Skin regeneration with a synthetic biomaterial that replaces the extracellular matrix

Our extracellular matrix replacement (EMR) is a photopolymerized, polysaccharide-PEG hydrogel scaffold that promotes functional skin regeneration and stimulates wound closure with reduced scarring. The advanced wound care market is dominated by collagen-based products isolated from animal and human tissues, and these products are often costly, show only modest efficacy, and cannot be extensively modified to provide customized devices. Preclinical data indicates that the EMR provides the optimal mechanical and chemical properties to stimulate an effective and efficient inflammatory response, followed by regeneration of a robust vascular network and restoration of a complete reticulated epithelium, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands. The EMR is a biodegradable synthetic biomaterial, and its properties can be rationally modified by adjusting the reaction conditions under which it is produced. Therefore, future generations of EMR products can be tailored to specific wound types and/or loaded with growth factors and small molecules. We will review EMR discovery and development, covering its synthesis and chemical and biochemical characterization. We will present data from our preclinical animal studies in murine and porcine third degree burn and excisional wound models. Finally, we will discuss efforts to develop scalable EMR manufacturing processes and highlight some future directions to develop next generation EMR-based products

Effects of cochlear implantation on binaural hearing in adults with unilateral hearing loss

A FDA clinical trial was carried out to evaluate the potential benefit of cochlear implant (CI) use for adults with unilateral moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Subjects were 20 adults with moderate-to-profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and normal or near-normal hearing on the other side. A MED-EL standard electrode was implanted in the impaired ear. Outcome measures included: (a) sound localization on the horizontal plane (11 positions, −90° to 90°), (b) word recognition in quiet with the CI alone, and (c) masked sentence recognition with the target at 0° and the masker at −90°, 0°, or 90°. This battery was completed preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after CI activation. Normative data were also collected for 20 age-matched control subjects with normal or near-normal hearing bilaterally. The CI improved localization accuracy and reduced side bias. Word recognition with the CI alone was similar to performance of traditional CI recipients. The CI improved masked sentence recognition when the masker was presented from the front or from the side of normal or near-normal hearing. The binaural benefits observed with the CI increased between the 1- and 3-month intervals but appeared stable thereafter. In contrast to previous reports on localization and speech perception in patients with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, CI benefits were consistently observed across individual subjects, and performance was at asymptote by the 3-month test interval. Cochlear implant settings, consistent CI use, and short duration of deafness could play a role in this result

Senior Recital: Jon Klausman, trumpet

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Klausman studies trumpet with Douglas Lindsey and Michael Tiscione.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1939/thumbnail.jp

Delayed egg‐laying and shortened incubation duration of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds coincide with climate cooling

Biological impacts of climate change are exemplified by shifts in phenology. As the timing of breeding advances, the within- season relationships between timing of breed-ing and reproductive traits may change and cause long- term changes in the population mean value of reproductive traits. We investigated long- term changes in the timing of breeding and within- season patterns of clutch size, egg volume, incubation duration, and daily nest survival of three shorebird species between two decades. Based on previously known within- season patterns and assuming a warming trend, we hypoth-esized that the timing of clutch initiation would advance between decades and would be coupled with increases in mean clutch size, egg volume, and daily nest survival rate. We monitored 1,378 nests of western sandpipers, semipalmated sandpipers, and red- necked phalaropes at a subarctic site during 1993–1996 and 2010–2014. Sandpipers have biparental incubation, whereas phalaropes have uniparental incubation. We found an unexpected long- term cooling trend during the early part of the breeding season. Three species delayed clutch initiation by 5 days in the 2010s relative to the 1990s. Clutch size and daily nest survival showed strong within- season declines in sandpipers, but not in phalaropes. Egg volume showed strong within- season declines in one species of sandpiper, but increased in phalaropes. Despite the within- season patterns in traits and shifts in phenology, clutch size, egg volume, and daily nest sur-vival were similar between decades. In contrast, incubation duration did not show within- season variation, but decreased by 2 days in sandpipers and increased by 2 days in phalaropes. Shorebirds demonstrated variable breeding phenology and incu-bation duration in relation to climate cooling, but little change in nonphenological components of traits. Our results indicate that the breeding phenology of shorebirds is closely associated with the temperature conditions on breeding ground, the effects of which can vary among reproductive traits and among sympatric species.publishedVersio

