Intravitreal bevacizumab for choroidal neovascularization in ocular histoplasmosis.

Purpose: To define the role of intravitreal bevacizumab in individuals with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) resulting from Ocular Histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS).

Design: Retrospective chart review of a surgical therapy.

Methods: We reviewed the course of 28 eyes of 28 patients who underwent intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for treatment of CNV secondary to OHS.

Transcription factor EBF restricts alternative lineage options and promotes B cell fate commitment independently of Pax5.

Alternative lineage restriction and B cell fate commitment require the transcription factor Pax5, but the function of early B cell factor (EBF) in these processes remains mostly unexplored. Here we show that in the absence of EBF, 'expandable' and clonal lymphoid progenitor cells retained considerable myeloid potential. Conversely, ectopic expression of EBF in multipotential progenitor cells directed B cell generation at the expense of myeloid cell fates.

Lack of interaction between sensing-intuitive learning styles and problem-first versus information-first instruction: a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Adaptation to learning styles has been proposed to enhance learning.

Objective: We hypothesized that learners with sensing learning style would perform better using a problem-first instructional method while intuitive learners would do better using an information-first method.

Design: Randomized, controlled, crossover trial.

Long-term follow-up of surgical removal of extensive peripapillary choroidal neovascularization in presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome.

Purpose: To report the long-term visual outcomes of surgical removal of extensive peripapillary choroidal neovascularization associated with presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS).

Design: Long-term retrospective review. Follow-up ranged from 14 to 139 months (mean, 68).

Race, ethnicity, and medical student well-being in the United States.

Background: Little is known about the training experience of minority medical students. We explore differences in the prevalence of burnout, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QOL) among minority and nonminority medical students as well as the role race/ethnicity plays in students' experiences.

Methods: Medical students (N = 3080) at 5 medical schools were surveyed in 2006 using validated instruments to assess burnout, depression, and QOL.

Predicting the economic impact of an invasive species on an ecosystem service.

Quantifying the impact of alien invasive species on ecosystem services is an essential step in developing effective practices and policy for invasive species management. Here we develop a stochastic bioeconomic model that enables the economic impact of an invasive pest to be estimated before its arrival, based on relatively poorly specified ecological and economic parameters. We developed the model by using a hypothetical invasion of the varroa bee mite (Varroa destructor) into Australia and the negative flow-on effects that it would have on pollination by reducing honey bee populations, giving rise to a loss of pollination services, reduced crop yields, and additional production costs.

CYP2D6*4 polymorphism is associated with statin-induced muscle effects.

Statin use is associated with a variety of overtly related muscle symptoms including muscle pain, myalgia, creatine kinase elevations without pain with myolysis and myositis (rhabdomyolysis), a potentially fatal side effect that led to the withdrawal of cerivastatin in 2001. Unintended drug response phenotypes have an impact on patient compliance and sometimes patient health and the assessment of risk on an individual basis could enhance therapeutic benefit. We therefore investigated whether common single nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with the expression of broadly grouped atorvastatin-induced muscle events in a case-control study (n=263 samples, n=388 SNPs).

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of a dry powder for inhalation of capreomycin.

Purpose: To develop an aerosol system for efficient local lung delivery of a tuberculostatic drug.

Methods: The antibiotic, capreomycin sulfate, was spray dried to form a dry powder aerosol. The chemical content and physical properties of resulting particles were assessed under various storage conditions.

Multilocus OCA2 genotypes specify human iris colors.

Human iris color is a quantitative, multifactorial phenotype that exhibits quasi-Mendelian inheritance. Recent studies have shown that OCA2 polymorphism underlies most of the natural variability in human iris pigmentation but to date, only a few associated polymorphisms in this gene have been described. Herein, we describe an iris color score (C) for quantifying iris melanin content in-silico and undertake a more detailed survey of the OCA2 locus (n = 271 SNPs).

B cell-specific deletion of protein-tyrosine phosphatase Shp1 promotes B-1a cell development and causes systemic autoimmunity.

Spontaneous loss-of-function mutations in the protein-tyrosine phosphatase Shp1 cause the motheaten phenotype, characterized by widespread inflammation and autoimmunity. Because Shp1 is expressed in all hematopoietic cells, it has been unclear which aspects of the motheaten phenotypes are primary effects of Shp1 deficiency. We generated mice (Ptpn6(f/f);CD19-cre) that delete Shp1 specifically in B cells.

Medical education research and IRB review: an analysis and comparison of the IRB review process at six institutions.

Purpose: To compare how different institutional review boards (IRBs) process and evaluate the same multiinstitutional educational research proposal of medical students' quality of life.

Method: Prospective collection in 2005 of key variables regarding the IRB submission and review process of the same educational research proposal involving medical students, which was submitted to six IRBs, each associated with a different medical school.

