Anatomy Commons^™

Glycine Receptor Alpha Subunit (Glyra) Specific Inhibition Contributes To Ganglion Cell Signaling In Mouse Retina., Chi Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the retina, numerous types of neurons are wired together in a highly specific albeit complex pattern. This sophisticated retinal network allows extraction and encoding of more than 20 representations of the visual scene in its output neurons, the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Within the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of retina, glycine receptors (GlyRs) are expressed on different cell classes and modulate RGC visual activity to light onset (ON RGCs) and to light offset (OFF RGCs), for example, their temporal precision and gain control. There are four GlyR alpha subunits (GlyRα1-4) with differential expression patterns in IPL. Each mediates spontaneous …

Characterizing The Neuropeptide Pathways Between The Forebrain And The Pons., Ali Al-Magableh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many current health problems including obesity, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, and type 2-diabetes can be attributed to diet. One powerful determinant of food selection is how good or bad a food 'tastes' (e.g. affective value), and is ranked highly by consumers as their top reason for choosing a food (e.g. preference). Learning plays an important role in the establishment and strengthening of food preference and, thus in guiding food choice and calories consumed. The basis of such learning is provided, in part, by limbic system modulation of gustatory neural processing at lower levels in the medulla and pons. I hypothesize …

Src Homology 2 Domain-Containing 5’-Inositol Phosphatase-2 (Ship2) Is An Effector Of Lymphatic Dysfunction, Germaine D. Agollah

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The lymphatic system is essential for the transport of excess fluid, protein, and foreign materials from interstitial tissues to lymph nodes; for immune surveillance, and to maintain fluid homeostasis. Dysregulated lymphatics can be attributed to pathological conditions including tumor metastasis, inflammation, chronic wounds, obesity, blood vascular disorders, and lymphedema. Of these, lymphedema is the most extreme of lymphatic disorders and is represented by a spectrum of symptoms ranging from mild, subtle presentation to severe, disfiguring, overt presentation. Lymphedema is more manageable in the early stages of disease but severely reduces quality of life with progression. Due to lack of molecular …

Role Of Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Kinase In The Healing Process Of The Heart Following Myocardial Infarction, Laura L. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT), caused by mutations in the gene encoding ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase (ATM), is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. AT individuals exhibit neuronal degeneration and are predisposed to cancer. Carriers of this disorder are predisposed to cancer and ischemic heart disease. Heart disease, mostly due to myocardial infarction (MI), is a leading cause of death in the US. Following MI, release of catecholamines in the heart stimulates β- adrenergic receptors (β-AR). Our lab has shown that β-AR stimulation increases ATM expression in the heart and myocytes, and ATM plays an important role in β-AR-stimulated myocardial remodeling with effects …

Establishment Of A 3d Culture Model Of Gastric Stem Cells Supporting Their Differentiation Into Mucous Cells Using Microfibrous Polycaprolactone Scaffold, Sunitha Pulikkot

Dissertations

In the stomach, epithelial stem cells are responsible for glandular homeostasis and continuous production of four main cell lineages secreting mucus, acid, pepsinogen and hormones. While alteration in the proliferation and differentiation program of these stem cells is linked to the origin of gastric cancer, they represent an effective target for chemotherapy and a source for cell therapy or tissue engineering in cases of gastric mucosal damage or loss. The aims of this study were 1) to manufacture various forms of scaffolds using a biodegradable polymer (polycaprolactone), 2) to test the suitability of these scaffolds for growth of mouse gastric …

Phenotypic Analysis Of Long Bones In Pannexin 3 Knockout Mice, Deidre Caskenette

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

Pannexin 3 (Panx3) is a channel forming glycoprotein that is highly expressed in skeletal tissues. Panx3 is induced at the growth plate of long bones where it regulates cell proliferation and differentiation, a key role in bone formation.

This study analyzes the phenotype of long bones in a novel Panx3 knockout (KO) mouse to assess the role of Panx3 in bone formation.

Ten KO and 10 wild-type (WT) adult mice were scanned using in vivo micro-CT. Right femora / humeri were digitized using homologous landmarks. Geometric morphometric analysis (multivariate statistical methods) allowed for quantitative comparison of shape, size and variation …

3d Visualization Of The Glomerulus Within Kidney Tissue Made Transparent Through Passive Optical Clearing, Tristan Conciatori

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of User Performance In Simulation-Based Diagnostic Cerebral Angiography Training, Oleksiy Zaika

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

Simulation of anatomically complex procedures, such as angiography, is becoming more practical, however, computer-based modules require extensive research to assess their effectiveness. We organized two training schemas – alternating cases and consistent cases – and hypothesized that the alternating practice cases would be beneficial to test performance. Eight residents (4 radiology/4 neurosurgery) and 8 anatomy graduate students were trained on the Simbionix™ simulator in order to assess skill acquisition in diagnostic cerebral angiography over 8 sessions. We found that participants improve on total procedure time and total fluoroscopy time (p<0.05), but not on contrast injected or roadmaps created. There were no significant differences between alternating and consistent training types. Additional work needs to be done with higher sample numbers and visuospatial scores as criteria.

