Cancer prevention knowledge of people with profound hearing loss.

Background: Deaf persons, a documented minority population, have low reading levels and difficulty communicating with physicians. The effect of these on their knowledge of cancer prevention recommendations is unknown.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 222 d/Deaf persons in Michigan, age 18 and older, chose one of four ways (voice, video of a certified American Sign Language interpreter, captions, or printed English) to complete a self-administered computer video questionnaire about demographics, hearing loss, language history, health-care utilization, and health-care information sources, as well as family and social variables.

Brain behavior relationships among African Americans, whites, and Hispanics.

There is an increasing racial and ethnic diversity within the elderly population of the United States. Although increased diversity offers unique opportunities to study novel influences on aging and dementia, some aspects of racial and ethnic research have been hampered by the lack of culturally and linguistically consistent testing protocols. Structural brain imaging is commonly used to study the biology of normal aging and cognitive impairment and may therefore serve to explore potential biologic differences of cognitive impairment among racially and ethnically diverse individuals.

Autophagy promotes caspase-dependent cell death during Drosophila development.

The relationship between autophagic cell death and apoptosis is a poorly understood aspect of programmed cell death (PCD). We have examined this relationship by studying the elimination of an extra-embryonic tissue, known as the amnioserosa (AS), during Drosophila development. The AS becomes autophagic during the final stages of embryogenesis; ultimately, however, the elimination of the AS involves caspase-dependent nuclear fragmentation, tissue dissociation and engulfment by phagocytic macrophages.

Precipitation and temperature effects on mortality and lactation parameters of dairy cattle in California.

Data from 3 commercial rendering companies located in different regions of California were analyzed from September 2003 through August 2005 to examine the relationship of dairy calf and cow mortality to monthly average daily temperature and total monthly precipitation respectively. Yearly average mortality varied between rendering regions from 2.1 to 8.

Development and characterization of a novel rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus: the UC Davis type 2 diabetes mellitus UCD-T2DM rat.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is increasing, creating a need for T2DM animal models for the study of disease pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment. The purpose of this project was to develop a rat model of T2DM that more closely models the pathophysiology of T2DM in humans. The model was created by crossing obese Sprague-Dawley rats with insulin resistance resulting from polygenic adult-onset obesity with Zucker diabetic fatty-lean rats that have a defect in pancreatic beta-cell function but normal leptin signaling.

Genetic and epigenetic stability of cryopreserved and cold-stored hops (Humulus lupulus L.).

Conventional cold storage and cryopreservation methods for hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are available but, to our knowledge, the genetic and epigenetic stability of the recovered plants have not been tested. This study analyzed 51 accessions of hop using the molecular techniques, Random Amplified DNA Polymorphism (RAPD) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), revealing no genetic variation among greenhouse-grown controls and cold stored or cryopreserved plants.

Longitudinal changes in memory and executive functioning are associated with longitudinal change in instrumental activities of daily living in older adults.

Impaired everyday function is a diagnostic criterion for dementia, and a determinant of healthcare utilization and caregiver burden. Although many previous studies have demonstrated a cross-sectional relationship between cognition (particularly executive functions and memory) and everyday function in older adults, very little is known about longitudinal relationships between these domains. This study examined the association between longitudinal change in episodic memory (MEM) and executive functioning (EXEC) and change in everyday function.

Vulvodynia in preadolescent girls.

Objective: Although vulvodynia occurs in approximately 7% of adult American women, we hypothesize that vulvodynia also occurs in young girls and that they respond to treatments that are similar to those used in women with this disorder.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective case study of vulvodynia in preadolescent girls seen in our referral practice. Records of all office visits and any telephone or e-mailed follow-up were reviewed.

Imaging of transient structures using nanosecond in situ TEM.

The microstructure and properties of a material depend on dynamic processes such as defect motion, nucleation and growth, and phase transitions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can spatially resolve these nanoscale phenomena but lacks the time resolution for direct observation. We used a photoemitted electron pulse to probe dynamic events with "snapshot" diffraction and imaging at 15-nanosecond resolution inside of a dynamic TEM.

Nanosecond time-resolved investigations using the in situ of dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM).

Most biological processes, chemical reactions and materials dynamics occur at rates much faster than can be captured with standard video rate acquisition methods in transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Thus, there is a need to increase the temporal resolution in order to capture and understand salient features of these rapid materials processes. This paper details the development of a high-time resolution dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM) that captures dynamics in materials with nanosecond time resolution.

