Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Commons^™

Characterization And Evaluation Of The Probiotic Properties Of The Sporeforming Bacteria, Bacillus Coagulans Unique Is-2, Amy Garrison

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Probiotics are live organisms, that when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit to the host. To achieve probiotic status, each potential strain’s functional properties and their safety to the consumer must be comprehensively evaluated. Probiotic effects have been observed to be strain specific, therefore each new strain of interest must be characterized according to their phenotypic and genetic characteristics. There is a list of characteristics that potential probiotic strains should have to be considered as a probiotic. Potential probiotic strains should be evaluated for their acid and bile salt resistance, antimicrobial activity and adherence and colonization to intestinal …

The Perception Of School Food-Service Professionals On The Implementation Of The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Of 2010: A Mixed-Methods Study, Zainab Rida, Elisha Hall, Saima Hasnin, Jessie Coffey, Dipti Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: To: (i) understand the nutrition attitudes, self-efficacy, knowledge and practices of school food-service personnel (SFP) in Nebraska and (ii) identify potential barriers that schools face in offering healthy school meals that meet the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition standards.

Design: Convergent parallel mixed-methods study.

Setting: Kindergarten–12th grade schools in Nebraska, USA.

Participants: SFP (260 survey participants; fifteen focus group participants) working at schools that participate in the USDA National School Lunch Program.

Results: Mixed-methods themes identified include: (i) ‘Mixed attitudes towards healthy meals’, which captured a variety of conflicting positive and negative attitudes depending on the situation; (ii) …

Market Claims And Efficacy Information In Direct‐To‐Consumer Prescription Drug Print Advertisements, Kathryn J. Aikin Phd, Kevin R. Betts Phd, Aysha Keisler Phd, Kathryn Schaefer Ziemer Phd

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

This study examined the impact of “New” and “#1 Prescribed” market claims and quantitative efficacy information on perceptions of a hypothetical prescription drug in a direct‐to‐consumer (DTC) print advertisement. We examined two market claims (New and #1 Prescribed), two efficacy levels (higher and lower), and a control condition without this information. Participants with diabetes were randomized to review one ad version and asked their perceptions of the ad's message, the drug's benefits, side effects and risks, doctors' opinions about the drug, and behavioral intention to use the drug, as well as recall and recognition of drug benefits and risks. Results …

Youth Perception Of Harm And Addictiveness Of Tobacco Products: Findings From The Population Assessment Of Tobacco And Health Study (Wave 1), David R. Strong, Karen Messer, Martha White, Yuyan Shi, Madison Noble, David B. Portnoy, Alexander Persoskie, Annette R. Kaufman, Kelvin Choi, Charles Carusi, Maansi Bansal-Travers, Andrew Hyland, John Pierce

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Purpose: We provide a US national assessment of youth perceptions of the harm and addictiveness of six separate tobacco products, identifying a continuum of perceived harm associated with a range of products in relation to patterns of current use, former use, and susceptibility to use tobacco products.

Methods: We evaluated youth respondents (N=13,651) ages 12–17 from Wave 1 (2013–2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Analyses (2015–2016) focused on refining mea- sures of perceived harm for each product and delineating youth characteristics (demographic, tobacco use status) associated with beliefs about the harmfulness and addictiveness of tobacco …

Associations Of Risk Factors Of E-Cigarette And Cigarette Use And Susceptibility To Use Among Baseline Path Study Youth Participants (2013–2014), Michael D. Sawdey, Hannah R. Day, Blair Coleman, Lisa D. Gardner, Sarah E. Johnson, Jean Limpert, Hoda T. Hammad, Macieji L. Goniewicz, David B. Abrams, Cassandra A. Stanton, Jennifer L. Pearson, Annette R. Kaufman, Heather L. Kimmel, Cristine D. Delnevo, Wilson M. Compton, Maansi Bansal-Travers, Raymond S. Niaura, Andrew Hyland, Bridget K. Ambrose

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Introduction: Improved understanding of the distribution of traditional risk factors of cigarette smoking among youth who have ever used or are susceptible to e-cigarettes and cigarettes will inform future longitudinal studies examining transitions in use.