Establishing Anatomical Proximity Between The Coronary Circumflex Artery And Mitral Valve Annulus: Implications For Mitral Valve Surgery, Eliot Winkler

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

The circumflex artery (CX) lies in the left atrioventricular groove, running intimately parallel to the mitral annulus. Thus, unintentional damage to the CX can occur during mitral valve surgery, typically reported in hearts with a left dominant circulation. This study aims to elucidate the anatomical CX-annulus relationship with respect to dominance, and evaluate unintentional CX damage following three surgical repairs. Using cadaveric hearts (n=27), coronary circulation was dissected and dominance assigned. Following a left atriotomy, a clock face was overlaid on the mitral valve (12:00 positioned at A2 leaflet midline) and the CX-annulus distance was measured at each hour. The …

Mapping Cortical Plasticity Induced By Noise Exposure Using C-Fos Immunoreactivity, Paul Sirek

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

Using in vivo electrophysiological recordings in rats, our lab has recently observed that high-intensity noise exposure causes an increase in the number of neurons in the auditory and multisensory cortices that are responsive to visual stimuli (i.e., cortical crossmodal plasticity). To extend this work, the present study evaluated our hypothesis that this noise-induced crossmodal plasticity can also be assessed by mapping the expression of the activity marker, c-Fos, across multiple cortical areas in response to visual stimuli. Adult male rats were exposed to a 120dB noise (0.8-20kHz) for two hours, and the level of hearing loss was assessed with an …

Comparative Assessment Of Hard Palate Thickness Using Micro - Ct And Gross Cadaveric Measurements: Implications For The Safe Placement Of Orthodontic Miniscrews, Jillian Phillips

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

The hard palate is a preferred area for orthodontic miniscrew (OMS) insertion due to easy surgical access and favorable anatomical configuration. However, accurate measurement of palatal bone thickness (BT) is crucial for choosing appropriate OMS lengths and insertion sites. The aim of this study is to determine the accuracy of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) for assessing palatal BT, such that we can determine if it is an objective standard for use in research, to which clinical measurements of BT can be compared. Ten cadaveric maxillae (54 -98 yrs.) were cleaned of soft tissue and imaged using micro-CT imaging. Bone thickness was …

A Histological Examination Of The Lumbar Sympathetic Trunk, Noah Mintz

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

Current anatomical and histological descriptions of the lumbar sympathetic trunk suggest that its neuronal cell bodies are located in discrete ganglia linked to each other by nerve fibres. Despite well-documented variations in the morphology of the lumbar sympathetic trunk (e.g., number and placement of ganglia), a detailed histological examination of the arrangement of neuronal cell bodies within the trunk is lacking. Thus, the present study aims to examine the microscopic organization of the lumbar sympathetic trunk using standard histological techniques (n=1). A 95mm length of the sympathetic trunk (from L3-L5) was serially-sectioned (5μm thick) in the longitudinal plane and stained …

The Left Atrial Appendage (Laa): Proximity Of The Circumflex Artery And Evaluation Of A Novel Method Of Closure, Bayan Malakouti-Nejad

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

The left atrial appendage (LAA) is an area of interest because of its thrombogenic potential in patients with atrial fibrillation. The current standard for LAA removal is epicardial excision, which may leave residual volume thereby undermining its effectiveness. Also, LAA surgery may injure the nearby circumflex artery. This investigation aims to measure the proximity of the circumflex artery to the LAA at various points, and evaluate pericardial patch exclusion as a novel method of LAA closure in a cadaveric model. After performing both procedures in all (n=27) hearts, epicardial excision left 24% of the original volume while pericardial patch exclusion …

Development Of An Online Tool For Periodontal Disease Education, Sari Johnston

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

Worldwide research has indicated that 50-90% of the population suffers from gingivitis, a mild form of periodontal disease (Armitage, 2000). Recently it has become hypothesized that not only is gum disease, or periodontal disease, detrimental to one’s oral health but may also have systemic consequences (Watt & Petersen, 2012). According to Bedgley (1994), when patients see, hear and participate in patient learning the retention of knowledge increases up to 80%. Computer based learning is now commonplace and has the potential to reach the masses. Thus, computer-based patient education could be highly effective in decreasing periodontal disease rates. Therefore, creation of …

