Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Time Domain And Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography In Measurement Of Macular Thickness In Macular Edema Secondary To Diabetic Retinopathy And Retinal Vein Occlusion., Elham Hatef, Afsheen Khwaja, Zubir Rentiya, Mohamed Ibrahim, Matthew Shulman, Peykan Turkcuoglu, Yasir J. Sepah, Jianmin Wang, Roomasa Channa, Millena Bittencourt, Abeer Akhtar, Jangwon Heo, Diana V. Do, Quan Dong Nguyen

Journal Articles: Ophthalmology

Purpose. To evaluate macular thickness, agreement, and intraclass repeatability in three optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices: the time domain (TD) Stratus OCT and two spectral domain (SD) OCTs, Spectralis and Cirrus SD-OCT, in eyes with macular edema secondary to diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinal vein occlusion (VO). Methods. In a prospective observational study at a university-based retina practice, retinal thickness tomography was performed simultaneously for fifty-eight patients (91 eyes) with DR and VO employing a time domain and two spectral domain OCTs. Agreement in macular measurements was assessed by constructing Bland-Altman plots. Intraclass repeatability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients …

Post-Cataract Outcomes In Patients With Noninfectious Posterior Uveitis Treated With The Fluocinolone Acetonide Intravitreal Implant., John D. Sheppard, Quan Dong Nguyen, Dale W. Usner, Timothy L. Comstock

Journal Articles: Ophthalmology

PURPOSE: To describe visual acuity (VA) and inflammation following cataract surgery in eyes with noninfectious posterior uveitis (NIPU) that were being treated with a fluocinolone acetonide (FA) intravitreal implant compared with those that were not.

DESIGN: Post hoc, subgroup analysis of data from a 3-year, dose-masked, randomized, multicenter trial evaluating the FA implant for the treatment of NIPU.

PARTICIPANTS AND CONTROLS: The subset of eyes that underwent cataract surgery during the 3-year trial. Eyes were either implanted with a 0.59- or a 2.1-mg FA implant, or, in the case of affected fellow eyes, received standard-of-care local treatment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: …

Interferon-Α Regulates Glutaminase 1 Promoter Through Stat1 Phosphorylation: Relevance To Hiv-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders., Lixia Zhao, Yunlong Huang, Changhai Tian, Lynn Taylor, Norman Curthoys, Yi Wang, Hamilton Vernon, Jialin C. Zheng

Journal Articles: Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience

HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) develop during progressive HIV-1 infection and affect up to 50% of infected individuals. Activated microglia and macrophages are critical cell populations that are involved in the pathogenesis of HAND, which is specifically related to the production and release of various soluble neurotoxic factors including glutamate. In the central nervous system (CNS), glutamate is typically derived from glutamine by mitochondrial enzyme glutaminase. Our previous study has shown that glutaminase is upregulated in HIV-1 infected monocyte-derived-macrophages (MDM) and microglia. However, how HIV-1 leads to glutaminase upregulation, or how glutaminase expression is regulated in general, remains unclear. In …

Persistent Systemic Inflammation Is Associated With Poor Clinical Outcomes In Copd: A Novel Phenotype, Alvar Agustí, Lisa D. Edwards, Stephen I. Rennard, William Macnee, Ruth Tal-Singer, Bruce E. Miller, Jørgen Vestbo, David A. Lomas, Peter M.A. Calverley, Emiel Wouters, Courtney Crim, Julie C. Yates, Edwin K. Silverman, Harvey O. Coxson, Per Bakke, Ruth J. Mayer, Bartolome Celli, Evaluation Of Copd Longitudinally To Identify Predictive Surrogate Endpoints (Eclipse) Investigators

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

BACKGROUND: Because chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous condition, the identification of specific clinical phenotypes is key to developing more effective therapies. To explore if the persistence of systemic inflammation is associated with poor clinical outcomes in COPD we assessed patients recruited to the well-characterized ECLIPSE cohort (NCT00292552).

