A Measure of the Amount of Vitamin K Leached Out from Cooked Greens in Potlicker

Vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin synthesized by plants, is found in large quantities within green leafy vegetables, such as collard, mustard, turnip and spinach. These greens are commonly cooked with fat to enhance flavor. The vitamin K in these greens can leach out during cooking into the liquid portion of the pot, which is referred to as potlicker. Vitamin K activates clotting factors (II, VII, IX, and X,), which can lead to the formation of a thromboembolism (blood clot). People at a higher risk of forming blood clots are often prescribed warfarin, an anti-coagulant that acts as a competitive inhibitor of vitamin K. Due to its content of vitamin K, the consumption of potlicker can potentially cause interactions on the anti-coagulant drug warfarin, and thereby counteract the drug’s effect. This study seeks to determine if the amount of vitamin K leached from cooked greens into potlicker is dependent upon the amount of fat in the cooking solution and if the amount of vitamin K leached depends upon the type of green being cooked. For this study, there will be four experimental groups along with a control group. Each group will include a type of green (collard, mustard, spinach, or turnip) with varying amounts of animal fat. Five grams of each of the respective greens will be prepared in four predefined categories describing fat content (no fat; low fat, 1g; medium fat, 2g; and high fat, 4g). Each sample will be prepared in one liter of water with the respective amount of olive oil. The samples will be prepared by cooking at a constant temperature for set time intervals. Samples will be collected, where High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) will determine the vitamin K content in each of the prepared samples. Data will be analyzed primarily via SPSS, with a priori alpha set at 0.05. Sigma Plot will be implemented to display simple linear regressions and thereby aid in identifying correlations between variables. ANCOVA tests will also be used to compare and contrast the four types of greens. All data will be stored in Excel spreadsheets for further use. The finding of this study will provide valuable information for individuals taking warfarin and for health care professionals involved in the care of those patients. As a result, it patient education on warfarin and its interactions with vitamin K will be better understood

A Comparison of the Effect of Intermittent and Continuous Infusion of Meropenem on the Prevalence of Nausea in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease, leading to changes of membrane secretions causing obstruction of smaller airways. CF patients often develop pulmonary infections and require antibiotic treatment. Meropenem is a broad spectrum beta lactam that acts by lysing microbes through interfering with bacterial cell wall synthesis. Although a safe and effective treatment, data on pediatric patients is limited

Azithromycin Use in Upper Respiratory Infection

Antibiotic resistance is a problem that is growing worldwide. Misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics leads to a rise in pathogens that are resistant to the conventional drugs prescribed, causing increases in morbidity and mortality rates. Antibiotic resistance occurs when microbes still survive despite the presence of an antibiotic. The remaining microbes grow in strength and multiply until there is a population that are now resistant to treatment. One such treatment is azithromycin, an antibiotic often prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URI). A URI is any infection of the respiratory tract from the nasal cavities to the larynx that can have symptoms ranging from acute to severe and life-threatening. Although URIs are caused by either a viral or bacterial pathogens, antibiotics are not effective for viral infections. The current treatment guidelines for URIs do not recommend an initial antibiotic prescription, but encourage delayed antibiotic prescribing techniques in which the practitioner waits 48 to 72 hours before prescribing an antibiotic. However, these guidelines are not consistently followed. To determine the rate of azithromycin prescribing, this study will collect data from three different Federally Qualified Health Centers. These rates will then be compared with the number of articles available in the PubMed database on the topic of antibiotic resistance, to determine whether the current literature available on antibiotic prescribing has an effect in decreasing the misuse of antibiotics. Results from this study will be used to enhance clinical performance. Our data can add to already existing campaigns within pharmacy, as well as promote pharmacists’ responsibilities in patient care involvement and counseling for antibiotics. If there is no correlation found between antibiotic prescribing and education campaigns, this may be grounds for additional research to determine an alternate education methods to promote antibiotic stewardship

