Medical Specialties Commons^™

Association Between Obesity, Surgical Route, And Perioperative Outcomes In Patients With Uterine Cancer, Entidhar Al Sawah, Jason L. Salemi, Mitchel Hoffman, Anthony N. Imudia, Emad Mikhail

Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Objective. To study temporal trends of hysterectomy routes performed for uterine cancer and their associations with body mass index (BMI) and perioperative morbidity. Methods. A retrospective review of the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) 2005-2013 databases was conducted. All patients who were 18 years old and older with a diagnosis of uterine cancer and underwent hysterectomy were identified using ICD-9-CM and CPT codes. Surgical route was classified into four groups: total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), total vaginal hysterectomy (TVH), laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH), and total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) including both conventional and robotically assisted. …

Adnexal Torsion In A Patient With Müllerian Agenesis Undergoing Ovarian Stimulation: A Case Report, Erika P. New, Adrianne R. Mallen, Abigail C. Mancuso, Bradley J. Van Voorhis

Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Background: As assisted reproductive technologies become increasingly available to patients, more women with Müllerian agenesis may undergo ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval to have genetically-related offspring. The risk of ovarian torsion is increased in patients utilizing assisted reproductive technologies compared to patients who do not undergo these treatments.

Case: A 25-year-old G0 with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome presented to the emergency room two days after oocyte retrieval with an acute abdomen. During laparoscopy, she was found to have torsion of her left ovary.

Summary and Conclusion: As more young women with Müllerian agenesis present for fertility treatment, this anatomically unique patient cohort …

Clinical Utility Of Ca-125 In The Management Of Uterine Carcinosarcoma, Koji Matsuo, Malcolm S. Ross, Mayu Yunokawa, Marian S. Johnson, Hiroko Machida, Kohei Omatsu, Merieme M. Klobocista, Dwight D. Im, Shinya Satoh, Tsukasa Baba, Yuji Ikeda, Stephen H. Bush, Kosei Hasegawa, Erin A. Blake, Munetaka Takekuma, Masako Shida, Masato Nishimura, Sosuke Adachi, Tanja Pejovic, Satoshi Takeuchi, Takuhei Yokoyama, Yutaka Ueda, Keita Iwasaki, Takahito M. Miyake, Shiori Yanai, Tadayoshi Nagano, Tadao Takano, Mian M. Shahzad, Frederick R. Ueland, Joseph L. Kelley, Lynda D. Roman

Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sb Driver Analysis: A Sleeping Beauty Cancer Driver Analysis Framework For Identifying And Prioritizing Experimentally Actionable Oncogenes And Tumor Suppressors, Justin Y. Newberg, Michael A. Black, Nancy A. Jenkins, Neal G. Copeland, Karen M. Mann, Michael B. Mann

Oncologic Sciences Faculty Publications

Cancer driver prioritization for functional analysis of potential actionable therapeutic targets is a significant challenge. Meta-analyses of mutated genes across different human cancer types for driver prioritization has reaffirmed the role of major players in cancer, including KRAS, TP53 and EGFR, but has had limited success in prioritizing genes with non-recurrent mutations in specific cancer types. Sleeping Beauty (SB) insertional mutagenesis is a powerful experimental gene discovery framework to define driver genes in mouse models of human cancers. Meta-analyses of SB datasets across multiple tumor types is a potentially informative approach to prioritize drivers, and complements efforts …

Hospital-Acquired Malnutrition In Children At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Del-Rossi Sean, Rose Kamenwa, Samuel Akech, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Objectives: This study sought to investigate the incidence and factors associated with hospital-acquired malnutrition in children.

Design: A hospital-based longitudinal survey carried out between December 2013 and February 2014.

Setting: Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya, a tertiary care hospital.

Subjects: One hundred and seventy children who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study.