METHODS AND FINDINGS: Six inflammatory biomarkers in peripheral blood (white blood cells (WBC) count and CRP, IL-6, IL-8, fibrinogen and TNF-α levels) were quantified in 1,755 COPD patients, 297 smokers with normal spirometry and 202 non-smoker controls that were followed-up for three years. We found that, at baseline, 30% of …

Mekk1-Mkk4-Jnk-Ap1 Pathway Negatively Regulates Rgs4 Expression In Colonic Smooth Muscle Cells, Yonggang Zhang, Fang Li, Shu Liu, Hong Wang, Sunila Mahavadi, Karnam S. Murthy, Kamel Khalili, Wenhui Hu

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Background

Regulator of G-protein Signaling 4 (RGS4) plays an important role in regulating smooth muscle contraction, cardiac development, neural plasticity and psychiatric disorder. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. Our recent studies have shown that upregulation of Rgs4 by interleukin (IL)-1β is mediated by the activation of NFκB signaling and modulated by extracellular signal-regulated kinases, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and phosphoinositide-3 kinase. Here we investigate the effect of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway on Rgs4 expression in rabbit colonic smooth muscle cells.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Cultured cells at first passage were treated with or without IL-1β …

Fret-Based Localization Of Fluorescent Protein Insertions Within The Ryanodine Receptor Type 1, Shweta A. Raina, Jeffrey Tsai, Montserrat Samsó, James D. Fessenden

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Fluorescent protein (FP) insertions have often been used to localize primary structure elements in mid-resolution 3D cryo electron microscopic (EM) maps of large protein complexes. However, little is known as to the precise spatial relationship between the location of the fused FP and its insertion site within a larger protein. To gain insights into these structural considerations, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements were used to localize green fluorescent protein (GFP) insertions within the ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1), a large intracellular Ca2+ release channel that plays a key role in skeletal muscle excitation contraction coupling. A series of full-length …

Limitations Of The Rhesus Macaque Draft Genome Assembly And Annotation, Xiongfei Zhang, Joel Goodsell, Robert B. Norgren

Journal Articles: Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy

Finished genome sequences and assemblies are available for only a few vertebrates. Thus, investigators studying many species must rely on draft genomes. Using the rhesus macaque as an example, we document the effects of sequencing errors, gaps in sequence and misassemblies on one automated gene model pipeline, Gnomon. The combination of draft genome with automated gene finding software can result in spurious sequences. We estimate that approximately 50% of the rhesus gene models are missing, incomplete or incorrect. The problems identified in this work likely apply to all draft vertebrate genomes annotated with any automated gene model pipeline and thus …

The Molecular Mechanism By Which Pip2 Opens The Intracellular G-Loop Gate Of A Kir3.1 Channel, Xuan-Yu Meng, Hong-Xing Zhang, Diomedes E. Logothetis, Meng Cui

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Abstract

Inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels are characterized by a long pore comprised of continuous transmembrane and cytosolic portions. A high-resolution structure of a Kir3.1 chimera revealed the presence of the cytosolic (G-loop) gate captured in the closed or open conformations. Here, we conducted molecular-dynamics simulations of these two channel states in the presence and absence of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP₂), a phospholipid that is known to gate Kir channels. Simulations of the closed state with PIP₂ revealed an intermediate state between the closed and open conformations involving direct transient interactions with PIP₂, as well as …

Normal-Mode-Analysis-Guided Investigation Of Crucial Intersubunit Contacts In The Camp-Dependent Gating In Hcn Channels, Farzana Marni, Shengjun Wu, Gaurav M. Shah, Xin-Ping Xu, Amber R. Hackett, Changan Xie, Sabisha Shrestha, Lin Liu, Qinglian Liu, Lei Zhou

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Abstract

Protein structures define a complex network of atomic interactions in three dimensions. Direct visualization of the structure and analysis of the interaction potential energy are not straightforward approaches to pinpoint the atomic contacts that are crucial for protein function. We used the tetrameric hyperpolarization-activated cAMP-regulated (HCN) channel as a model system to study the intersubunit contacts in cAMP-dependent gating. To obtain a systematic survey of the contacts between each pair of residues, we used normal-mode analysis, a computational approach for studying protein dynamics, and constructed the covariance matrix for C-α atoms. The significant contacts revealed by covariance analysis …

