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Article Excerpt
EASTERN REGION
PELLISSIPPI STATE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
TRANSFORAMINAL LUMBAR INTERBODY FUSION: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF LONG-TERM PAIN RELIEF AND FUSION OUTCOMES. Cody A. Chastain and Scott Hodges, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee and Center for Sports Medicine, Chattanooga, Tennessee. This retrospective study examined the postoperative pain, disability levels, and fusion status of Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) patients after at least 4 years to establish a long-term precedent for physician expectations. Forty-two patients participated in this study. The average patient's postoperative pain was lowered by 2.4 points on a 0-10 scale. The average patient's perceived disability, as evaluated by the Oswetry Pain Index, decreased by 10.5%. Twenty-five of 39 patients evaluated by X-ray films showed spinal fusion in their operative vertebral levels, and no movement was detected in the operative vertebral levels of those 39 patients. Patients with no fusion and no movement exhibited postoperative pain levels 1 point greater than patients with fusion. The postoperative disability scores were greater by only 1.7%. Thirty-six of the 42 patients would elect to have the surgery again for a 85.7% approval rating. In conclusion. TLIF is an effective method of alleviating intractable back pain over an extended time period.
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AN ANALYSIS ON THE COMMON TICK SPECIES FOUND IN THE CHATTANOOGA-HAMILTON REGION OF TENNESSEE AND THEIR CORRELATION TO THE REPORTED CASES OF VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES FROM 1995-2001. Astrid von Walter and Safawo Gullo, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee. Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus are three-host ticks commonly found in the Chattanooga-Hamilton region of Tennessee. The first three genera are medically important because they transmit Ehrilichiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease, respectively. Rhipicephalus is not known to vector any human infecting pathogens; therefore, not considered clinically significant. Certain anatomical features of hard ticks such as capitulum and scutum ornamentation are used to differentiate between genus and species. The focus of this study was to correlate the frequency of A. americanum, D. variabilis, and I. scapularis in the Chattanooga region to reported cases of tick-borne diseases from 1995 through 2001. D. variabilis showed a direct relationship between its frequency and the reported cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. However I. scapularis was not as prevalent as A. americanum but there were still more cases of Lyme disease.
MODELING THE STRUCTURE OF THE NUCLEOSOME AT 2.5 ANGSTROM RESOLUTION. Merri Loy, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Knoxville, Tennessee. Research has shown students develop analytical thinking skills better, and are able to grasp abstract concepts more easily, when hands-on materials are employed in the classroom. This project utilizes the structure elucidated by Dr. G. Bunick (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville) to build a 3-D scale model of the nucleosome core particle with associated DNA, illustrating several key features of the structure. Each histone has a characteristic histone fold that is involved in forming histone handshakes between heterogeneous dimers (H2A/H2B and H3/H4). Arginine residues in each of the histones interact with the DNA minor groove, distorting the helix so that it wraps around the core particle. The DNA puts stress on the histone structure, causing the alpha helices to bend, producing asymmetries in the core particle. The histone tails of adjacent particles associate in an unexpected manner in the crystal structure. The completed model will be used in the undergraduate classroom.
DETECTION OF METHANOL MASERS IN W49A. Lisa M. Tackett, Roane State Community College, Harriman, Tennessee. Methanol masers have been detected using the Haystack 37-meter Radio Telescope at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Methanol masers have been recognized as a possible signpost for massive star formations. The project involves a search in the CO outflow region of W49A (in Aquilia); we are searching for Class I or II, methanol masers. The first portion of the search is conducted at a frequency of 44 GHz by mapping the surrounding areas until a maser is detected. After a methanol maser has been detected at the 44 GHz frequency additional maps may be preformed at the transitional frequency lines. These are normally run around 25 GHz and 36 GHz. By comparing the different frequency maps the excitations of the maser may be discovered.
A PREMLIMINARY COMPARISON OF PAGURUS SAMUELIS (DECAPODA: ANOMURA) POPULATIONS FROM NORTH AND SOUTH MONTEREY BAY, CALIFORNIA. April D. Sjoboen and Stephen G. Dunbar, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee, and Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, Morphometrics, including shield length, wet weight, sex, shell species and shell weight, were collected on Pagurus samuelis collected at Monterey Bay, California in July 2003. Empty gastropod shells and individuals of each snail species were counted at each site to give a profile of relative abundances for those shells potentially available to hermit crab populations. Although the ranges of hermit crab sizes and body wet weights were approximately equal over both sites, there was a significant difference in the mean size of hermit crabs between sites. Santa Cruz males constituted the largest crabs but did not outnumber the females. At Carmel males were both the largest crabs found and more numerous than all females combined. The range of shell species used by P. samuelis was outside the range of snail species collected, suggesting that shells are being brought into local populations of hermit crabs by either inshore wave action or immigrant individuals.
TRACTOR BEAMS AND BACTERIA. Stanley Allen and Chris Hansen, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee. This talk will report on undergraduate research in optical trapping with hopeful applications to bacterial study. We will follow-up on earlier research that included basic apparatus assembly and attempted trapping. Since our last report, we have improved our apparatus and reproducibly trapped small spheres in solution. Calculations of our trapping force are encouraging and we hope to soon trap and study bacteria.
ERGOSTEROL DEPLETION LEADS TO REDUCED STE2P ACTIVITY IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISEAE. Nicole Billings and Amanda Dalton, Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens, Tennessee. Ste2p is a highly characterized G-protein coupled receptor that mediates mating between haploid yeast cells. Receptor activation initiates a signal transduction pathway leading to nuclear fusion between yeast cells of opposing mating types. In this study, we have looked at the function of ergosterol in Ste2p activity. Ergosterol levels were reduced by treating cells with ketoconazole, an azole antifungal agent known to inhibit oxisterol synthesis. Previous studies indicated that reduction of ergosterol levels changed Ste2p activity, resulting in reduced binding capacity for the pheromone and increased growth inhibition after exposure to pheromone. In this study, we observed that ergosterol...
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