Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Today - July 19, 2013, Loma Linda University Health

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Legislators visit Loma Linda University Health
-- LLU neuroscientist awarded $1.9 million NIH grant to reduce stroke damage
-- Six-year-old philanthropist gathers 33,000 stickers for kids at LLU Children's Hospital
-- Healthy competition allows employees to step up their wellness
-- Lauren Abadie's unexpected response to Type 1 diabetes
-- Care received at La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital leads dental hygiene student to choose LLU
-- Housekeeping staff gets top training at Medical Simulation Center
-- 'Loma Linda 360' garners five Emmy Awards
-- Pharmacy student selected for residency at VA
-- LLU fosters higher education …

Genetic Dissection Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Substances Of Abuse, Jo Lynne Harenza

Theses and Dissertations

It has been reported that an individual’s initial level of response to a drug might be predictive of his or her future risk of becoming dependent, thus basal gene expression profiles underlying those drug responses may be informative for both predicting addiction susceptibility and determining targets for intervention. This dissertation research aims to elucidate genetic risk factors underlying acute alcohol and nicotine dependence phenotypes using mouse genetic models of addiction. Phenotyping, brain region-specific mRNA expression profiling, and genetic mapping of a recombinant inbred panel of over 25 mouse strains were performed in order to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) harboring …

Developing Thyronamine Analog Pharmaceuticals Targeting Taar1 To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Troy Andrew Wahl

Dissertations and Theses

As a part of the overall program in the Grandy laboratory at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), studying the underlying chemical biology of methamphetamine (Meth) addiction, this dissertation reports on the development of six new thyronamine analogs which were synthesized and assayed against trace amine associated receptor 1 (TAAR1), giving preliminary results consistent with the analogs being inverse agonists. Due to highly variable TAAR1 expression levels in the assays, based on inter-assay response to control Meth stimulation as well as other possible factors, kinetic models were developed to qualitatively explain the assay results. The models set approximate limits on …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• Alumni Inducted as Scholar

The Historical, Political, Social, And Individual Factors That Have Influenced The Development Of Aging And Disability Resource Centers And Options Counseling, Sheryl Dejoy Elliott

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis reports on the perspectives and experiences of policymakers, advocates, agency supervisors, and experts in the field of gerontology, about the development of Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) programs and Options Counseling (OC). By examining the foundations upon which ADRCs and OC are built, this study sought to inform future research about the effectiveness of existing practice, increase understanding of best practices, and clarify whether these emerging services are accomplishing original goals.

ADRCs and OC intend to address long-term care issues and healthcare needs by providing a single entry point to the social service system. ADRCs offer information, …

Ernest Everett Just, Phd: Pioneer In Ecological Developmental (Eco-Devo) Biology, Katelyn M. Williams, Bryan A. Wilson, Wendi G. O'Connor, Monte S. Willis

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Ernest Everett Just, a pioneering American biologist, discovered the fundamental role of the environment in the development of embryos. His work led to the creation of the area of biology known as ecological developmental (Eco-Devo) biology. However, both his work and the context of his scientific contributions are not widely known. His work covered a diversity of fields of biology, including marine biology, cytology, and parthogenesis (asexual reproduction where growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization). His findings provided important concepts in developmental biology that are used to this day. Specifically, he demonstrated the importance of the cellular cytoplasm …

Lipid Ii-Independent Trans Editing Of Mischarged Trnas By The Penicillin Resistance Factor Murm, Jennifer Shepherd, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a causative agent of nosocomial infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia. Penicillin resistance in S. pneumoniae depends in part upon MurM, an aminoacyl-tRNA ligase that attaches l-serine or l-alanine to the stem peptide lysine of Lipid II in cell wall peptidoglycan. To investigate the exact substrates the translation machinery provides MurM, quality control by alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AlaRS) was investigated. AlaRS mischarged serine and glycine to tRNAAla, as observed in other bacteria, and also transferred alanine, serine, and glycine to tRNA^Phe. S. pneumoniae tRNA^Phe has an unusual U4:C69 mismatch in its acceptor stem that …

Identification And Characterization Of Ethanol Responsive Genes In Acute Ethanol Behaviors In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Joseph Alaimo

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol abuse and dependence are complex disorders that are influenced by many genetic and environmental factors. Acute behavioral responses to ethanol have predictive value for determining an individual’s long-term susceptibility to alcohol abuse and dependence. These behavioral responses are strongly influenced by genetics. Here, we have explored the role of genetic influences on acute behavioral responses to ethanol using the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. First, we explored the role of ethanol metabolism in acute behavior responses to ethanol. Natural variation in human ethanol metabolism machinery is one of the most reported and reproducible associations found to alter drinking behavior. Ethanol …

