Anatomy Commons^™

Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (Enos) And The Cardiovascular System: In Physiology And In Disease States, N Tran, T Garcia, M Aniqa, S Ali, A Ally, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) plays a critical role in regulating and maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system. The importance of eNOS can be emphasized from the genetic polymorphisms of the eNOS gene, uncoupling of eNOS dimerization, and its numerous signaling regulations. The activity of eNOS on the cardiac myocytes, vasculature, and the central nervous system are discussed. The effects of eNOS on the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SANS) and the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system (PANS), both of which profoundly influence the cardiovascular system, will be elaborated. The relationship between the eNOS protein with cardiovascular autonomic reflexes such as the baroreflex …

Functional Differentiation In The Language Network Revealed By Lesion-Dymptom Mapping, William Matchin, Alexandra Basilakos, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Brielle C. Stark, Gregory Hickok, Julius Fridriksson

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Theories of language organization in the brain commonly posit that different regions underlie distinct linguistic mechanisms. However, such theories have been criticized on the grounds that many neuroimaging studies of language processing find similar effects across regions. Moreover, condition by region interaction effects, which provide the strongest evidence of functional differentiation between regions, have rarely been offered in support of these theories. Here we address this by using lesion-symptom mapping in three large, partially-overlapping groups of aphasia patients with left hemisphere brain damage due to stroke (N = 121, N = 92, N = 218). We identified multiple measure by …

Kinematic Assessment Of Turning And Walking Tasks Among Stroke Survivors By Employing Wearable Sensors And Pressure Platform, Masoud Abdollahi, Pranav Madhav Kuber, Christopher Hoang, Michael Shiraishi, Rahul Soangra, Ehsan Rashedi

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Stroke survivors often experience reduced movement capabilities due to alterations in their neuromusculoskeletal systems. Modern sensor technologies and motion analyses can facilitate the determination of these changes. Our work aims to assess the potential of using wearable motion sensors to analyze the movement of stroke survivors and identifying the affected functions. We recruited 10 participants (5 stroke survivors, 5 healthy individuals) and conducted a controlled laboratory evaluation for two of the most common daily activities: turning and walking. Among the extracted kinematic parameters, range of trunk and sacrum lateral bending in turning were significantly larger in stroke survivors (p-value<0.02). However, no statistical difference in mean angular velocity and range of motion for trunk/sacrum/shank flexion-extension were obtained in the turning task. Our results also indicated that during walking, while there was no difference in swing time, double support portion of gait among the stroke group was significantly larger (p-value = 0.001). Outcomes of this investigation may help in designing new rehabilitation programs for stroke and other neurological disorders and/or in improving the efficacy of such programs.Clinical Relevance— This study may provide a better insight on the detailed functional differences between stroke survivors and healthy individuals which in turn could be used to develop a more efficient rehabilitation program for stroke community.

Differential Effect Of Proinflammatory Cytokines On Corneal And Conjunctival Epithelial Cell Mucins And Glycocalyx, Kiumars Shamloo, Priya Mistry, Ashley Barbarino, Christopher Ross, Vishal Jhanji

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: Ocular surface mucins and glycocalyx are critical for providing ocular hydration as well lubrication and repelling pathogens or allergens. Elevated levels of tear proinflammatory cytokines in dry eye may have detrimental effect on mucins and glycocalyx. The present study tested the effect of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ on membrane-tethered mucins expression, glycocalyx, and viability of ocular surface epithelial cells.