Outcome measures: Anthropometry was done at admission and discharge. Incidence of hospital-acquired malnutrition was estimated from the total number of children showing a decrease in weight-for-height/length (WFH) or Body Mass Index (BMI) z-scores from the time of admission to discharge. Logistic regression analysis was …

Children’S Oxygen Administration Strategies Trial (Coast): A Randomised Controlled Trial Of High Flow Versus Oxygen Versus Control In African Children With Severe Pneumonia, Kathryn Maitland, Sarah Kiguli, Robert Opoka, Peter Olupot-Olupot, Charles Engoru, Patricia Njuguna, Victor Bandika, Ayub Mpoya, Andrew Bush, Thomas Williams

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: In Africa, the clinical syndrome of pneumonia remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the post-neonatal period. This represents a significant burden on in-patient services. The targeted use of oxygen and simple, non-invasive methods of respiratory support may be a highly cost-effective means of improving outcome, but the optimal oxygen saturation threshold that results in benefit and the best strategy for delivery are yet to be tested in adequately powered randomised controlled trials. There is, however, an accumulating literature about the harms of oxygen therapy across a range of acute and emergency situations that …

Prevalence Of Hla-B*5701 In A Kenyan Population With Hiv Infection, Reena Shah, H. Nabiswa, Nancy Okinda, Gunturu Revathi, Mark Hawken, Nelson M.

Internal Medicine, East Africa

We read with interest the article published in your Journal entitled “Real-world persistence with antiretroviral therapy for HIV in the United Kingdom: a multicentre retrospective cohort study”1 which concluded that treatment discontinuation attributable to toxicity profile is not an uncommon event. They also acknowledged lack of data collection on HLA-B*5701 status, which would heavily influence initial ART regimen and the choice to discontinue medication. Of the 25.6 million living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Africa, an estimated 1.6 million people live in Kenya.2 With an HIV prevalence of 5.6%, Kenya has upscaled HIV treatment and care in the past …

Alteration Of Metabolite Profiling By Cold Atmospheric Plasma Treatment In Human Myeloma Cells, Dehui Xu, Yujing Xu, Ning Ning, Qingjie Cui, Zhijie Liu, Xiaohua Wang, Dingxin Liu, Hailan Chen, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite new progress of chemotherapy in multiple myeloma (MM) clinical treatment, MM is still a refractory disease and new technology is needed to improve the outcomes and prolong the survival. Cold atmospheric plasma is a rapidly developed technology in recent years, which has been widely applied in biomedicine. Although plasma could efficiently inactivate various tumor cells, the effects of plasma on tumor cell metabolism have not been studied yet.

METHODS: In this study, we investigated the metabolite profiling of He plasma treatment on myeloma tumor cells by gas-chromatography time-of-flight (GC-TOF) mass-spectrometry. Meanwhile, by bioinformatic analysis such as GO and …

Nano-Pulse Stimulation Ablates Orthotopic Rat Hepatocellular Carcinoma And Induces Innate And Adaptive Memory Immune Mechanisms That Prevent Recurrence, Brittany P. Lassiter, Siqi Guo, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

Nano-pulse stimulation (NPS), previously called nsPEFs, induced a vaccine-like effect after ablation of orthotopic N1-S1 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), protecting rats from subsequent challenges with N1-S1 cells. To determine immunity, immune cell phenotypes were analyzed in naïve, treated and protected rats. NPS provides a positive, post-ablation immuno-therapeutic outcome by alleviating immunosuppressive T regulatory cells (Treg) in the tumor microenvironment (TME), allowing dendritic cell influx and inducing dynamic changes in natural killer cells (NKs), NKT-cells and T-lymphocytes in blood, spleen and liver. NPS induced specific increases in NKs and NKT-cells expressing CD8 and activation receptors CD314-NKG2D and CD161 (NK1.1) in the TME …

Tumor Cell Death After Electrotransfer Of Plasmid Dna Is Associated With Cytosolic Dna Sensor Upregulation, Katarina Znidar, Masa Bosnjak, Nina Semenova, Olga N. Pakhomova, Loree Heller, Maja Cemazar