Hypertension In A Young Boy: An Energy Drink Effect, Asma Usman, Ambreen Jawaid

Department of Family Medicine

Background: Use of energy drinks has significantly increased in recent times. Besides athletes, teenagers and students are among the most common consumers. However, popularity is also increasing among the younger and older age groups. Most of the users believe that they are a good source of instant energy and are unaware of its high Caffeine content resulting in harmful effects on health.Case Presentation: We report the case of a young boy who presented with palpitations and high blood pressure as a result of energy drinks usage. He had been consuming a "Sting" energy drink on regular basis while studying …

Corneal Swapping In A Bomb Blast Victim, Tanveer Anjum Chaudhry, Tahreem Aman, Farheen Shaikh, Khabir Ahmad

Section of Ophthalmology

The case of a 40-year-old-man who presented to our clinic with bilateral blindness as a consequence of bomb blast injuries is reported. He had a completely opaque cornea, partially damaged posterior segment and perception of light in the right eye, while a clear cornea, totally damaged posterior segment and no light perception in the fellow eye. His corneas were successfully swapped which gave him navigational vision.

A Rare Cause Of Upper Airway Obstruction In Neonates, Rana Alia, Irfan Jeeva, Lawrence Miall, Vernon Long

Section of Ophthalmology

No abstract provided.

Replicating Adenovirus-Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (Siv) Vectors Efficiently Prime Siv-Specific Systemic And Mucosal Immune Responses By Targeting Myeloid Dendritic Cells And Persisting In Rectal Macrophages, Regardless Of Immunization Route, L. Jean Patterson, Seraphin Kuate, Mara Daltabuit-Test, Qingsheng Li, Peng Xiao, Katherine Mckinnon, Janet Dipasquale, Anthony Cristillo, David Venzon, Ashley Haase, Marjorie Robert-Guroff

United States Public Health Resources

Although priming with replicating adenovirus type 5 host range mutant (Ad5hr)-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) recombinants, followed by HIV/SIV envelope boosting, has proven highly immunogenic, resulting in protection from SIV/simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenges, Ad5hr recombinant distribution, replication, and persistence have not been examined comprehensively in nonhuman primates. We utilized Ad5hr-green fluorescent protein and Ad5hr-SIV recombinants to track biodistribution and immunogenicity following mucosal priming of rhesus macaques by the intranasal/intratracheal, sublingual, vaginal, or rectal route. Ad recombinants administered by all routes initially targeted macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and rectal tissue, later extending to myeloid dendritic cells …

Perceptions Of Risk Associated With Unintended Pregnancy And Sexually Transmitted Infections Among University Women Attending Minnesota State University, Mankato, Jessica Maria Seide

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections are preventable, yet there is still a high occurrence of both among university women. This study evaluated perceptions of risk associated with unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among selected university women aged 18-25. This study identified whether women's perceptions of risk affected their decision to take certain precautions to prevent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. This study also examined whether there was a relationship between perceptions of risk associated with unintended pregnancies and perceptions of risk associated with sexually transmitted infections and some of the variables that are associated with that relationship. This …

The Family Experience Of Participating In An Icu Support Group: A Pilot Study, Rebecca Marie Scharpe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of family members participating in an intensive care unit support group. The family experience of an adult family member's critical illness is filled with emotional distress, suffering, and difficulty coping. Few family nursing interventions to care for family members of ICU patients have been researched. Research is inconsistent regarding the value of a support group in the ICU setting of a hospital. A qualitative design, using hermeneutic phenomenology was chosen. Five interviews were conducted with seven family members. The experience of participating in an ICU support groups was analyzed within …

College Age Female Smokers And The Efficacy Of Smoking Cessation On College Campuses, Gretchen Suzanne Strobel

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Young females are smoking on campuses in increasing rates in the last two decades. This thesis is secondary data analysis of a primary study with data from 472 female respondents, ages 18 to 24, enrolled or registered for classes at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the Spring, Summer and Fall semester of 2011. This sample included current smokers, former smokers, and nonsmokers. This research study will discuss the relationship between the age one starts smoking and any association with participation in unprotected intercourse and the concomitant use of estrogen containing oral contraceptives. Among the respondents a majority started smoking between …

Access And Barriers To Diabetic Self Care Education And Support Groups In A Rural Southern Minnesota Community, Elizabeth Waters

