bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of Mouse Small Intestinal Immune Tissue Architecture
Authors: Wang Wei , Cromer Walter , Zawieja David 
Published: April 2020

The different regions of the small intestinal lymphoid tissues may have developed a different immuno‐cytohistological structures with a different sensitivity in response to different intralumenal contents. However, the distribution and density of immune cell subsets, lymphatics, and their spatiotemporal relationship within or among Peyer’s Patches (PP), the major lymphoid immune tissues from proximal to distal ends of the small intestine, have not been clearly documented. The jejunal (Jej), mid‐segmental (Mid, Btw. Jej & Ile), and ileal (Ile) PPs in C57BL/6 mice were isolated, frozen‐sectioned, and immunohistochemistrico‐stained for the imaging analysis and comparison on the distribution, density, area, and size of immune cells, lymphatics, and their spatiotemporal relations between the peripheral and interfollicular regions within or among the different PPs.Results1. Density of CD4+cells in the interfollicular regions (IFR) were significantly higher than those in the peripheral regions (PR) within each PP. 2. Total density of CD4+ or MHCII+ cells in MidPP were significantly higher than those in the JejPP. 3. The total density of CD8+cells in MidPP or CD68+cells in IlePP were significantly higher than those in the JejPP. 4. Total lymphatic area, density, or size in MidPP were significantly larger than those in JejPP. 5. Lymphatic area in IFR of MidPP or its density in IFR of MidPPs or IlePPs were significantly larger than those in the PR of the corresponding PPs. 6. Branched villi‐lacteals & their subsequent submucous lymphatic network wrapped by a higher density of CD4+ & MHCII+ cells directly form a specialized histo‐architecture, branched villi‐Lv‐PP complex for immune recognition/differentiation in mouse small intestine. The histo‐morphological architectures of mouse small intestinal immune tissues infrastructure its sensitivity as an immune‐surveillance sensor, facilitating its sensibility. This study provides a necessary foundation for understanding immune‐related intestinal dysfunctions and diseases.
Let Students SOAR: Impact of Early Clinical Interactions on Perceptions of Specialties & Anatomy
Authors: Royer Danielle , Carmichael Heather , Kondo Kimi , Lee Lisa , Gritton Cory Buenting 
Published: April 2020

The University of Colorado incorporated Structured Obligatory Application & Review (SOAR) sessions into the medical anatomy block. SOAR sessions, spaced across the block, used small group work with activities focused on anatomical content and clinical integration in 4 interactive rotations. The rotations included Challenge Grid: team‐based learning of board‐style questions; Every Body Has Embryology: relating embryology to gross; Bedside Anatomy: cadaver‐side surgical cases; Anatomy of Imaging & Physical Exam: anatomic correlates of imaging & physical exam. Each rotation included peer‐to‐peer teaching facilitated by clinical (surgical and radiology) and anatomical (gross & embryology) experts. The study objective was to evaluate SOAR session impact on student perceptions of surgery and radiology specialties, along with views of gross anatomy and embryology value.In an IRB exempt study, 1st year medical students (n=184) in 2019 were invited to complete an online pre‐survey before the first SOAR session and paper post‐survey in the last SOAR session. The pre‐survey questions included Likert perception and prior experience questions on surgery (n=3), radiology (n=3), gross (n=2) and embryology (n=2). The post‐survey contained Likert perception items on surgery (n=1), radiology (n=1), gross (n=1) and embryology (n=1), as well as perceived SOAR effect on views of clinicians (n=2), specialty career interest (n=2), clerkship preparedness (n=2), and gross & embryology importance (n=2).Online pre‐survey response rate was 13% (n=23) and paper post‐survey response rate was 81% (n=149). Post‐survey analysis showed 45% of students considering a surgical specialty, 53% reporting increased surgical interest after Bedside Anatomy, and 84% agreeing Bedside Anatomy positively influenced views of surgeons. However, only 34% reported Bedside Anatomy increased their preparedness for surgery core clerkship. While only 21% of students report considering radiology as a specialty, the Anatomy of Imaging SOAR increased interest in a radiology career for 71% of students, and 48% believed the session positively influenced their views of radiologists and increased their preparedness for clerkships. Gross and embryology were perceived important in medical education (95% and 67% respectively), with SOAR reported as enhancing student appreciation of gross (79%) and embryology (50%). Matched pre and post‐survey responses (n=23; 13% response rate) were compared measuring SOAR impact on specialty consideration and gross/embryology importance. Although student perceptions were not significantly different after SOAR participation, an increasing positive trend in surgical/radiology career perceptions and gross anatomy importance was seen. Thematic analysis completion may give insights on impacts of early, meaningful clinical integration on specialty choice and views on anatomical sciences.
Resurrection of Ancestral Aspartyl‐tRNA Synthetases
Authors: McDaniels Arianna , Sheppard Kelly 
Published: April 2020

