Anatomy Commons^™

Improving Online Interactions: Lessons From An Online Anatomy Course With A Laboratory For Undergraduate Students, Stephanie M. Attardi, Michele L. Barbeau, Kem A. Rogers

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

An online section of a face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate (bachelor's level) anatomy course with a prosection laboratory was offered in 2013-2014. Lectures for F2F students (353) were broadcast to online students (138) using Blackboard Collaborate (BBC) virtual classroom. Online laboratories were offered using BBC and three-dimensional (3D) anatomical computer models. This iteration of the course was modified from the previous year to improve online student-teacher and student-student interactions. Students were divided into laboratory groups that rotated through virtual breakout rooms, giving them the opportunity to interact with three instructors. The objectives were to assess student performance outcomes, perceptions of student-teacher and …

Pannexin 1 Regulates Adipose Stromal Cell Differentiation And Fat Accumulation, Vanessa R. Lee, Kevin J. Barr, John J. Kelly, Danielle Johnston, Cody F.C. Brown, Kevin P. Robb, Samar Sayedyahossein, Kenneth Huang, Robert Gros, Lauren E. Flynn, Silvia Penuela

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Pannexin 1 (Panx1) is a channel-forming glycoprotein important in paracrine signaling and cellular development. In this study, we discovered that mice globally lacking Panx1 (KO) have significantly greater total fat mass and reduced lean mass compared to wild type (WT) mice under a normal diet. Despite having higher fat content, Panx1 KO mice on a high fat diet exhibited no differences in weight gain and blood markers of obesity as compared to WT controls, except for an increase in glucose and insulin levels. However, metabolic cage data revealed that these Panx1 KO mice display significantly increased activity levels, higher ambulatory …

Response To The Growing Dementia Burden Must Be Broader, Werner Hacke, Vladimir Hachinski

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

No abstract provided.

Fast And Slow-Twitching Muscles Are Differentially Affected By Reduced Cholinergic Transmission In Mice Deficient For Vacht: A Mouse Model For Congenital Myasthenia, Matheus P.S. Magalhaes-Gomes, Marco A.M. Prado

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) result from reduced cholinergic transmission at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). While the etiology of CMS varies, the disease is characterized by muscle weakness. To date, it remains unknown if CMS causes long-term and irreversible changes to skeletal muscles. In this study, we examined skeletal muscles in a mouse line with reduced expression of Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter (VAChT, mouse line herein called VAChT-KDHOM). We examined this mouse line for several reasons. First, VAChT plays a central function in loading acetylcholine (ACh) into synaptic vesicles and releasing it at NMJs, in addition to other cholinergic nerve endings. Second, loss …

Transplantation Of Pediatric Renal Allografts From Donors Less Than 10 Kg, Nickolas Mitrou, Shahid Aquil, Marie Dion, Vivian Mcalister, Alp Sener, Patrick P. Luke

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Few transplant programs use kidneys from donors with body weight (BW) BW < 10 kg would provide similar transplant outcomes to larger grafts. All pediatric en bloc renal transplants performed at our center between 2001 and 2017 were reviewed (N = 28). Data were stratified by smaller (donor BW < 10 kg; n = 11) or larger donors (BW > 10 kg; n = 17). Renal volume was assessed during follow-up with ultrasound. Demographic characteristics were similar between the 2 groups of recipients. After mean follow-up of 44 months (smaller donors) and 124 months (larger donors), graft and patient outcomes were similar between groups. Serum creatinine at 1, 3, and 5 years was no different between groups. At 1 day posttransplant, mean total renal volume in the smaller donors was 28 +/- 9 mm(3) vs 45 +/- 12 mm(3) (P < .01). By 3 weeks, it was 53 +/- 19 mm(3) (smaller donors) versus 73 +/- 19 mm(3) (larger donors) (P = NS). Complication rates were similar between both groups with 1 case of venous thrombosis in the smaller group. With experience, outcomes are equivalent to those from larger pediatric donors.