Intratumoral Chemotherapy For Lung Cancer: Re-Challenge Current Targeted Therapies, Wolfgang Hohenforst-Schmidt, Paul Zarogoulidis, Kaid Darwiche, Thomas Vogl, Eugene P. Goldberg, Haidong Huang, Michael Simoff, Qiang Li, Robert Browning, Francis J. Turner, Patrick Le Pivert, Dionysios Spyratos, Konstantinos Zarogoulidis, Seyhan I. Celikoglu, Firuz Celikoglu, Johannes Brachmann

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Strategies to enhance the already established doublet chemotherapy regimen for lung cancer have been investigated for more than 20 years. Initially, the concept was to administer chemotherapy drugs locally to the tumor site for efficient diffusion through passive transport within the tumor. Recent advances have enhanced the diffusion of pharmaceuticals through active transport by using pharmaceuticals designed to target the genome of tumors. In the present study, five patients with non-small cell lung cancer epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) negative stage IIIa–IV International Union Against Cancer 7 (UICC-7), and with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 2 scores were administered platinum-based …

Corticosterone Acts In The Nucleus Accumbens To Enhance Dopamine Signaling And Potentiate Reinstatement Of Cocaine Seeking, Evan N. Graf, Robert A. Wheeler, David A. Baker, Amanda L. Ebben, Jonathan E. Hill, Jayme R. Mcreynolds, Mykel A. Robble, Daniel S. Wheeler, John Mantsch, Paul J. Gasser

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Stressful life events are important contributors to relapse in recovering cocaine addicts, but the mechanisms by which they influence motivational systems are poorly understood. Studies suggest that stress may “set the stage” for relapse by increasing the sensitivity of brain reward circuits to drug-associated stimuli. We examined the effects of stress and corticosterone on behavioral and neurochemical responses of rats to a cocaine prime after cocaine self-administration and extinction. Exposure of rats to acute electric footshock stress did not by itself reinstate drug-seeking behavior but potentiated reinstatement in response to a subthreshold dose of cocaine. This effect of stress was …

2013 July 16 - Medical Student Education Committee Minutes, Medical Student Education Committee, East Tennessee State University

Medical Student Education Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Real-Time Bioacoustics Monitoring And Automated Species Identification, T. Mitchell Aide, Carlos Corrada-Bravo, Marconi Campos-Cerqueira, Carlos Milan, Giovany Vega, Rafael Alvarez

Bioacoustics Collection

Traditionally, animal species diversity and abundance is assessed using a variety of methods that are generally costly, limited in space and time, and most importantly, they rarely include a permanent record. Given the urgency of climate change and the loss of habitat, it is vital that we use new technologies to improve and expand global biodiversity monitoring to thousands of sites around the world. In this article, we describe the acoustical component of the Automated Remote Biodiversity Monitoring Network (ARBIMON), a novel combination of hardware and software for automating data acquisition, data management, and species identification based on audio recordings. …

An Mll-Dependent Network Sustains Hematopoiesis, Erika L. Artinger, Bibhu P. Mishra, Kristin M. Zaffuto, Bin E. Li, Elaine K. Y. Chung, Adrian W. Moore, Yufei Chen, Chao Cheng, Patricia Ernst

Dartmouth Scholarship

The histone methyltransferase Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) is essential to maintain hematopoietic stem cells and is a leukemia protooncogene. Although clustered homeobox genes are well-characterized targets of MLL and MLL fusion oncoproteins, the range of Mll-regulated genes in normal hematopoietic cells remains unknown. Here, we identify and characterize part of the Mll-dependent transcriptional network in hematopoietic stem cells with an integrated approach by using conditional loss-of-function models, genomewide expression analyses, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and functional rescue assays. The Mll-dependent transcriptional network extends well beyond the previously appreciated Hox targets, is comprised of many characterized regulators of self-renewal, and contains target genes …

What's Happening: July 15, 2013, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Ada News - 07/15/2013, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

Established in 1970 as the official newspaper of the American Dental Association, the ADA News serves practicing dentists and others allied to the dental profession in the U.S. and internationally. It is the No. 1 source of news and information about the many benefits and services the ADA delivers to members daily as well as timely information on scientific, social, political and economic developments affecting dentistry and health care.

Population Cancer Risks Associated With Coal Mining: A Systematic Review, Wiley D. Jenkins, W. Jay Christian, Georgia Mueller, K. Thomas Robbins

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Coal is produced across 25 states and provides 42% of US energy. With production expected to increase 7.6% by 2035, proximate populations remain at risk of exposure to carcinogenic coal products such as silica dust and organic compounds. It is unclear if population exposure is associated with increased risk, or even which cancers have been studied in this regard.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review of English-language manuscripts published since 1980 to determine if coal mining exposure was associated with increased cancer risk (incidence and mortality).

