Salvianolic Acid B (Sal B) Protects Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death by Activating Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) (open access)

Salvianolic Acid B (Sal B) Protects Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death by Activating Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1)

The article explores Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a natural compound, as a Grx1 inducer, which potently protected retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from oxidative injury. Their results showed that treatment with Sal B protected primary human RPE cells from H₂O₂-induced cell damage. They found Sal B pretreatment upregulated Grx1 expression in RPE cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner.
Date: November 3, 2016
Creator: Liu, Xiaobin; Xavier, Christy; Jann, Jamieson & Wu, Hongli
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flanking Variation Influences Rates of Stutter in Simple Repeats (open access)

Flanking Variation Influences Rates of Stutter in Simple Repeats

This article shows that rates of stutter can vary substantially depending on the flanking haplotype, and while there are cases where the LUS is a better predictor of stutter than the PAL, examples to the contrary are apparent in commonly assayed forensic markers. Further, flanking variation that is 7 bp from the repeat region can impact rates of stutter. These findings suggest that non-proximal effects, such as DNA secondary structure, may be impacting the rates of stutter in common forensic short tandem repeat markers.
Date: November 17, 2017
Creator: Woerner, August E.; King, Jonathan L. & Budowle, Bruce
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sarcoidosis and Its Splenic Wonder: A Rare Case of Isolated Splenic Sarcoidosis (open access)

Sarcoidosis and Its Splenic Wonder: A Rare Case of Isolated Splenic Sarcoidosis

This article is a case study discussing a case of a 40-year-old female with isolated splenic sarcoidosis found to have isolated splenomegaly with multiple hypodense splenic lesions and no other multisystem involvement. Isolated splenomegaly is very rare and an uncommon presentation of sarcoidosis. This case is clinically challenging because of the extensive differential diagnosis. The authors conclude that sarcoidosis of the spleen, although rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the patients presenting with systemic symptoms and splenomegaly.
Date: November 5, 2018
Creator: Jhaveri, Khushali & Surani, Salim R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the General Aviation Increased for One-Year Period after 11 September 2001 Attack in the United States (open access)

Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the General Aviation Increased for One-Year Period after 11 September 2001 Attack in the United States

The article describes a study that evaluated the possible effect the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks had on pilot AASs in the U.S. Fatal aviation accidents in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database were searched using the following search words: “suicide”, “murder-suicide” and “homicide-suicide”. The timeline between 11 September 1996, and 11 September 2004, was analyzed. This study showed an association, albeit not determinate causal effect, of a very specific series of simultaneous terrorist murder-suicides with subsequent pilot AASs.
Date: November 12, 2018
Creator: Vuorio, Alpo; Laukkala, Tanja; Junttila, Ilkka; Bor, Robert; Budowle, Bruce; Pukkala, Eero et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Biodiversity of protists and nematodes in the wild nonhuman primate gut (open access)

Biodiversity of protists and nematodes in the wild nonhuman primate gut

Article describes study which used an 18S rRNA gene fragment metabarcoding approach to assess the eukaryotic assemblage of 62 individuals representing 16 nonhuman primate NHP species to better understand the factors that influence the assembly and diversity of gut-associated eukaryotes.
Date: November 12, 2019
Creator: Mann, Allison E.; Mazel, Florent; Lemay, Matthew A.; Morien, Evan; Billy, Vincent; Kowalewski, Martin et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Novel Prodrug Approach for Central Nervous System-Selective Estrogen Therapy (open access)

A Novel Prodrug Approach for Central Nervous System-Selective Estrogen Therapy

This article gives an overview of the discovery of small-molecule bioprecursor prodrugs carrying the para-quinol scaffold on the steroidal A-ring that are preferentially metabolized in the CNS to the corresponding estrogens. Selected examples are shown to illustrate that, independently of the route of administrations and duration of treatments, these agents produce high concentration of estrogens only in the CNS without peripheral hormonal liability. 10β,17β-Dihydroxyestra-1,4-dien-3-one (DHED) has been the best-studied representative of this novel type of prodrugs for brain and retina health. Specific applications in preclinical animal models of centrally-regulated and estrogen-responsive human diseases, including neurodegeneration, menopausal symptoms, cognitive decline and depression, are discussed to demonstrate the translational potential of their prodrug approach for CNS-selective and gender-independent estrogen therapy with inherent therapeutic safety.
Date: November 19, 2019
Creator: Prokai-Tatrai, Katalin & Prókai, László, 1958-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trends in Magnesium Intake among Hispanic Adults, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2014 (open access)

Trends in Magnesium Intake among Hispanic Adults, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2014

Paper describes the results of a study examining magnesium intake in Hispanic adults, using data from the NHANES from 1999-2014, stratified by gender, Hispanic origins, age, and poverty income ratio (PIR) level.
Date: November 22, 2019
Creator: Liu, Jialiang; Huang, Yuhan; Dai, Qi; Fulda, Kimberly G.; Chen, Shande & Tao, Meng-Hua
System: The UNT Digital Library
HIV-1 Impairment via UBE3A and HIV-1 Nef Interactions Utilizing the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (open access)

HIV-1 Impairment via UBE3A and HIV-1 Nef Interactions Utilizing the Ubiquitin Proteasome System

Study examines the interaction between a key pathogenic HIV-1 viral protein, Nef, and ubiquitin (Ub)-protein ligase E3A (UBE3A).
Date: November 27, 2019
Creator: Pyeon, Dohun; Rojas, Vivian K.; Price, Lenore; Kim, Seongcheol; Singh, Meharvan & Park, In-Woo
System: The UNT Digital Library