Methods: Stratified cultures of human corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells were exposed to different concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ for 24 hours. The mucins gene and protein expressions were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction …

Modeling Action Potential Reversals In Tunicate Hearts, John W. Cain, Luran He, Lindsay D. Waldrop

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tunicates are small invertebrates which possess a unique ability to reverse flow in their hearts. Scientists have debated various theories regarding how and why flow reversals occur. Here we explore the electrophysiological basis for reversals by simulating action potential propagation in an idealized model of the tubelike tunicate heart. Using asymptotic formulas for action potential duration and conduction velocity, we propose tunicate-specific parameters for a two-current ionic model of the action potential. Then, using a kinematic model, we derive analytical criteria for reversals to occur. These criteria inform subsequent numerical simulations of action potential propagation in a fiber paced at …

The Physiological Interaction Of Sleep Deprivation And Zoledronate On Distal Femur Trabecular Thickness Of Ovariectomized Rats, Erin Nolte, Frank Frisch, Oliver Lopez

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Osteoporosis, a disease resulting in an increased risk of fracture due to compromised bone, affects 1 in 3 postmenopausal women. Discontinuities in the microarchitecture of bone, such as trabeculae, are seen in postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study aimed to evaluate how sleep deprivation affects the distal femur trabecular thickness of estrogen-deficient rats treated with Zoledronate. 29 ovariectomized Wistar female rats were separated into 4 groups. The control group (C) was housed in standard housing with a 12-hour light/dark cycle and was given an intravenous injection of 0.45 mL of 0.9% saline. The Zoledronate group (Z) were also housed in standard conditions …

Lc–Ms/Ms-Based In Vitro And In Vivo Investigation Of Blood–Brain Barrier Integrity By Simultaneous Quantitation Of Mannitol And Sucrose, Behnam Noorani, Ekram Ahmed Chowdhury, Faleh Alqahtani, Yeseul Ahn, Dhavalkumar Patel, Abraham Al-Ahmad, Reza Mehvar, Ulrich Bickel

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Understanding the pathophysiology of the blood brain–barrier (BBB) plays a critical role in diagnosis and treatment of disease conditions. Applying a sensitive and specific LC–MS/MS technique for the measurement of BBB integrity with high precision, we have recently introduced non-radioactive [¹³C₁₂]sucrose as a superior marker substance. Comparison of permeability markers with different molecular weight, but otherwise similar physicochemical properties, can provide insights into the uptake mechanism at the BBB. Mannitol is a small hydrophilic, uncharged molecule that is half the size of sucrose. Previously only radioactive [³H]mannitol or [¹⁴C]mannitol has been …

Uplc-Ms/Ms Analysis Of Cyp1a-Mediated Ethoxyresorufin-O-Deethylation Activity In The Rat Kidney Microsomes, Devaraj Venkatapura Chandrashekar, Reza Mehvar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Ethoxyresorufin (ER)-O-deethylation (EROD) activity has been widely used to assess cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) activity. The kinetics of CYP1A activity have been well characterized in the liver microsomes. However, studies in kidney microsomes are limited due to the much lower EROD activity in this organ. Here, we developed and validated a sensitive UPLC-MS/MS assay for the characterization of the EROD activity in the rat kidney microsomes. In a 50 µL reaction mixture, rat kidney microsomes (0.25 mg/mL) were incubated with ER (0.1–5 µM) and NADPH (1 mM) for 10 min. Acidic solvents, such as trichloroacetic acid or formic …

Lower Extremity Kinetics And Muscle Activation During Gait Are Significantly Different During And After Pregnancy Compared To Nulliparous Females, Jennifer J. Bagwell, Nicholas Reynolds, Michelle Walaszek, Hannah Runez, Kristina Lam, Jo Armour Smith, Dimitrios Katsavelis

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Low back, pelvic, and lower extremity pain are common during and after pregnancy. Understanding differences in mechanics between pregnant and non-pregnant females is a first step toward identifying potential pathological mechanisms. The primary purpose of this study was to compare joint kinetics and muscle activation during gait between females during and after pregnancy to nulliparous females.

