Microbiology: A Laboratory Experience

As a group of organisms that are too small to see and best known for being agents of disease and death, microbes are not always appreciated for the numerous supportive and positive contributions they make to the living world. Designed to support a course in microbiology, Microbiology: A Laboratory Experience permits a glimpse into both the good and the bad in the microscopic world. The laboratory experiences are designed to engage and support student interest in microbiology as a topic, field of study, and career. This text provides a series of laboratory exercises compatible with a one-semester undergraduate microbiology or bacteriology course with a three- or four-hour lab period that meets once or twice a week. The design of the lab manual conforms to the American Society for Microbiology curriculum guidelines and takes a ground-up approach — beginning with an introduction to biosafety and containment practices and how to work with biological hazards. From there the course moves to basic but essential microscopy skills, aseptic technique and culture methods, and builds to include more advanced lab techniques. The exercises incorporate a semester-long investigative laboratory project designed to promote the sense of discovery and encourage student engagement. The curriculum is rigorous but manageable for a single semester and incorporates best practices in biology education.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/oer-ost/1004/thumbnail.jp

cereus Fun: An Introduction to Microbiological Techniques

Microbiology is a field of science devoted to the study of organisms that are too small to see; therefore, an engaging laboratory experience is often the key to capturing students\u27 interest. It was with this in mind that this book was first conceived and developed. The goal was to provide undergraduate microbiology students with an engaging and meaningful laboratory experience that nurtured a sense of discovery and encouraged greater interest in microbiology as a topic, a field of study, or a career. This lab manual – which has been field-tested by hundreds of microbiology students over several years – builds skills while reinforcing core microbiology concepts introduced in lectures. The curriculum builds from the ground up. It begins with an introduction to biosafety practices and work with biological hazards, basic but essential microscopy skills, and aseptic technique and culture methods, and then it builds to include more advanced methods. The progression includes a semester-long investigation of a bacterial isolate and culminates with a practical evaluation of all of the microbiology skills learned in the course

Introduction to experimental cell biology

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Faster Cognitive Decline in Dementia Due to Alzheimer Disease With Clinically Undiagnosed Lewy Body Disease

Background Neuropathology has demonstrated a high rate of comorbid pathology in dementia due to Alzheimer€™s disease (ADD). The most common major comorbidity is Lewy body disease (LBD), either as dementia with Lewy bodies (AD-DLB) or Alzheimer€™s disease with Lewy bodies (AD-LB), the latter representing subjects with ADD and LBD not meeting neuropathological distribution and density thresholds for DLB. Although it has been established that ADD subjects with undifferentiated LBD have a more rapid cognitive decline than those with ADD alone, it is still unknown whether AD-LB subjects, who represent the majority of LBD and approximately one-third of all those with ADD, have a different clinical course. Methods Subjects with dementia included those with €œpure€ ADD (n = 137), AD-DLB (n = 64) and AD-LB (n = 114), all with two or more complete Mini Mental State Examinations (MMSE) and a full neuropathological examination. Results Linear mixed models assessing MMSE change showed that the AD-LB group had significantly greater decline compared to the ADD group (β = -0.69, 95% CI: -1.05, -0.33, p\u3c0.001) while the AD-DLB group did not (β = -0.30, 95% CI: -0.73, 0.14, p = 0.18). Of those with AD-DLB and AD-LB, only 66% and 2.1%, respectively, had been diagnosed with LBD at any point during their clinical course. Compared with clinically-diagnosed AD-DLB subjects, those that were clinically undetected had significantly lower prevalences of parkinsonism (p = 0.046), visual hallucinations (p = 0.0008) and dream enactment behavior (0.013). Conclusions The probable cause of LBD clinical detection failure is the lack of a sufficient set of characteristic core clinical features. Core DLB clinical features were not more common in AD-LB as compared to ADD. Clinical identification of ADD with LBD would allow stratified analyses of ADD clinical trials, potentially improving the probability of trial success

Gender differences in Alzheimer disease: Brain atrophy, histopathology burden, and cognition

Multiple studies suggest that females are affected by Alzheimer disease (AD) more severely and more frequently than males. Other studies have failed to confirm this and the issue remains controversial. Difficulties include differences in study methods and male versus female life expectancy. Another element of uncertainty is that the majority of studies have lacked neuropathological confirmation of the AD diagnosis. We compared clinical and pathological AD severity in 1028 deceased subjects with full neuropathological examinations. The age of dementia onset did not differ by gender but females were more likely to proceed to very severe clinical and pathological disease, with significantly higher proportions having a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 5 or less and Braak stage VI neurofibrillary degeneration. Median neuritic plaque densities were similar in females and males with AD but females had significantly greater tangle density scores. In addition, we found that AD-control brain weight differences were significantly greater for females, even after adjustment for age, disease duration, and comorbid conditions. These findings suggest that when they are affected by AD, females progress more often to severe cognitive dysfunction, due to more severe neurofibrillary degeneration, and greater loss of brain parenchyma

