Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be used as markers to infer population genetic structure. For Mycoplasma cynos, a pathogen associated with infectious respiratory disease among canines and other animals, SNPs may help to elucidate ecological and evolutionary relationships among the strains that reside in the upper respiratory tract of canines...
Genetic counseling, a healthcare profession centered on communicating genetic information to patients and helping them understand it, has been rapidly evolving with the development of genetic sequencing and editing technology over the past decades. Consequently, future and current genetic counselors must address societal and ethical implications, as well as historical...
Marijuana (MJ) is a widely used illicit substance among adolescents and young adults. Frequent MJ use has been associated with impairments in cognitive flexibility and inhibition, both of which play important roles in decision-making. However, the impact of frequent MJ on decision-making performance is mixed and not well understood. The...
The physician-patient relationship is one that relies heavily on the premise of trust. In contemporary medicine, trust is difficult to sustain due to the distractions created by technological documentation, rules, an increasing number of patients seen by a fewer physicians that diminish the human interaction within the relationship. To emphasize...
Enduracidin is an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces fungicidicus that is effective against Gram-positive bacteria. Previous work identified seventy-eight mutations in an S. fungicidicus strain that produces a significantly higher level of enduracidin than the wild type strain, ATCC 21013. Eleven mutations were analyzed individually to identify those that may contribute...
Many domesticated animals, especially dogs, are selectively bred within a small population to select for and “fix” certain traits. This leads to decreasing genetic diversity and the potential for inherited health issues over time. The Saluki is a relatively rare breed of dog in the U.S. The Society for the...
This study applied a virtual rendition of the Morris water maze, which is commonly used for assessing spatial memory in rodents, to an examination of age-related differences in spatial learning among 42 younger (18-30 years) and older (>60 years) male human participants. Virtual Morris water maze performance was measured by...
Ferlins are a family of calcium-sensitive proteins involved in fusion and fission membrane trafficking events. There are six ferlin members: dysferlin, otoferlin, myoferlin, Fer1L4, Fer1L5, and Fer1L6. Previous research shows the first three ferlins play a pathophysiological role in humans, while the other three remain uncharacterized. Fer1L6 is one of...
The detection of biomolecules is critical for clinical diagnostics but requires specialty labor and high cost. The use of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) for bioassays is simpler and cheaper but has low sensitivity. Improved immobilization of antibodies onto cellulose is demonstrated through surface functionalization with APTES and glutaraldehyde. The...
Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit to the host”. A wide variety of putative probiotics exist on the market; however, clinical evidence of their efficacy is lacking. Probiotics have been previously used in the treatment of metabolic diseases like type...