First Canadian Experience With Robotic Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Vs. Standard Laparoscopic Living-Donor Nephrectomy: A Prospective Comparative Study, Patrick P Luke, Shahid Aquil, Bijad Alharbi, Hemant Sharma, Alp Sener

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to compare the outcomes of robotic laparoendoscopic single-site living donor nephrectomy (R-LESS LDN) vs. standard laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN).

METHODS: Between October 2013 and November 2015, 39 patients were allocated to either standard LLDN (n=25) or R-LESS LDN (n=14). Patient demographics, perioperative outcomes, analgesic requirement, visual analogue scale of pain at postoperative days 1, 3, 7, and 30, and a health-related quality of life and body image questionnaire were prospectively collected.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences in demographics and intraoperative outcomes between the two cohorts. The R-LESS LDN cohort had lower analgesic requirement (p=0.002) and …

Cell Specific Control Of The Pallidostriatal Pathway, Shubha Verma '19

Student Publications & Research

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder of the basal ganglia. The main cause for Parkinson’s Disease is the depletion of dopamine, a neurotransmitter. The basal ganglia contains four major nuclei: the substantia nigra, the subthalamic nucleus, the external globus pallidus, and the striatum. These nuclei communicate with each other by the use of neurons.

Hyperhomocysteinemia As A Risk Factor For Vascular Contributions To Cognitive Impairment And Dementia, Brittani R. Price, Donna M. Wilcock, Erica M. Weekman

Physiology Faculty Publications

Behind only Alzheimer’s disease, vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is the second most common cause of dementia, affecting roughly 10–40% of dementia patients. While there is no cure for VCID, several risk factors for VCID, such as diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, have been identified. Elevated plasma levels of homocysteine, termed hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), are a major, yet underrecognized, risk factor for VCID. B vitamin deficiency, which is the most common cause of HHcy, is common in the elderly. With B vitamin supplementation being a relatively safe and inexpensive therapeutic, the treatment of HHcy-induced VCID would seem straightforward; however, …

Glimepiride Administered In Chow Reversibly Impairs Glucose Tolerance In Mice, Dana M. Niedowicz, Sabire Özcan, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Sulfonylureas are a class of antidiabetes medications prescribed to millions of individuals worldwide. Rodents have been used extensively to study sulfonylureas in the laboratory. Here, we report the results of studies treating mice with a sulfonylurea (glimepiride) in order to understand how the drug affects glucose homeostasis and tolerance. We tested the effect of glimepiride on fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, and insulin secretion, using glimepiride sourced from a local pharmacy. We also examined the effect on glucagon, gluconeogenesis, and insulin sensitivity. Unexpectedly, glimepiride exposure in mice was associated with fasting hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, and decreased insulin. There was no …

A Novel Tetracycline-Responsive Transgenic Mouse Strain For Skeletal Muscle-Specific Gene Expression, Masahiro Iwata, Davis A. Englund, Yuan Wen, Cory M. Dungan, Kevin A. Murach, Ivan J. Vechetti Jr., Christopher B. Mobley, Charlotte A. Peterson, John J. Mccarthy

Center for Muscle Biology Faculty Publications

Background: The tetracycline-responsive system (Tet-ON/OFF) has proven to be a valuable tool for manipulating gene expression in an inducible, temporal, and tissue-specific manner. The purpose of this study was to create and characterize a new transgenic mouse strain utilizing the human skeletal muscle α-actin (HSA) promoter to drive skeletal muscle-specific expression of the reverse tetracycline transactivator (rtTA) gene which we have designated as the HSA-rtTA mouse.

Methods: To confirm the HSA-rtTA mouse was capable of driving skeletal muscle-specific expression, we crossed the HSA-rtTA mouse with the tetracycline-responsive histone H2B-green fluorescent protein (H2B-GFP) transgenic mouse in order to label myonuclei.