Physiological responses to repeated bouts of high-intensity ultraendurance cycling - a field study case report

The present study aimed to 1) examine the relationship between laboratory-based measures and high-intensity ultraendurance (HIU) performance during an intermittent 24-h relay ultraendurance mountain bike race (similar to20 min cycling, similar to60min recovery), and 2) examine physiological and performance based changes throughout the HIU event. Prior to the HIU event, four highly-trained male cyclists (age = 24.0 +/- 2.1 yr; mass = 75.0 +/- 2.7 kg; (V)over dot O-2peak = 70 +/- 3 ml.kg(-1).min(-1)) performed 1) a progressive exercise test to determine peak Volume of oxygen uptake ((V)over dot O-2peak), peak power output (PPO), and ventilatory threshold (T-vent), 2) time-to-fatigue tests at 100% (TF100) and 150% of PPO (TF150), and 3) a laboratory simulated 40-km time trial (TT40). Blood lactate (Lac(-)), haematocrit and haemoglobin were measured at 6-h intervals throughout the HIU event, while heart rate (HR) was recorded continuously. Intermittent HIU performance, performance HR, recovery HR, and Lac declined (P < 0.05), while plasma volume expanded (P < 0.05) during the HIU event. TF100 was related to the decline in lap time (r = -0.96; P < 0.05), and a trend (P = 0.081) was found between TF150 and average intermittent HIU speed (r = 0.92). However, other measures (V)over dot O-2peak, PPO, T-vent, and TT40) were not related to HIU performance. Measures of high-intensity endurance performance (TF100, TF150) were better predictors of intermittent HIU performance than traditional laboratory-based measures of aerobic capacity

Mothers' psychological adaptation to Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy

Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD) cause significant emotional and care-related burden on caregivers, but no studies have evaluated predictors of positive caregiver outcomes, including disorder-specific psychological adaptation. Using a community-engaged approach focused on supporting mothers in positive aspects of caregiving, this prospective study aims to assess (i) the association between child's baseline functional status and mothers' illness perceptions, resilience, and coping self-efficacy; and (ii) predictors of mothers' psychological adaptation to caring for a child with DBMD. Biological mothers with at least one living child with DBMD completed a baseline survey (n=205) with 1-year (n=147) and 2-year (n=144) follow-up surveys. Worse child's baseline function was associated not only with increased caregiver burden and reduced maternal resilience, but also with perception of positive disease impact on the family. At two follow-ups, increased psychological adaptation to DBMD was predicted by resilience (β=0.264, P=0.001) and perceived positive impact (β=0.310, P<0.001), controlling for mother's age (β=-0.305, P<0.001) and income (β=-0.088, P=0.245). Child's functional status and caregiver burden of DBMD did not predict DBMD-specific adaptation. Though clinicians caring for families with DBMD should anticipate increased caregiver burden as the disorder progresses, interventions focused on caregiver burden are not expected to influence mothers' psychosocial adaptation. Efforts to improve mothers' well-being should focus on fostering mothers' resilience and enhancing perceptions of positive disease impact (benefit finding). Results suggest that psychosocial interventions can highlight strengths and well-being rather than burden and deficit

Arizona Brain and Body Donation Program

The Brain and Body Donation Program (BBDP) at Banner Sun Health Research Institute (http://www.brainandbodydonationprogram.org) started in 1987 with brain-only donations and currently has banked more than 1600 brains. More than 430 whole-body donations have been received since this service was commenced in 2005. The collective academic output of the BBDP is now described as the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders (AZSAND). Most BBDP subjects are enrolled as cognitively normal volunteers residing in the retirement communities of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. Specific recruitment efforts are also directed at subjects with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and cancer. The median age at death is 82. Subjects receive standardized general medical, neurological, neuropsychological and movement disorders assessments during life and more than 90% receive full pathological examinations by medically licensed pathologists after death. The Program has been funded through a combination of internal, federal and state of Arizona grants as well as user fees and pharmaceutical industry collaborations. Subsets of the Program are utilized by the US National Institute on Aging Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Core Center and the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Brain and Tissue Resource for Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders. Substantial funding has also been received from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. The Program has made rapid autopsy a priority, with a 3.0-hour median post-mortem interval for the entire collection. The median RNA Integrity Number (RIN) for frozen brain and body tissue is 8.9 and 7.4, respectively. More than 2500 tissue requests have been served and currently about 200 are served annually. These requests have been made by more than 400 investigators located in 32 US states and 15 countries. Tissue from the BBDP has contributed to more than 350 publications and more than 200 grant-funded projects