Methods

Twenty pregnant females completed testing on three occasions (second trimester, third trimester, and post-partum), while 20 matched, nulliparous controls were tested once. Motion capture, force data, and surface electromyography were averaged across seven trials during gait. Lower extremity kinematics, lower extremity moments …

Role Of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase On Cardiovascular Functions In Physiological And Pathophysiological States, Ahmmed Ally, Isabella Powell, Minora M. Ally, Kevin Chaitoff, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

This review describes and summarizes the role of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) on the central nervous system, particularly on brain regions such as the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), and on blood vessels and the heart that are involved in the regulation and control of the cardiovascular system (CVS). Furthermore, we shall also review the functional aspects of nNOS during several physiological, pathophysiological, and clinical conditions such as exercise, pain, cerebral vascular accidents or stroke and hypertension. For example, during stroke, a cascade of molecular, neurochemical, and cellular changes occur that affect the nervous system …

A Comparison Of Denoising Methods In Onset Determination In Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle Activations During Stance, Jian Zhang, Rahul Soangra, Thurmon Lockhart

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

One of the most basic pieces of information gained from dynamic electromyography is accurately defining muscle action and phase timing within the gait cycle. The human gait relies on selective timing and the intensity of appropriate muscle activations for stability, loading, and progression over the supporting foot during stance, and further to advance the limb in the swing phase. A common clinical practice is utilizing a low-pass filter to denoise integrated electromyogram (EMG) signals and to determine onset and cessation events using a predefined threshold. However, the accuracy of the defining period of significant muscle activations via EMG varies with …

Agrammatism And Paragrammatism: A Cortical Double Dissociation Revealed By Lesion-Symptom Mapping, William Matchin, Alexandra Basilakos, Brielle C. Stark, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Fridolin Gross, Gregory Hickok

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

The fundamental distinction of grammatical deficits in aphasia, agrammatism and paragrammatism, was made over a century ago. However, the extent to which the agrammatism/paragrammatism distinction exists independently of differences in speech fluency has not clearly been investigated. Despite much research on agrammatism, the lesion correlates of paragrammatism are essentially unknown. Lesion-symptom mapping was used to investigate the degree to which the lesion correlates of agrammatism and paragrammatism overlap or dissociate. Four expert raters assessed videos of 53 right-handed patients with aphasia following chronic left-hemisphere stroke retelling the Cinderella story. Consensus discussion determined each subject’s classification with respect to grammatical deficits …

Utilizing Best Practices Of 3d-Modeling And Printing In Veterinary Medicine To Analyze Elbow Incongruity Of A Maltese Canine, Johnny Altwal

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Research on the application of 3D-printed models in human medicine is extensive, but it is relatively new for veterinary medicine. With the increased numbers of certified veterinary radiologists and animal imaging facilities, best practices in 3D model design and printing can be explored. This project was two-fold. First, an encompassing literature review was generated, outlining the development and uses of computer-generated 3D models in connection to their applications in veterinary medicine. Accurate renderings of an animal’s anatomy can be used to train new students, educate clients on their pets’ needs, and guide veterinarian surgical approaches. Several different cases were explored …

The Natural Historian’S Guide To The Ct Galaxy: Step-By-Step Instructions For Preparing And Analyzing Computed Tomographic (Ct) Data Using Cross-Platform, Open Access Software, T. J. Buser, O. F. Boyd, A. Cortés, Cassandra M. Donatelli, M. A. Kolmann, J. L. Luparell, J. A. Pfeiffenberger, B. L. Sidlauskas, A. P. Summers

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The decreasing cost of acquiring computed tomographic (CT) data has fueled a global effort to digitize the anatomy of museum specimens. This effort has produced a wealth of open access digital three-dimensional (3D) models of anatomy available to anyone with access to the Internet. The potential applications of these data are broad, ranging from 3D printing for purely educational purposes to the development of highly advanced biomechanical models of anatomical structures. However, while virtually anyone can access these digital data, relatively few have the training to easily derive a desirable product (e.g., a 3D visualization of an anatomical structure) from …

Learning In The Machine: To Share Or Not To Share?, Jordan Ott, Erik Linstead, Nicholas Lahaye, Pierre Baldi

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Weight-sharing is one of the pillars behind Convolutional Neural Networks and their successes. However, in physical neural systems such as the brain, weight-sharing is implausible. This discrepancy raises the fundamental question of whether weight-sharing is necessary. If so, to which degree of precision? If not, what are the alternatives? The goal of this study is to investigate these questions, primarily through simulations where the weight-sharing assumption is relaxed. Taking inspiration from neural circuitry, we explore the use of Free Convolutional Networks and neurons with variable connection patterns. Using Free Convolutional Networks, we show that while weight-sharing is a pragmatic optimization …