Results: …

Hominoid Intraspecific Cranial Variation Mirrors Neutral Genetic Diversity, Julia M. Zichello, Karen L. Baab, Kieran P. Mcnulty, Christopher J. Raxworthy, Michael E. Steiper

Publications and Research

Natural selection, developmental constraint, and plasticity have all been invoked as explanations for intraspecific cranial variation in humans and apes. However, global patterns of human cranial variation are congruent with patterns of genetic variation, demonstrating that population history has influenced cranial variation in humans. Here we show that this finding is not unique to Homo sapiens but is also broadly evident across extant ape species. Specifically, taxa that exhibit greater intraspecific cranial shape variation also exhibit greater genetic diversity at neutral autosomal loci. Thus, cranial shape variation within hominoid taxa reflects the population history of each species. Our results suggest …

Response Of The Axial Skeleton To Bipedal Loading Behaviors In An Experimental Animal Model, G. A. Russo, D. Marsh, A. D. Foster

Osteopathic Medicine, Jerry M. Wallace School of

No abstract provided.

Als Yeast Models-Past Success Stories And New Opportunities, Sonja E. Di Gregorio, Martin L. Duennwald

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

In the past two decades, yeast models have delivered profound insights into basic mechanisms of protein misfolding and the dysfunction of key cellular pathways associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Expressing ALS-associated proteins, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD1), TAR DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) and Fused in sarcoma (FUS), in yeast recapitulates major hallmarks of ALS pathology, including protein aggregation, mislocalization and cellular toxicity. Results from yeast have consistently been recapitulated in other model systems and even specimens from human patients, thus providing evidence for the power and validity of ALS yeast models. Focusing on impaired ribonucleic acid (RNA) metabolism …

Overall Survival (Os) Implications For Patients With Mcrpc Through Coverage And Adoption Of Nuclear Ar-V7 Testing By Healthcare Systems, J Hornberger, R P. Graf, M Hulling, G Attard, A Allan, R Dittamore, H Scher

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Plasticity Of Audiovisual Perception: Rapid Recalibration Of Temporal Sensitivity But Not Perceptual Binding Following Adult-Onset Hearing Loss, Ashley L. Schormans, Brian L. Allaman

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

The ability to accurately integrate or bind stimuli from more than one sensory modality is highly dependent on the features of the stimuli, such as their intensity and relative timing. Previous studies have demonstrated that the ability to perceptually bind stimuli is impaired in various clinical conditions such as autism, dyslexia, schizophrenia, as well as aging. However, it remains unknown if adult-onset hearing loss, separate from aging, influences audiovisual temporal acuity. In the present study, rats were trained using appetitive operant conditioning to perform an audiovisual temporal order judgment (TOJ) task or synchrony judgment (SJ) task in order to investigate …

Implementing The Proclamation Of Stroke And Potentially Preventable Dementias, Vladimir Hachinski, Detlev Ganten, Daniel Lackland, Reinhold Kreutz, Konstantinos Tsioufis, Werner Hacke

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Brain health plays a central role in wellbeing and in the management of chronic diseases. Stroke and dementia pose the two greatest threats to brain health, but recent developments suggest the possibility that preventing stroke may also prevent some dementias: 1. A large population study showed a 32% decrease in the incidence of stroke and a concomitant 7% reduction in the incidence of dementia; 2. Treatment of atrial fibrillation resulted not only in stroke reduction, but a 48% decrease in dementia; 3. A hypothesis free analyses has shown that the first phase of Alzheimer disease involves vascular dysregulation, opening the …

Altered Auditory Processing, Filtering, And Reactivity N The Cntnap2 Knock-Out Rat Model For Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Kaela E. Scott, Ashley L. Schormans, Katharine Y. Pacoli, Cleusa De Oliveria, Brian L. Allman, Susanne Schmid

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Sensory processing, and auditory processing in particular, is altered in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The typical maturation of the auditory system is perturbed in these individuals during early development, which may underlie altered auditory reactivity that persists in later life. Of the many genes that regulate the auditory system development, loss-of-function mutations in the CNTNAP2 gene are strongly associated with language processing deficits and ASD. Therefore, using a novel Cntnap2 knock-out rat model, we tested the impact of Cntnap2 loss on auditory processing, filtering, and reactivity throughout development and young adulthood in male and …