Methods: Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from youth (ages 12–17 years) who had ever heard of e-cigarettes at baseline of the PATH Study (n = 12,460) to compare the distribution of risk factors for cigarette smoking among seven mutually exclusive groups based on ever cigarette/e-cigarette use and sus- ceptibility status.

Results: Compared to committed never users, youth susceptible to e-cigarettes, cigarettes, or …

Selection And Consumption Of Lunches By National School Lunch Program T Participants, Janet G. Peckham, Jaclyn D. Kropp, Thomas A. Mroz, Vivian Haley-Zitlin, Ellen M. Granberg

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to offer a variety of healthy food options each day. Using digital photography data collected from two suburban elementary schools in the spring of 2013, we examine NSLP participant's selection and consumption of all five NSLP lunch components ((1) milk, (2) vegetable, (3) fruit, (4) meat/meat alternate (MA), and (5) grain). We use logit regressions to analyze the selection of the various lunch components by race/ethnicity, gender, grade, and household income level. In addition, ordinary least squares regressions are used to analyze the …

Examining The Role Of Menthol Cigarettes In Progression To Established T Smoking Among Youth, James Nonnemaker, Shari P. Feirman, Anna Macmonegle, Bridget K. Ambrose, Kia J. Jackson, Megan J. Schroeder, Alexandria A. Smith, William Ridgeway, Olga Rass

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Background: Menthol, a flavoring compound added to cigarettes, makes cigarettes more appealing to youth and inexperienced smokers and increases cigarettes' abuse liability. However, limited studies are available on menthol's role in smoking progression.

Methods: To assess the association between menthol in cigarettes and progression to established smoking, we used five waves of data from the Evaluation of Public Education Campaign on Teen Tobacco Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of U.S. youth conducted as part of “The Real Cost” evaluation. We used discrete time survival analysis to model the occurrence of two event outcomes—progression to established, current smoking and …

U.S. Adult Perceptions Of The Harmfulness Of Tobacco Products: Descriptive T Findings From The 2013–14 Baseline Wave 1 Of The Path Study, Geoffrey T. Fong, Tara Elton-Marshall, Pete Driezen, Annette R. Kaufman, K. Michael Cummings, Kelvin Choi, Jonathan Kwan, Amber Koblitz, Andrew Hyland, Maansi Bansal-Travers, Charles Carusi, Mary E. Thompson

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Introduction: This study is the first nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (18+) to examine perceptions of the relative harms of eight non-cigarette tobacco products.

Methods: Data are from Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Adult Questionnaire, a nationally representative study of 32,320 adults in the United States conducted from September 2013 to December 2014.

Results: 40.7% of adults believed that electronic cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, and 17.8% of adults believed that hookah was less harmful than cigarettes. Those less knowledgeable about the health risks of smoking were more likely to believe …

At Risk Alcohol Consumption With Smoking By National Background: Results From The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Frank C. Bandiera, Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, Folefac Atem, Raul Caetano, Denise C. Vidot, Marc D. Gellman, Elena L. Navas-Nacher, Jianwen Cai, Gregory Talavera, Neil Schneiderman, Robert Kaplan

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Introduction: Tobacco smoking and binge or excess drinking are unhealthy behaviors that frequently co-occur. Studies of Hispanics/Latinos have mostly been of Mexican Americans although there are substantial differences in smoking and drinking by heritage background. Associated with co-use by 5 subpopulations.

Methods: Cross-sectional data of 16,412 Hispanics/Latinos from Miami, the Bronx, Chicago and San Diego collected between 2008 and 2011 as part of the HCHS/SOL were analyzed. Smoking and alcohol consumption and demographic data were measured by self-report. Prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption and co-use were reported. Logistic regression models examined the odds of co-use of smoking and binge …

Comparing Methods For Clinical Investigator Site Inspection Selection: A Comparison Of Site Selection Methods Of Investigators In Clinical Trials, Nicholas Hein, Elena Rantou, Paul Schuette

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Background During the past two decades, the number and complexity of clinical trials have risen dramatically increasing the difficulty of choosing sites for inspection. FDA’s resources are limited and so sites should be chosen with care.

