Medical Sciences Commons^™

An Integrative Review Of The Absorption Of Fda-Approved Chemical Sunscreen Filters Into The Blood, Srinidhi Banala, Samrat Gollapudi, Abhiram Gollapudi, Bhaumik Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction: This integrative review examines the absorption of FDA-approved chemical sunscreen filters, specifically avobenzone and oxybenzone, into the bloodstream. The study aims to compare the levels of absorption and potential health effects of systemic exposure to these sunscreen ingredients in the United States.

Methods: The researchers conducted a literature search of 57 articles, of which 15 were used for the review. Inclusion criteria focused on studies discussing absorption levels of avobenzone and oxybenzone, as well as methods of absorption into the bloodstream. Exclusion criteria included sunscreen ingredients not approved in the United States, non-English studies, and studies on methods to …

Soluble Antimicrobial Peptide (Amp) Screening To Rationally Design Amp-Hydrogels That Selectively Prevent Biofilm Formation, Matthias Recktenwald, Muskanjot Kaur, Mohammed M. Benmassaoud, Aryanna Copling, Tulika Khanna, Michael Curry, Denise Cortes, Gilbert Fleischer, Valerie J. Carabetta, Sebastián L. Vega

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that lives on surfaces and skin and can cause serious infections once inside the body. While antibiotics effectively kill bacteria, there are a growing number of infections with antibiotic-resistant strains. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune system and can eliminate pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and are a promising alternative to antibiotics. Although studies have reported that AMP-functionalized hydrogels can prevent bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, these materials generally consist of one AMP at an arbitrary concentration, and AMP dosing and the combined effects of multiple AMPs are not well …

What Is The Impact Of Marijuana Usage On Sexual Dysfunction Among Individual And How Do Factors Such As Frequency Of Use, Dosage, And Duration Of Marijuana Consumption Influence Sexual Function, Zachary A. Harris, Russell Levi, Saad Ahmed

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Sexual health is an integral piece of human vitality, encompassing a multitude of psychological & physiological factors. There has been an unprecedented amount of interest surrounding cannabis and its impact on sexual function in the past decade. The interplay between the acceptance of cannabis and its widespread use presents the need for research into the correlation between cannabis and sexual health outcomes. The primary components of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have attracted scrutiny for their potential effects on sexual function. Anecdotal accounts suggest heightened sexual desire and pleasure, however there are conflicting reports raising concerns regarding performance issues …

Advancing Risk Stratification In Hfpef: Unveiling The Potential Of Cardiac Fibrosis Markers For Early Diagnosis And Enhanced Patient Outcomes, Mariam Abdeen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) challenges clinicians due to its diverse presentation and limitations in traditional diagnostic criteria. This study delves into the potential of cardiac fibrosis markers like galectin-3, NT-proBNP, and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) to enhance diagnostic precision and patient outcomes in HFpEF. A systematic review of sixteen relevant studies revealed that these biomarkers offer promise for early detection and improved risk assessment. For instance, TMAO indicates systemic implications of HFpEF, while galectin-3 shows predictive value across heart failure types. Additionally, machine-learning models incorporating multiple biomarkers predict significant risk of adverse outcomes. Despite these advances, challenges like …

Brash Syndrome Case Report And Brief Review, Kelly Schuitema

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

BRASH syndrome is an acronym that stands for bradycardia, renal failure, AV node blocker, shock and hyperkalemia. The syndrome is precipitated by synergism from AV nodal blocking agents and hyperkalemia. The combination of the AV nodal blockade and renal failure leads to a cycle of severe bradycardia and hyperkalemia. We will discuss a case of BRASH syndrome with a 68 year old female who presented with generalized weakness and was found to be hypotensive, bradycardia, in acute renal failure with hyperkalemia likely related to metoprolol and amlodipine use.

Comparative Analysis Of The Effects Of Actual Versus Assumed Opioid Experience On The Regulation Of Ventral Striatal Opioid Receptor Gene Expression, Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam, Martin Job

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Rationale: We conducted experiments to assess the effect of prior opioid experience on gene expression changes. We compared the current experimenter-imposed short versus extended-access conditions of opioid self-administration and developed a new quantitative method to determine their effectiveness in identifying the role of opioid experience in regulating opioid receptor expression levels in the ventral striatum (VS) using an oxycodone self-administration/abstinence model.

