Heme Expression from Caulobacter Crescentus in E. coli

The focus of my research is to create a clone of a Heme transporter from Caulobacter crescentus and transformed into E. coli OKN359 and fluorescently label it so that it can detect Heme in the environment. This sensor will be combined with others in a fluorescence assay to analyze pathogenic bacteria and identify drugs that are the most effective in inhibiting their iron transport. To do so, I used Gibson cloning and made a hybrid gene, pITS27, that contains a small initial portion of an E.coli gene fepA followed by the full Caulobacter crescentus gene hutA. The initial portion of the E.coli gene was necessary to ensure proper insertion of the Caulobacter crescentus HutA protein in the outer membrane

Modeling the Representation of Medial Axis Structure in Human Ventral Pathway Cortex

Computational modeling of the human brain has long been an important goal of scientific research. The visual system is of particular interest because it is one of the primary modalities by which we understand the world. One integral aspect of vision is object representation, which plays an important role in machine perception as well.In the human brain, object recognition is a part of the functionality of the ventral pathway. In this work, we have developed a computational and statistical techniques to characterize object representation among this pathway. The understanding of how the brain represents objects is essential to developing models of computer vision that are truer to how humans perceive the world. In the ventral pathway, the lateral occipital complex (LOC) is known to respond to images of objects. Neural recording studies in monkeys have shown that the homologue for LOC represents objects as configurations of medial axis and surface components. In this work, we designed and implemented novel experiment paradigms and developed algorithms to test whether the human LOC represents medial axis structure as in the monkey models. We developed a data-driven iterative sparse regression model guided by neuroscience principles in order to estimate the response pattern of LOC voxels. For each voxel, we modeled the response pattern as a linear combination of partial medial axis configurations that appeared as fragments across multiple stimuli. We used this model to demonstrate evidence of structural object coding in the LOC. Finally, we developed an algorithm to reconstruct images of stimuli being viewed by subjects based on their brain images. As a whole, we apply computational techniques to present the first significant evidence that the LOC carries information about the medial axis structure of objects, and further characterize its response properties

'Diet and lifestyle' in the management of dyslipidaemia and prevention of CVD - Understanding the level of knowledge and interest of European Atherosclerosis Society members.

Abstract To better understand the level of knowledge and interest in 'diet and lifestyle' for cholesterol management and CVD prevention, European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) members were invited to take part in an online survey. In total, 269 EAS members participated of which 64 (24%) were students/postdocs, 102 (38%) researchers involved with CVD-related research and 103 (38%) doctors and clinicians who directly interact with patients. All (99%) of the participants either agreed or strongly agreed that 'diet and lifestyle' have a role to play in cholesterol management, with 80% indicating that 'diet and lifestyle' is very or extremely important. Of the clinicians, 75% indicated that their patients voluntarily ask for 'diet and lifestyle' advice and over 80% said they continuously provide 'diet and lifestyle advice' to their patients. Of the surveyed clinicians, 91% feel sufficiently educated and confident to provide expert advice and over 90% recommend medication, diet change, frequent exercise and smoking cessation to their patients. In view of more specific dietary advice, clinicians reportedly recommend a 'Mediterranean diet', and advise to avoid high-fat foods, and to increase intake of high-fibre foods. Interestingly, smoking cessation and alcohol avoidance were mentioned less frequently. In view of educational needs, over half of the surveyed EAS members use the internet and 'guidelines' to learn about 'diet and lifestyle' in relation to cholesterol and CVD risk management. Clinicians tend to use 'guidelines' more often, while students/postdocs tend to use the internet significantly more than clinicians and CVD researchers. Regarding unmet needs for educational tools addressing specifically 'diet and lifestyle', clinicians feel that patient-oriented leaflets and pocket guidelines would be most beneficial materials to introduce, while students/postdocs would prefer an app. In summary, the role of 'diet and lifestyle' as a cornerstone of cholesterol management and CVD risk prevention seems well recognised amongst EAS members surveyed

Transatlantic lipid guideline divergence: same data but different interpretations

Despite consensus that excessive circulating concentrations of apoB-lipoproteins is a key driver for the atherosclerotic process and that treatments that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering by up-regulation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol receptor expression reduces that risk, divergent viewpoints on interpretation of study data have resulted in substantial differences in European and American lipid guideline recommendations. This article explores those differences and highlights the importance of understanding guideline-based lipid management to improve patient care and reduce the risk of clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular disease: What to do before initiating pharmacological therapy.