A 12-Lead Ecg Database To Identify Origins Of Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmia Containing 334 Patients, Jianwei Zhang, Guohua Fu, Kyle Anderson, Huimin Chu, Cyril Rakovski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Cardiac catheter ablation has shown the effectiveness of treating the idiopathic premature ventricular complex and ventricular tachycardia. As the most important prerequisite for successful therapy, criteria based on analysis of 12-lead ECGs are employed to reliably speculate the locations of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia before a subsequent catheter ablation procedure. Among these possible locations, right ventricular outflow tract and left outflow tract are the major ones. We created a new 12-lead ECG database under the auspices of Chapman University and Ningbo First Hospital of Zhejiang University that aims to provide high quality data enabling detection of the distinctions between idiopathic ventricular …

Optimal Multi-Stage Arrhythmia Classification Approach, Jianwei Zhang, Huimin Chu, Daniele Struppa, Jianming Zhang, Sir Magdi Yacoub, Hesham El-Askary, Anthony Chang, Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Islam Abudayyeh, Alexander Barrett, Guohua Fu, Hai Yao, Dongbo Li, Hangyuan Guo, Cyril Rakovski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Arrhythmia constitutes a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat, and an early diagnosis is essential for the timely inception of successful treatment. We have jointly optimized the entire multi-stage arrhythmia classification scheme based on 12-lead surface ECGs that attains the accuracy performance level of professional cardiologists. The new approach is comprised of a three-step noise reduction stage, a novel feature extraction method and an optimal classification model with finely tuned hyperparameters. We carried out an exhaustive study comparing thousands of competing classification algorithms that were trained on our proprietary, large and expertly labeled dataset consisting of 12-lead …

A 12-Lead Electrocardiogram Database For Arrhythmia Research Covering More Than 10,000 Patients, Jianwei Zhang, Jianming Zhang, Sidy Daniako, Hai Yao, Hangyuan Guo, Cyril Rakovski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This newly inaugurated research database for 12-lead electrocardiogram signals was created under the auspices of Chapman University and Shaoxing People’s Hospital (Shaoxing Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine) and aims to enable the scientific community in conducting new studies on arrhythmia and other cardiovascular conditions. Certain types of arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, have a pronounced negative impact on public health, quality of life, and medical expenditures. As a non-invasive test, long term ECG monitoring is a major and vital diagnostic tool for detecting these conditions. This practice, however, generates large amounts of data, the analysis of which requires considerable …

Task-Invariance And Reliability Of Anticipatory Postural Adjustments In Healthy Young Adults, Jo Armour Smith, Niklas König Ignasiak, Jesse V. Jacobs

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) occur in the trunk during tasks such as rapid limb movement and are impaired in individuals with musculoskeletal and neurological dysfunction. To understand APA impairment, it is important to first determine if APAs can be measured reliably and which characteristics of APAs are task-invariant.

Research question

What is the test-retest reliability of latency, amplitude and muscle activation patterns (synergies) of trunk APAs during arm-raise and leg-raise tasks, and to what extent are these APA characteristics invariant across tasks at the individual and group levels?

Methods

15 young adults (mean age: 23.7 (±3.2) years) performed six …

Glucocorticoids Rapidly Activate Camp Production Via GΑs To Initiate Non-Genomic Signaling That Contributes To One-Third Of Their Canonical Genomic Effects, Francisco J. Nuñez, Timothy B. Johnstone, Maia L. Corpuz, Austin G. Kazarian, Nicole N. Mohajer, Omar Tliba, Reynold A. Pannettieri Jr., Cynthia J. Koziol-White, Moom Roosan, Rennolds S. Ostrom