Methods: In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=36) were trained for 20 days to self-administer oxycodone at 0.1 mg/kg/infusion under short access (n=15, or saline as controls n=3, for 3h/day) or extended access (n=15, or saline as controls n=3, …

Mcl-1 Inhibition Modulates Erk-Mediated Resistance In Multiple Myeloma, Omar Al-Odat, Krishne Gowda, Shantu Amin, Tulin Budak-Alpdogan, Subash Jonnalagadda, Manoj Pandey

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Novel multiple myeloma (MM) treatments have significantly improved over the previous several decades, primarily on account of targeting bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) pathways. However, drug resistance and patient relapse remain major clinical problems. The role of BMM in the upregulation of anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 is well documented. The Mcl-1 protein plays a critical role in the progression and acquired drug resistance in MM. The regulation of Mcl-1, a protein characterized by a short half-life, from transcription to degradation is crucial for understanding its role in cell survival. The GSK3β and Erk play important role in the stability of Mcl-1. Also, …

Maldi-Tof Ms Based Proteomic Fingerprinting Of Total Serum Plasma For Somatic Pain Syndromes, Isaiah Pinkerton, Venkateswar Venkataraman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

There are racial and ethnic disparities regarding pain management within the United States, and that disproportionately affects women of color. There is also a fundamental lack of information regarding the biological mechanism by which pain sensitization and perception occurs, and how it could be affected by both neurologic and somatic pain syndromes.

Methods: Research was performed on principal electronic scientific databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Embase with search terms “MALDI-TOF”, “ESI-MS”, “Pain”, and “Biomarkers”, as well as other modifiers to narrow the literature search.

Results: Studies on comparison between MALDI-TOF and other traditional analysis platforms, including Electrospray Ionization (ESI-MS), …

Maackia Amurensis Seed Lectin (Masl) Increases Movement Velocity Of Mice With Tnfα Induced Rheumatoid Arthritis, Amanda A. Greenspan, Kelly L. Hamilton, Alan J. Shienbaum, Bradford Fischer, Andrea Bottaro, Gary S. Goldberg

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Up to 70 million people around the world suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Current treatment options have varied efficacy and can cause unwanted side effects. New approaches are needed to treat this condition. Sialic acid modifications on chondrocyte receptors have been associated with arthritic inflammation and joint destruction. The transmembrane mucin receptor protein podoplanin (PDPN) has been identified as a functionally relevant receptor that presents extracellular sialic acid motifs. PDPN signaling promotes inflammation and invasion associated with arthritis and, therefore, has emerged as a target that can be used to inhibit arthritic inflammation. Maackia amurensis seed lectin (MASL) can target PDPN …

Perioperative Ketamine Use For Post Mastectomy Pain, Alessia Cooney, Jaylyn Thompson, Naomi Watkins-Granville

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

PMPS is defined as chronic neuropathic pain following breast cancer procedures in the ipsilateral arm, chest wall, axilla or shoulder.1-3 Approximately 20 to 50% of post mastectomy patients suffer from Post Mastectomy Pain Syndrome (PMPS).1 With more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors, due to advances in treatment, there is increased importance in findings ways to better manage the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.1,4 Ketamine induces analgesic effects through its non-competitive antagonism of NDMA receptors.5 Low doses of ketamine infusion (20–30 mg x h−1) have been shown to produce analgesia in neuropathic pain states with benefits lasting up …

Is There A Role For Plant-Based “Meat” In Cardiovascular Disease Prevention?, Aziza Jadallah, Usmaan Al-Shehab, Adam Friedman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Diet is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends following a whole-food, minimally processed diet emphasizing fruit and vegetables to reduce cardiovascular mortality. Recently, processed plant-based meat substitutes, such as Beyond Meat® and Impossible™ foods have become easily accessible to consumers and are advertised as a healthful addition to a plant-based diet. However, these products are highly processed and contain high amounts of saturated fat and sodium. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of processed plant-based meat diets on adverse cardiovascular events compared to animal-based meat diets and minimally processed healthful …

A Conserved Mechanism For Hormesis In Molecular Systems, Sharon N. Greenwood, Regina G. Belz, Brian P. Weiser

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Hormesis refers to dose-response phenomena where low dose treatments elicit a response that is opposite the response observed at higher doses. Hormetic dose-response relationships have been observed throughout all of biology, but the underlying determinants of many reported hormetic dose-responses have not been identified. In this report, we describe a conserved mechanism for hormesis on the molecular level where low dose treatments enhance a response that becomes reduced at higher doses. The hormetic mechanism relies on the ability of protein homo-multimers to simultaneously interact with a substrate and a competitor on different subunits at low doses of competitor. In this …

Case Report: Covid Arm (Covid Vaccine Arm), Joseph Pagano, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Henry Schuitema

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of a 38-year-old male physician who was vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. He experienced arm pain and swelling on the vaccinated arm as well as systemic symptoms, including fever, chills, headache and weakness. The systemic symptoms improved after the use of oral prednisone. A review of the literature on the COVID vaccine is presented.