Leg Bone Geometry In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Helen Honig

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

The objective was to investigage the effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on tibial cortical and medullary cross-sectional areas (CSA) using magnetic resonance imaging. Sequential 1mm-thick slice images were acquired of the right leg from the tibial plateau to the talus in 8 individuals with T2DM and 9 age- and sex-matched (32 to 79 y) controls. The CSA (cm 2) was measured at 3 sites, 20%, 50%, and 80% of tibial length, by a blinded analyzer. At the 20% site, medullary CSA in T2DM was significanltly greater than controls (mean ± SD: 5.9 ± 1.2 vs. 4.8 ± 0.7). …

The Effect Of Noise Exposure On Inhibitory Neurotransmission In The Auditory, Visual And Multisensory Cortices In Rats, Sarah Fitzpatrick

Masters of Clinical Anatomy Projects

It is well established that high-intensity noise exposure can induce structural and physiological changes in the primary auditory cortex, such as impaired GABA neurotransmission, which leads to a reduced level of GABA-synthesizing enzymes (i.e., GAD65/67). At present, however, it remains unknown how partial hearing loss affects GABA neurotransmission in areas of the cortex that process sound as well as other sensory modalities (e.g., visual stimuli). In the present study, we are using a rat model to investigate our working hypothesis that noise-induced hearing loss causes a differential effect on GAD67 levels in the various cortical areas capable of sound processing, …

Coculture Of Staphylococcus Aureus With Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Drives S. Aureus Towards Fermentative Metabolism And Reduced Viability In A Cystic Fibrosis Model, Laura M. Filkins, Jyoti A. Graber, Daniel G. Olson, Emily L. Dolben, Lee Lynd, Sabin Bhuju, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The airways of patients with cystic fibrosis are colonized with diverse bacterial communities that change dynamically during pediatric years and early adulthood. Staphylococcus aureus is the most prevalent pathogen during early childhood, but during late teens and early adulthood, a shift in microbial composition occurs leading to Pseudomonas aeruginosa community predominance in ∼50% of adults. We developed a robust dual-bacterial in vitro coculture system of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus on monolayers of human bronchial epithelial cells homozygous for the ΔF508 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation to better model the mechanisms of this interaction. We show that P. …

Acl Injuries In Female Athletes, Leslie A. Mesa

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament has been studied in many different ways and become injured more with the increase in sports participation by both male and female athletes. “ACL injuries are 9x more common in female athletes than male athletes and over 1.4 million women have been suffered from the ACL rupture which is twice the rate of the previous decade” (Hewett, 2010). ACL injuries are known to occur more in females than males because of differences in anatomy, knee alignment, muscle strength, and conditioning. Since female athletes are more prone to injury, it is important to incorporate neuromuscular training to …

Live Imaging Of The Ependymal Cilia In The Lateral Ventricles Of The Mouse Brain, Alzahra J. Al Omran, Hannah C. Saternos, Tongyu Liu, Surya M. Nauli, Wissam A. Aboualaiwi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Multiciliated ependymal cells line the ventricles in the adult brain. Abnormal function or structure of ependymal cilia is associated with various neurological deficits. The current ex vivo live imaging of motile ependymal cilia technique allows for a detailed study of ciliary dynamics following several steps. These steps include: mice euthanasia with carbon dioxide according to protocols of The University of Toledo’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); craniectomy followed by brain removal and sagittal brain dissection with a vibratome or sharp blade to obtain very thin sections through the brain lateral ventricles, where the ependymal cilia can be visualized. …

Human Severe Sepsis Cytokine Mixture Increases Beta 2-Integrin-Dependent Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte Adhesion To Cerebral Microvascular Endothelial Cells In Vitro, Chris Blom, Brittany L. Deller, Douglas D. Fraser, Eric K. Patterson, Claudio M. Martin, Bryan Young, Patricia C. Liaw, Payam Yazdan-Ashoori, Angelica Oritz, Brian Webb, Greg Kilmer, David E. Carter, Gediminas Cepinskas

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Introduction: Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a state of acute brain dysfunction in response to a systemic infection. We propose that systemic inflammation during sepsis causes increased adhesion of leukocytes to the brain microvasculature, resulting in blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Thus, our objectives were to measure inflammatory analytes in plasma of severe sepsis patients to create an experimental cytokine mixture (CM), and to use this CM to investigate the activation and interactions of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and human cerebrovascular endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3) in vitro. Methods: The concentrations of 41 inflammatory analytes were quantified in plasma obtained from 20 severe sepsis patients and …