Peculiar Eye

From earliest childhood, I have had an interest in the grotesque, the remote and the mysterious. These interests, or more precisely, obsessions, dovetail with my experiences and training in photography, art, literature and psychiatric case management. My thesis is a verbal translation of the visual world, a journey of ekphrasis

Quality Improvement Measures for Cervical Screening Guidelines in a Clinic for Uninsured Adults

Cervical cancer, a completely curable disease with early detection and management, is an international concern. Early identification allows for treatment of the disease, which prevents or slows progression, ultimately reducing morbidity and mortality. Due to the regressive nature of most cervical lesions, the duration between cervical cytology has been lengthened to prevent over diagnosis and treatment. This was reflected in the 2012 United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) clinical practice guideline for cervical cancer screening. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of a quality improvement initiative to increase adherence to the 2012 USPSTF guideline at a volunteer medical clinic for the working uninsured. In this retrospective, time series observational evaluation, data were collected via chart review regarding adherence to the guideline. The intervention consisted of the placement of a visual algorithm educational tool for clinical decision-making for cervical cytology screening in each exam room. Data were collected during three time periods: (1) the 3 months prior to initial education of clinic staff regarding the guideline; (2) the 3months between initial education and introduction of the algorithm; and (3) the 3 months post introduction of the algorithm. A total of 335 charts were reviewed. There was a significant difference in the proportion of appropriate screening among the three groups (Χ2= 6.83 p=.03). There was also a significant difference in appropriate screening rates between the new and established patients’ group, controlling for group (p\u3c.0001). The use of the interventional algorithm is recommended to improve adherence to evidence-based practice guideline related to cervical screening as it decreases harm(s) to the patient by reduction of fear, cost to the patient, and overtreatment of benign regressive lesions

Effects of a Distributed Computing Architecture on the Emerald Nanosatellite Development Process

Building satellites with greater capabilities on shorter timelines requires changes in development approach. Relative to previous satellite projects in Stanford’s Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL), the Emerald Nanosatellite system is highly complex. Its mission requires numerous experiments and relatively sophisticated subsystem capabilities. To develop this system on a short two-year timeline required a new development approach to simplify system integration. As a result, the Emerald development team adopted a modular distributed computing architecture. While this decision imposed many changes on Emerald’s design process, the benefits of the distributed architecture for system integration and testing justified its selection. This approach has already affected the early stages of engineering model integration, and is expected to provide flexibility throughout construction and integration of the flight hardware. In addition the distributed architecture developed for the Emerald project will provide a useful tool for future development efforts in the SSDL and the small satellite development community

Importance of Asking for Pronouns: Assessing Cultural Competency Among BSN Nursing Students

As evidenced by research, the use of personal pronouns in the clinical setting is not very common and is why the LGBTQ+ patient population experiences health care disparities. The improper use of personal pronouns is due to a lack of culturally competent training and awareness among health care workers. This is a quality improvement project for the proper use of gender pronouns, endorsed by the American Nurses Association. It is essential to ask about patient preferences regarding pronouns because it creates a safe space for gender minorities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Correctly identifying pronouns as healthcare professionals shows respect to our patients and their gender identity. We conducted a research study to assess for cultural competency among current nursing students at the University of North Florida (UNF). Created a pre and post qualitative/quantitative survey using convenience sampling through the Qualtrics software to evaluate student’s understanding of pronoun usage in the clinical setting. Survey criteria included current UNF nursing students in Women’s Health/Obstetrics who have already completed Health Assessment. In addition to the survey, students were provided pronoun education and the importance of using gender pronouns in nursing. A total of 68 anonymous responses. Based on the results, students felt the use of pronouns was important and expressed how there is a lack of pronoun education in the nursing curriculum. As future health care professionals, it is important that students are educated on patient preferences, regarding gender identity and gender pronouns early on. Further research is needed due to a lack of education, and pronoun use should be implemented in nursing education

Co-transcriptional R-loops are the main cause of estrogen-induced DNA damage.