Protein synthesis is essential for life and requires the correct pairing of amino acids to their cognate transfer tRNA by aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases. Many prokaryotes lack an AsnRS to directly attach Asn to tRNAAsn. Instead these organisms use a non‐discriminating AspRS to attach Asp to tRNAAsn and GatCAB to amidate the Asp to Asn. Organisms with an AsnRS often have a discriminating AspRS (D‐AspRS) that only attach Asp to tRNAAsp. How that specificity evolved from a bacterial ND‐AspRS is unknown. To address, we phylogenetically modeled the last common ancestor of D‐AspRS of gamma‐proteobacteria and its most closely related ancestral gamma‐proteobacterial ND‐AspRS. We report on the overproduction and purification of the ancestral enzymes to study how specificity evolved. The work will provide insight into the evolution of tRNA specificity and tools for synthetic biology.Support or Funding InformationNational Science Foundation (MCB‐1615770)
Role of RGS10 in the ovarian cancer microenvironment
Authors: Dean Phillip , Hooks Shelley 
Published: April 2020

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of gynecological cancers and is associated with a high rate of chemoresistance. The discovery of more effective treatments and new therapeutic targets in ovarian cancer requires disease models that better represent the tumor microenvironment and account for dynamic crosstalk between multiple cell types. Macrophages, one of the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, are actively recruited into the tumor and can accelerate tumor progression and chemoresistance via the production of inflammatory mediators. Recently, our lab and others have established Regulator of G protein Signaling 10 as a key regulator of inflammatory signaling in both macrophages and ovarian cancer cells. RGS10 robustly regulates macrophage activation and polarization by suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines TNF‐α and IL‐6. Further, RGS10 suppresses the activation of cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX2) expression in both ovarian cancer cells and macrophages. However, the regulatory role of RGS10 in the tumor microenvironment where macrophages and ovarian cancer cells have direct interaction has not been explored, and it is not known if RGS10 regulatory roles in these distinct cell types will be synergistic or oppositional. Further, RGS10’s role in cancer progression has not been investigated in an in vivo tumor xenograft model with an intact macrophage population. The current study employs both an in vitro co‐culture model of macrophages and ovarian cancer cell lines and an in vivo syngeneic ovarian tumor model using mouse ID8 ovarian cancer cells to define the role of RGS10 in inflammatory signaling between immune and tumor cells in the ovarian cancer microenvironment.Support or Funding InformationMarsha Rivkin Foundation, University of Georgia
Integrated Group Study with Lecture in Teaching Sensory and Motor Pathways in Cross‐sectional Anatomy
Authors: Zhou Yuxin 
Published: April 2020

IntroductionFirst year dental students are trained to interpret clinical presentations of injuries on brainstem or spinal cord. Therefore, it is necessary for them to understand the three major sensory and motor pathways (dorsal column/medial lemniscal system, anterolateral system, corticospinal tracts) that go through brainstem and spinal cord, including their functions and cross‐sectional anatomy.AimThe present lesson was designed for first year students at Boston University School of Dental Medicine to learn the three sensory and motor pathways by using cross‐sectional figures of brainstem and spinal cord, and help students to apply the knowledge in clinical cases.MethodsThree sessions with the same contents were held on two days. Two sessions were held on the first day containing 30 students in total, and the last session was held on the fifth day containing 20 students. The lesson started with a pre‐quiz, and then students worked in groups of 4 to 5 people to order cross‐sectional figures of brainstem and spinal cord. Then, the instructor gave a lecture to explain the answer, followed by a brief review on sensory and motor pathways. In the second group activity, students were asked to label the three pathways on the cross‐sectional figures. In the third group activity, students were given the location of a lesion on brainstem, and then were asked to discuss the potential clinical presentations. Instructor explained the answers after each activity. At the end, students took a post‐quiz. Both pre‐quiz and post‐quiz had a full score of 5, containing 2 questions on clinical cases, 1 question on pathway, 2 questions on cross‐section anatomy. All questions were multiple choice. The levels of difficulty in two quizzes are similar.ResultsThe average scores from pre‐quiz and post‐quiz were compared by conducting a t‐test. Students showed significantly improvement in the post‐quiz as compared to pre‐quiz (pre: 1.50+/−1.07; post: 3.12+/−1.05; p<0.00001). Both pre and post scores of students attending on the fifth day were significantly higher as compared to the pre and post scores of students on the first day (pre: day1=1.20; day5=1.95; p=0.01; post: day1=2.76; day5=3.65; p=0.003). A t‐test was conducted to compare group differences of the improvements (first day vs. fifth day). Improvements of students were defined as the differences between post and pre‐quiz scores, and the improvements were not significantly different based on the day of the session (p=0.69).ConclusionStudents showed significant improvement in understanding cross‐sectional anatomy of three major sensory and motor pathways after group study integrating with lectures. In addition, the effectiveness of this teaching methods was not affected by the baseline scores of students.
Blood Oxygen Stores of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, Lepidochelys olivacea are Highly Variable Among Individuals During Arribada Nesting
Authors: Arango B. Gabriela , Melendez Martha Harfush , Crocker Daniel E. 
Published: April 2020