Purpose To determine if data mining techniques and/or unsupervised statistical monitoring can assist with the process of identifying potential clinical sites for inspection.

Methods Five summary-level clinical site datasets from four new drug applications (NDA) and one biologics license application (BLA), where the FDA had performed or had planned site inspections, were used. The num- ber of sites inspected and the results of the …

The Efficacy Of A Diet Low In Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, And Polyols (Fodmaps) In The Treatment Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Raelyn Haubensak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper reviews the efficacy of the low-FODMAP (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) diet in treating the symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Since IBS has a wide range of etiologies and symptoms, it is often difficult to treat. A large majority of patients report their symptoms being associated with their diet. Researchers have shown that specific components of food, FODMAPs, may play a role in exacerbating symptoms. In this literary review, the physiological effects and the efficacy of the low-FODMAP diet was explored using current literature. In conclusion, the low-FODMAP diet may be an efficacious treatment option …

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 …

Considerations For Best Practices In Studies Of Fiber Or Other Dietary Components And The Intestinal Microbiome, David M. Klurfeld, Cindy D. Davis, Robert W. Karp, Emma Allen-Vercoe, Eugene B. Chang, Benoit Chassaing, George C. Fahey Jr, Bruce R. Hamaker, Hannah D. Holscher, Johanna W. Lampe, Andre Marette, Eric Martens, Stephen J. O'Keefe, Devin J. Rose, Maria Saarela, Barbara O. Schneeman, Joanne L. Slavin, Justin L. Sonnenburg, Kelly S. Swanson, Gary D. Wu, Christopher J. Lynch

Food for Health: Publications

Considerations for best practices in studies of fiber or other dietary components and the intestinal microbiome. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 315: E1087–E1097, 2018. First published August 21, 2018; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00058.2018.—A 2-day workshop organized by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture included 16 presentations focused on the role of diet in alterations of the gastrointestinal microbiome, primarily that of the colon. Although thousands of research projects have been funded by U.S. federal agencies to study the intestinal microbiome of humans and a variety of animal models, only a minority addresses dietary effects, and a small subset is …

Parent Perspectives On Health And Functioning Of School-Aged Adolescents With Disabilities, Gavin Colquit Edd, Cape, Cscs, Ashley D. Walker Phd, Ches, Moya L. Alfonso Phd, Msph, Maria Olivas Mph, Bethrand Ugwu Mph, Theophile Dipita Dr, Ph

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

BACKGROUND: Youth living with disabilities are at risk of experiencing poor health outcomes. Coordinated school health programs have an opportunity to help youth with disabilities and their families through health education, health services, and community engagement. The World Health Organization developed the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a framework to analyze factors related to health conditions. We used the ICF to examine parental perceptions of health and function among students with disabilities living in rural and urban areas.

METHODS: We surveyed parents (N = 71) using the parent-report versions of the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument …

Mental Health Problems And Onset Of Tobacco Use Among 12- To 24-Year-Olds In The Path Study, Victoria R. Green Mhs, Kevin P. Conway Phd, Ches, Marushka L. Silveira Bds, Mph, Phd, Karin A. Kasza Ma, Amy Cohn Phd, K. Michael Cummings Phd, Mph, Cassandra A. Stanton Phd, Priscilla Callahan-Lyon Md, Wendy Slavit Mph, Ches, James D. Sargent Md, Nahla Hilmi Mph, Raymond S. Niaura Phd, Chad J. Reissig Phd, Elizabeth Lambert Ma, Izabella Zandberg Phd, Mary F. Brunette Md, Susanne E. Tanski Md, Nicolette Borek Phd, Andrew J. Hyland Phd, Wilson M. Compton Md, Mpe

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Objective: To examine whether mental health problems predict incident use of 12 different tobacco products in a nationally representative sample of youth and young adults.

Method: This study analyzed Wave (W) 1 and W2 data from 10,533 12- to 24-year-old W1 never tobacco users in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Self-reported lifetime internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed at W1. Past 12-month use of cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), traditional cigars, cigarillos, filtered cigars, pipe, hookah, snus pouches, other smokeless tobacco, bidis and kreteks (youth only), and dissolvable tobacco was assessed at W2.

