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3D Visualization of Cardiac Anatomy: New Approaches for Patient Education
Get PDF3D Visualization is a growing field in medicine. It is used for diagnosis, intervention design, and patient education. Medical students and physicians have little difficulty picturing a heart in their mind. Most physicians and medical students can envision an anatomically correct heart, and also congenital heart defects. Patients and their families, however, do not always have this extraordinary ability. Objective: It is this potential disadvantage that provides motivation to develop innovative 3D tools that can be used to educate patients in clinical and hospital settings. Design: The primary focus of this study is to recover 3D structures and images from CT Data. The data were acquired from a number of sources, including Cardiology Radiologists at St. Vincent Hospital Cardiovascular Imaging Department and the National Institutes of Health Cancer Imaging Archive. Setting: The study was performed in the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine 3D Visualization Laboratory. Methods: The CT data sets were analyzed with the 3D analytical software FEI Amira, and relevant anatomical structures, landmarks, and anomalies were identified and discriminated. Results: The researchers present two 3D projects: one of an anatomically correct heart, and the other of a heart after corrective surgery for the Tetralogy of Fallot congenital anomalies. Conclusions: We find that by developing our skills in 3D Visualization, we can create more accurate, interactive, and detailed images of cardiac anatomy. Our 3D Visualizations show great potential in advancing patient education and better enable us to care for our patients, both in clinical and hospital settings
Doing Research Separated By Distance and Time With Blinded Duplication: Building an Epigenetic Database
Get PDFThe design, administration, input, and evolution of an epigenetic database containing metadata across studies was created using cloud based tools with permission and blinding capacities. The database was designed to store the odds ratio (OR) of various interventions such as exercise,sleep, environmental exposure, and food consumption on health outcomes many of which work mechanistically via epigenetic modifications. To this end, existing published research on the epigenetic influences on disease and overall health promotion were evaluated and compared through a variety of normalized metrics. Research is often hampered by aggregating qualified researchers in one place to ensure continuity and interaction. Cloud based informatic tools allow for the electronic formation of such teams, while asynchronous data input creates a shared library of inputs and outputs essential for standardized database creation. Zotero was used for literature sharing and Google Docs for selective data sharing and visualization. The manual curation of primary literature to build databases with metadata is a fruitful avenue of research for those pursuing terminal degrees that sequester too much of their time for more classical contiguous lab bench work. This database is currently being created by third year medical school students at two medical schools, as well as a PhD student at a third school. A future application of this project is the creation of a smartphone application that would allow users to query certain behaviors or outcomes (e.g. running or cancer) and obtain a rank ordered report on how various interventions or therapeutics would combat a disease based on their odds ratios. The emerging role of epigenetics in modifying one\u27s own phenotype can be leveraged with a database such as this to allow for patient executed lifestyle interventions which could increase health while lowering healthcare costs
Abstract
No full textFibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) controls key responses to systemic phosphate increases through its phosphaturic actions on the kidney. In addition to stimulation by phosphate, FGF23 positively responds to iron deficiency anemia and hypoxia in rodent models and in humans. The disorder X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is characterized by elevated FGF23 in concert with an intrinsic bone mineralization defect. Indeed, the Hyp mouse XLH model has disturbed osteoblast to osteocyte differentiation with altered expression of a wide variety of genes, including FGF23. The transcription factor Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) has been implicated in regulating FGF23 production and plays a key role in proper bone cell differentiation.Thus the goals of this study were to determine whether HIF1α activation could influence FGF23, and to test osteoblastic HIF1α production on the Hyp endocrine and skeletal phenotypes in vivo. Treatment of primary cultures of osteoblasts/osteocytes and UMR-106 cells with the HIF activator AG490 resulted in rapid HIF1α stabilization and increased Fgf23 mRNA (50-100 fold; p\u3c0.01-0.001) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Next, the Phex gene deletion in the Hyp mouse was bred onto mice with a HIF1α/Osteocalcin (OCN)-Cre background. Although HIF1α effects on bone could be detected, FGF23- related phenotypes due to the Hyp mutation were independent of HIF1α in vivo. In summary, FGF23 can be driven by ectopic HIF1α activation under normal iron conditions in vitro, but factors independent of HIF1α activity after mature osteoblast formation are responsible for the disease phenotypes in Hyp mice in vivo
Identification of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Plasmid Types in Isolates of Salmonella Enterica