Composite scores for executive function items: demographic heterogeneity and relationships with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

Accurate neuropsychological assessment of older individuals from heterogeneous backgrounds is a major challenge. Education, ethnicity, language, and age are associated with scale level differences in test scores, but item level bias might contribute to these differences. We evaluated several strategies for dealing with item and scale level demographic influences on a measure of executive abilities defined by working memory and fluency tasks.

A comparative study of three cryopreservation protocols for effective storage of in vitro-grown mint (Mentha Spp.).

This study was designed to determine the response of diverse mint genotypes to three commonly used cryopreservation techniques. Four mints [Mentha x piperita nothosubsp. citrata (Ehrh.

Bidirectional translational research: Progress in understanding addictive diseases.

The focus of this review is primarily on recent developments in bidirectional translational research on the addictions, within the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at The Rockefeller University. This review is subdivided into major interacting aspects, including (a) Investigation of neurobiological and molecular adaptations (e.g.

Vulvodynia incidence and remission rates among adult women: a 2-year follow-up study.

Objective: To estimate the incidence and remission rates of vulvodynia over a 2-year period.

Methods: A 2-year follow-up survey was sent to the University of Michigan Women's Health Registry members who had participated in a previously reported, validated survey. Changes in clinical status, incidence, and remission rates for vulvodynia were estimated, as were factors associated with new onset or remission of symptoms, using univariable and multivariable analyses.

McGill pain questionnaire findings among women with vulvodynia and chronic yeast infection.

Objective: To determine whether patients referred for vulvar pain or candidiasis had different characteristics of pain as measured by the McGill Pain Scale or the number of McGill categories chosen.

Study Design: Data were collected at the University of Michigan Center for Vulvar Diseases between April 1998 and March 2003. The association between the McGill pain score and the number of McGill categories selected with the diagnostic categories of vestibulodynia, generalized vulvodynia and chronic yeast infections were evaluated.

Genome-wide occupancy of SREBP1 and its partners NFY and SP1 reveals novel functional roles and combinatorial regulation of distinct classes of genes.

The sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) family member SREBP1 is a critical transcriptional regulator of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism and has been implicated in insulin resistance, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases. We globally identified the promoters occupied by SREBP1 and its binding partners NFY and SP1 in a human hepatocyte cell line using chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with genome tiling arrays (ChIP-chip). We find that SREBP1 occupies the promoters of 1,141 target genes involved in diverse biological pathways, including novel targets with roles in lipid metabolism and insulin signaling.

Presence of de novo mutations in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients without family history.

Background: At the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, on detailed questioning, approximately 10% of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) gave no family history of ADPKD. There are several explanations for this observation, including occurrence of a de novo pathogenic sequence variant or extreme phenotypic variability. To confirm de novo sequence variants, we have undertaken clinical and genetic screening of affected offspring and their parents.

Islet oxygen consumption and insulin secretion tightly coupled to calcium derived from L-type calcium channels but not from the endoplasmic reticulum.

The aim of the study was to test whether the source of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) is a determinant of beta cell function. We hypothesized that elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ caused by the release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) have little physiologic impact on oxygen consumption and insulin secretion. Ca2+ release from the ER was induced in isolated rat islets by acetylcholine and response of oxygen consumption rate (OCR), NAD(P)H, cytosolic Ca2+, and insulin secretory rate (ISR) were measured.

The measurement of everyday cognition (ECog): scale development and psychometric properties.

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess cognitively mediated functional abilities in older adults, Everyday Cognition (ECog). The ECog is an informant-rated questionnaire comprised of multiple subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine its factor structure.

Condom use negotiation in heterosexual African American adults: responses to types of social power-based strategies.

This study examined gender differences and preferences in the use of and response to six different styles of condom use negotiation with a hypothetical sexual partner of the opposite gender. Participants were 51 heterosexually active African American adults attending an inner-city community center. Participants completed a semistructured qualitative interview in which they were presented with six negotiation strategies based on Raven's 1992 Power/Interaction Model of Interpersonal Influence.

Diagnosing depression in Alzheimer disease with the national institute of mental health provisional criteria.

Objective: To compare the rates of depression in Alzheimer Disease (AD) determined using National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provisional criteria for depression in AD (NIMH-dAD) to those determined using other established depression assessment tools.

Design: Descriptive longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: The Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers of California.