting a health care provider within the past 12 months. Six (n = 6) items were used to capture respondents' perceptions of their health care providers' communication behaviors.

Results

After controlling for socio-demographic covariates, compared ...

Germinal Center Reutilization By Newly Activated B Cells., Tanja A Schwickert, Boris Alabyev, Tim Manser, Michel C Nussenzweig

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Germinal centers (GCs) are specialized structures in which B lymphocytes undergo clonal expansion, class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and affinity maturation. Although these structures were previously thought to contain a limited number of isolated B cell clones, recent in vivo imaging studies revealed that they are in fact dynamic and appear to be open to their environment. We demonstrate that B cells can colonize heterologous GCs. Invasion of primary GCs after subsequent immunization is most efficient when T cell help is shared by the two immune responses; however, it also occurs when the immune responses are entirely unrelated. We conclude ...

Defining The Role Of Syndecan-4 In Mechanotransduction Using Surfacemodification Approaches, Robert M. Bellin, James D. Kubicek, Matthew J. Frigault, Andrew J. Kamien, Robert L. Steward, Hillary M. Barnes, Michael B. Digiacomo, Luke J. Duncan, Christina K. Edgerly, Elizabeth M. Morse, Chan Young Park, Jeffrey J. Fredberg, Chao Min Cheng, Philip R. Leduc

Biology Department Faculty Scholarship

The ability of cells to respond to external mechanical stimulation is a complex and robust process involving a diversity of molecular interactions. Although mechanotransduction has been heavily studied, many questions remain regarding the link between physical stimulation and biochemical response. Of significant interest has been the contribution of the transmembrane proteins involved, and integrins in particular, because of their connectivity to both the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton. Here, we demonstrate the existence of a mechanically based initiation molecule, syndecan-4. We first demonstrate the ability of syndecan-4 molecules to support cell attachment and spreading without the direct extracellular binding of ...