Bioelectrics Publications

Cytosolic DNA sensors are a subgroup of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and are activated by the abnormal presence of the DNA in the cytosol. Their activation leads to the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and can also induce cell death. The presence of cytosolic DNA sensors and inflammatory cytokines in TS/A murine mammary adenocarcinoma and WEHI 164 fibrosarcoma cells was demonstrated using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After electrotransfer of plasmid DNA (pDNA) using two pulse protocols, the upregulation of DNA-depended activator of interferon regulatory factor or Z-DNA binding …

Cold Atmospheric Plasma As A Potential Tool For Multiple Myeloma Treatment, Dehui Xu, Yujing Xu, Qingjie Cui, Dingxin Liu, Zhijie Liu, Xiaohua Wang, Yanjie Yang, Niaojuan Feng, Rong Liang, Hailan Chen, Kai Ye, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a fatal and incurable hematological malignancy thus new therapy need to be developed. Cold atmospheric plasma, a new technology that could generate various active species, could efficiently induce various tumor cells apoptosis. More details about the interaction of plasma and tumor cells need to be addressed before the application of gas plasma in clinical cancer treatment. In this study, we demonstrate that He+O₂ plasma could efficiently induce myeloma cell apoptosis through the activation of CD95 and downstream caspase cascades. Extracellular and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation is essential for CD95-mediated cell apoptosis in response …

Upregulation Of Dna Sensors In B16.F10 Melanoma Spheroid Cells After Electrotransfer Of Pdna, Katarina Znidar, Masa Bosnjak, Tanja Jesenko, Loree C. Heller, Maja Cemazar

Bioelectrics Publications

Increased expression of cytosolic DNA sensors, a category of pattern recognition receptor, after control plasmid DNA electrotransfer was observed in our previous studies on B16.F10 murine melanoma cells. This expression was correlated with the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and was associated with cell death. Here, we expanded our research to include the influence of features of cells in a 3-dimensional environment, which better represents the tumors’ organization in vivo. Our results show that lower number of cells were transfected in spheroids compared to 2-dimensional cultures, that growth was delayed after electroporation alone or after electrotransfer of plasmid …

Nano-Pulse Stimulation For The Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer And The Changes In Immune Profile, Sigi Guo, Niculina I. Burcus, James Hornef, Yu Jing, Chunqi Jiang, Richard Heller, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

A Pancreatic cancer is a notorious malignant neoplasm with an extremely poor prognosis. Current standard of care is rarely effective against late-stage pancreatic cancer. In this study, we assessed nanopulse stimulation (NPS) as a local treatment for pancreatic cancer in a syngeneic mouse Pan02 pancreatic cancer model and characterized corresponding changes in the immune profile. A single NPS treatment either achieved complete tumor regression or prolonged overall survival in animals with partial tumor regression. While this is very encouraging, we also explored if this local ablation effect could also result in immune stimulation, as was observed when NPS led to …

Cgas Drives Noncanonical-Inflammasome Activation In Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Nagaraj Kerur, Shinichi Fukuda, Daipayan Banerjee, Younghee Kim, Dongxu Fu, Ivana Apicella, Akhil Varshney, Reo Yasuma, Benjamin J. Fowler, Elmira Baghdasaryan, Kenneth M. Marion, Xiwen Huang, Tetsuhiro Yasuma, Yoshio Hirano, Vlad Serbulea, Meenakshi Ambati, Vidya L. Ambati, Yuji Kajiwara, Kameshwari Ambati, Shuichiro Hirahara, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Yuichiro Ogura, Hiroko Terasaki, Tetsuro Oshika, Kyung Bo Kim, David R. Hinton, Norbert Leitinger, John C. Cambier, Joseph D. Buxbaum, M. Cristina Kenney, Bradley D. Gelfand, Jayakrishna Ambati