A Case Report On Causes Of Covid-19 Induced Psychosis And Treatments, Jennifer Pires, Steven Sarner

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

COVID-19 is a viral infection that is caused by an RNA virus in a subfamily of Coronaviridae named severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS CoV 2). The family also includes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS CoV) and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) which have previously been shown to cause respiratory symptoms and psychosis with immunoreactivity to IgG.

Effect Of Uracil Dna Glycosylase Activity On The Efficacy Of Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitor/Hdac Inhibitor Combination Therapies In Colon Cancer, Rashmi Kulkarni, Brian P Weiser

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Human uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG2) is responsible for removing uracil bases from DNA and initiates base excision repair pathways. Accumulation of uracil or its fluorinated analogs in DNA is one of the killing mechanisms of thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors in cancer cells, and depletion of UNG2 often enhances the toxicity of these anticancer drugs. We tested the effect of UNG2 KO on the efficacy of multiple TS inhibitors (5-fluorouracil, fluorodeoxyuridine, and pemetrexed) and we determined that, except for 5-fluorouracil, all other TS inhibitors were significantly more potent in UNG2 KO cells compared to wild-type HT29 cells. Interestingly, UNG2 protein levels …

Improvement Of Memory Loss Through Dietary Intervention In The Assisted Living And Rehabilitative Settings, Alexander Swartz, Martin Forsberg

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

• The ketogenic diet is a popular, controversial diet that fuels the brain through beta-oxidation of fatty acids and production of ketone bodies, the most populous of which is betahydroxybutyrate (BHB).

• The ketogenic diet consists of 70-80% fats, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates.

• Medically, the ketogenic diet is utilized in patients with epilepsy and recommended by some physicians to improve general health through weight loss and insulin sensitivity.

• Key factors of neurodegeneration include glucose hypometabolism, oxidative damage, and neuroinflammation.

• Studies have shown that with ingestion of exogenous ketones alone, or endogenous ketonemia through a ketogenic diet, there is: …

Safety And Efficacy Of Silver-Coated Biomaterials In Vivo, Megan Klem, Darien L. Seidman, Rahyan Mahmoud, Manuella Adu, Lei Yu, Jeffrey Hettinger, Renee M Demarest

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Overtreatment and overuse of antibiotics in healthcare and agricultural settings have contributed to the selective pressure on bacterial strains to develop resistance. Resistance can develop as a result of mutations and subsequent resistance genes that allow bacteria to survive against antibiotics. Novel silver-oxide coatings were developed and were previously demonstrated to prevent adhesion of gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia Coli and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa) to the disc, but did not prevent gram-positive bacterial adherence (Streptococcus Aureus). In order to determine whether the silver-oxide coatings are bacterial static and may be preventing progression to biofilm formation, in vivo analysis of S. Aureus attached to …

Riluzole For Pediatric Patients With Treatment-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Maheen Mohammad, Stuti Parikh

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) occurs in about 1-3% of the pediatric population, but many do not respond to standard therapies. Riluzole, a glutamate antagonist, has shown to be an effective treatment for refractory OCD in adults, however few trials have been conducted to show the effectiveness of Riluzole in children to treat refractory OCD. The study investigates the potential use of riluzole in children to treat refractory OCD.

Effect Of Calcium Chloride And Isoflurane On Force Frequency Relationship In Canines, Harrison Patrizio, Lawrence Mulligan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Proper calcium cycling is critical for a optimally functioning heart.

Improper calcium cycling in humans can contribute to heart failure.

Human calcium cycling is difficult to study due to the risks of damaging the patient’s cardiac tissue.

Risk of further damaging cardiac tissue is substantially increased in a heart failure patient.

Past studies focus on studying the effects of changing calcium cycling in lab rats.

Current research shows limited alternative methods in studying relationships between calcium cycling and FFR in larger mammals.