The Role Of Cholinergic Midbrain Neurons In Startle And Prepulse Inhibition, Erin Azzopardi, Andrea G. Louttit, Cleusa Deoliveira, Steven R, Laviolette, Susanne Schmid

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

One of the two major cholinergic centers of the mammalian brain is located in the midbrain, i.e., the pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPTg) and the adjacent laterodorsal tegmentum. These cholinergic neurons have been shown to be important for e.g., arousal, reward associations, and sleep. They also have been suggested to mediate sensorimotor gating, measured as prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI). PPI disruptions are a hallmark of schizophrenia and are observed in various other psychiatric disorders, where they are associated with, and often predictive of, other cognitive symptoms. PPI has been proposed to be mediated by a short midbrain circuitry including inhibitory cholinergic …

Everolimus In Advanced Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, J Raphael, C Lefebvre, A Allan, J Helou, G Boldt, T Vandenberg

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

No abstract provided.

Air Pollution: A Silent Common Killer For Stroke And Dementia, Mahmoud R. Azarpazhooh, Vladimir Hachinski

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

No abstract provided.

Immune Checkpoints In Cancer Treatment, Matthew A. Cherubino

Student Publications

Despite the human immune system, cancer thrives in an extremely hostile environment. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. with about 600,000 deaths every year, and cancer is expected to surpass heart disease as the most common cause of death in the U.S. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a novel and promising therapeutic for treating cancer in its late stages.

Editorial: Ion Channel Trafficking And Cardiac Arrhythmias, Marcel A. G. Van Der Heyden, Brian P. Delisle, Hugues Abriel

Physiology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Chapman Bone Algorithm: A Diagnostic Alternative For The Evaluation Of Osteoporosis, Elise Levesque, Anton Ketterer, Wajiha Memon, Cameron James, Noah Barrett, Cyril Rakovski, Frank Frisch

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease and goes largely undiagnosed throughout the world, due to the inaccessibility of DXA machines. Multivariate analyses of serum bone turnover markers were evaluated in 226 Orange County, California, residents with the intent to determine if serum osteocalcin and serum pyridinoline cross-links could be used to detect the onset of osteoporosis as effectively as a DXA scan. Descriptive analyses of the demographic and lab characteristics of the participants were performed through frequency, means and standard deviation estimations. We implemented logistic regression modeling to find the best classification algorithm for osteoporosis. All calculations and …

Experimental Evaluation Of The Importance Of Colonization History In Early-Life Gut Microbiota Assembly, Inés Martínez, Maria X. Maldonado-Gomez, João Carlos Gomes-Neto, Hatem Kittana, Hua Ding, Robert J. Schmaltz, Payal Joglekar, Roberto Jiménez Cardona, Nathan L Marsteller, Steven W. Kembel, Andrew K. Benson, Daniel A. Peterson, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Jens C. Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The factors that govern assembly of the gut microbiota are insufficiently understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that inter-individual microbiota variation can arise solely from differences in the order and timing by which the gut is colonized early in life. Experiments in which mice were inoculated in sequence either with two complex seed communities or a cocktail of four bacterial strains and a seed community revealed that colonization order influenced both the outcome of community assembly and the ecological success of individual colonizers. Historical contingency and priority effects also occurred in Rag1^-/- mice, suggesting that the adaptive immune system …

Myocyte [Na+]I Dysregulation In Heart Failure And Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Sanda Despa

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

By controlling the function of various sarcolemmal and mitochondrial ion transporters, intracellular Na⁺ concentration ([Na⁺]_i) regulates Ca²⁺ cycling, electrical activity, the matching of energy supply and demand, and oxidative stress in cardiac myocytes. Thus, maintenance of myocyte Na⁺ homeostasis is vital for preserving the electrical and contractile activity of the heart. [Na⁺]_i is set by the balance between the passive Na⁺ entry through numerous pathways and the pumping of Na⁺ out of the cell by the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase. This equilibrium is perturbed in heart failure, …

Interfering With Dna Decondensation As A Strategy Against Mycobacteria, Enzo M. Scutigliani, Edwin R. Scholl, Anita E. Grootemaat, Sadhana Khanal, Jakub A. Kochan, Przemek M. Krawczyk, Eric A. Reits, Atefeh Garzan, Huy X. Ngo, Keith D. Green, Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, Jan M. Ruijter, Henk A. Van Veen, Nicole N. Van Der Wel