No full textMultiple drug resistance is becoming increasingly problematic in the U.S., where antibiotics are overused both in agriculture and healthcare. One way bacteria can develop this resistance is through acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes either on their chromosomes or on plasmids. A plasmid is an autonomous extrachromosomal DNA structure that replicates independently of the bacterial chromosome. Plasmids can be horizontally spread across different bacterial species through conjugation, allowing multiple bacteria the ability to select for a resistant, advantageous phenotype. Typing and characterization of plasmids is important in order to better understand and trace the spread of this resistance. Salmonella enterica, one of the major causes of intestinal illnesses worldwide, has acquired resistance to a number of different antibiotics. The objective of this study was to confirm the presence and location of antimicrobial resistance genes and identify plasmid types in clinical isolates of Salmonella. This was achieved by analyzing their sequenced genomes using web-based programs put together by Center for Genomic Epidemiology . Three programs, PlasmidFinder, ResFinder, and Plasmid Multi locus Sequence Typing (pMLST) were used to provide better characterization and typing of S. enterica plasmids and the resistance genes carried on these plasmids. With the help of these three programs the number of plasmids in five different Salmonella enterica clinical isolates were confirmed, the plasmids were divided into different incompatibility groups, and the resistance genes carried by these plasmids were identified. This analysis will be beneficial in comparing the newly identified plasmids to other plasmids belonging to certain incompatibility groups that have been well studied and found to be associated with specific resistance genes. This will greatly aid in assigning these plasmids to lineages that can in turn help with future comparative analysis studies in order to better understand and combat the spread of resistance in Salmonella
Ministry to Catholic LGBTQ Youth: A Call for Openness and Affirmation
Get PDFThis article evaluates the current Catholic youth ministry practice to, with, and for Catholic LGBTQ youth. The methodology utilized is both descriptive and prescriptive, and calls into question the lack of ministerial presence afforded to Catholic LGBTQ youth. The essay briefly examines the official ecclesiastical documents on homosexuality and their relevance for LGBTQ youth. Next it assesses the major US ecclesial youth ministry document, Renewing the Vision, and calls for its renewal and revision. In particular the article offers concrete recommendations for the two areas of Catholic youth ministry—advocacy and pastoral care—that would have the most positive impact for LGBTQ youth and Catholic youth ministry. Finally, the article calls for the US Catholic bishops, youth ministers, and parents to be more open and affirming with LGBTQ youth and provides some practical suggestions
Search a Subject, Get a Call Number
No full textA five minute lightning talk for an application to correlate LC Classification Outline classes with their respective call numbers, with the goal of the project make Library of Congress call numbers more searchable/discoverable for the library end-user. Code can be found directly from GitHub as well as incorporated into LibGuides, etc. Presented at the 2016 LITA Forum
Role of a Transient Receptor Potential Channels in Marfan Syndrome-induced Aortopathy and Cardiomyopathy
Get PDFMarfan syndrome (MFS) represents a genetic disorder with variable phenotypic expression. The main cardiovascular sequelae of MFS include aortic aneurysm/dissection and cardiomyopathy. While significant advances in the understanding of TGF-β signaling have led to promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of aortopathy, clinical studies have tempered this optimism. In particular, these studies suggest additional signaling pathways that play a significant role in aortic disease progression. Furthermore, even less is known with respect to effectors involved in MFS-induced cardiomyopathy. To date, studies aimed at elucidating molecular mechanisms involved in MFS-induced disease progression have been hampered by the lack of an accelerated disease model. Meanwhile, transient receptor potential (TRP) channels have been implicated as key effectors in other vascular smooth muscle and cardiomyocyte pathologies, yet there is a paucity of investigation focused on their involvement in the aortopathy and cardiomyopathy of MFS. In these studies, we investigate the importance of TRP channels in the pathogenesis of MFS-induced aortopathy and cardiomyopathy by evaluating differential expression in a novel murine model of accelerated MFS etiolog
Cell Fate and Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells.
Get PDFOsteoblasts and bone marrow adipocytes originate from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and there appears to be a reciprocal relationship between adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis. Alterations in the balance between adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis in BMMSCs wherein adipogenesis is increased relative to osteoblastogenesis are associated with decreased bone quality and quantity. Several proteins have been reported to regulate this reciprocal relationship but the exact nature of the signals regulating the balance between osteoblast and adipocyte formation within the bone marrow space remains to be determined. In this review, we focus on the role of Transducin-Like Enhancer of Split 3 (TLE3), which was recently reported to regulate the balance between osteoblast and adipocyte formation from BMMSCs. We also discuss evidence implicating canonical Wnt signalling, which plays important roles in both adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis, in regulating TLE3 expression. Currently, there is demand for new effective therapies that target the stimulation of osteoblast differentiation to enhance bone formation. We speculate that reducing TLE3 expression or activity in BMMSCs could be a useful approach towards increasing osteoblast numbers and reducing adipogenesis in the bone marrow environment
Sr. Cleopha Werner
Get PDFIn this segment, Sr. Cleopha Werner discusses God’s presence in her life as exemplified by her relationships with her family. Sr. Cleo relates how her sister’s faith was strengthened through hardships in her life and even up until the moment of death. Sr. Cleo also recalls how she and her family took care of her mother at the end of her life and some of the poignant moments from that time. Sr. Cleo reminiscences about the Catholic traditions included in the Midnight and Holy Saturday Masses, her fondness for praying the Rosary, and her thoughts on the changes in the Catholic church post-Vatican II. Sr. Cleo concludes her oral history by offering the listener her wisdom on facing difficult challenges in life.https://mushare.marian.edu/wrp/1020/thumbnail.jp