A key difference among marine divers is whether or not they make use of their lung O2 stores while diving. Sea turtles are air‐breathing divers that dive with their lungs full of air. Lung oxygen stores in sea turtles are supplemented by O2 stored in the blood. Olive ridley sea turtles exhibit polymorphic nesting behaviors consisting in either a mass nesting behavior called arribada, where up to 25,000 turtles nest at once, or a solitary nesting behavior. We measured blood volume, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, plasma volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and estimated total blood O2 stores in samples collected from olive ridley turtles nesting solitarily or in arribada. There were no significant differences in mean values between nesting periods, but most parameters were more variable in arribada nesting individuals than in those performing solitary nesting. Mass‐specific plasma volume did not vary among individuals but mass‐specific blood volume and blood oxygen stores varied widely, 2‐fold and 3‐fold, respectively. Blood O2 stores represented 32% of total body O2 stores. Under typical mean diving conditions of 26°C and high levels of activity, blood stores can confer ~14 minutes of aerobic dive times and are likely critical for the long duration, deep diving exhibited by the species. Individual differences in blood O2 stores strongly impact estimated aerobic dive limits and may constrain the ability of individuals to respond to changing ocean temperatures.Support or Funding InformationMcNair Scholars and Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga
The importance of mediolateral forces on foot rehabilitation after injury
Authors: Lautzenheiser Steven G. , Sylvester Adam D. , Kramer Patricia Ann 
Published: April 2020

Displaced fractures of the foot and ankle take considerable time to heal. Throughout this rehabilitation period, the goal is to provide sufficient stimulus to the bone to prevent bone loss while limiting the chance of re‐injury. Both of these goals require understanding the ground reaction forces (GRFs) applied to the foot while walking. Most understanding of the forces to which bones of the foot are subjected is premised on data developed from force plates in laboratories that evaluate movement. The coordinate system of force plates is typically aligned with the physical surroundings as well as the coordinate system of motion capture equipment to create a world coordinate system (WCS). This WCS also aligns with most skeletal elements and joints. The anatomical directions of the foot, particularly during walking, do not necessarily match up to these primary axes. The degree to which foot placement impacts the internal forces and moments of the foot and ankle remains unclear; however, the variation of foot placement has the potential to substantially change internal forces. Consequently, the purpose of this work is to determine if forces aligned in a foot coordinate system (FCS) differ from those in the WCS in order to inform orthopedic treatment and rehabilitation.Twenty participants were recruited to walk unshod for this study. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected using an eight‐camera Qualisys system with four Kistler force plates. The FCS, which tracks the orientation of foot as it moves through space, was calculated from the position of the heel and first and fifth metatarsal heads. GRFs were translated and rotated from WCS to FCS using custom‐developed MatLab code. Proximodistal, mediolateral, and superioinferior forces were compared between WCS and FCS. In FCS, mediolateral forces developed during the propulsive phase are 150–200N larger than in WCS (p<0.001), and the maximum mediolateral force is directed toward the centerline of the body in WCS, while in FCS it is directed laterally.Rotating the GRF into FCS produces a different picture of internal forces than is usually understood from WCS. Typically, mediolateral forces are considered less consequential when considering treatment for foot and ankle injuries. These data show that mediolateral forces (relative to the foot) are larger than previously understood. Injuries that are sensitive to these mediolateral forces include metatarsal fractures, Lisfranc injuries, talar neck fractures, and distal fibular fractures, among others. Implants and interventions used to stabilize these injuries should take into consideration these forces including potential modifications to the rehabilitation protocol.
Lipid profile and liver lipids of OLETF rats during ARB treatment and after its removal
Authors: Godoy-Lugo Jose Arquimides , Lee Debby , Thorwald Max Andrew , Hui David , Nakano Daisuke , Nishiyama Akira , Ortiz Rudy M. 
Published: April 2020

