Building an Education Program to Support the Demand for Qualified Health I.T. Professionals

The rapid adoption of standardized electronic medical records in clinical settings has created a demand for individuals with expertise in clinical health practices and Information Technology. High demand, high wage job opportunities are available for individuals entering the field with these interdisciplinary skills. Faculty members from the Applied Computing & Electronics and Health Professions Departments at UM have partnered with clinicians from regional health facilities and faculty members from the Department of Healthcare Informatics at Montana Tech in designing a cross-curricular program for educating individuals to support IT in clinical settings. This poster session will describe our progress in creating a new program of study and describe our successes and challenges at UM in educating individuals for careers in Health Information Technology

Analysis of an Evidence-based Pediatric Asthma Management Tool for Providers Confirms Linkages between Asthma and Known Risk Factors in a Vermont Practice

Introduction: Pediatric asthma is one of the largest targets for innovative programs in chronic care management due to its extensive and expanding health burden. A physician-directed asthma management, diagnostic and data tracking tool was implemented in a Vermont pediatric practice. Data were analyzed after one year to enable the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and practice to describe program participants. Methods: A modified version of a validated pediatric asthma survey, Easy Breathing, was administered during office visits at a pediatric practice located in Burlington, VT. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess relationships between those with and without current asthma, and between those with intermittent versus persistent levels of asthma. Results: Of 206 patients, 150 had no asthma, 55 had a current asthma diagnosis and one (1) was listed as ‘unable to determine.’ Patients with current asthma were significantly more likely to be insured with Medicaid (p=.048), have a family history of asthma (p=.019) and be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (p=.028). Within the asthma group, persistent asthma was associated with exposure to cat (p=.043). Conclusion: Participants in the Easy Breathing Program at this practice with and without current asthma diagnosis showed differences that reflect established asthma risk factors and related asthma triggers. Further efforts are needed to increase the reliability of the data

A systematic review of treatments for Impulse Control Disorders and related behaviours in Parkinson's Disease

Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs) are a set of behaviours characterised by impulsivity despite known harm. Related to ICDs is the dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS), which is characterised by an addiction-like consumption of dopaminergic medication and punding. These behaviours all have an increased prevalence in Parkinson׳s disease (PD). The aim of this review is to identify treatments available for patients suffering from ICDs, DDS and punding in PD. Searches of The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Embase, Medline and PsychInfo were conducted, using the entire timescale available. Seven out of the 688 papers retrieved met the inclusion criteria and were considered in this systematic review. One class I study, one class II study, and five class IV studies were identified. All studies demonstrated a positive effect on ICDs in PD. Research in this field is still in its early stages. At present, there is insufficient evidence to recommend any treatment over another. There is a need for more methodologically robust research, using larger, more generalisable samples, randomisation and meaningful follow-up periods. In addition, the use of a validated outcome measures should be implemented in future research efforts

Protection against glucose-induced neuronal death by NAAG and GCP II inhibition is regulated by mGluR3

Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCP II) inhibition has previously been shown to be protective against long-term neuropathy in diabetic animals. In the current study, we have determined that the GCP II inhibitor 2-(phosphonomethyl) pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA) is protective against glucose-induced programmed cell death (PCD) and neurite degeneration in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in a cell culture model of diabetic neuropathy. In this model, inhibition of caspase activation is mediated through the group II metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR3. 2-PMPA neuroprotection is completely reversed by the mGluR3 antagonist (S)-α-ethylglutamic acid (EGLU). In contrast, group I and III mGluR inhibitors have no effect on 2-PMPA neuroprotection. Furthermore, we show that two mGluR3 agonists, the direct agonist (2 R ,4 R )-4-aminopyrrolidine-2, 4-dicarboxylate (APDC) and N -acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) provide protection to neurons exposed to high glucose conditions, consistent with the concept that 2-PMPA neuroprotection is mediated by increased NAAG activity. Inhibition of GCP II or mGluR3 may represent a novel mechanism to treat neuronal degeneration under high-glucose conditions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65724/1/j.1471-4159.2003.02321.x.pd

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

Measurement of the inelastic pp cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV

The cross-section for inelastic proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV is measured with the LHCb detector. The fiducial cross-section for inelastic interactions producing at least one prompt long-lived charged particle with momentum p > 2 GeV/c in the pseudorapidity range 2 < η < 5 is determined to be ϭ acc = 62:2 ± 0:2 ± 2:5mb. The first uncertainty is the intrinsic systematic uncertainty of the measurement, the second is due to the uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The statistical uncertainty is negligible. Extrapolation to full phase space yields the total inelastic proton-proton cross-section ϭ inel = 75:4 ± 3:0 ± 4:5mb, where the first uncertainty is experimental and the second due to the extrapolation. An updated value of the inelastic cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV is also reported

Mutation Analysis of BRAF, MEK1 and MEK2 in 15 Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines: Implications for Therapy

Among gynecologic cancers, ovarian cancer is the second most common and has the highest death rate. Cancer is a genetic disorder and arises due to the accumulation of somatic mutations in critical genes. An understanding of the genetic basis of ovarian cancer has implications both for early detection and for therapeutic intervention in this population of patients.Fifteen ovarian cancer cell lines, commonly used for in vitro experiments, were screened for mutations using bidirectional direct sequencing in all coding regions of BRAF, MEK1 and MEK2. BRAF mutations were identified in four of the fifteen ovarian cancer cell lines studied. Together, these four cell lines contained four different BRAF mutations, two of which were novel. ES-2 had the common B-Raf p.V600E mutation in exon 15 and Hey contained an exon 11 missense mutation, p.G464E. The two novel B-Raf mutants identified were a 5 amino acid heterozygous deletion p.N486-P490del in OV90, and an exon 4 missense substitution p.Q201H in OVCAR 10. One of the cell lines, ES-2, contained a mutation in MEK1, specifically, a novel heterozygous missense substitution, p.D67N which resulted from a nt 199 G-->A transition. None of the cell lines contained coding region mutations in MEK2. Functional characterization of the MEK1 mutant p.D67N by transient transfection with subsequent Western blot analysis demonstrated increased ERK phosphorylation as compared to controls.In this study, we report novel BRAF mutations in exon 4 and exon 12 and also report the first mutation in MEK1 associated with human cancer. Functional data indicate the MEK1 mutation may confer alteration of activation through the MAPK pathway. The significance of these findings is that BRAF and MEK1/2 mutations may be more common than anticipated in ovarian cancer which could have important implications for treatment of patients with this disease and suggests potential new therapeutic avenues