Testing the Impact of Prebiotics on Anxiety-like Behaviors in Aged Male Rats

The composition of gut microbiota has direct impacts on neural structure, neurochemistry, and behavior. Specifically, the gut microbiota has been shown to modulate anxiety-like behaviors. In addition, administering prebiotics, compounds that promote the growth of commensal bacteria, has been demonstrated to reduce anxiety and anxiety-related behaviors. However, this effect has yet to be tested in older animals despite anxiety being implicated as a most common disorder in adult populations. Therefore, this study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the link between prebiotic interventions and anxiety-like behaviors in aged populations. It was hypothesized that older rats treated with the prebiotic fructooligosaccharide (FOS) would display an increase in exploratory behaviors, correlating to a decrease in anxiety, compared to the controls. Behavioral assays such as the open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM), and a social anxiety (SA) test were conducted. Results demonstrate moderate evidence that rats administered FOS had increased exploration in the center zone of the OFT. This finding suggests that FOS helps to modulate behavior in aged animals. With moderate evidence for increased exploration as evidence for decreased anxiety in FOS treated animals, this study provides a platform for further investigation of the role of modulating gut microbiota in older animals. Investigating the effects of senescence versus prebiotic treatment of the rats in this cohort was dampened by the limitations of the precedent of behavioral assays utilized on smaller, younger animals. As a result, this study calls for a widening of behavioral assay parameters to allow for effective data collection in an aging population

Comparison of various characteristics of women who do and do not attend for breast cancer screening

BACKGROUND: Information regarding the characteristics and health of women who do and do not attend for breast cancer screening is limited and representative data are difficult to obtain. METHODS: Information on age, deprivation and prescriptions for various medications was obtained for all women at two UK general practices who were invited to breast cancer screening through the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme. The characteristics of women who attended and did not attend screening were compared. RESULTS: Of the 1064 women invited to screening from the two practices, 882 (83%) attended screening. Screening attenders were of a similar age to non-attenders but came from significantly less deprived areas (30% of attenders versus 50% of non-attenders came from the most deprived areas, P < 0.0001) and were more likely to have a current prescription for hormone replacement therapy (32% versus 19%, P < 0.0001). No significant differences in recent prescriptions of medication for hypertension, heart disease, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, asthma, thyroid disease or depression/anxiety were observed between attenders and non-attenders. CONCLUSION: Women who attend the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme come from less deprived areas and are more likely to have a current prescription for hormone replacement therapy than non-attenders, but do not differ in terms of age or recent prescriptions for various other medications

Relationship between body mass index and length of hospital stay for gallbladder disease.

Background: Obesity increases the risk of hospital admission for gallbladder disease but its impact on the length of hospital stay is largely unknown. Methods: Prospective population-based study of 1.3 million women aged 56 years on average, recruited from 1996 to 2001 in England and Scotland and followed-up through NHS hospital admission record databases for gallbladder disease (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, cholecystectomy) over a total of 7.8 million person-years. Results: During follow-up, 24 953 women were admitted with gallbladder disease, 87% who had a cholecystectomy. After adjusting for age, socioeconomic status and other factors, women with higher BMI at recruitment to the study were more likely to be admitted and spend more days in hospital. For 1000 person-years of follow-up, women in BMI categories of 18.5-24.9, 25-29.9, 30-39.9, 40+ kg/m2 spent, respectively, 16.5[16.0-17.0], 28.6[28.3-28.8], 44.0[43.4-44.5] and 49.4[45.7-53.0] days in hospital for gallbladder disease. Conclusion: On the basis of these estimates, over a quarter of all the days in hospital for gallbladder disease in middle-aged women can be attributed to obesity

Hormone replacement therapy and false positive recall in the Million Women Study: patterns of use, hormonal constituents and consistency of effect

INTRODUCTION: Current and recent users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have an increased risk of being recalled to assessment at mammography without breast cancer being diagnosed ('false positive recall'), but there is limited information on the effects of different patterns of HRT use on this. The aim of this study is to investigate in detail the relationship between patterns of use of HRT and false positive recall. METHODS: A total of 87,967 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 years attending routine breast cancer screening at 10 UK National Health Service Breast Screening Units from 1996 to 1998 joined the Million Women Study by completing a questionnaire before screening and were followed for their screening outcome. RESULTS: Overall, 399 (0.5%) participants were diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,629 (3.0%) had false positive recall. Compared to never users of HRT, the adjusted relative risk (95% CI) of false positive recall was: 1.62 (1.43–1.83), 1.80 (1.62–2.01) and 0.76 (0.52–1.10) in current users of oestrogen-only HRT, oestrogen-progestagen HRT and tibolone, respectively (p (heterogeneity) < 0.0001); 1.65 (1.43–1.91), 1.49 (1.22–1.81) and 2.11 (1.45–3.07) for current HRT used orally, transdermally or via an implant, respectively (p (heterogeneity) = 0.2); and 1.84 (1.67–2.04) and 1.75 (1.49–2.06) for sequential and continuous oestrogen-progestagen HRT, respectively (p (heterogeneity) = 0.6). The relative risk of false positive recall among current users appeared to increase with increasing time since menopause, but did not vary significantly according to any other factors examined, including duration of use, hormonal constituents, dose, whether single- or two-view screening was used, or the woman's personal characteristics. CONCLUSION: Current use of oestrogen-only and oestrogen-progestagen HRT, but not tibolone, increases the risk of false positive recall at screening

KSU Choral Ensembles present Messiah with KSU Symphony Orchestra

Kennesaw State University Choral Ensembles present Messiah by George Frideric Handel with KSU Symphony Orchestra.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1123/thumbnail.jp