The hormone estrogen (E2) binds the estrogen receptor to promote transcription of E2-responsive genes in the breast and other tissues. E2 also has links to genomic instability, and elevated E2 levels are tied to breast cancer. Here, we show that E2 stimulation causes a rapid, global increase in the formation of R-loops, co-transcriptional RNA-DNA products, which in some instances have been linked to DNA damage. We show that E2-dependent R-loop formation and breast cancer rearrangements are highly enriched at E2-responsive genomic loci and that E2 induces DNA replication-dependent double-strand breaks (DSBs). Strikingly, many DSBs that accumulate in response to E2 are R-loop dependent. Thus, R-loops resulting from the E2 transcriptional response are a significant source of DNA damage. This work reveals a novel mechanism by which E2 stimulation leads to genomic instability and highlights how transcriptional programs play an important role in shaping the genomic landscape of DNA damage susceptibility

RNA extraction, probe preparation, and competitive hybridization for transcriptional profiling using Neurospora crassa long-oligomer DNA microarrays

We developed protocols optimized for the performance of experiments assaying genomic gene expression using Neurospora crassa long-oligomer microarrays. We present methods for sample growth and harvesting, total RNA extraction, poly(A)+ mRNA selection, preparation of NH3-Allyl Cy3/Cy5 labeled probes, and microarray hybridization. The quality of the data obtained with these protocols is demonstrated by the comparative transcriptional profiling of basal and apical zones of vegetative growth of N. crassa

Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair factors promote R-loop-induced genome instability

R-loops, consisting of an RNA-DNA hybrid and displaced single-stranded DNA, are physiological structures that regulate various cellular processes occurring on chromatin. Intriguingly, changes in R-loop dynamics have also been associated with DNA damage accumulation and genome instability, however the mechanisms underlying R-loop induced DNA damage remain unknown. Here we demonstrate in human cells that R-loops induced by the absence of diverse RNA processing factors, including the RNA/DNA helicases Aquarius (AQR) and Senataxin (SETX), or by the inhibition of topoisomerase I, are actively processed into DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by the nucleotide excision repair endonucleases XPF and XPG. Surprisingly, DSB formation requires the transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) factor Cockayne syndrome group B (CSB), but not the global genome repair protein XPC. These findings reveal an unexpected and potentially deleterious role for TC-NER factors in driving R-loop-induced DNA damage and genome instability

Characterization of an influenza virus pseudotyped with Ebolavirus glycoprotein

We have produced a new Ebola virus pseudotype: E-S-FLU, which can be handled in biosafety level-1/2 containment for laboratory analysis. E-S-FLU is a single cycle influenza virus coated with Ebolavirus glycoprotein, and it encodes enhanced green fluorescence protein as a reporter that replaces the influenza haemagglutinin. MDCK-SIAT1 cells were transduced to express Ebolavirus glycoprotein as a stable transmembrane protein for E-S-FLU production. Infection of cells by E-S-FLU was dependent on Niemann-Pick C1 protein, which is the well-characterized receptor for Ebola virus entry at the late endosome/lysosome membrane. E-S-FLU was neutralized specifically by anti-Ebola glycoprotein antibody and a variety of small drug molecules that are known to inhibit entry of wild-type Ebola virus. To demonstrate the application of this new Ebola virus pseudotype, we show that a single laboratory batch was sufficient to screen a library (LOPAC®1280 Sigma) of 1280 pharmacologically active compounds for inhibition of virus entry. 215 compounds inhibited E-S-FLU infection, while only 22 inhibited the control H5-S-FLU virus coated in an H5 haemagglutinin. These inhibitory compounds have very dispersed targets and mechanisms of action e.g. calcium channel blockers, estrogen receptor antagonists, anti-histamines, serotonin uptake inhibitors etc. and this correlates with inhibitor screening results with other pseudotypes or wild-type Ebola virus in the literature. E-S-FLU is a new tool for Ebola virus cell entry studies and is easily applied to high throughput screening assays for small molecule inhibitors or antibodies.Importance Ebola virus is from the Filoviridae family and is a biosafety level 4 pathogen. There are no FDA-approved therapeutics for Ebola virus. These characteristics warrant the development of surrogates of Ebola virus that can be handled in more convenient laboratory containment to study the biology of the virus, and screen for inhibitors. Here we characterized a new surrogate named E-S-FLU, that is based on a disabled influenza virus core coated with the Ebola virus surface protein, but does not contain any genetic information from the Ebola virus itself. We show that E-S-FLU uses the same cell entry pathway as wild-type Ebola virus. As an example of the ease of use of E-S-FLU in biosafety level-1/2 containment, we showed that a single production batch could provide enough surrogate virus to screen a standard small molecule library of 1280 candidates for inhibitors of viral entry