1997 research outputs found
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Antibiotic Resistance Coming Soon to A Pathogen Near You
Get PDFThe phenomena of antibiotic resistant bacteria has increased worldwide and can frequently be found on everyday surfaces. Here, we characterize a bacterial isolate from a woman’s restroom door handle at Marian. Preliminary results comprised of morphological and biochemical tests, including growth characteristics on blood agar medium, as well as usage of the Kirby Bauer agar diffusion test to determine antibiotic susceptibility, identifies this isolate to be a multidrug resistant Neisseria species. However, additional detailed analysis is needed to confirm its identity
Intravenous Ketorolac and Intravenous Acetaminophen Effect on Kidney Function and Morphine Intake During Postoperative Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery at Maui Memorial Medical Center
No full textContext: Obesity is a prevalent disease that presents with fatal comorbidities. However, Laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass surgery patients lose all excess weight within 2 years with proven remission of comorbidities like type II Diabetes Mellitus. Despite this success, surgeons at Maui Memorial Medical Center have cited rising postoperative creatinine and BUN levels resulting in increased hospitalizations. Objective: To compare renal function and opioid usage between IV ketorolac and IV acetaminophen during bariatric postoperative recovery. Setting: This is a cohort analysis of kidney function and morphine usage comparing two patient groups. Currently, in this context, these drugs are chosen by physician preference. Methods: Patients admitted to this study had comparable age, BMI, and sex at 95% confidence. To reduce variations in surgical trauma, the same surgeon performed all 107 surgeries. Patients eliminated from this study included those with complications during surgery, those with drug allergies or taking drugs known to induce drug interactions, those who required blood transfusions, kidney transplants, or hemodialysis. 2-sample T tests were conducted between the patient groups measuring creatinine, BUN, and hematocrit levels as well as morphine usage over the 24 hours postoperative period. Results: Hematocrit levels were higher with acetaminophen at 95% confidence (P = 0.0158). Creatinine also improved with acetaminophen, however not significantly, with p value of 0.0551. The differences concerning hemoglobin and BUN levels, and morphine usage were not significant. Conclusions: The data indicated that support for the usage of acetaminophen over ketorolac requires further investigation. Staff at Maui Memorial Medical Center are continuing this research using a double-blind cohort analysis aiming for 500 patients under the same parameters. However, they will measure kidney function at both 24 hours and 48 hours after surgery and utilize ANOVA
Changes in Glucocorticoid Metabolites in White-Tailed Ptarmigan Following Artificial Stress Stimuli
No full textIs Genetic Drift to Blame for Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome in Semliki Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthii)?
No full textBackground
We present 3 likely cases of testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) within a community of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). We tested whether genetic drift may be the culprit, as a genetic cause has been suspected to account for TDS among other wildlife. Methods
We successfully sequenced a 367‐bp segment spanning the first hypervariable region within the D‐loop of the mitochondrial genome for 78 DNA samples. Results
We found 24 polymorphic sequence sites consisting of 7 singletons and 17 parsimony informative sites. This sample contained 9 haplotypes with a diversity index of 0.78 (SD = 0.03). All tests against the null hypothesis of neutral polymorphisms were non‐significant (P \u3e .10). The mismatch distribution of pairwise differences does not fit a Poisson\u27s curve (raggedness index = 0.166; SSD = 0.12; P = 1). Conclusions
Thus, we found no significant signs of genetic isolation, population expansion, or genetic bottleneck. Alternative causes of TDS and how they might pertain to this population are discussed
Bone-derived Sclerostin Regulates Glucose Metabolism Via Endocrine Actions in Pancreatic β- cells
No full textOsteocyte (Ot)-derived Sclerostin (Scl), encoded by the SOST gene, regulates bone homeostasis by acting on osteoblasts, inhibiting bone formation and stimulating bone resorption. Emerging evidence suggest that Scl has additional functions in the regulation of glucose metabolism and fat mass. However, the data available is limited and contradictory, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which Scl regulates whole-body energy metabolism remain unclear. In this study, we hypothesize that Ots, through the secretion of Scl, communicate with pancreatic beta-cells to regulate glucose metabolism. We first examined glucose metabolism in mice with constitutive activation of beta-catenin in Ots, a mouse model characterized by high levels of Scl in bone and serum. daβcatOt mice exhibited a decrease in fasted blood glucose levels, impaired glucose tolerance response, and increased sensitivity to exogenous insulin administration. To determine the contribution of SOST/Scl to the altered glucose metabolism exhibited by daβcatOt mice, we next generated daβcatOt mice with global deletion of SOST (daβcatOt;SOSTKO), along with SOSTKO, daβcatOt, and control littermate mice. SOSTKO mice exhibited increased fasted glucose levels and improvement in glucose handling with no changes in the response to exogenous insulin. daβcatOt mice displayed the expected low glucose levels and impaired glucose metabolism. Importantly, genetic deletion of SOST in daβcatOt mice restored fasted glucose levels, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity back to the levels of control mice, supporting the notion that Scl contributes to the regulation of glucose metabolism. Further, we found in vitro that treatment with Scl decreases viability and insulin mRNA gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells. Altogether, these results suggest that endocrine actions of Scl mediate the crosstalk between bone and pancreas and regulate glucose metabolism through direct actions in pancreatic beta-cells
