An Investigation of Diabetes Mellitus in Postmortem Human Remains

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent and significant metabolic diseases impacting modern human populations. The goal of this research is to explore several analytical methods to better appreciate how diabetes impacts the skeleton, and to determine if this effect can be recognized in postmortem remains. Anthropologists are tasked with elucidating the relationship between nutrition, metabolism, growth, development, and skeletal health. Diabetes represents a crucial point of interface between these factors. Furthermore, as the percentage of diabetics increases in the general population, so will their representation in forensic cases. This study will provide tools for identifying characteristics of diabetes in the postmortem material available to anthropologists. Diabetes is a disease process that can alter the function of many tissues and systems. For these reasons, three analytical approaches were conducted including: blood serum protein analysis using ELISA, bone mineral density (BMD) scans with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanner, and macroscopic osteological analysis. This study was completed employing a sample of 80 known skeletal donations and 20 blood samples from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Results indicated that pro-inflammatory biomarkers may be quantified in postmortem blood samples, and that diabetics showed slightly higher average concentrations of cytokines associated with diabetes and lower concentrations of those related to insulin sensitivity. Bone density analysis revealed that diabetics and non-diabetics significantly differ in BMD, but this relationship varies between the sexes. Female diabetics had consistently denser bones in all measured variables of the lower limb, and one-third of forearm variables. Results based on male data did not display a similar outcome, with little difference observed between male diabetics and non-diabetics. Analysis of skeletal pathologies identified a set of three osteological variables, concentrated in the feet, as having the highest discriminatory potential. An accuracy rate of 83% was achieved in classifying individuals into diabetic versus non-diabetic categories

ADHD Symptomology and Prescription Stimulant Misuse in College Students

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. These symptoms result in impairments for individuals across multiple settings and are developmentally inappropriate. While common during childhood, symptoms have been shown to persist into adulthood for 50% or more of those diagnosed before reaching age 18. Although prescription stimulants have been shown to benefit those with ADHD, increased popularity of prescription stimulant misuse among those without ADHD has been reported, despite the potentially harmful side effects that may accompany this use. Specifically, nonmedical use of prescription stimulants during adolescence led to increased risk of crime commitment and increased risk for subsequent addictions to other substances. Despite the negative effects of prescription stimulants on those misusing them, as many as 7% of undergraduate college students reported prescription stimulant medication misuse. The present NIH R01 funded study, Trajectories Related to ADHD in College (TRAC) is a 5-year longitudinal study conducted by Dr. Arthur Anastopoulos at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Lead Principal Investigator), Dr. George DuPaul at Lehigh University (Co-Principal Investigator), and Dr. Lisa Weyandt at the University of Rhode Island (Co-Principal Investigator). Through my work on this study, it became clear that although research concerning the patterns of misuse among college students has been performed and documented, the association between those with ADHD and nonmedical use of prescription stimulants has not been well studied. More specifically, research exploring the relationship between the severity of ADHD symptoms and prescription stimulant misuse is sparse. Therefore, the aim of this honors thesis is to assess the misuse among students both with, and without, ADHD, and to explore whether males and females differ in reported rates of prescription stimulant misuse

Imaging Luciferase-expressing Viruses

Optical imaging of luciferage gene expression has become a powerful tool to track cells and viruses in vivo in small animal models. Luciferase imaging has been used to study the location of infection by replication-defective and replication-competent viruses and to track changes in the distribution of viruses in mouse models. This approach has also been used in oncolytic studies as a non-invasive means to monitor the growth and killing of tumor cells modified with luciferase genes. In this chapter, we describe the techniques used for luciferase imaging as have been applied to track replication-defective and replication-competent adenoviruses in mouse and hamster models of oncolysis and virus pharmacology. Although these methods are simple, the process of obtaining accurate luciferase imaging data has many caveats that will be discussed

An exploratory study investigating the experiences of parents coping with children who are being treated for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban,2009.Aim: To explore parents’ experiences when caring for a child with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The coping mechanisms employed by the parents in such a situation were also investigated. Objectives: To gain an understanding of the parents’ experiences when their child has ADHD. The factors affecting these experiences include dealing with their child’s behaviours, receiving an ADHD diagnosis, deciding on treatment and coping resources. Research Design: Through a qualitative, phenomenological approach, this study is characterized by an interpretative style with the aim of facilitating an in-depth exploration of the participants’ experiences. Subjects: A non-probability, purposive sample was used. The sample consisted of 12 parents. The only requirements for the sample were: 1. The participant must be the primary caretaker of a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD and is being treated for ADHD. 2. The participant’s child must be 18 years old or younger. Data Collection: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used as an instrument for collecting the required data and were devised in order to appropriately address the objectives of this study. Data Analysis: The transcripts were analyzed thematically using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in order to identify relevant and common parental experiences. Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS) and Coping was utilized as a conceptual framework to help make sense of the emergent themes. Results: Participants in the present study displayed increased levels of stress and frustration when caring for a child with ADHD. The child’s difficult behaviours frequently induced a sense of incompetence in the parents and a desire to use physical punishment on the child. The participants employed various methods of coping in order to adapt to their child’s disorder. Such efforts included modifying daily routines and utilizing social support. Most of these coping efforts helped to diminish stress and anxiety and improved parent-child relationships

