DTB 048 Annette Holmes 7-13-2022

In this recording, Annette Holmes is interviewed by Kern Jackson in Mobile, Alabama. Ms. Holmes grew up Down the Bay, and shares some of her family history in connection to the neighborhood, as well as discussion of food and foodways in the community. Ms. Holmes describes the neighborhood as she remembers it, and talks about roller skating and other community activities. She shares some of her experiences from attending University of South Alabama. She concludes the interview talking about the impacts of urban renewal

Effect of radiotherapy on freedom from seizures in dogs with brain tumors.

BACKGROUND: Seizures are a common presenting sign in dogs with brain tumors. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of radiotherapy on freedom from brain tumor-associated seizures and survival time in dogs. ANIMALS: Thirty-two client-owned dogs with brain tumor-associated seizures; 18 received medical treatment and radiotherapy, 14 received medical treatment alone. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study. Baseline characteristics (seizure semiology, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] characteristics, and treatment) and duration of seizure freedom were recorded for the 2 treatment groups. Duration of seizure freedom between groups was compared (log-rank test) using Cox's proportional hazard analysis, with baseline characteristics entered as covariates. RESULTS: The duration of seizure freedom and survival time were significantly longer in the radiotherapy group (P < .001), with a mean of 24 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.3-33.8) versus 1.7 months in the control group (95% CI, 0.5-2.9) and a mean of 34.6 months (95% CI: 25.2-44.1) versus 6.2 months in the control group (95% CI, 2.6-9.7) respectively. Baseline characteristics were not associated with duration of seizure freedom after the start of treatment. In the radiotherapy group, 5 dogs were euthanized during the study period because of causes other than seizures. In the control group, recurrence of seizures was observed before death in all dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: A longer period of seizure freedom and longer survival time was observed in dogs with brain tumors after radiotherapy compared to medical treatment only. The pathophysiological mechanisms of epileptogenesis and the effect of radiation therapy on seizure control are unclear to date. Further prospective studies are needed

Increasing Parenting Self-Efficacy Through a Community Partnership in Akron, Ohio

Background: The Nurturing Family Program (NFP) is a family-centered educational curriculum designed to equip parents with tools and techniques to support a nurturing relationship with their child. While there have been many evaluations of the NFP, no evaluations to date measure how the curriculum may influence parenting self-efficacy, how confident a caregiver feels about their ability to foster their child’s development and success, or parenting stress. Methods: This community-based interventional study used a convenience sample of families recruited from community agencies or within a pediatric medical center. Families with one or more children aged 0 to 5 years, premature infants or an infant discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and/or adolescent parents were invited to participate in NFP. Participants were recruited from community agencies that were most likely to work with populations meeting program eligibility criteria. The NFP was offered as in-home and community-based sessions. The primary outcome of interest was perceived parental self-efficacy, measured using the Tool to Measure Parenting Efficacy (TOPSE) at weeks 1, 5, and 10. The secondary outcome of interest was perceived level of stress, as measured by a visual analog scale each week. Results: Participants of community-based sessions (n=45) experienced a significant increase in parenting self-efficacy at week 10, compared to week 1 and week 5 (p &lt;0.01). Overall, participants of the community-based sessions experienced an average increase of 17.7 points on the TOPSE scale (p =0.014). Across all participants (n=79), each session attended resulted in a modest, but significant, 3% reduction in stress (p =0.021). Conclusion: The NFP improved parental self -efficacy among participants of the community-based sessions and reduced perceived stress for all participants

Periodontitis and cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Periodontitis is common in the elderly and may become more common in Alzheimer's disease because of a reduced ability to take care of oral hygiene as the disease progresses. Elevated antibodies to periodontal bacteria are associated with an increased systemic pro-inflammatory state. Elsewhere raised serum pro-inflammatory cytokines have been associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. We hypothesized that periodontitis would be associated with increased dementia severity and a more rapid cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to determine if periodontitis in Alzheimer's disease is associated with both increased dementia severity and cognitive decline, and an increased systemic pro inflammatory state. In a six month observational cohort study 60 community dwelling participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease were cognitively assessed and a blood sample taken for systemic inflammatory markers. Dental health was assessed by a dental hygienist, blind to cognitive outcomes. All assessments were repeated at six months. The presence of periodontitis at baseline was not related to baseline cognitive state but was associated with a six fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline as assessed by the ADAS-cog over a six month follow up period. Periodontitis at baseline was associated with a relative increase in the pro-inflammatory state over the six month follow up period. Our data showed that periodontitis is associated with an increase in cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease, independent to baseline cognitive state, which may be mediated through effects on systemic inflammation

Genome-to-genome analysis highlights the effect of the human innate and adaptive immune systems on the hepatitis C virus

Outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and treatment depend on viral and host genetic factors. Here we use human genome-wide genotyping arrays and new whole-genome HCV viral sequencing technologies to perform a systematic genome-to-genome study of 542 individuals who were chronically infected with HCV, predominantly genotype 3. We show that both alleles of genes encoding human leukocyte antigen molecules and genes encoding components of the interferon lambda innate immune system drive viral polymorphism. Additionally, we show that IFNL4 genotypes determine HCV viral load through a mechanism dependent on a specific amino acid residue in the HCV NS5A protein. These findings highlight the interplay between the innate immune system and the viral genome in HCV control