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

Geographic atrophy is a blinding form of age-related macular degeneration characterized by retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) death; the RPE also exhibits DICER1 deficiency, resultant accumulation of endogenous Alu-retroelement RNA, and NLRP3-inflammasome activation. How the inflammasome is activated in this untreatable disease is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that RPE degeneration in human-cell-culture and mouse models is driven by a noncanonical-inflammasome pathway that activates caspase-4 (caspase-11 in mice) and caspase-1, and requires cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-dependent interferon-β production and gasdermin D-dependent interleukin-18 secretion. Decreased DICER1 levels or Alu-RNA accumulation triggers cytosolic escape of mitochondrial DNA, which engages cGAS. Moreover, caspase-4, gasdermin …

Improving Length Of Stay: Transitioning Care From The Emergency Department To A Clinical Decision Unit, Griselle Pastor, Van Cronkhite, Natalie Mancuso, Emilia Villoch

All Publications

No abstract provided.

การใช้ไมโครพาติเคิลจากเม็ดเลือดแดงเป็นตัวบ่งชี้ทางชีวภาพชนิดใหม่สำหรับวินิจฉัยภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดจากความผิดปกติของโกลเมอรูลัส, อวิรุทธ์ เจริญสรรพกิจ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การจัดจำแนกภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดจากสาเหตุความผิดปกติของโกลเมอรูลัสเป็นปัญหาที่พบได้บ่อยในการตรวจพิสูจน์ทางไต และการตรวจนับปริมาณเม็ดเลือดแดงชนิดดิสมอร์ฟิก (dysmorphic red blood cell: DRBC) ในปัสสาวะเป็นวิธีการที่ใช้ในการจัดจำแนกอยู่ในปัจจุบัน แต่ขีดจำกัดของการตรวจนับด้วยวิธีนี้มีอยู่หลายประการ เช่น ผู้ปฏิบัติงาน และมีความไวต่ำ โดยการตรวจนับปริมาณของเม็ดเลือดแดงที่มีการแสดงออกของฟอสฟาติดิลซีรีน (phosphatidylserine exposing RBC: PS-RBC) และไมโครพาติเคิลจากเม็ดเลือดแดง (RBC derived microparticle: RMP) ซึ่งเป็นตัวบ่งชี้ถึงการบาดเจ็บของเม็ดเลือดแดงด้วยเทคนิคโฟลไซโตมิทรี (flow cytometry) กลับยังไม่เคยมีมาก่อน ในงานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อ (1) เพื่อเปรียบเทียบปริมาณ RMP และ PS-RBC ในปัสสาวะระหว่างผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดจากความผิดปกติของโกลเมอรูลัส (glomerular hematuria: GH) ผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดจากสาเหตุที่ไม่ใช่โกลเมอรูลัส (non-glomerular hematuria: NGH) (2) เพื่อเปรียบความสามารถของการใช้ตัวบ่งชี้ทางชีวภาพจากเทคนิคflow cytometry และร้อยละของ DRBC ในการวินิจฉัยภาวะ GH (3) เพื่อศึกษาการเกิด DRBC, PS-RBC และการปลดปล่อย RMP จากการเปลี่ยนแปลงทางกายภายและเคมีในท่อของท่อหน่วยไตจำลองในหลอดทดลอง ปัสสาวะจะถูกเก็บมาจากผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะ GH, ผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะ NGH และอาสาสมัครที่ไม่มีภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือด โดยปัสสาวะจะถูกนำมาตรวจตะกอนปัสสาวะภายใต้กล้องจุลทรรศน์เพื่อตรวจนับปริมาณ DRBC และวิเคราะห์ด้วยเทคนิค flow cytometry เพื่อตรวจนับปริมาณของ PS-RBC และ RMP โดยผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะ GH จะถูกยืนยันโรคของโกลเมอรูลัสภายใน 3 เดือน และผู้ป่วยที่ภาวะ NGH ต้องรู้สาเหตุของภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดที่แน่นอน โดยข้อมูลทั้งหมดจะถูกปกปิดไม่ให้ผู้ปฏิบัติงานรับทราบ และกราฟ ROC จะถูกใช้เพื่อพิสูจน์ความสามารถในการวินิจฉัยภาวะ GH ของตัวบ่งชี้ทางชีวภาพต่าง ๆ ผลการวิจัยพบว่ากลุ่มตัวอย่างในงานวิจัย ประกอบด้วย ผู้ป่วยภาวะ GH จำนวน 29 ราย, ผู้ป่วยภาวะ NGH จำนวน 29 ราย และอาสาสมัครที่ไม่มีภาวะปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดจำนวน 20 ราย โดยสาเหตุปัสสาวะเป็นเลือดหลักของผู้ป่วยภาวะ GH …