The communication of meaning in social systems

The sociological domain is different from the psychological one insofar as meaning can be communicated at the supra-individual level (Schutz, 1932; Luhmann, 1984). The computation of anticipatory systems enables us to distinguish between these domains in terms of weakly and strongly anticipatory systems with a structural coupling between them (Maturana, 1978). Anticipatory systems have been defined as systems which entertain models of themselves (Rosen, 1985). The model provides meaning to the modeled system from the perspective of hindsight, that is, by advancing along the time axis towards possible future states. Strongly anticipatory systems construct their own future states (Dubois, 1998a and b). The dynamics of weak and strong anticipations can be simulated as incursion and hyper-incursion, respectively. Hyper-incursion generates "horizons of meaning" (Husserl, 1929) among which choices have to be made by incursive agency

Actual neighborhood-level crime predicts body mass index z-score changes in a multi-racial/ethnic sample of children

Longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify the influence crime has on health outcomes in children especially children representing multiple racial/ethnic backgrounds. To address this need, the current study examined whether neighborhood-level crime predicted changes in body mass index z (BMIz) scores in 373 White (W), 627 African American (AA), 1020 Hispanic (H), and 88 Asian (A), five to ten year-old boys and girls living in urban neighborhoods. Heights and weights were assessed at baseline (2012) and three-years later and used to calculate BMIz scores. Characteristics of zip codes where students lived during the three-year period were obtained at baseline from various sources. The Crime Risk Index (CRI) for each zip code was calculated using actual crime statistics. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between baseline CRI and follow-up BMIz scores while controlling for other variables including BMIz at baseline. The CRI and BMIz scores differed significantly by race/ethnicity with the highest values for both noted in H. Regression analyses indicated that the CRI accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in follow-up BMIz scores in the overall sample. When race/ethnicity was considered, the CRI predicted follow-up BMIz scores only in W children. The CRI was not significantly associated with BMIz scores in the other races/ethnicities. The impact actual, neighborhood-level crime has on BMI in children is complex. Based on the existing evidence, considering actual crime as a primary target in obesity prevention would be premature especially in racial/ethnicity minority children living in urban areas

Structural and physical properties of layered oxy-arsenides LnRuAsO (Ln = La, Nd, Sm, Gd)

Polycrystalline samples of LaRuAsO, NdRuAsO, SmRuAsO, and GdRuAsO have been synthesized and studied using powder x-ray diffraction, electrical transport, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements. Variations in structural properties across the series reveal a trend toward more ideal tetrahedral coordination around Ru as the size of the rare earth element is reduced. The lattice parameters of these Ru compounds show a more anisotropic response to variation in Ln than their Fe analogues, and significant anisotropy in thermal expansion is also observed. Transport measurements show metallic behavior, and carrier concentrations near 10^21 - 10^22 electrons per cm^3 are inferred from simple analysis of Hall effect measurements. Anomalies in resistivity, magnetization, and heat capacity indicate antiferromagnetic ordering of rare earth moments at 5 K for GdRuAsO, 4.5 K for SmRuAsO, and <2 K for NdRuAsO. Magnetization measurements on LaRuAsO show no evidence of a magnetic moment on Ru. Observed behaviors are compared to those reported for similar Fe and Ru compounds

In vivo importance of heparan sulfate-binding glycoproteins for murid herpesvirus-4 infection

Many herpesviruses bind to heparan sulfate (HS). Murid herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) does so via its envelope glycoproteins gp70 and gH/gL. MuHV-4 gp150 further regulates an HS-independent interaction to make that HS-dependent too. Cell binding by MuHV-4 virions is consequently strongly HS-dependent. Gp70 and gH/gL show some in vitro redundancy: an antibody-mediated blockade of HS binding by one is well tolerated, whereas a blockade of both severely impairs infection. In order to understand the importance of HS binding for MuHV-4 in vivo, we generated mutants lacking both gL and gp70. As expected, gL−gp70− MuHV-4 showed very poor cell binding. It infected mice at high dose but not at low dose, indicating defective host entry. But once entry occurred, host colonization, which for MuHV-4 is relatively independent of the infection dose, was remarkably normal. The gL−gp70− entry deficit was much greater than that of gL− or gp70− single knockouts. And gp150 disruption, which allows HS-independent cell binding, largely rescued the gL−gp70− cell binding and host entry deficits. Thus, it appeared that MuHV-4 HS binding is important in vivo, principally for efficient host entry

Generation of a Kupffer Cell-evading Adenovirus for Systemic and Liver-directed Gene Transfer

As much as 90% of an intravenously (i.v.) injected dose of adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) is absorbed and destroyed by liver Kupffer cells. Viruses that escape these cells can then transduce hepatocytes after binding factor X (FX). Given that interactions with FX and Kupffer cells are thought to occur on the Ad5 hexon protein, we replaced its exposed hypervariable regions (HVR) with those from Ad6. When tested in vivo in BALB/c mice and in hamsters, the Ad5/6 chimera mediated \u3e10 times higher transduction in the liver. This effect was not due to changes in FX binding. Rather, Ad5/6 appeared to escape Kupffer cell uptake as evidenced by producing no Kupffer cell death in vivo, not requiring predosing in vivo, and being phagocytosed less efficiently by macrophages in vitro compared to Ad5. When tested as a helper-dependent adenovirus (Ad) vector, Ad5/6 mediated higher luciferase and factor IX transgene expression than either helper-dependent adenoviral 5 (HD-Ad5) or HD-Ad6 vectors. These data suggest that the Ad5/6 hexon-chimera evades Kupffer cells and may have utility for systemic and liver-directed therapies