Content Uniformity of Over-the-Counter Melatonin

Dietary supplements are loosely regulated in comparison to over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Numerous tests for safety and efficacy are required before drugs can be marketed. However, the Food and Drug Administration does not require thorough examination of supplements before they are sold. Dietary supplements generally adhere to the phrase, “safe, until proven unsafe,” with safety determined solely through post-market adverse event reports. Substandard regulation of supplement manufacturing leads to warranted doubt about the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements. Within the dietary supplement market there are regulatory bodies, such as the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), that provide optional verification services to manufacturers. If utilized, these regulatory bodies ensure that manufacturers meet specific standards in regard to Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), purity of ingredients, and overall integrity of their product. Numerous studies have revealed a history of inaccuracies in supplement product labeling. Researchers conducting these studies consistently conclude that there is a need for stricter regulation and finer application of cGMP within supplement manufacturing companies. One of the most popular dietary supplements on the market, melatonin, has been the focus in a number of studies evaluating supplement product content integrity. Melatonin is commonly used to treat insomnia and to cure symptoms of jet lag. According to past research, these melatonin products often contain an amount of active ingredient that significantly differs from respective product labeling. Most research regarding melatonin product integrity has occurred outside of the past ten years, leaving the need for newer research. Melatonin 3 mg will be purchased from six different manufacturers with three manufacturers possessing USP verification. Within each manufacturer, melatonin 3 mg from five separate lot numbers will be purchased. Ten tablets from each bottle (totaling 300 tablets) will be analyzed using a high-pressure liquid chromatography machine in order to determine actual melatonin content in each tablet. Data will be recorded and compared to determine accuracy of product labeling and batch-to-batch content uniformity. Data from USP-verified melatonin will be compared with non-verified products in order to determine if regulatory body verification is effective at improving content uniformity

Challenges in microbial ecology: building predictive understanding of community function and dynamics

he importance of microbial communities (MCs) cannot be overstated. MCs underpin the biogeochemical cycles of the earth’s soil, oceans and the atmosphere, and perform ecosystem functions that impact plants, animals and humans. Yet our ability to predict and manage the function of these highly complex, dynamically changing communities is limited. Building predictive models that link MC composition to function is a key emerging challenge in microbial ecology. Here, we argue that addressing this challenge requires close coordination of experimental data collection and method development with mathematical model building. We discuss specific examples where model–experiment integration has already resulted in important insights into MC function and structure. We also highlight key research questions that still demand better integration of experiments and models. We argue that such integration is needed to achieve significant progress in our understanding of MC dynamics and function, and we make specific practical suggestions as to how this could be achieved

Rebecca Widder

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/white_coat_ceremony_gallery_2012/1048/thumbnail.jp

The Appeal of Medical Quackery: A Rhetorical Analysis

Medical quackery has been a pressing issue nearly from the start of the medical profession - whether the nostrums and patent medications of old or the super-foods and miracle supplements of today. Throughout history and into the modern day, the medical establishment has tried to counteract the claims of charlatans in order to protect patients from potentially harmful treatments. Countering today\u27s pseudo-medicine begins with an examination of what makes patients susceptible to the claims of quack medicine. Understanding why patients are susceptible to dubious health claims begins with an examination of the rhetoric used to persuade a demographic toward alternative therapies. This knowledge can then be used to educate patients, and to better demonstrate the benefits of evidence-based medicine while improving patient interactions

Development of a Method for Imaging Erythrocytes Using Atomic Force Microscope

Statement of Purpose, Innovation or Hypothesis: Imaging living or fixed cells in their natural environment has been the focus of nano-biotechnology research involving Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Because of its superior sensitivity in measuring molecular forces with accuracy, the AFM has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating structure to function related properties of cells. These studies require specific sample preparation techniques that allow the AFM tip to scan the surface topography of a cell. Given the complexities of preparing the sample under optimal conditions, the current study investigated a method for imaging erythrocytes in their native state using AFM. Description of Methods and Materials: For this purpose, blood from healthy human volunteer is collected with sodium citrate and stored at -20 degree Centigrade until used. Erythrocytes are separated by centrifuging at 13200 rpm for 14 minutes at 4 degree Centigrade. Then they are washed with normal saline and plated on a clean glass slide and allowed to stabilize at room temperature. A NanoScience EasyScan Flex AFM system with a scan head for liquid measurements is used for imaging these erythrocytes. Data and Results: On the glass slide, a total of 50 µm, 20 µm and 10 µm area were scanned and the images of erythrocytes were captured at different resolutions. These images will be presented that were nei-ther deformed nor ruptured due to the interactions between AFM tip and erythrocytes. Interpretation, Conclusion or Significance: As the erythrocyte membrane is unique in its biconcave shape that is retained by its cyto-skeleton, high resolution images by AFM may play an important role in clinical differential diagnosis as well as understanding the interactions between cytoskeleton and cell membranes