RESULTS: Of 34 studies identified, 27 studied coal mining as an occupational exposure …

Examining Parents' Interactions With Their Children During Literacy Activities, Kerianne Frodsham Allsop

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of conversational interactions between parents and their children during early literacy instructional activities. Parents engaged their children in interactions within hands-on activities designed to teach specific literacy skills as part of a kindergarten project entitled Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL). Data for this study were extracted from audio and video recordings of parent-child interactions during three targeted literacy activities. Specialized software (LENA Pro) was used to analyze the interactions regarding adult and child use of targeted words (word count) and turn taking. To gain additional information about the exchanges, …

Effect Of Variable Dose Rate On Biologically Effective Dose, Vadim Y. Kuperman, Gregory S. Spradlin

Publications

Purpose: to investigate the effect of variable dose rate on biologically effective dose ( BED ).

Materials and methods: by using the linear-quadratic (LQ) model with bi-exponential repair, we analytically determine the time-dependent dose rate R ~ which minimizes the effective protraction factor ( eff G ) and BEDunder the condition of fixed fraction time and dose per fraction.  Because normal tissue complication probability ( NTCP) monotonically decreases with decreasingBED , the dose rate R ~ also minimizes NTCP.

Results: the dependences of Geff, BED, and NTCP on fraction time were determined for different radiobiological parameters and two different …

Calcium, Magnesium And Potassium Intake And Mortality In Women With Heart Failure: The Women's Health Initiative, Emily B. Levitan, James M. Shikany, Ali Ahmed, Linda G. Snetselaar, Lisa W. Martin, J. David Curb, Cora E. Lewis

Medicine Faculty Publications

Although diet is thought to affect the natural history of heart failure (HF), nutrient intake in HF patients has not been well studied. Based on prior research linking high intake of Ca, Mg and K to improved cardiovascular health, we hypothesised that these nutrients would be inversely associated with mortality in people with HF. Of the 161 808 participants in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), we studied 3340 who experienced a HF hospitalisation. These participants were followed for post-hospitalisation all-cause mortality. Intake was assessed using questionnaires on food and supplement intake. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI were calculated …

Single-Trial Decoding Of Auditory Novelty Responses Facilitates The Detection Of Residual Consciousness, J. R. King, F. Faugeras, A. Gramfort, Aaron Schurger, I. El Karoui, J. D. Sitt, B. Rohaut, C. Wacongne, E. Labyt, T. Bekinschtein, L. Cohen, L. Naccache, S. Dehaene

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Detecting residual consciousness in unresponsive patients is a major clinical concern and a challenge for theoretical neuroscience. To tackle this issue, we recently designed a paradigm that dissociates two electro-encephalographic (EEG) responses to auditory novelty. Whereas a local change in pitch automatically elicits a mismatch negativity (MMN), a change in global sound sequence leads to a late P300b response. The latter component is thought to be present only when subjects consciously perceive the global novelty. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to detect because individual variability is high, especially in clinical recordings. Here, we show that multivariate pattern classifiers can extract …

Validation Of Copy Number Variants Associated With Schizophrenia Risk In An Irish Population And Implications To Clinical Practice, Rachel L. Elves

Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder affecting 1% of the population and is highly heritable, but the majority of contributing genetic factors has remained elusive. Current risk estimates for clinical practice are primarily determined by family history and associated empirical risk. Copy number variants (CNVs) may hold the key to explaining the missing heritability in schizophrenia research; schizophrenia risk estimates as high as 30% have been found for the most-studied CNV associated with schizophrenia, 22q11. Currently, there are methods to identify CNVs though previously collected data from SNP microarrays that would facilitate these types of studies. To determine if algorithms that …

Identification And Molecular Characterization Of A New Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Locus At 17q21.31, Jennifer Permuth-Wey, Kate Lawrenson, Howard C. Shen, Aneliya Velkova, Jonathan P. Tyrer, Zhihua Chen, Hui-Yi Lin, Y. Ann Chen, Ya-Yu Tsai, Xiaotao Qu, Susan J. Ramus, Rod Karevan, Janet Lee, Nathan Lee, Melissa C. Larson, Katja K. Aben, Hoda Anton-Culver, Natalia Antonenkova, Antonis Antoniou, Sebastian M. Armasu, Australian Cancer Study, Queensland Institute Of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australian Ovarian Cancer Study, Queensland Institute Of Medical Research, Brisbane, François Bacot, Laura Baglietto, Elisa V. Bandera, Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, Matthias W. Beckmann, Michael J. Birrer, Greg Bloom, Natalia Bogdanova, Louise A. Brinton, Angela Brooks-Wilson, Robert Brown, Ralf Butzow, Qiuyin Cai, Ian Campbell, Jenny Change-Claude, Stephen Chanock, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Jin Q. Cheng, Mine S. Cicek, Gerhard A. Coetzee, Consortium Of Investigators Of Modifiers Of Brca1/2, Linda S. Cook, Fergus J. Couch, Daniel W. Cramer, Julie M. Cunningham, Agnieszka Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Evelyn Despierre, Jennifer Doherty