The Relationship Between Central Venous Catheter And Post-Operative Complications In Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection, David C. O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

The Relationship Between Central Venous Catheter and Post-operative Complications in Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection

David C. O’Connor, Ph.D., DNAP, CRNA

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018

Dissertation Chair: Clarence J. Biddle, Ph.D., CRNA

Hepatic resection is indicated for primary and secondary malignancies. Use of a low central venous pressure technique is associated with decreased blood loss in these cases. This technique has evolved; central venous catheters and high dose morphine are no longer used, and patients are extubated earlier. The purpose of …

Shared Genetic And Environmental Influences On Fear, Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress, And Brain Morphometry, Chelsea Sawyers

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders (ADs) and stress-related disorders are some of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States. Like other c0mplex psychiatric illness, genetics and neuroimaging research has focused on understanding their underlying neurobiology. Areas within the fear-network play important roles in threat perception, fear conditioning/learning, cognitive processing, and modulation of fear responses including contextual modulation and extinction and have been implicated in ADs as well as stress disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary gap in the current search for underlying biological mechanisms is in whether biomarkers associated with disorders share genetic influences with the disorders they …

Differential Presentation And Survival Of De Novo And Recurrent Metastatic Breast Cancer Over Time: 1990-2010., Judith A Malmgren, Musa Mayer, Mary K Atwood, Henry G Kaplan

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Differences in de novo (dnMBC) and recurrent metastatic breast cancer (rMBC) presentation and survival over time have not been adequately described.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, 1990-2010, with follow up through 2015 of dnMBC patients (stage IV at diagnosis) and rMBC patients with subsequent distant metastatic recurrence (stage I-III initial diagnosis) [dnMBC = 247, rMBC = 911)]. Analysis included Chi squared tests of categorical variables, Kaplan-Meier survival estimates, and Cox proportional adjusted hazard ratios (HzR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Disease specific survival (DSS) was time from diagnosis or distant recurrence to BC death.

RESULTS: Over time, 1990-1998, 1999-2004, …

Tissue Specific Origin, Development, And Pathological Perspectives Of Pericytes., Tomoko Yamazaki, Yoh-Suke Mukouyama

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Pericytes are mural cells surrounding blood vessels, adjacent to endothelial cells. Pericytes play critical roles in maturation and maintenance of vascular branching morphogenesis. In the central nervous system (CNS), pericytes are necessary for the formation and regulation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and pericyte deficiency accompanies CNS diseases including multiple sclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage, and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite the importance of pericytes, their developmental origins and phenotypic diversity remain incompletely understood. Pericytes express multiple markers and the origin of pericytes differs by tissue, which may cause difficulty for the identification and understanding of the ontogeny of pericytes. Also, …

Relationship Of Systemic Il-10 Levels With Proinflammatory Cytokine Responsiveness And Lung Function In Agriculture Workers, Tricia D. Levan, Debra J. Romberger, Mohammad Siahpush, Brandon L. Grimm, Athena K. Ramos, Patrik L. Johansson, Tzeyu L. Michaud, Art J. Heires, Todd A. Wyatt, Jill A. Poole

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

BACKGROUND: Agriculture workers are exposed to microbial component- and particulate matter-enriched organic dust aerosols. Whereas it is clear that exposure to these aerosols can lead to lung inflammation, it is not known how inflammatory responses are resolved in some individuals while others develop chronic lung disease. Interleukin (IL)-10 is an immunomodulatory cytokine that is recognized as a potent anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving factor. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship of systemic IL-10 and proinflammatory responses and/or respiratory health effects in humans with prior agriculture exposure.