Results:In multivariable …

Etiology Of Teen Dating Violence Among Adolescent Children Of Alcoholics, Jennifer A. Livingston, Rina D. Eiden, Jared Lessard, Meghan Casey, James Henrie, Kenneth E. Leonard

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Family processes in early life have been impli- cated in adolescent involvement in teen dating violence, yet the developmental pathways through which this occurs are not well understood. In this study, etiological pathways from parental psychopathology and marital conflict in infancy to involvement in dating violence in late adoles- cence were examined in a sample of children at high-risk due to parental alcohol problems. Families (N = 227) recruited when the child was 12 months of age were assessed at 12-, 24-, 36-months, kindergarten, 6th, 8th, and 12th grades. Slightly more than half of the children were female (51%) and …

Prevalence Of Adhd In Publicly Insured Adults, Yanmin Zhu, Wie Liu, Yan Li, Xi Wang, Almut G. Winterstein

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of adult ADHD diagnosis and treatment in U.S. Medicaid beneficiaries. Method: Using outpatient, inpatient, and pharmacy billing records for patients eligible for Medicaid fee-for-service benefits within 29 states from 1999 to 2010, we estimated the annual prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and treatment. Results: The prevalence of ADHD diagnosis increased from 2.20 per 1,000 patients in 1999 to 10.57 in 2010. Likewise, prevalence of ADHD treatment increased from 1.95 per 1,000 patients in 1999 to 13.16 in 2010. Between 40% and 65%, patients had ADHD drug prescription fills 6 months after ADHD diagnosis, whereas 45% to …

Co-Occurrence Of Tobacco Product Use, Substance Use, And Mental Health Problems Among Youth: Findings From Wave 1 (2013–2014) Of The Population Assessment Of Tobacco And Health (Path) Study, Kevin P. Conway, Victoria R. Green, Karin A. Kasza, Marushka L. Silveira, Nicolette Borek, Heather L. Kimmel, James D. Sargent, Cassandra A. Stanton, Elizabeth Lambert, Nahla Hilmi, Chad J. Reissig, Kia J. Jackson, Susanne E. Tanski, David Maklan, Andrew J. Hyland, Wilson M. Compton

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Introduction: Cigarette use is associated with substance use and mental health problems among youth, but as- sociations are unknown for non-cigarette tobacco product use, as well as the increasingly common poly-tobacco use.

Methods: The current study examined co-occurrence of substance use and mental health problems across tobacco products among 13,617 youth aged 12–17 years from Wave 1 (2013–2014) of the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Participants self-reported ever cigarette, e-cigar- ette, smokeless tobacco, traditional cigar, cigarillo, filtered cigar, hookah, and other tobacco product use; al- cohol, marijuana, and other drugs; and lifetime substance use, internalizing …

Trends And Economic Drivers For United States Naloxone Pricing, January T 2006 To February 2017, Matthew Rosenberg, Grace Chai, Shekhar Mehta, Andreas Schick

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Anecdotal evidence indicates that naloxone prices have risen in recent years, but limited research has examined the magnitude of these increases and potential causes. We contribute nationally representative evidence to help answer each of these questions, including wholesale pricing data from a proprietary drug sales database span- ning January 2006 to February 2017. We find that all formulations of naloxone increased in price since 2006 except for Narcan Nasal Spray. These cumulative increases totaled 2281% for the 0.4 MG single-dose products, 244% for the 2 MG single-dose products, 3797% for the 4 MG multi-dose products, and 469% for the 0.4 …

Communicating Nutrition Information At The Point Of Purchase: An Eye‐Tracking Study Of Shoppers At Two Grocery Stores In The United States, Mike Bartels, Katherin Tillack, Chung‐Tung Jordan Lin

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Providing nutrition information at the point of purchase is one approach that can be used to help consumers adopt and maintain a healthy diet. Previous research has examined consumer self‐reported notice and use of the information as well as how the design of the information affects its attention and use in a laboratory environ‐ ment using eye‐tracking methodology. This study advances the literature by applying eye‐tracking methodology to explore consumer visual and choice behavior in a real shopping environment, and by recognizing that nutrition information competes with other visual stimuli in the store and consumers are vulnerable to a “limited …

Understanding Parental Ethnotheories And Practices About Healthy Eating: Exploring The Developmental Niche Of Preschoolers, Deepa Srivastava, Julia C. Torquati, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Dipti A. Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Purpose: To understand parental ethnotheories (i.e., belief systems) and practices about preschoolers’ healthy eating guided by the developmental niche framework.