Dartmouth Scholarship

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has a heritable component that remains to be fully characterized. Most identified common susceptibility variants lie in non-protein-coding sequences. We hypothesized that variants in the 3 ′ untranslated region at putative microRNA (miRNA) binding sites represent functional targets that influence EOC susceptibility. Here, we evaluate the association between 767 miRNA binding site single nucleotide polymorphisms (miRSNPs) and EOC risk in 18,174 EOC cases and 26,134 controls from 43 studies genotyped through the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study. We identify several miRSNPs associated with invasive serous EOC risk (OR=1.12, P =10⁻⁸ ) mapping to an inversion polymorphism …

College Of Public Health News, Georgia Southern University

College of Public Health: News & Publications

• JPHMP Editorial Board

Research Brief: "Employment Status Of Veterans Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment From The U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study investigates how the severity of PTSD symptoms relates to employment and earnings, it found that Veterans with more severe symptoms of PTSD, were more likely to work part-time or not at all rather than have full time work. In practice, treating PTSD, even if some symptoms remain, could result in better employment outcomes for veterans. In policy, Policy makers should consider providing previously successful programs for veterans with PTSD for individuals with other mental health conditions. Suggestions for future research include A large, controlled, longitudinal survey would allow researchers to investigate more thoroughly how PTSD symptoms relate to …

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• JPHMP Editorial Board

Marine-Lenhart Harboring Papillary Thyroid Cancer, Brian Y. Chou, Md, Sharon Segal, Do, Edmund A. Pribitkin, Md, Jeffery L. Miller, Md

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Presentations and Grand Rounds

Introduction

Graves' disease with functioning nodules is referred to as Marine-Lenhart Syndrome. Only 2.7% of the patients with Graves’disease have concomitant functioning nodules.¹ Thyroid scintigraphy often definitively confirms the diagnosis. However, in addition to a hyperfunctioning (i.e. "hot") nodule, the thyroid scan may reveal isofunctioning (i.e. "warm"), and or a nonfuntioning (i.e. "cold") nodule as compared to the normal surrounding thyroid. Since hyperfuntioning nodules rarely harbor malignancy, if one is found that corresponds to the nodule in question, no cytologic evaluation is usually necessary.² Conversely, the majority of all nonfunctioning nodules may be benign or less frequently malignant, …

Transcription Factor Binding Profiles Reveal Cyclic Expression Of Human Protein-Coding Genes And Non-Coding Rnas, Chao Cheng, Matthew Ung, Gavin D. Grant, Michael L. Whitfield

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cell cycle is a complex and highly supervised process that must proceed with regulatory precision to achieve successful cellular division. Despite the wide application, microarray time course experiments have several limitations in identifying cell cycle genes. We thus propose a computational model to predict human cell cycle genes based on transcription factor (TF) binding and regulatory motif information in their promoters. We utilize ENCODE ChIP-seq data and motif information as predictors to discriminate cell cycle against non-cell cycle genes. Our results show that both the trans- TF features and the cis- motif features are predictive of cell cycle genes, and …

Managing Congestive Heart Failure : A Study Comparing The Management Provided By A Cardiologist, Family Physician And Nurse Practitioner, Alena Lester, Christian Allison, Teresa Gail Harris

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if health care providers are following evidence-based guidelines for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of obese children.

Are Health Care Providers Following Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines For The Screening, Diagnosis, And Treatment Of Childhood Obesity?, Alena Lester, Christian Allison, Teresa Gail Harris

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if health care providers are following evidence-based guidelines for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of obese children.

How To Get Rid Of Thunder Thighs, Helena E. Yang

SURGE

I appreciate the insightful and important things your muffin top has to say to me, but my thunder thighs still think they’re fat.

I’m overweight (sometimes).

On a BMI scale, I fluctuate in and out of the dreaded “overweight” category. While I acknowledge that the BMI scale has its flaws, it was designed to be a quick approximation of weight to height; it is not designed to be a scientific test. Sometimes I tell myself I am super muscular and the scale doesn’t apply to me, but it’s actually not true. [excerpt]