Community Forums to Address Vaccine Hesitancy: A Useful Tool for Meeting the Needs of Diverse Communities.

Community forums are a valuable tool in engaging rural communities to address critical public health issues. Recognizing low levels of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in rural Minnesota communities and the critical public health threat that resulted, pharmacy faculty and Extension professionals from the University of Minnesota partnered with a diverse group of rural stakeholders to plan a series of six community forums to provide life-saving, evidence-based education about the COVID-19 vaccine. Each forum allowed trusted local community leaders, public health workers and healthcare providers to share information about the impact of COVID-19 in their communities.

Are Prerequisite Courses Barriers to Pharmacy Admission or the Keys to Student Success?

The variability and complexity of course prerequisites across colleges and schools of pharmacy can result in barriers to admission. While prerequisites play an important role in the admissions process and assuring student preparation, requiring excessive prerequisites can create unnecessary challenges for applicants. Prospective students may choose not to apply to a particular pharmacy school or even enter the profession because they cannot complete all course prerequisites in time to apply.

Intact and Isolated Human Cadaveric Coronary Artery Perfusion Models to Facilitate Research and Education Regarding Coronary Anatomy and Pathology.

Cadaveric tissue-perfusion models are well established in the fields of structural heart and peripheral vascular disease; however, less consideration has been given toward coronary artery disease despite comparable prevalence and morbidity. Two tissue-perfusion models were developed to address this need. The first, an intact heart model, allows simulation of percutaneous coronary interventional procedures.

Mood-stabilizing effects of rapamycin and its analog temsirolimus: relevance to autophagy.

Accumulated data support a relationship between mood disorders and cellular plasticity and resilience, some suggesting relevance to autophagy. Our previous data show that pharmacological enhancement of autophagy results in antidepressant-like effects in mice. The current study was designed to further examine the effects of autophagy enhancement on mood by testing the effects of subchronic treatment with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors and autophagy enhancers rapamycin and temsirolimus in a model for mania and in a model for antidepressant action, respectively.

Development of an interprofessional and interdisciplinary collaborative research practice for clinical faculty.

This article describes an interprofessional collaborative research practice fellowship designed to foster the research skills of clinical faculty. The year-long fellowship was grounded in big data analysis and the triangle of informatics--knowledge, information, and data. Fellows were selected to include diverse perspectives, training, and knowledge but had limited experience in team science or being a member of an interprofessional research team.

Fetal and neonatal iron deficiency but not copper deficiency increases vascular complexity in the developing rat brain.

Objectives: Anemia caused by nutritional deficiencies, such as iron and copper deficiencies, is a global health problem. Iron and copper deficiencies have their most profound effect on the developing fetus/infant, leading to brain development deficits and poor cognitive outcomes. Tissue iron depletion or chronic anemia can induce cellular hypoxic signaling.

Opioid prescribing patterns for non-malignant chronic pain for rural versus non-rural US adults: a population-based study using 2010 NAMCS data.

Background: Non-malignant chronic pain (NMCP) is one of the most common reasons for primary care visits. Pain management health care disparities have been documented in relation to patient gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Although not studied in relation to chronic pain management, studies have found that living in a rural community in the US is associated with health care disparities.

Fetal and neonatal iron deficiency exacerbates mild thyroid hormone insufficiency effects on male thyroid hormone levels and brain thyroid hormone-responsive gene expression.

Fetal/neonatal iron (Fe) and iodine/TH deficiencies lead to similar brain developmental abnormalities and often coexist in developing countries. We recently demonstrated that fetal/neonatal Fe deficiency results in a mild neonatal thyroidal impairment, suggesting that TH insufficiency contributes to the neurodevelopmental abnormalities associated with Fe deficiency. We hypothesized that combining Fe deficiency with an additional mild thyroidal perturbation (6-propyl-2-thiouracil [PTU]) during development would more severely impair neonatal thyroidal status and brain TH-responsive gene expression than either deficiency alone.

American Thyroid Association Guide to investigating thyroid hormone economy and action in rodent and cell models.

Background: An in-depth understanding of the fundamental principles that regulate thyroid hormone homeostasis is critical for the development of new diagnostic and treatment approaches for patients with thyroid disease.

Summary: Important clinical practices in use today for the treatment of patients with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or thyroid cancer are the result of laboratory discoveries made by scientists investigating the most basic aspects of thyroid structure and molecular biology. In this document, a panel of experts commissioned by the American Thyroid Association makes a series of recommendations related to the study of thyroid hormone economy and action.

Fetal and neonatal iron deficiency reduces thyroid hormone-responsive gene mRNA levels in the neonatal rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

Copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and thyroid hormone (TH) deficiencies produce similar defects in late brain development including hypomyelination of axons and impaired synapse formation and function, suggesting that these micronutrient deficiencies share a common mechanism contributing to these derangements. We previously demonstrated that fetal/neonatal Cu and Fe deficiencies lower circulating TH concentrations in neonatal rats. Fe deficiency also reduces whole-brain T(3) content, suggesting impaired TH action in the developing Fe-deficient brain.

Modeling mania: Further validation for Black Swiss mice as model animals.

The paucity of appropriate animal models for bipolar disorder hinders the research of the disorder and its treatments. Previous work suggests that Black Swiss (BS) mice may be a suitable model animal for behavioral domains of mania including reward-seeking, risk-taking, vigor, aggression and sensitivity to psychostimulants. These behaviors are high in BS mice compared with other strains and are responsive to the mood stabilizers lithium and valproate but not to the antidepressant imipramine.

Maternal iron supplementation attenuates the impact of perinatal copper deficiency but does not eliminate hypotriiodothyroninemia nor impaired sensorimotor development.