METHODS: This is a cross sectional study of 625 …

Determinants Of Facilitated Health Insurance Enrollment For Patients With Hiv Disease, And Impact Of Insurance Enrollment On Targeted Health Outcomes., Renae Furl, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Elizabeth Lyden, Susan Swindells

Journal Articles: Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided unprecedented opportunities for uninsured people with HIV infection to access health insurance, and to examine the impact of this change in access. AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) have been directed to pursue uninsured individuals to enroll in the ACA as both a cost-saving strategy and to increase patient access to care. We evaluated the impact of ADAP-facilitated health insurance enrollment on health outcomes, and demographic and clinical factors that influenced whether or not eligible patients enrolled.

METHODS: During the inaugural open enrollment period for the ACA, 284 Nebraska ADAP …

Midwest Pharmacists' Familiarity, Experience, And Willingness To Provide Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) For Hiv, Jordan M. Broekhuis, Kimberly K. Scarsi, Harlan R. Sayles, Donald G. Klepser, Joshua P. Havens, Susan Swindells, Sara H. Bares

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacist provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through collaborative practice agreements with physicians could expand access to people at risk for HIV. We characterized pharmacists' familiarity with and willingness to provide PrEP services in Nebraska and Iowa.

METHODS: An invitation to complete an 18-question survey was emailed to 1,140 pharmacists in Nebraska and Iowa in June and July of 2016. Descriptive analyses and Pearson chi-square tests were used to determine to what extent demographics, familiarity and experience were associated with respondent willingness to provide PrEP. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests compared ages and years of experience between groups of respondents.

RESULTS: One …

Response And Resistance To Paradox-Breaking Braf Inhibitor In Melanomas, Edward J. Hartsough, Curtis H. Kugel, Michael J. Vido, Adam C. Berger, Timothy J. Purwin, Allison F. Goldberg, Michael A. Davies, Matthew J. Schiewer, Karen E. Knudsen, Gideon Bollag, Andrew E. Aplin

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

FDA-approved BRAF inhibitors produce high response rates and improve overall survival in patients with BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma, but are linked to pathologies associated with paradoxical ERK1/2 activation in wild-type BRAF cells. To overcome this limitation, a next-generation paradox-breaking RAF inhibitor (PLX8394) has been designed. Here, we show that by using a quantitative reporter assay, PLX8394 rapidly suppressed ERK1/2 reporter activity and growth of mutant BRAF melanoma xenografts. Ex vivo treatment of xenografts and use of a patient-derived explant system (PDeX) revealed that PLX8394 suppressed ERK1/2 signaling and elicited apoptosis more effectively than the FDA-approved BRAF inhibitor, vemurafenib. Furthermore, PLX8394 was …

Mindfulness And Multiple Sclerosis, Mandakini Sadhir

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, debilitating autoimmune condition with unknown etiology. It can have significant impact on quality of life and overall sense of wellbeing. It can be associated with poor sleep, fatigue, mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and affect interpersonal relationships. Impact of mindfulness based interventions in mental health conditions, chronic illness as well as multiple sclerosis in adults has been widely studied. Several studies have concluded that mindfulness based intervention can be beneficial in improving quality of life, mental health and physical symptoms such as fatigue in adult patients with multiple sclerosis. Current literature suggest that …