Design: Qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology.

Setting: Home.

Participants: Participants were 20 parents of preschool-age children ages 3 to 5 years, recruited from a quantitative investigation. A majority of the participants were white, female, married, well educated, and working full time.

Methods: Participants who completed the quantitative survey were asked to provide their contact information if they were willing to be interviewed. From the pool of participants who expressed their willingness to participate in the interviews, 20 participants were selected …

A Gut Pathobiont Synergizes With The Microbiota To Instigate Inflammatory Disease Marked By Immunoreactivity Against Other Symbionts But Not Itself, João Carlos Gomes-Neto, Hatem Kittana, Sara Mantz, Rafael R. Segura Munoz, Robert J. Schmaltz, Laure B. Bindels, Jennifer L. Clarke, Jesse M. Hostetter, Andrew K. Benson, Jens Walter, Amanda Ramer-Tait

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are likely driven by aberrant immune responses directed against the resident microbiota. Although IBD is commonly associated with a dysbiotic microbiota enriched in putative pathobionts, the etiological agents of IBD remain unknown. Using a pathobiont-induced intestinal inflammation model and a defined bacterial community, we provide new insights into the immune-microbiota interactions during disease. In this model system, the pathobiont Helicobacter bilis instigates disease following sub-pathological dextran sulfate sodium treatment. We show that H. bilis causes mild inflammation in mono-associated mice, but severe disease in the presence of a microbiota, demonstrating synergy between the pathobiont and microbiota …

Whole Grain Processing And Effects On Carbohydrate Digestion And Fermentation, Sandrayee Brahma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whole grains are a major source of dietary fibers in the human diet that provide specific nutrients to the gut microbiota and thereby plays a major role in modulating microbiota composition and increasing diversity of the gut ecosystem. A common approach of consuming whole grains is in the form of ready-to-eat extruded breakfast cereals. Studies reported herein established that extrusion conditions not only affected the physicochemical properties but also in vitro starch digestibility, β-glucan extractability and in vitro fermentation characteristics of whole grain oats. Moderate screw speed (300 rpm) led to higher slowly digestible starch (SDS) with an accompanying decrease …

Structure-Based Design Of Hepatitis C Virus Vaccines That Elicit Neutralizing Antibody Responses To A Conserved Epitope, Brian G. Pierce, Elisabeth N. Boucher, Kurt H. Piepenbrink, Monir Ejemal, Chelsea A. Rapp, William D. Thomas Jr, Eric J. Sundberg, Zhiping Weng, Yang Wang

Food for Health: Publications

Despite recent advances in therapeutic options, hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a severe global disease burden, and a vaccine can substantially reduce its incidence. Due to its extremely high sequence variability, HCV can readily escape the immune response; thus, an effective vaccine must target conserved, functionally important epitopes. Using the structure of a broadly neutralizing antibody in complex with a conserved linear epitope from the HCV E2 envelope glycoprotein (residues 412 to 423; epitope I), we performed structure-based design of immunogens to induce antibody responses to this epitope. This resulted in epitope-based immunogens based on a cyclic defensin protein, as …

Providers Perspectives On Self-Regulation Impact Their Use Of Responsive Feeding Practices In Child Care, Dipti A. Dev, Katherine E. Speirs, Natalie A. Williams, Samantha Ramsay, Brent A. Mcbride, Holly Hatton-Bowers

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Supporting children's self-regulation in eating through caregivers' practice of responsive feeding is paramount to obesity prevention, and while much attention has been given to supporting children's selfregulation in eating through parents' responsive feeding practices in the home setting, little attention has been given to this issue in childcare settings. This qualitative study examines childcare providers' perspectives on using responsive feeding practices with young children (2–5 years). Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with providers until saturation was reached. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The final sample included 18 providers who were employed full-time in Head Start or state-licensed center-based childcare …