The importance of RT-qPCR primer design for the detection of siRNA-mediated mRNA silencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of RNAi to analyse gene function <it>in vitro </it>is now widely applied in biological research. However, several difficulties are associated with its use <it>in vivo</it>, mainly relating to inefficient delivery and non-specific effects of short RNA duplexes in animal models. The latter can lead to false positive results when real-time RT-qPCR alone is used to measure target mRNA knockdown.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We observed that detection of an apparent siRNA-mediated knockdown <it>in vivo </it>was dependent on the primers used for real-time RT-qPCR measurement of the target mRNA. Two siRNAs specific for <it>RRM1 </it>with equivalent activity <it>in vitro </it>were administered to A549 xenografts via intratumoural injection. In each case, apparent knockdown of <it>RRM1 </it>mRNA was observed only when the primer pair used in RT-qPCR flanked the siRNA cleavage site. This false-positive result was found to result from co-purified siRNA interfering with both reverse transcription and qPCR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that using primers flanking the siRNA-mediated cleavage site in RT-qPCR-based measurements of mRNA knockdown <it>in vivo </it>can lead to false positive results. This is particularly relevant where high concentrations of siRNA are introduced, particularly via intratumoural injection, as the siRNA may be co-purified with the RNA and interfere with downstream enzymatic steps. Based on these results, using primers flanking the siRNA target site should be avoided when measuring knockdown of target mRNA by real-time RT-qPCR.</p

Discovery of mating in the major African livestock pathogen Trypanosoma congolense

The protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma congolense, is one of the most economically important pathogens of livestock in Africa and, through its impact on cattle health and productivity, has a significant effect on human health and well being. Despite the importance of this parasite our knowledge of some of the fundamental biological processes is limited. For example, it is unknown whether mating takes place. In this paper we have taken a population genetics based approach to address this question. The availability of genome sequence of the parasite allowed us to identify polymorphic microsatellite markers, which were used to genotype T. congolense isolates from livestock in a discrete geographical area of The Gambia. The data showed a high level of diversity with a large number of distinct genotypes, but a deficit in heterozygotes. Further analysis identified cryptic genetic subdivision into four sub-populations. In one of these, parasite genotypic diversity could only be explained by the occurrence of frequent mating in T. congolense. These data are completely inconsistent with previous suggestions that the parasite expands asexually in the absence of mating. The discovery of mating in this species of trypanosome has significant consequences for the spread of critical traits, such as drug resistance, as well as for fundamental aspects of the biology and epidemiology of this neglected but economically important pathogen

Echo State Networks as Novel Approach for Low-Cost Myoelectric Control

Prahm C, Schulz A, Paaßen B, Aszmann O, Hammer B, Dorffner G. Echo State Networks as Novel Approach for Low-Cost Myoelectric Control. In: ten Telje A, Popow C, Holmes JH, Sacchi L, eds. Proceedings of the 16th Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIME 2017). Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol 10259. Springer; 2017: 338--342.Myoelectric signals or muscle signals provide an intuitive and rapid interface for controlling technical devices, in particular bionic arm prostheses. However, inferring the intended movement from a surface myoelectric recording is a non-trivial pattern recognition task, especially if myoelectric data stems from low-cost sensors. At the same time, overly complex models are prohibited by strict speed, data parsimonity and robustness requirements. As a compromise between high accuracy and strict requirements we propose to apply Echo State Networks (ESNs), which can be seen as an extension of standard linear regression with 1) a memory and 2) nonlinearity. We find that both features, memory and nonlinearity, independently as well as in conjunction, improve the prediction accuracy on simultaneous movements in two degrees of freedom (hand opening/closing as well as pronation/supination) recorded from four able-bodied participants using a low-cost myoelectric sensor. However, we also find that the model is still not sufficiently resistant to external disturbances such as electrode shift

A phase I trial of recombinant gamma interferon in patients with cancer

A total of 11 patients were treated on an escalating, single dose trial of recombinant gamma interferon (rIFN-γ), 6 patients by the i.m. and 5 patients by the i.v. route of administration. Dose ranges within each individual were from 0.05 mg/m 2 of IFN (1 mg≥10×10 6 units of IFN) escalating to 10 mg/m 2 . All dosages were delivered twice weekly and the i.v. dose was infused over 5 min. The most common toxicities encountered included fever, chils, fatigue, anorexia, and granulocytopenia. The influenzalike symptoms were very similar to those encountered with IFN-α but were generally less severe. The granulocytopenia was dose-related and transient with recovery generally seen within 48–72 h following administration of rIFN-γ. Absolute granulocyte counts only rarely dropped below 1000 mm 3 . Hepatotoxicity was not observed. IFN levels were determined by both a bioassay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. By the i.v. route, the peak level of IFN activity could usually be seen at completion of the infusion with a serum half-life of 30 min. By the i.m. route, the peak level of serum activity was generally detected between 4–8 h with a serum half-life of 4.5 h after the initial elimination phase. Peak IFN levels appeared to correlate with maximum toxicity. One patient with melanoma had a 25% reduction in a cutaneous lesion, but there were no other minimal, partial, or complete responses.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46852/1/262_2004_Article_BF00205575.pd