A Communicating Branch Between the Musculocutaneous Nerve and the Median Nerve: A Case Report

Anatomical variations of peripheral nerves are commonly reported in the literature.  While typically benign, they are of clinical importance as they can contribute to atypical clinical presentations, cause difficulty with imaging and nerve conduction studies, and lead to surgical challenges for surgeons.  We report here a communicating branch between the musculocutaneous nerve and median nerve found during cadaveric dissection in a Doctor of Nursing Practice course in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia at Samford University.  Although the case described here is among the most common anatomical variations of the peripheral nerves, there are classification systems for this variation that need to be recognized and applied by anatomists, clinicians, and surgeons

Bilateral Long Head of the Triceps Brachii Muscle Innervation via Axillary Nerve: A Case Report

The radial nerve has traditionally been considered the innervation of the long head of the triceps brachii (LHT). However, cadaveric studies have discovered LHT innervation via the axillary nerve in roughly 6-15 % of shoulders. A cadaver with exclusive axillary nerve innervation to the LHT bilaterally was discovered during cadaveric dissection in a graduate course at Samford University. This anatomical variation may have clinical implications for surgeries, shoulder dislocations, and quadrilateral space syndrome. Axillary nerve injuries may additionally present with shoulder extension and elbow extension weakness if this variation is present.&nbsp

Identification of Compounds That Inhibit IGF-I Signaling in Hyperglycemia

Increased responsiveness of vascular cells to the growth factor IGF-I has been implicated in complications associated with diabetes. Here we describe the development of an assay and screening of a library of compounds for their ability to accelerate cleavage of the transmembrane protein integrin-associated protein (IAP) thereby disrupting the association between IAP and SHPS-1 which we have shown as critical for the enhanced response of vascular cells to IGF-I. The cell-based ELISA utilizes an antibody that specifically detects cleaved, but not intact, IAP. Of the 1040 compounds tested, 14 were considered active by virtue of their ability to stimulate an increase in antibody-binding indicative of IAP cleavage. In experiments with smooth muscle and retinal endothelial cell cultures in hyperglycemic conditions, each active compound was shown to accelerate the cleavage of IAP, and this was associated with a decrease in IAP association with SHPS-1 as determined by coimmunoprecipitation of the proteins from cell lysates. As a consequence of the acceleration in IAP cleavage, the compounds were shown to inhibit IGF-I-stimulated phosphorylation of key signaling molecules including Shc and ERK1/2, and this in turn was associated with a decrease in IGF-I-stimulated cell proliferation. Identification of these compounds that utilize this mechanism has the potential to yield novel therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of vascular complications associated with diabetes

Statement on bioinformatics and capturing the benefits of genome sequencing for society

The HUGO Committee on Ethics, Law and Society (CELS) undertook a Working Group exploration of the key ethical issues arising from genome sequencing in 2013. The Imagined Futures paper the group subsequently published proposed points to consider when applying genomic bioinformatics to data repositories used in genomic medicine and research ( http://www.hugo-international.org/Resources/Documents/CELS_Article-ImaginedFutures_2014.pdf ). Given the ever-increasing power to sequence the human genome rapidly and inexpensively-as well as trends toward "Big Data" and "Open Science"-we take this opportunity to update and refine the key findings of that paper

Impact of Added Copper and Chlortetracycline on Growth Performance of Nursery Pigs

A total of 320 nursery pigs (DNA 200 × 400 barrows; initially 16.3 lb BW) were used in a 28-d trial to determine the effect of copper (Cu) and chlortetracycline (CTC), fed alone or in combination, on growth performance of weanling pigs. Pigs were weaned at approximately 21 d of age and fed a common pelleted starter diet (non-medicated) for 7 d after weaning. Pigs were allotted to dietary treatments based on BW and location in a randomized complete block design. Dietary treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of added Cu (0 vs. 200 ppm Cu from copper sulfate) and CTC (0 vs. 440 ppm CTC). Experimental diets were corn-soybean meal-based and were fed in one phase for 28 d in meal form. There were 5 pigs per pen and 8 replications per treatment with each replication consisting of a pair of adjoining pens. The results showed no evidence for an interactive effect of Cu and CTC for any of the performance and economic variables (P \u3e 0.05). From d 0 to 14, added Cu increased (P \u3c 0.05) ADG and ADFI and added CTC improved (P \u3c 0.05) ADG, ADFI, and F/G. From d 14 to 28, the addition of CTC to the diet improved (P \u3c 0.05) ADG and ADFI, but there was no evidence for a Cu effect. For the overall experimental period (d 0 to 28), pigs fed diets with CTC had improved (P \u3c 0.05) ADG, ADFI, and F/G, but there was no evidence for a Cu effect. The inclusion of either Cu or CTC increased (P \u3c 0.05) BW on d 14 and 28. Regarding the economics, added dietary Cu increased (P \u3c 0.05) feed cost per pig and value of gain per pig, but not income over feed cost (IOFC). The addition of CTC to the diet increased (P \u3c 0.05) feed cost per pig, value of gain per pig, and IOFC. In conclusion, the findings of the present study characterize a beneficial effect of feeding Cu for 14 d on growth performance of young pigs (16 to 25 lb) and a positive effect of including CTC in nursery diets. The lack of interactive effects between Cu and CTC suggests that the responses of Cu and CTC on growth performance of nursery pigs are as efficacious when fed alone or in combination

Integrin-Associated Protein Association With Src Homology 2 Domain Containing Tyrosine Phosphatase Substrate 1 Regulates IGF-I Signaling In Vivo

OBJECTIVE—Smooth muscle cell (SMC) maintained in medium containing normal levels of glucose do not proliferate in response to IGF-I, whereas cells maintained in medium containing 25 mmol/l glucose can respond. The aim of this study was to determine whether signaling events that have been shown to be required for stimulation of SMC growth were regulated by glucose concentrations in vivo

Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector

The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment, including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities, and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure

Last Men Standing: Chlamydatus Portraits and Public Life in Late Antique Corinth

Notable among the marble sculptures excavated at Corinth are seven portraits of men wearing the long chlamys of Late Antique imperial office. This unusual costume, contemporary portrait heads, and inscribed statue bases all help confirm that new public statuary was created and erected at Corinth during the 4th and 5th centuries. These chlamydatus portraits, published together here for the first time, are likely to represent the Governor of Achaia in his capital city, in the company of local benefactors. Among the last works of the ancient sculptural tradition, they form a valuable source of information on public life in Late Antique Corinth

Estimating the Effects of Immigration Status on Mental Health Care Utilizations in the United States

Immigration status is a likely deterrent of mental health care utilization in the United States. Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and National Health Interview survey from 2002 to 2006, multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate the effects of immigration status on mental health care utilization among patients with depression or anxiety disorders. Multivariate regressions showed that immigrants were significantly less likely to take any prescription drugs, but not significantly less likely to have any physician visits compared to US-born citizens. Results also showed that improving immigrants’ health care access and health insurance coverage could potentially reduce disparities between US-born citizens and immigrants by 14–29% and 9–28% respectively. Policy makers should focus on expanding the availability of regular sources of health care and immigrant health coverage to reduce disparities on mental health care utilization. Targeted interventions should also focus on addressing immigrants’ language barriers, and providing culturally appropriate services