Attenuating The Side Effects Of Caloric Restriction Through Exercise And Increased Protein Intake, Jay A. Petersen

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The effects of caloric restriction (CR) on weight loss and health outcomes are documented, but few controlled studies have addressed its effect on performance. Fat free mass (FFM) is reduced during CR, which may impair performance. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the capacity of these strategies to attenuate the side-effects of calorie-restricted weight loss: Exercise, which preserves FFM during CR, may be employed to maintain performance in an energy-deficient state, and a high protein intake may work in combination with exercise to further protect FFM and performance. Two studies were utilized to address this purpose. In study …

How An Alloreactive T-Cell Receptor Achieves Peptide And Mhc Specificity, Yuan Wang, Nishant K. Singh, Timothy T. Spear, Lance M. Hellman, Kurt H. Piepenbrink, Rachel H. Mcmahan, Hugo R. Rosen, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Michael I. Nishimura, Brian M. Baker

Food for Health: Publications

T-cell receptor (TCR) allorecognition is often presumed to be relatively nonspecific, attributable to either a TCR focus on exposed major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphisms or the degenerate recognition of allopeptides. However, paradoxically, alloreactivity can proceed with high peptide and MHC specificity. Although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, the existence of highly specific alloreactive TCRs has led to their use as immunotherapeutics that can circumvent central tolerance and limit graft-versus-host disease. Here, we show how an alloreactive TCR achieves peptide and MHC specificity. The HCV1406 TCR was cloned from T cells that expanded when a hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected HLA-A2− individual …

Cyclosporine Exacerbates Ketamine Toxicity In Zebrafish: Mechanistic Studies On Drug–Drug Interaction, Bonnie L. Robinson, Melanie Dumas, Syed F. Ali, Merle G. Paule, Qiang Gu, Jyotshna Kanungo

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive drug commonly used in organ transplant patients to prevent allograft rejections. Ketamine is a pediatric anesthetic that noncompetitively inhibits the calcium-permeable N-methyl-^_D-aspartic acid receptors. Adverse drug–drug interaction effects between ketamine and CsA have been reported in mammals and humans. However, the mechanism of such drug–drug interaction is unclear. We have previously reported adverse effects of combination drugs, such as verapamil/ketamine and shown the mechanism through intervention by other drugs in zebrafish embryos. Here, we show that ketamine and CsA in combination produce developmental toxicity even leading to lethality in zebrafish larvae …

Lactose Intolerance: An Overview Of The Facts And Their Implications, Noelle M. Yeo

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Lactose intolerance is often blamed for the symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, gas, abdominal pain, and nausea, that ail many people. Patients often do not seek proper diagnosis from a physician and create their own treatment plans, severely restricting lactose intake, without professional guidance. Even those who do seek the care of a physician find that diagnosis is complicated by less-than ideal testing and confusion due to the symptoms common to many other conditions. The misconceptions and inability to confirm a diagnosis of lactose intolerance can cause nutrient deficiencies in these patients, as well as begin a pattern of unnecessary …

The Host Microbiome Regulates And Maintains Human Health: A Primer And Perspective For Non-Microbiologists, Sunil Thomas, Jacques Izard, Emily Walsh, Kristen Batich, Pakawat Chongsathidkiet, Gerard Clarke, David A. Sela, Alexander J. Muller, James M. Mullin, Korin Albert, John P. Gilligan, Katherine Diguilio, Rima Dilbarova, Walker Alexander, George P. Prendergast

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Humans consider themselves discrete autonomous organisms, but recent research is rapidly strengthening the appreciation that associated microorganisms make essential contributions to human health and well being. Each person is inhabited and also surrounded by his/her own signature microbial cloud. A low diversity of microorganisms is associated with a plethora of diseases, including allergy, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and even neuropsychiatric disorders. Thus, an interaction of microorganisms with the host immune system is required for a healthy body. Exposure to microorganisms from the moment we are born and appropriate microbiome assembly during childhood are essential for establishing an active …