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Tuberculosis is once again a major global threat, leading to more than 1 million deaths each year. Treatment options for tuberculosis patients are limited, expensive and characterized by severe side effects, especially in the case of multidrug-resistant forms. Uncovering novel vulnerabilities of the pathogen is crucial to generate new therapeutic strategies. Using high resolution microscopy techniques, we discovered one such vulnerability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We demonstrate that the DNA of M. tuberculosis can condense under stressful conditions such as starvation and antibiotic treatment. The DNA condensation is reversible and specific for viable bacteria. Based on these observations, we hypothesized …

Comparative Proteomic Analyses Of Human Adipose Extracellular Matrices Decellularized Using Alternative Procedures, Caasy Porch-Thomas, Jie Li, Fabiana Zanata, Elizabeth C. Martin, Nicholas Pashos, Kaylynn Genemaras, Nicholas J. Poche, Nicholas P. Totaro, Melyssa R. Bratton, Dina Gaupp, Trivia Frazier, Xiying Wu, Lydia Masako Ferreira, Weidong Tian, Guangdi Wang, Bruce A. Bunnell, Lauren Flynn, Daniel Hayes, Jeffrey M. Gimble

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Decellularized human adipose tissue has potential clinical utility as a processed biological scaffold for soft tissue cosmesis, grafting, and reconstruction. Adipose tissue decellularization has been accomplished using enzymatic-, detergent-, and/or solvent-based methods. To examine the hypothesis that distinct decellularization processes may yield scaffolds with differing compositions, the current study employed mass spectrometry to compare the proteomes of human adipose-derived matrices generated through three independent methods combining enzymatic-, detergent-, and/or solvent-based steps. In addition to protein content, bioscaffolds were evaluated for deoxyribose nucleic acid depletion, extracellular matrix composition, and physical structure using optical density, histochemical staining, and scanning electron microscopy. Mass …

Comparative Analysis Of Body Composition And Reference Values Of Visceral Adipose Tissues In Various American Collegiate Sports, Eshan M. Dandekar

Master's Theses

Background: Currently, body composition (BC) assessment is usually performed to diagnose disease states and accurately estimate certain types of tissues. In athletes, performing BC assessments helps gauge training and nutrition programs to see if they are adequately meeting the athlete’s needs to improve performance. Annual Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans before the start of an athlete’s season can help identify an athlete’s preparedness or health before training begins.

Objective: To assess the preseason BC of four collegiate sports: Men’s basketball, men’s baseball, women’s volleyball, and women’s soccer, for Fat Mass (FM), bone mineral density BMD), Fat-Free Mass …

Case Report: A Hard Cyst To Swallow, Anjalee Choudhury, Joshua Wood, Kristan Diaz-Rios, Jyothi Swarup

School of Medicine Publications

One day old neonate was born at 37 weeks gestation to a 41-year-old Gravida 5 Para 5 born via uncomplicated caesarean section. A physical exam of the newborn had unremarkable findings except for minor skin tags on the neck and a cleft palate.

App21 Transgenic Rats Develop Age-Dependent Cognitive Impairment And Microglia Accumulation Within White Matter Tracts, Nina Weishaupt, Qingfan Liu, Sheojung Shin, Ramandeep Singh, Yuksel Agca, Cansu Agca, Vladimir Hachinski, Shawn Narain Whitehead

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Background: Most of the animal models commonly used for preclinical research into Alzheimer's disease (AD) largely fail to address the pathophysiology, including the impact of known risk factors, of the widely diagnosed sporadic form of the disease. Here, we use a transgenic rat (APP21) that does not develop AD-like pathology spontaneously with age, but does develop pathology following vascular stress. To further the potential of this novel rat model as a much-needed pre-clinical animal model of sporadic AD, we characterize APP21 transgenic rats behaviorally and histologically up to 19 months of age. Methods: The open field test was used as …