Abstract The availability of efficient lipid-lowering drugs has substantially reduced the incidence and mortality for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite that, CVD still represents a major cause of death and disability; efforts are thus required to prevent this disease, since reducing the established CV risk factors may slow or prevent the onset of cardiovascular events. Current guidelines recommend a healthier lifestyle for all CV risk categories, as it may have a beneficial impact on several risk factors; in individuals with a low-to-moderate hypercholesterolemia, which are not eligible for a pharmacological approach and are not far from the cholesterol target recommended for their risk category, functional foods or nutraceuticals may be considered as supplement to reduce their CV risk status. Of note, counseling and lifestyle intervention in people at moderate CV risk represents a major issue for both preventing a further risk increase and reducing the need for drugs. Studies on general populations have clearly indicated that lifestyle interventions translate into a clinical benefit, with reduction of the incidence of myocardial infarction and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Tissue Doppler echocardiography can be a useful technique to evaluate atrial conduction time

Background: The main purpose of this study is to determine the correlation of inter- and intraatrial conduction times between the electrophysiological and tissue Doppler echocardiographic measurements, and to evaluate the appropriateness of tissue Doppler echocardiography for this measurement. Methods: One-hundred and one patients were included in the study who underwent electrophysiological study for clinical arrhythmias. Inter- and intraatrial conduction times were measured from intracardiac electrograms. Atrial conduction times were also measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography by evaluating atrial electromechanical delay between lateral mitral annulus, septal mitral annulus, and right ventricular tricuspid annulus. The correlation between electrophysiological and echocardiographic atrial conduction times were analyzed. Results: We found a weak correlation between the measurements of interatrial conduction times with the electrophysiological and tissue Doppler techniques (r = 0.308; p = 0.002). The correlation for intraleft atrial conduction times was moderate (r = 0.652; p < 0.001). There was no correlation between the measurements of intra-right atrial conduction times. Conclusions: We concluded that tissue Doppler echocardiography can be used for the measurement of interatrial and intra-left atrial conduction times. Tissue Doppler echocardiography can be a suitable technique to evaluate atrial substrate. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 5: 487-493

Baseline aortic pre-ejection interval predicts reverse remodeling and clinical improvement after cardiac resynchronization therapy

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to reduce heart failure-related morbidity and mortality. However, approximately one in three patients do not respond to CRT. The aim of the current study was to determine the parameter(s) which predict reverse remodeling and clinical improvement after CRT. Methods: A total of 54 patients (43 male, 11 female; mean age 61.9 &#177; 10.5 years) with heart failure and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III&#8211;IV symptoms and in whom left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was &#163; 35% and QRS duration was &#8805; 120 ms, despite optimal medical therapy, were enrolled. An echocardiographic examination was performed before, and six months after, CRT. An echocardiographic response was defined as a reduction of end-systolic volume &#8805; 10% after six months, and a clinical response was defined as a reduction &#8805; 1 in the NYHA functional class score. Results: An echocardiographic response was observed in 38 (70.4%) of the patients and a clinical response occurred in 41 (75.9%) of the patients. Of the dyssynchrony parameters, only the aortic pre-ejection interval (APEI) was observed to significantly predict the clinical response (p = 0.048) and echocardiographic response (p = 0.037). A 180.5 ms cut-off value for the APEI predicted the clinical response with a sensitivity of 92.3% and a specificity of 39%, and the echocardiographic response with a sensitivity of 93.0% and a specificity of 42%. Conclusions: APEI derived from pulsed-wave Doppler, which is available in every echocardiography machine, is a simple and practical method that could be used to select patients for CRT. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 6: 639&#8211;647