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Diabetic education and support groups promote self care, improve health outcomes, and decrease health care costs. Self care, an important aspect of diabetes care, can be promoted through diabetes education and support groups. Few studies have been done to explore rural population's access to and attendance of diabetes self care education and support groups. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if residents of a rural southern Minnesota community have access to diabetes education and support groups and what barriers they face to attending the groups. The understanding gained through this study will help to develop nursing interventions …

Mothers' Health And Health Behaviors That Influence Childhod Obesity Maternal Bmi And Infant Feeding Methods, Mohamed Abdullah Alammari

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The rate of childhood obesity in America continues to climb. Many medical experts believe that childhood obesity can develop as early as prenatal development in the uterus, and infancy. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between mothers' health and health behaviors (maternal BMI and infant feeding methods) and childhood obesity. We conducted and analyzed a sample of 307 mothers and their children (307) to examine each mother's maternal BMI and her child or children's BMI. We also examined mothers' feeding methods (bottle vs. breastfeeding).The result of this research did not match with the review of literature. …

Aisr Connections (September 2012), Education Services

The AC's Research Support Newsletter (Formerly AISR Connections)

AISR Connections:

Topic reviews include: JOVE, new multimedia resource for researchers, Jefferson Digital Commons 1 million downloads, SPSS site license, library renovations

Social Context Of Disclosing Hiv Test Results In Tanzania, Joe Lugalla, Stanley Yoder, Huruma Sigala, Charles Madihi

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

This study sought to understand how individuals reveal their HIV test results to others and the ways in which social relations affect the disclosure process. The data were collected through open-ended interviews administered in Swahili to informants who had just been tested for HIV and to those who were living with HIV in Dar es Salaam and Iringa regions. Analysis shows that social relations influence the decisions individuals make about disclosure. Most people preferred to reveal their HIV status to close family members. Most also mentioned the fear of being rejected and discriminated against as major reasons for not disclosing …

Factors Correlated With Post-Orthodontic Treatment Gingival Enlargement, Erin Arnold

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: It has been established that gingival inflammation is exacerbated during puberty, in women taking oral contraceptives, and during pregnancy. Increased levels of sex hormones are implicated in the changes in periodontal conditions. It has also been established that treatn1ent with fixed orthodontic appliances presents a favorable situation for plaque accumulation, making oral hygiene more difficult to maintain. Therefore, it was hypothesized that adolescents receiving orthodontic therapy during their pubertal growth peak, might be more susceptible to gingival enlargement than those being treated outside of puberty. Orthodontists often seek to treat adolescent patients during their pubertal growth peak and utilize …

Explaining The Longitudinal Association Between Puberty And Depression: Sex Differences In The Mediating Effects Of Peer Stress, Colleen S. Conley, Karen D. Rudolph, Fred B. Bryant

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This research investigated whether exposure to peer stress serves as one pathway through which pubertal development contributes to depression over time, differentially for girls and boys. Youth (N = 149; 9.6–14.8 years) and their caregivers provided information at two waves, 1 year apart, on puberty (Wave 1), peer stress (occurring between Waves 1 and 2), and depression (Waves 1 and 2). Structural equation modeling analyses examined sex differences in the extent to which peer stress mediated the impact of pubertal status and timing on subsequent depression (i.e., tests of moderated mediation). Significant sex-moderated mediation was found for both pubertal status …

Incentivizing The Utilization Of Pharmacogenomics In Drug Development, Valerie Gutmann Koch

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Newer Agents In Antiplatelet Therapy: A Review., Jennifer Yeung, Michael Holinstat

Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research

Antiplatelet therapy remains the mainstay in preventing aberrant platelet activation in pathophysiological conditions such as myocardial infarction, ischemia, and stroke. Although there has been significant advancement in antiplatelet therapeutic approaches, aspirin still remains the gold standard treatment in the clinical setting. Limitations in safety, efficacy, and tolerability have precluded many of the antiplatelet inhibitors from use in patients. Unforeseen incidences of increased bleeding risk and recurrent arterial thrombosis observed in patients have hampered the development of superior next generation antiplatelet therapies. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles have also limited the effectiveness of a number of antiplatelet inhibitors currently in use …

Effects Of An 8-Week Meditation Program On Mood And Anxiety In Patients With Memory Loss., Aleezé Sattar Moss, Nancy Wintering, Hannah Roggenkamp, Dharma Singh Khalsa, Mark R Waldman, Daniel Monti, Andrew B Newberg

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

Abstract Background: This study assesses changes in mood and anxiety in a cohort of subjects with memory loss who participated in an 8-week Kirtan Kriya meditation program. Perceived spirituality also was assessed. Previous reports from this cohort showed changes in cognitive function and cerebral blood flow (CBF). The purpose of this analysis was to assess outcome measures of mood and affect, and also spirituality, and to determine whether or not results correlated with changes in CBF.