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Glucocorticoids are widely used for the suppression of inflammation, but evidence is growing that they can have rapid, non-genomic actions that have been unappreciated. Diverse cell signaling effects have been reported for glucocorticoids, leading us to hypothesize that glucocorticoids alone can swiftly increase the 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production. We found that prednisone, fluticasone, budesonide, and progesterone each increased cAMP levels within 3 minutes without phosphodiesterase inhibitors by measuring real-time cAMP dynamics using the cAMP difference detector in situ assay in a variety of immortalized cell lines and primary human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells. A membrane- impermeable glucocorticoid showed …

Evaluation Of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha In Sleep-Deprived Menopausal- Induced Rats And The Impact On Bone Health, Nicole Ellsworth, Dwight Curry Iii, Cj Deleon, Frank Frisch

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Post-menopausal osteoporosis as a consequence of estrogen depletion is a growing concern for women in the United States. As more women take on executive positions and experience sleep deprivation, there is the potential for up regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha. It follows that the homeostatic imbalance of osteoclastic and osteoblastic activity leads to a greater risk of disease. Bisphosphonates generally, and Zolendronate specifically works by decreasing the number of osteoclasts. This current study investigated the impact of Zolendronate on the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha-type (TNFɑ) in 32 ovariectomized Wistar rats. Throughout a five …

Bone Strength And Distal Femur Trabecular Thickness In Sleep Deprived Ovariectomized Rats Treated With Zoledronate, Erin Nolte, Frank Frisch

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the density and quality of bone to be decreased, which can increase the risk of fracture by 40%. 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will be affected by osteoporosis. This study aimed to show how bone strength and distal femur trabecular thickness might be affected by Zoledronate and sleep-deprivation in estrogen-deficient rats. Wistar female rats were ovariectomized to contrive postmenopausal estrogen-deficiency. The rats were separated into 4 groups. The control group (C, n=4) was given an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 0.45 mL of 0.9% saline, were housed in standard conditions permitting …

Budesonide Enhances Agonist-Induced Bronchodilation In Human Small Airways By Increasing Camp Production In Airway Smooth Muscle, Cynthia J. Koziol-White, Timothy B. Johnstone, Maia L. Corpuz, Gaoyuan Cao, Sarah Orfanos, Vishal Parikh, Brian Deeney, Omar Tliba, Rennolds S. Ostrom, Ian Dainty, Reynold A. Panettieri Jr.

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The non-genomic mechanisms by which glucocorticoids modulate β₂ agonist-induced-bronchodilation remain elusive. Our studies aimed to elucidate mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects of glucocorticoids on agonist-induced bronchodilation. Utilizing human precision cut lung slices (hPCLS), we measured bronchodilation to formoterol, prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), cholera toxin (CTX) or forskolin in the presence and absence of budesonide. Using cultured human airway smooth muscle (HASM), intracellular cAMP was measured in live cells following exposure to formoterol, PGE₂, or forskolin in the presence or absence of budesonide. We showed that simultaneous budesonide administration amplified formoterol-induced bronchodilation and attenuated agonist-induced phosphorylation …

Individuals With Recurrent Low Back Pain Exhibit Significant Changes In Paraspinal Muscle Strength After Intramuscular Fine Wire Electrode Insertion, Szu-Ping Lee, Vincent Dinglasan, Anthony Duong, Russell Totten, Jo Armour Smith

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

To examine how insertion and presence of intramuscular fine‐wire electromyography electrodes (IFWE) in lumbar multifidus affect paraspinal muscle strength, endurance, and activation in persons with and without recurrent lower back pain (RLBP) during activities that require high levels of muscle contraction.

Design

Case‐control with randomization of conditions.

Setting

Clinical Research Laboratory.

Participants

Forty participants age 18‐40 were recruited (18 female; mean age = 25.5 yr); 20 with a history of RLBP were compared to a matching control group of 20 without RLBP.

