Increasing the Representation of Black Men in Medicine by Addressing Systems Factors.

In 2015, data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) showed that there were more Black men applying and matriculating to medical school in 1978 than 2014. The representation of Black men in medicine is a troubling workforce issue that was identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as a national crisis. While premedical pathway programs have contributed to increased workforce diversity, alone they are insufficient to accelerate change.

Increased potency of recombinant VWF D'D3 albumin fusion proteins engineered for enhanced affinity for coagulation factor VIII.

Background: We have recently reported on a recombinant von Willebrand factor (VWF) D'D3 albumin fusion protein (rD'D3-FP) developed to extend the half-life of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) for the treatment of hemophilia A. Based on predictive modelling presented in this study, we hypothesized that modifying rD'D3-FP to improve FVIII interaction would reduce exchange with endogenous VWF and provide additional FVIII half-life benefit.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify novel rD'D3-FP variants with enhanced therapeutic efficacy in extending FVIII half-life.

Creating a Structurally Realistic Finite Element Geometric Model of a Cardiomyocyte to Study the Role of Cellular Architecture in Cardiomyocyte Systems Biology.

With the advent of three-dimensional (3D) imaging technologies such as electron tomography, serial-block-face scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy, the scientific community has unprecedented access to large datasets at sub-micrometer resolution that characterize the architectural remodeling that accompanies changes in cardiomyocyte function in health and disease. However, these datasets have been under-utilized for investigating the role of cellular architecture remodeling in cardiomyocyte function. The purpose of this protocol is to outline how to create an accurate finite element model of a cardiomyocyte using high resolution electron microscopy and confocal microscopy images.

Examination of the Effects of Heterogeneous Organization of RyR Clusters, Myofibrils and Mitochondria on Ca2+ Release Patterns in Cardiomyocytes.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of intracellular calcium, [Ca2+]i, regulate the contractile function of cardiac muscle cells. Measuring [Ca2+]i flux is central to the study of mechanisms that underlie both normal cardiac function and calcium-dependent etiologies in heart disease. However, current imaging techniques are limited in the spatial resolution to which changes in [Ca2+]i can be detected.

Gender, race, pain, and subjective well-being of adults with spinal cord injury.

Objective: Assess the relationship of race and gender with subjective well-being (SWB) and determine if pain severity and pain interference mediated that relationship.

Design: Cross-sectional study of 2,416 people with traumatic SCI. Subjective well-being (home life, vocational, and global) was measured by the Life Situation Questionnaire.

A comparison of health behaviors between African Americans with spinal cord injury and those in the general population.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify whether protective and risk health behaviors are more common among African Americans with spinal cord injury (SCI) compared with African Americans in the general population.

Methods: Mail-in surveys were collected from 252 adult participants with SCI. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2009 was downloaded.

Automated image analysis identifies signaling pathways regulating distinct signatures of cardiac myocyte hypertrophy.

Cardiac hypertrophy is controlled by a complex signal transduction and gene regulatory network, containing multiple layers of crosstalk and feedback. While numerous individual components of this network have been identified, understanding how these elements are coordinated to regulate heart growth remains a challenge. Past approaches to measure cardiac myocyte hypertrophy have been manual and often qualitative, hindering the ability to systematically characterize the network's higher-order control structure and identify therapeutic targets.

Thoracic and lumbar spinal impact tolerance.

Introduction: Thoracolumbar injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents, falls, and assaults have a high risk of morbidity and mortality. However, there are no biomechanically based standards that address this problem.

Methods: This study used four cadaveric porcine specimens as a model for direct spinal impact injuries to humans to determine an appropriate injury tolerance value.

Prohibitin silencing reverses stabilization of mitochondrial integrity and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer cells by increasing their sensitivity to apoptosis.

Current approaches to the treatment of ovarian cancer are limited because of the development of resistance to chemotherapy. Prohibitin (Phb1) is a possible candidate protein that contributes to development of drug resistance, which could be targeted in neoplastic cells. Phb1 is a highly conserved protein that is associated with a block in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle and also with cell survival.