Methods: Fifteen (15) subjects (mean age 62±7 years) with memory problems were enrolled in an 8-week meditation program. Before and after the 8-week meditation, …

Neuroimaging During Trance State: A Contribution To The Study Of Dissociation., Julio Fernando Peres, Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Leonardo Caixeta, Frederico Leao, Andrew Newberg

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

Despite increasing interest in pathological and non-pathological dissociation, few researchers have focused on the spiritual experiences involving dissociative states such as mediumship, in which an individual (the medium) claims to be in communication with, or under the control of, the mind of a deceased person. Our preliminary study investigated psychography - in which allegedly "the spirit writes through the medium's hand" - for potential associations with specific alterations in cerebral activity. We examined ten healthy psychographers - five less expert mediums and five with substantial experience, ranging from 15 to 47 years of automatic writing and 2 to 18 psychographies …

James Marion Sims, M.D., Ll.D., Jonathan Tavares, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md

Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles

Few physicians have been as celebrated and loathed as James Marion Sims, M.D., LL.D. Dr. Sims’ modest early life and education never could have predicted that he would one day be called the ‘‘Father of American Gynecology.’’1, 2 Lauded by contemporaries and early historians as ‘‘one of the most original and gifted of American surgeons,’’ he performed the first successful operation to correct vesicovaginal fistulas (a condition that prior to 1852 was known as the ‘‘stumbling-block of gynecology’’).1 Today, the same work that earned Dr. Sims fame, fortune, and innumerable honors has been called into question, because of the unethical …

Manifestations Of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Epidural Pannus And Atlantoaxial Subluxation Resulting In Basilar Invagination., Adam L Schreiber, Do, Ma

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Faculty Papers

Presented in part at the AAPMR 71st Annual Assembly Meeting, Seattle, WA, November 4-7, 2010.

Atlantoaxial instability results from cartilaginous destruction, periarticular erosions, and ligament and tendon attenuation. Instability affects 19%-70% of patients, and basilar invagination from vertical odontoid subluxation through the foramen magnum occurs in 38% of patients. This phenomenon occurs twice as often in women than men, whose age at diagnosis typically ranges from 30-50 years. Along with bony compression, the pannus further decreases the space available for the cord by 3mmor more in approximately 66% of patients (Figures 1-7). The earliest and most common symptom of cervical …

Identification Of The Functional Binding Pocket For Compounds Targeting Small-Conductance Ca²⁺-Activated Potassium Channels., Miao Zhang, John M Pascal, Marcel Schumann, Roger S Armen, Ji-Fang Zhang

Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Faculty Papers

Small- and intermediate-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels, activated by Ca(2+)-bound calmodulin, have an important role in regulating membrane excitability. These channels are also linked to clinical abnormalities. A tremendous amount of effort has been devoted to developing small molecule compounds targeting these channels. However, these compounds often suffer from low potency and lack of selectivity, hindering their potential for clinical use. A key contributing factor is the lack of knowledge of the binding site(s) for these compounds. Here we demonstrate by X-ray crystallography that the binding pocket for the compounds of the 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (1-EBIO) class is located at the calmodulin-channel interface. …

Measurement And Correlates Of Empathy Among Female Japanese Physicians., Hitomi U Kataoka, Norio Koide, Mohammadreza Hojat, Joseph S Gonnella

CRMEHC Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The measurement of empathy is important in the assessment of physician competence and patient outcomes. The prevailing view is that female physicians have higher empathy scores compared with male physicians. In Japan, the number of female physicians has increased rapidly in the past ten years. In this study, we focused on female Japanese physicians and addressed factors that were associated with their empathic engagement in patient care.

METHODS: The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was translated into Japanese by using the back-translation procedure, and was administered to 285 female Japanese physicians. We designed this study to examine the psychometrics …