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) affects 20% of the US population. MetS comprises several disorders that raise the risk of atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, and diabetes. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are used to ameliorate hypertension associated with metabolic disorders. Nonetheless, the potential benefits of ARBs on the metabolic state are not fully appreciated. ARB treatment reduces overproduction and accumulation of hepatic triacylglycerols (TAG), but whether ARB treatment has favorable effects in fatty livers associated with insulin resistance is still unknown. Furthermore, the compliance on the usage of ARBs should also be addressed, as MetS patients may be under variating treatments, exposing them to secondary effects due to the ARB treatment removal. To evaluate the benefits of ARB treatment and implications of its removal on the lipid profile, four groups (n=4–6) of 25‐week‐old rats were used: (1) lean, strain‐control Long‐Evans Tokoshima Otsuka (LETO), (2) obese, insulin resistant Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokoshima Fatty (OLETF), 3) ARB‐treated OLETF, (10 mg olmesartan/kg/d × 8 wks), and 4) OLETF ± ARB (10 mg olmesartan/kg/d × 4 wks then removed until dissection). An oral glucose challenge (GC) was performed prior to dissection and tissues collected from a subset of animals in each group at defined time points (T0, 3 an 6hr). We measured different components of the lipid profile, during the ARB treatment and after its removal. Plasma NEFA, TAG and cholesterol levels remain unchanged with ARB treatment, as well as with ARB removal. ARB treatment did not change the liver levels of cholesterol, but prevented the increase shown by OLETFs during the GC. ARB removal shown increased cholesterol after 6 hr of the GC. ARB treatment decreased liver TAG and throughout the GC. ARB removal increased TAG liver levels during the GC. Suggesting that lipid profiles may not change during static sampling during or after ARB treatment. ARB treatment reduces liver TAG concentration, and even with ARB removal suggesting that plasma levels do not accurately reflect tissue levels. Following the GC, the ARB removal group demonstrated an increase in levels, suggesting that treatment non‐compliance results in rapid return to basal levels and increased potential for hepatic dysfunction. Further investigation on lipid transport and metabolic regulation during ARB treatment and removal may yield insight for a wider perspective for treatment of traits linked to MetS.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by NIH MHIRT.
Anti‐hypertensive Effects of Whey Protein Supplementation in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Authors: LeMieux Monique J. , Zumbro Emily L. , Rao Manisha , Balcom-Luker Shenavia , Kaiser Kayleigh , Low Irene , Broughton K. Shane 
Published: April 2020

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common female endocrine disorder and a leading cause of female infertility affecting about 5 million women of reproductive age in the US. It is characterized by metabolic dysfunction, abnormal hormonal pattern, hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance (IR), dyslipidemia and an inflammatory state. In addition, PCOS women have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hypertension (HTN) and heart disease. One of the most significant factors associated with HTN is increased circulating angiotensin II (Ang II). Ang II is a pro‐inflammatory factor produced by adipose tissue and has been implicated in linking obesity, inflammation and IR. Metabolites generated as result of whey protein digestion improve insulin sensitivity, inhibit ACE (an enzyme responsible for production of Ang II) thereby playing an important role in the prevention of HTN and associated cardio‐vascular pathologies. These benefits of whey protein ingestion have been demonstrated in normal populations and in individuals with T2DM. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in blood pressure (BP), Ang II and Adiponectin concentrations following 40 days of whey protein supplementation and to examine differences in baseline measurements of between body fat distribution in PCOS women and healthy controls (CON). Women with PCOS and CON were recruited from Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and asked to consume 35g of whey protein for 40 days. Baseline, Day 20 and Day 40 concentrations were measured via plasma and serum collection. Resting BP (Systolic and Diastolic pressures; SBP and DBP respectively) were measured with an electronic monitor were used to calculate mean arterial pressure (MAP) at baseline, Day 20 and Day 40. DXA was used to estimate body composition and fat distribution (total body fat, trunk fat and Android: Gynoid fat ratio [A:G]) at baseline. Protocols used in this study were approved by TWU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Preliminary analyses indicates that at baseline SBP was significantly lower in the CON group compared to PCOS. However, DBP and MAP had no significant differences at baseline. The PCOS group also had lower adiponectin levels at baseline when compared to the CON group. Ang II concentrations, as well as Day 20 and Day 40 analysis are currently being evaluated. Overall, our results indicate that vascular health is compromised in young women with PCOS compared to health controls. Results from this research, will not only help provide a better understanding of the link between inflammatory markers such as Ang II and the increased risk of HTN commonly seen in women with PCOS, but it also provide a nutritional intervention to help prevent these disorders.Support or Funding InformationGlanbia Nutritionals, Inc., TWU Research Enhancement Program, TWU Human Nutrition Research funds.