This project analyzes data to determine the response of the canine force frequency relationship to calcium chloride and …

Case Presentation: Lower Back Pain Or Chronic Acetaminophen Overdose?, Meghan Whitt, Christopher Schwartz, Bhumi Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Unintentional ingestions can pose a difficult challenge to diagnose in the setting of the Emergency Department. Many may present with vague symptoms that are not consistent with classic overdose prodromes. Many patients do not identify or disclose over the counter medications, such as analgesics, with which acute/chronic ingestion in large quantities can result in life threatening medical emergencies. Their underlying symptoms may also cloud their clinical picture, further complicating workup within the ED.

Assessment Of Physical Fitness After Bariatric Surgery And Its Association With Protein Intake And Type Of Cholecalciferol Supplementation, Hendrika J M Smelt, Sjaak Pouwels, Alper Celik, Adarsh Gupta, Johannes F Smulders

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Background: Several studies showed that there is a relationship between vitamin and mineral status and muscle strength. In particular this is the case for handgrip strength (HS) and vitamin D deficiency. In bariatric surgery there is a risk of decrease in muscle strength after surgery and also vitamin and mineral deficiencies are not uncommon. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of low vitamin 25 (OH) cholecalciferol levels, high dose cholecalciferol supplementation regime and protein intake on physical fitness, measured using handgrip strength (HS) and the shuttle walk run test (SWRT). Methods: For this retrospective …

Amiodarone Induced Epididymo-Orchitis, Yaser Khalid D.O., Neethi Dasu D.O., Sravan Panuganti D.O., Stephen Daly D.O.

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Amiodarone has a well-established and extensive side effect profile: pulmonary fibrosis, thyroid toxicity, corneal deposits, skin discoloration. However, in some rare instance, epididymitis/orchitis is a side effect of amiodarone. Amiodarone toxicity was first studied in (1, 2) Symptoms range from testicular pain to swelling and erythema (1,2) The mechanism of how this toxicity occurs is unknown. In this case report, we will discuss the case of an elderly patient who developed epididymitis and orchitis after several years of tolerating amiodarone without any adverse events. Our patient underwent a full workup with testicular ultrasound, evaluation by urology and cardiology specialists. Then …

Escherichia Coli Itat Is A Type Ii Toxin That Inhibits Translation By Acetylating Isoleucyl-Trnaile, Brendan Wilcox, Ilya Osterman, Marina Serebryakova, Dmitry Lukyanov, Ekaterina Komarova, Bridget Gollan, Natalia Morozova, Yuri I Wolf, Kira S Makarova, Sophie Helaine, Petr Sergiev, Svetlana Dubiley, Sergei Borukhov, Konstantin Severinov

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Prokaryotic toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules are highly abundant and are involved in stress response and drug tolerance. The most common type II TA modules consist of two interacting proteins. The type II toxins are diverse enzymes targeting various essential intracellular targets. The antitoxin binds to cognate toxin and inhibits its function. Recently, TA modules whose toxins are GNAT-family acetyltransferases were described. For two such systems, the target of acetylation was shown to be aminoacyl-tRNA: the TacT toxin targets aminoacylated elongator tRNAs, while AtaT targets the amino acid moiety of initiating tRNAMet. We show that the itaRT gene pair from Escherichia coli …

Inhibition Of Ribosome Biogenesis Through Genetic And Chemical Approaches, Leonid Anikin

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

In order to maintain the ability to generate proteins, proliferating cells must continuously generate ribosomes, designating up to 80% of their energy to ribosome biogenesis (RBG). RBG involves transcription of rDNA by RNA polymerases I (Pol I) and III (Pol III), expression of approximately 80 ribosomal proteins, and assembly of these components in a process referred to as ribosome maturation. During maturation, the Pol I transcribed 47S pre-rRNA undergoes a number of processing events, while simultaneously interacting with processing factors and ribosomal proteins that drive pre-ribosome assembly. Inhibition of RBG has become one of the pursued targets for cancer therapy …

Targeting Ribosome Assembly Factors Selectively Protects P53 Positive Cells From Chemotherapeutic Agents, Russell T. Sapio, Anastasiya Nezdyur, Matthew Krevetski, Leonid Anikin, Vincent J. Manna, N. Minkovsky, Dimitri G Pestov

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Many chemotherapeutic agents act in a nondiscriminatory fashion, targeting both cancerous and noncancerous cells in Sphase and Mphase. One approach to reduce the toxic side effects in normal tissue is to exploit the differences in p53 functionality between cancerous and noncancerous cells. For example, activating p53 signaling by nongenotoxic means can transiently arrest noncancerous p53 positive cells in G1 phase and protect them from the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. However, since most cancerous cells have faulty p53 signaling, they will proceed to cycle, and continue to be affected by the drug. In this study we asked if this G1‐phase …