Copper, iron and iodine/thyroid hormone (TH) deficiencies disrupt brain development. Neonatal Cu deficiency causes Fe deficiency and may impact thyroidal status. One purpose of these studies was to determine the impact of improved iron status following Cu deficiency by supplementing the diet with iron.

Evidence of evolutionary conservation of function between the thyroxine transporter Oatp1c1 and major facilitator superfamily members.

Organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 (Oatp1c1) is a high-affinity T(4) transporter expressed in brain barrier cells. To identify Oatp1c1 amino acid residues critical for T(4) transport, consensus membrane topology was predicted and a three-dimensional Oatp1c1 structure was generated using the known structures of major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporters, glycerol 3-phosphate transporter, lactose permease, and the multidrug transporter Escherichia coli multidrug resistance protein D as templates. A total of nine amino acid mutations were generated based on amino acid conservation, localization to putative transmembrane domains, and side chain functionality.

Perinatal iron and copper deficiencies alter neonatal rat circulating and brain thyroid hormone concentrations.

Copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and iodine/thyroid hormone (TH) deficiencies lead to similar defects in late brain development, suggesting that these micronutrient deficiencies share a common mechanism contributing to the observed derangements. Previous studies in rodents (postweanling and adult) and humans (adolescent and adult) indicate that Cu and Fe deficiencies affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, leading to altered TH status. Importantly, however, relationships between Fe and Cu deficiencies and thyroidal status have not been assessed in the most vulnerable population, the developing fetus/neonate.

Characterization of thyroid hormone transporter expression during tissue-specific metamorphic events in Xenopus tropicalis.

Thyroid hormone (TH) induces the dramatic morphological and physiological changes that together comprise amphibian metamorphosis. TH-responsive tissues vary widely with developmental timing of TH-induced changes. How larval tadpole tissues are able to employ distinct metamorphic programs in a developmental stage- and TH-dependent manner is still unknown.

Novel and emerging strategies in drug delivery for overcoming the blood-brain barrier.

Two decades of molecular research have revealed the presence of transporters and receptors expressed in the brain vascular endothelium that provide potential novel targets for the rational design of blood-brain barrier-penetrating drugs. In this review, we briefly introduce the reader to the molecular characteristics of the blood-brain barrier that make this one of the most important obstacles towards the development of efficacious CNS drugs. We highlight recent attempts to rationally target influx and bidirectional transport systems expressed on the brain endothelial cell and avoid the important obstacle presented in the form of efflux transporters.

The blood-brain barrier thyroxine transporter organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1c1 displays atypical transport kinetics.

Organic anion-transporting polypeptide (Oatp) 1c1 is a high-affinity T(4) transporter expressed in brain barrier cells. Oatp1c1 transports a variety of additional ligands including the conjugated sterol estradiol 17beta-glucuronide (E(2)17betaG). Intriguingly, published data suggest that E(2)17betaG inhibition of Oatp1c1-mediated T(4) transport exhibits characteristics suggestive of atypical transport kinetics.

The Thrsp null mouse (Thrsp(tm1cnm)) and diet-induced obesity.

We created a Thrsp (Spot 14 or S14) null mouse (Thrsp(tm1cnm)) to study the role of Thrsp in de novo lipid synthesis. The Thrsp null mouse exhibits marked deficiencies in de novo lipogenesis in the lactating mammary gland. We now report the Thrsp gene deletion affects body weight and glucose tolerance associated with increased insulin sensitivity.

Competitive inhibition of organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1-mediated thyroxine transport by the fenamate class of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

Organic anion transporting polypeptide (Oatp) 1c1 is a high-affinity T(4) transporter with narrow substrate specificity expressed at the blood-brain barrier. A transport model using cells overexpressing Oatp1c1 was created to identify novel Oatp1c1 substrates and inhibitors. Rat Oatp1c1 was cloned and stably expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells.

Hepatic expression of the SPOT 14 (S14) paralog S14-related (Mid1 interacting protein) is regulated by dietary carbohydrate.

The Spot 14 (S14) gene is rapidly up-regulated by signals that induce lipogenesis such as enhanced glucose metabolism and thyroid hormone administration. Previous studies in S14 null mice show that S14 is required for normal lipogenesis in the lactating mammary gland, but not the liver. We speculated that the lack of a hepatic phenotype was due to the expression of a compensatory gene.

Thyroid hormone and cerebellar development.

Thyroid hormone (TH) plays a key role in mammalian brain development. The developing brain is sensitive to both TH deficiency and excess. Brain development in the absence of TH results in motor skill deficiencies and reduced intellectual development.

Organic anion-transporting polypeptides at the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers.

Organic anion-transporting polypeptides (Oatps) are solute carrier family members that exhibit marked evolutionary conservation. Mammalian Oatps exhibit wide tissue expression with an emphasis on expression in barrier cells. In the brain, Oatps are expressed in the blood-brain barrier endothelial cells and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier epithelial cells.

Loss of enteric dopaminergic neurons and associated changes in colon motility in an MPTP mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is the most common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Symptoms of GI dysmotility include early satiety and nausea from delayed gastric emptying, bloating from poor small bowel coordination, and constipation and defecatory dysfunction from impaired colonic transit. Understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of these symptoms in PD patients has been hampered by the lack of investigation into GI symptoms and pathology in PD animal models.

Comparison of recovery after mitral valve repair and replacement.

Objective: We sought to examine the comparative improvement in health status after primary mitral valve repair versus replacement in patients with mitral valve regurgitation in a longitudinal setting.

Methods: We prospectively followed 267 patients with mitral valve regurgitation who underwent primary mitral valve repair (n = 163) and replacement (n = 104) between January 2002 and January 2005. Health status was evaluated at baseline and 1, 3, and 12 months after surgery with the validated short-form 36 and analyzed using generalized estimating equations with adjustment for propensity scores.