A Putative PPAR d/g Agonist Induces Apoptotic Cell Death in Human Cancer Cell Lines
No full textDevelopment of new and highly tailored chemotherapeutic agents continues to be the mainstay for innovative clinical treatment of cancer. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), part of a nuclear hormone super family, include multiple subtypes (α, β/δ and g) whose proteins serve a function in cell growth and differentiation. PPARδ is also a potential downstream target of the tumor suppressor gene adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), most commonly found mutated in a variety of solid tumor cancers. This makes PPAR a potential target for chemotherapeutic intervention as PPAR activation promotes tumor genesis by increasing cell proliferation. Since there is a relationship between PPAR activation and cancer, we sought to evaluate a novel PPAR δ/g agonist and explore whether this compound could alter apoptosis induced with known chemotherapeutic compounds
Aesculapius: Adding a Dimension of Instruction Through Integrating Spatial Knowledge
Get PDFObjective: A proof-of-concept for a platform designed to provide simulations modeling, in three dimensions, anatomical pathology/dysfunctions(as defined by osteopathic diagnostic criteria). Design/Methods: Data from a two dimensional Computerized Tomography (CT) image stack, uploaded to the Amira software, was analyzed and interpolated (slice-by-slice) to render individual three-dimensional bones and muscles. These data were used to construct educational simulations of kinetic three-dimensional movements—movements that are most often taught to be manifestations of musculoskeletal pathology in osteopathic medical schools in the United States. The movements modeled were: forward and backward rotation of the left innominate, and Fryette motion (Type I and Type II) in the first and second lumbar vertebrae. The rotation of the left innominate was paired with muscular attachments to a static right innominate, femur, and sacrum. The attachments are used as a reference to better demonstrate the etiology of bony dysfunctions caused by muscular hypertonicity in the lower limbs. The narrated simulations were uploaded unto the Sketchfab website as hyperlinks and plotted unto a spatially manipulatable, three dimensional, static, skeletal model of pathology. The plotted points hold information relevant to the pathology at bony landmarks with links to recordings of the techniques used to treat the pathology. The techniques are modeled and explained by medical students at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MUCOM). Results: three dimensional models of dysfunctions that are represented statically, three dimensional models of dysfunctions that are represented kinetically with narration, and human models that describe and portray the techniques used to treat the dysfunction. Conclusions: the proof-of-concept elucidates the merit of utilizing the technology available, to aid in a restructured adjunctive approach to early osteopathic training. modeling, in three dimensions, anatomical pathology/dysfunctions(as defined by osteopathic diagnostic criteria). Design/Methods: Data from a two dimensional Computerized Tomography (CT) image stack, uploaded to the Amira software, was analyzed and interpolated (slice-by-slice) to render individual three-dimensional bones and muscles. These data were used to construct educational simulations of kinetic three-dimensional movements—movements that are most often taught to be manifestations of musculoskeletal pathology in osteopathic medical schools in the United States. The movements modeled were: forward and backward rotation of the left innominate, and Fryette motion (Type I and Type II) in the first and second lumbar vertebrae. The rotation of the left innominate was paired with muscular attachments to a static right innominate, femur, and sacrum. The attachments are used as a reference to better demonstrate the etiology of bony dysfunctions caused by muscular hypertonicity in the lower limbs. The narrated simulations were uploaded unto the Sketchfab website as hyperlinks and plotted unto a spatially manipulatable, three dimensional, static, skeletal model of pathology. The plotted points hold information relevant to the pathology at bony landmarks with links to recordings of the techniques used to treat the pathology. The techniques are modeled and explained by medical students at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MUCOM). Results: three dimensional models of dysfunctions that are represented statically, three dimensional models of dysfunctions that are represented kinetically with narration, and human models that describe and portray the techniques used to treat the dysfunction. Conclusions: the proof-of-concept elucidates the merit of utilizing the technology available, to aid in a restructured adjunctive approach to early osteopathic training
Investigating the Novel Redox Active Thioredoxin-like Protein (PbTrxL-1) of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium
No full textRedox systems are an important component of the cellular metabolism. We have characterized a novel thioredoxin-like protein (TrxL-1) of the malaria parasite Plasmodium and have previously determined that the trxl-1 gene is specifically expressed during development of rodent malaria model parasite Plasmodium berghei in its mosquito vector. Here I describe the optimization of recombinant TrxL-1 expression and subsequent purification under denaturing conditions. Using biochemical assays, I demonstrate that TrxL-1 is redox active with the Plasmodium thioredoxin system. Recent reports have shown that in Toxoplasma gondii, a related species, the homologous TrxL-1 interacts with SAXO-1 which plays an important role in the regulation of microtubules. The Plasmodium homolog of SAXO-1 and its interaction with TrxL-1 is currently under investigation in our lab