Video Colposcopy for Decreasing Anxiety in a Low-Income Setting

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer and fourth most common cause of cancer-related death in women in the world. Current guidelines for cervical cancer screening recommend a Pap and/or human papillomavirus test and a follow-up colposcopy if particular abnormalities are discovered. In many patients, colposcopies cause significant levels of anxiety, adversely impacting patients’ pain tolerance and adherence to follow-up. Previous studies have shown mixed results on whether video colposcopy decreases this anxiety. Moreover, these effects have not been assessed in low-income communities who are disproportionally affected by cervical cancer. In this study, we will conduct a single blind randomized controlled trial to determine whether video colposcopy decreases anxiety associated with colposcopy in low-income patients. This study may help demonstrate the effectiveness of video educational interventions in reducing anxiety, potentially establishing video colposcopy as a useful addition to standard colposcopy practice in this patient population

Functional Genomics Profiling of Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma MicroRNAome as a Potential Biomarker.

Though bladder urothelial carcinoma is the most common form of bladder cancer, advances in its diagnosis and treatment have been modest in the past few decades. To evaluate miRNAs as putative disease markers for bladder urothelial carcinoma, this study develops a process to identify dysregulated miRNAs in cancer patients and potentially stratify patients based on the association of their microRNAome phenotype to genomic alterations. Using RNA sequencing data for 409 patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas, we examined miRNA differential expression between cancer and normal tissues and associated differentially expressed miRNAs with patient survival and clinical variables. We then correlated miRNA expressions with genomic alterations using the Wilcoxon test and REVEALER. We found a panel of six miRNAs dysregulated in bladder cancer and exhibited correlations to patient survival. We also performed differential expression analysis and clinical variable correlations to identify miRNAs associated with tobacco smoking, the most important risk factor for bladder cancer. Two miRNAs, miR-323a and miR-431, were differentially expressed in smoking patients compared to nonsmoking patients and were associated with primary tumor size. Functional studies of these miRNAs and the genomic features we identified for potential stratification may reveal underlying mechanisms of bladder cancer carcinogenesis and further diagnosis and treatment methods for urothelial bladder carcinoma

Practicing Ignatian Pedagogy: A Digital Collection of Resources

In the Spring 2015 issue of Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal, Kimberly Connor described building an Ignatian Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community at the University of San Francisco. One outcome of the FLC was to gather and make easily available a collection of resources on Jesuit education and the IPP (Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm). In this issue, two USF Gleeson Library/Geschke Center librarians, Zheng (Jessica) Lu, Digital Collections Librarian, and Vicki Rosen, Distance Learning Services Librarian, describe creating Practicing Ignatian Pedagogy: A Digital Collection of Resources, an openly accessible database available through the USF Library website, using the FLC resources and digital technolog

Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Body Mass in Gryllodes sigillatus

Insects use vibrational structures to produce and sense airborne sounds in intraspecific communication. These signals are important in courtship as well as defensive behavior against predators. For example, insects can detect the presence of nearby predators using vibrations. With an increase in anthropogenic activity, processing these signals and the constant threat they represent may increase stress on insects, subsequently affecting their behavior and physiology. Our experiment was designed to determine whether anthropogenic noise, possibly perceived as a stressor, will decrease the body mass of banded crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus. We predicted that the anthropogenic noise would stress the crickets, leading to a decrease in body mass and increase in mortality rate. In this study, we subjected crickets to three different levels of anthropogenic activity for three days: high, low, and negligible. We found no significant difference in body mass or mortality throughout the duration of the experiment

Practicing Ignatian Pedagogy: A Digital Collection of Resources

In the Spring 2015 issue of Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal, Kimberly Connor described building an Ignatian Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community at the University of San Francisco. One outcome of the FLC was to gather and make easily available a collection of resources on Jesuit education and the IPP (Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm). In this issue, two USF Gleeson Library/Geschke Center librarians, Zheng (Jessica) Lu, Digital Collections Librarian, and Vicki Rosen, Distance Learning Services Librarian, describe creating Practicing Ignatian Pedagogy: A Digital Collection of Resources, an openly accessible database available through the USF Library website, using the FLC resources and digital technolog

Identification and characterization of dysregulated P-element induced wimpy testis-interacting RNAs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

It is clear that alcohol consumption is a major risk factor in the pathogenesis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); however, the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated HNSCC remains poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to identify and characterize P-element-induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and PIWI proteins dysregulated in alcohol-associated HNSCC to elucidate their function in the development of this cancer. Using next generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data obtained from 40 HNSCC patients, the piRNA and PIWI protein expression of HNSCC samples was compared between alcohol drinkers and non-drinkers. A separate piRNA expression RNA-seq analysis of 18 non-smoker HNSCC patients was also conducted. To verify piRNA expression, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed on the most differentially expressed alcohol-associated piRNAs in ethanol and acetaldehyde-treated normal oral keratinocytes. The correlation between piRNA expression and patient survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimators and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. A comparison between alcohol drinking and non-drinking HNSCC patients demonstrated that a panel of 3,223 piRNA transcripts were consistently detected and differentially expressed. RNA-seq analysis and in vitro RT-qPCR verification revealed that 4 of these piRNAs, piR-35373, piR-266308, piR-58510 and piR-38034, were significantly dysregulated between drinking and non-drinking cohorts. Of these four piRNAs, low expression of piR-58510 and piR-35373 significantly correlated with improved patient survival. Furthermore, human PIWI-like protein 4 was consistently upregulated in ethanol and acetaldehyde-treated normal oral keratinocytes. These results demonstrate that alcohol consumption may cause dysregulation of piRNA expression in HNSCC and in vitro verifications identified 4 piRNAs that may be involved in the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated HNSCC

Computer simulation of water in cytochrome c oxidase

AbstractStatistical mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to study the distribution and dynamics of internal water molecules in bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase (CcO). CcO is found to be capable of holding plenty of water, which in subunit I alone amounts to about 165 molecules. The dynamic characterization of these water molecules is carried out. The nascent water molecules produced in the redox reaction at the heme a3–CuB binuclear site form an intriguing chain structure. The chain begins at the position of Glu242 at the end of the D channel, and has a fork structure, one branch of which leads to the binuclear center, and the other to the propionate d of heme a3. The branch that leads to the binuclear center has dynamic access both to the site where the formation of water occurs, and to delta-nitrogen of His291. From the binuclear center, the chain continues to run into the K channel. The stability of this hydrogen bond network is examined dynamically. The catalytic site is located at the hydrophobic region, and the nascent water molecules are produced at the top of the energy hill. The energy gradient is utilized as the mechanism of water removal from the protein. The water exit channels are explored using high-temperature dynamics simulations. Two putative channels for water exit from the catalytic site have been identified. One is leading directly toward Mg2+ site. However, this channel is only open when His291 is dissociated from CuB. If His291 is bound to CuB, the only channel for water exit is the one that originates at E242 and leads toward the middle of the membrane. This is the same channel that is presumably used for oxygen supply