Interventions

Each participant was tested under three conditions over three sessions. On Session 1, the baseline condition, …

Effects Of Obesity And Fall Risk On Gait And Posture Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Thurmon E. Lockhart, Christopher W. Frames, Rahul Soangra, Abraham Lieberman

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Epidemiological studies link increased fall risk to obesity in older adults, but the mechanism through which obesity increases falls and fall risks is unknown. This study investigates if obesity (Body Mass Index: BMI>30 kg/m2) influenced gait and standing postural characteristics of community dwelling older adults leading to increased risk of falls. One hundred healthy older adults (age 74.0±7.6 years, range of 56-90 years) living independently in a community participated in this study. Participants’ history of falls over the previous two years was recorded, with emphasis on frequency and characteristics of falls. Participants with at least two falls in the …

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Solution Structure And Functional Behavior Of The Human Proton Channel, Monika Bayrhuber, Innokentiy Maslennikov, Witek Kwiatkowski, Alexander Sobol, Christoph Wierschem, Cédric Eichmann, Lukas Frey, Roland Riek

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The human voltage-gated proton channel [Hv1⁽¹⁾ or VSDO⁽²⁾] plays an important role in the human innate immune system. Its structure differs considerably from those of other cation channels. It is built solely of a voltage-sensing domain and thus lacks the central pore domain, which is essential for other cation channels. Here, we determined the solution structure of an N- and C-terminally truncated human Hv1 (Δ-Hv1) in the resting state by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Δ-Hv1 comprises the typical voltage-sensing antiparallel four-helix bundle (S1–S4) preceded by an amphipathic helix (S0). The solution structure corresponds to an intermediate …

A Method To Concatenate Multiple Short Time Series For Evaluating Dynamic Behaviour During Walking, Niklas König Ignasiak

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Gait variability is a sensitive metric for assessing functional deficits in individuals with mobility impairments. To correctly represent the temporal evolution of gait kinematics, nonlinear measures require extended and uninterrupted time series. In this study, we present and validate a novel algorithm for concatenating multiple time-series in order to allow the nonlinear analysis of gait data from standard and unrestricted overground walking protocols. The fullbody gait patterns of twenty healthy subjects were captured during five walking trials (at least 5 minutes) on a treadmill under different weight perturbation conditions. The collected time series were cut into multiple shorter time series …

Does Variability Of Footfall Kinematics Correlate With Dynamic Stability Of The Centre Of Mass During Walking?, Niklas König Ignasiak

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

A stable walking pattern is presumably essential to avoid falls. Stability of walking is most accurately determined by the short-term local dynamic stability (maximum Lyapunov exponent) of the body centre of mass. In many studies related to fall risk, however, variability of step width is considered to be indicative of the stability of the centre of mass during walking. However, other footfall parameters, in particular variability of stride time, have also been associated with increased risk for falling. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between short-term local dynamic stability of the body centre of mass …

Behavioral And Neural Correlates Of Normal Aging Effects On Motor Preparatory Mechanisms Of Speech Production And Limb Movement, Karim Johari, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Roozbeh Behroozmand

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Normal aging is associated with decline of the sensorimotor mechanisms that support movement function in the human brain. In this study, we used behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) recordings to investigate the effects of normal aging on the motor preparatory mechanisms of speech production and limb movement. The experiment involved two groups of older and younger adults who performed randomized speech vowel vocalization and button press motor reaction time tasks in response to temporally predictable and unpredictable visual stimuli. Behavioral results revealed age-related slowness of motor reaction time only during speech production in response to temporally unpredictable stimuli, and this …

Fluorometholone Modulates Gene Expression Of Ocular Surface Mucins, Jonathan Taniguchi, Ajay Sharma

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Mucins are vital to keep the ocular surface hydrated. Genes encoding for mucins contain a glucocorticoid response element. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of fluorometholone, a glucocorticoid receptor agonist used in the management of dry eye, on the gene expression of conjunctival and corneal epithelial cell mucins.

Methods

Stratified cultures of human conjunctival and corneal epithelial cells were exposed to 25, 50 and 100 nM of fluorometholone alone or in presence of mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. The mRNA was isolated from the cells and reverse transcribed to cDNA. The cDNA was used for …