Results: Four IRBs determined the protocol was appropriate for expedited review, and the remaining two required full review.

Prolonged delays for research training in medical school are associated with poorer subsequent clinical knowledge.

Background: Complementary degree programs and research training are important alternative tracks in medical school that typically interrupt the traditional MD curriculum.

Objective: Examine effects of such a break on clinical knowledge after reentry into the MD curriculum.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Can fungal biopesticides control malaria?

Recent research has raised the prospect of using insect fungal pathogens for the control of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. In the past, microbial control of insect pests in both medical and agricultural sectors has generally had limited success. We propose that it might now be possible to produce a cheap, safe and green tool for the control of malaria, which, in contrast to most chemical insecticides, will not eventually be rendered useless by evolution of resistance.

An essential role for IL-18 in CD8 T cell-mediated suppression of IgE responses.

The ability of CD8 T cells to suppress IgE responses is well established. Previously, we demonstrated that CD8 T cells inhibit IgE responses via the induction of IL-12, which promotes Th1 and suppresses Th2 responses. In this study, we show that IL-18 also plays an essential role in IgE suppression.

Are exotic natural enemies an effective way of controlling invasive plants?

Classical biological control (the introduction of exotic natural enemies) is often advocated as a tool for managing invasive species. Here, we review the effectiveness of biocontrol and explore the factors that determine whether it is an appropriate response to the invasive species problem. Although there have been some successes, biocontrol is generally poorly evaluated and, in many cases, its impact is unknown.

How do distress and well-being relate to medical student empathy? A multicenter study.

Objective: To determine whether lower levels of empathy among a sample of medical students in the United States are associated with personal and professional distress and to explore whether a high degree of personal well-being is associated with higher levels of empathy.

Design: Multi-institutional, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: All medical schools in Minnesota (a private medical school, a traditional public university, and a public university with a focus in primary care).

High-density rhesus macaque oligonucleotide microarray design using early-stage rhesus genome sequence information and human genome annotations.

Background: Until recently, few genomic reagents specific for non-human primate research have been available. To address this need, we have constructed a macaque-specific high-density oligonucleotide microarray by using highly fragmented low-pass sequence contigs from the rhesus genome project together with the detailed sequence and exon structure of the human genome. Using this method, we designed oligonucleotide probes to over 17,000 distinct rhesus/human gene orthologs and increased by four-fold the number of available genes relative to our first-generation expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived array.

Experimental investigation of acoustically enhanced colloid transport in water-saturated packed columns.

The effects of acoustic wave propagation on the transport of colloids in saturated porous media were investigated by injecting Uranine (conservative tracer) as well as blue and red polystyrene microspheres (colloids of different diameters; 0.10 and 0.028 mum, respectively) into a column packed with glass beads.

Notch activity synergizes with B-cell-receptor and CD40 signaling to enhance B-cell activation.

How diverse environmental cues are integrated to regulate B-cell activation and development remains poorly understood. Here we show that Notch activity synergizes with B-cell receptor (BCR) and/or CD40 signaling to enhance several aspects of B-cell activation and function. We find that costimulation of follicular B cells with the Notch ligand Delta-like-1 leads to significant increases in BCR- and CD40-mediated proliferation and enhances production of IgG1(+) cells in vitro and in vivo.

The cellular protein P58IPK regulates influenza virus mRNA translation and replication through a PKR-mediated mechanism.

We previously hypothesized that efficient translation of influenza virus mRNA requires the recruitment of P58(IPK), the cellular inhibitor of PKR, an interferon-induced kinase that targets the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF2alpha. P58(IPK) also inhibits PERK, an eIF2alpha kinase that is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and induced during ER stress. The ability of P58(IPK) to interact with and inhibit multiple eIF2alpha kinases suggests it is a critical regulator of both cellular and viral mRNA translation.

Why inhaling salt water changes what we exhale.

We find that inhaling salt water diminishes subsequently exhaled biomaterial in man and animals due to reversible stabilization of the airway lining fluid (ALF)/air interface as a novel potential means for control of the spread of airborne infectious disease. The mechanism of this phenomenon relates to charge shielding of mucin or mucin-like macromolecules that consequently undergo gelation; this gelation alters the physical properties of the ALF surface and reduces its breakup. Cations in the nebulized solution and apparent surface viscoelasticity of the ALF (more than any other ALF intrinsic physical property) appear to be responsible for the reduced tendency of the ALF to disintegrate into very small droplets.

Impacts of fever on locust life-history traits: costs or benefits?

Fever, like other mechanisms for defence against pathogens, may have positive and negative consequences for host fitness. In ectotherms, fever can be attained through modified behavioural thermoregulation. Here we examine potential costs of behavioural fever by holding adult, gregarious desert locusts at elevated temperatures simulating a range of fever intensities.