Are Audience Response Systems Worth The Cost? Comparing Question-Driven Teaching Strategies For Emergency Medical Technician Education, Lauren M. Maloney, James P. Dilger, Paul A. Werfel, Linda M. Cimino

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: As Emergency Medical Technician educators develop curricula to meet new national educational standards, effective teaching strategies validated for course content and unique student demographics are warranted. Three methods for answering multiple choice questions presented during lectures were compared: a) Audience Response System (ARS, clickers), b) hand-raising-with-eyes-closed (no-cost option), and c) passive response (no-cost option). The purpose was to determine if using the ARS resulted in improved exam scores. Method: 113 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) students participated in this cross-over, block randomized, controlled trial, which was incorporated into their Cardiac Emergencies and Pulmonary Emergencies course lectures. Students took …

Practice Of And Barriers To Prevention By Secondary School Athletic Trainers, Caroline C. Guindon, Zachary K. Winkelmann, Lindsey E. Eberman, Kenneth E. Games

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Prevention is a key aspect of care from athletic trainers. There is limited research on the practice strategies employed to prevent injury by secondary school athletic trainers (SSATs). The purpose of this study was to describe the prevention practice strategies and barriers faced by secondary school athletic trainers. Methods: Athletic trainers (n=3010) were recruited from secondary schools through e-mails provided by the national professional organization database. Secondary school athletic trainers were surveyed on their self-reported prevention practices and barriers using a web-based survey platform. Respondents were 28±3 years, predominantly female (n=260/359, 72.4%), with about 5 years (±2yrs) of …

Role Of Microbes In The Development Of Alzheimer's Disease: State Of The Art - An International Symposium Presented At The 2017 Iagg Congress In San Francisco., Tamàs Fülöp, Ruth F Itzhaki, Brian J. Balin Phd, Judith Miklossy, Annelise E Barron

PCOM Scholarly Works

This article reviews research results and ideas presented at a special symposium at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Congress held in July 2017 in San Francisco. Five researchers presented their results related to infection and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Prof. Itzhaki presented her work on the role of viruses, specifically HSV-1, in the pathogenesis of AD. She maintains that although it is true that most people harbor HSV-1 infection, either latent or active, nonetheless aspects of herpes infection can play a role in the pathogenesis of AD, based on extensive experimental evidence from AD brains and infected cell …

Chlamydia Pneumoniae: An Etiologic Agent For Late-Onset Dementia, Brian J. Balin Phd, Christine Hammond, Christopher S. Little, Susan Hingley, Zein Al-Atrache, Denah Appelt, Judith A Whittum-Hudson, Alan P Hudson

PCOM Scholarly Works

The disease known as late-onset Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition recognized as the single most common form of senile dementia. The condition is sporadic and has been attributed to neuronal damage and loss, both of which have been linked to the accumulation of protein deposits in the brain. Significant progress has been made over the past two decades regarding our overall understanding of the apparently pathogenic entities that arise in the affected brain, both for early-onset disease, which constitutes approximately 5% of all cases, as well as late-onset disease, which constitutes the remainder of cases. Observable neuropathology includes: neurofibrillary …

Personalizing Radiation Treatment Delivery In The Management Of Breast Cancer, Kamran A. Ahmed, G. Daniel Grass, Amber G. Orman, Casey Liveringhouse, Michael E. Montejo, Hatem H. Soliman, Heather S. Han, Brian J. Czerniecki, Javier F. Torres-Roca, Roberto Diaz

Oncologic Sciences Faculty Publications

Long-term data establishes the efficacy of radiotherapy in the adjuvant management of breast cancer. New dose and fractionation schemas have evolved and are available, each with unique risks and rewards. Current efforts are ongoing to tailor radiotherapy to the unique biology of breast cancer. In this review, we discuss our efforts to personalize radiotherapy dosing using genomic data and the implications for future clinical trials. We also explore immune mechanisms that may contribute to a tumor’s unique radiation sensitivity or resistance.