GMO vs. Non-GMO: Comparing the Addictiveness of Corn in Rats

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) refer to organisms whose DNA has been altered to produce a certain characteristic. GMOs account for a significant proportion of the crops produced in the United States. Specifically, GMO corn accounted for approximately 88% of all corn grown for human and animal consumption in the year 2012. Previously conducted studies have not uniformly demonstrated the safe use of GMO corn, and no studies have been conducted analyzing the addictiveness of GMO corn. The idea of addiction refers to more than just a physical dependence, but to a psychological dependence on something as well. It is sometimes accompanied by compulsive, uncontrollable behaviors that can interfere with other activities and which increase in intensity as there is an increase in access to the substance. Because food addiction is implicated in the prevalence of obesity and its associated pathologies, identifying addictiveness in GMO products may lead to changes in crop production, food production, and use. This study will compare the addictive behaviors of rats who are fed GMO corn. The rats will be randomly divided into three groups. Each group will be fed a diet containing a portion of corn consisting of 0%, 50%, or 100% GMO corn, respectively, for 28 days. After the 28 day treatment period, the rats will be fed a corn-free diet for 10 days. The assessments will include both cage food consumption and body weight measurements taken during both the treatment and withdrawal periods, and behavioral symptoms observed in an open field test during the withdrawal period. The presence of withdrawal indicators will be scored for each rat, and the scores will be compared between the groups using a repeated measures ANOVA test

GMO vs. Non-GMO: Comparing the Addictiveness of Corn in Rats

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) refer to organisms whose DNA has been altered to produce a certain characteristic. GMOs account for a significant proportion of the crops produced in the United States. Specifically, GMO corn accounted for approximately 88% of all corn grown for human and animal consumption in the year 2012. Previously conducted studies have not uniformly demonstrated the safe use of GMO corn, and no studies have been conducted to analyze the addictiveness of GMO corn. The idea of addiction refers to more than just a physical dependence, but to a psychological dependence on something as well. Addiction is sometimes accompanied by compulsive, uncontrollable behaviors that can interfere with other activities and which increase in intensity as there is an increase in access to the substance. Because food addiction is implicated in the prevalence of obesity and its associated pathologies, identifying addictiveness in GMO products may lead to changes in crop production, food production, and use. This study will compare the addictive behaviors of rats who are fed GMO corn. The rats will be randomly divided into three groups. Each group will be fed a diet containing a portion of corn consisting of 0%, 50%, or 100% GMO corn, respectively, for 28 days. After the 28 day treatment period, the rats will be fed a corn-free diet for 10 days. The assessments will include both cage food consumption and body weight measurements taken during both the treatment and withdrawal periods, and behavioral symptoms observed in an open field test during the withdrawal period. The presence of withdrawal indicators will be scored for each rat. The scores will then be compared between the groups using a repeated measures ANOVA test

Courtney Noll

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/white_coat_ceremony_gallery_2014/1119/thumbnail.jp

Confidence of Student Pharmacists in Drug Abuse Training

Objective: The goal of this project is to increase student pharmacist confidence in their knowledge of prescription drug abuse consequences and dangers and their confidence in openly discussing the issue of prescription drug abuse. Methods: Team-based learning (TBL) utilizes active learning to promote self-directed, deep learning and enhance adaptability in problem-solving situations. To prepare students to develop and participate in an American Pharmacists Association–Academy of Student Pharmacists GenerationRx program, a TBL-based educational session was created. Prior to the session, student pharmacists completed readings on prescription drug abuse. During the 2-hour session, the students completed an instrument (7-point Likert-type; 19 items) assessing their confidence regarding prescription drug abuse knowledge and communicating with others regarding this issue as well as gathering demographic information (10 items). Afterward, the students participated in an individual readiness assessment (iRAT) to assess what they learned from the reading, a team readiness assessment (tRAT) to allow for deeper learning through group discussions of the iRAT questions, and an application exercise, where they interacted in groups to examine scenarios and identify relevant solutions that may occur in future pharmacy practice. Student pharmacists then developed the GenerationRx presentation, and during October 2014, they will present to local middle schools. In December 2014, the same survey instrument assessing confidence will be administered and pre-post changes in confidence will be analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: A total of 39 students (n = 18 pre-pharmacy; n = 21 professional) completed baseline assessment. The median confidence regarding knowledge and communicating with others was somewhat confident (median = 5) or confident (median = 6) for all items. Data collection is ongoing with anticipated completion in December 2014. With the increasing prevalence of prescription drug abuse, pharmacists now have a greater responsibility to reach out to their communities. The results gained from this project will assist in the modification of training exercises and building confidence in student pharmacists to prepare them to engage communities now and in their future practice

Optimal therapeutic targeting by HDAC inhibition in biopsy-derived treatment-naïve diffuse midline glioma models

BACKGROUND Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs), including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs), have a dismal prognosis with less than 2% surviving 5-years post-diagnosis. The majority of DIPGs and all DMGs harbor mutations altering the epigenetic regulatory histone tail (H3 K27M). Investigations addressing DMG epigenetics have identified few promising drugs, including the HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) panobinostat. Here, we use clinically-relevant DMG models to identify and validate other effective HDACi and their biomarkers of response. METHODS HDACi were tested across biopsy-derived treatment-naïve in vitro and in vivo DMG models with biologically-relevant radiation-resistance. RNA sequencing was performed to define and compare drug efficacy, and to map predictive biomarkers of response. RESULTS Quisinostat and romidepsin showed efficacy with a low nanomolar IC50 values (~50 and ~5 nM, respectively). Comparative transcriptome analyses across quisinostat, romidepsin, and panobinostat showed a greater degree of shared biological effects between quisinostat and panobinostat, and less overlap with romidepsin. However, some transcriptional changes were consistent across all three drugs at similar biologically effective doses, such as overexpression of TNNT1 and downregulation of COL20A1, identifying these as potential vulnerabilities or on-target biomarkers in DMG. Quisinostat and romidepsin significantly (p <0.0001) inhibited in vivo tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS Our data highlights the utility of treatment-naïve biopsy-derived models; establishes quisinostat and romidepsin as effective in vivo; illuminates potential mechanisms and/or biomarkers of DMG cell lethality due to HDAC inhibition; and emphasizes the need for brain-tumor-penetrant versions of potentially efficacious agents