Identification of Putative β-Galactosidase Genes in the Genome of Lactobacillus helveticus OSU-PECh-4A

The Lactobacillus helveticus OSU-PECh-4A strain, from the Ohio State University Parker Chair collection, produces exceptional β-galactosidase activity using acid whey as a culture medium, compared with a commercial broth. The strain has a genome sequence of 1,834,843 bp, and its GC content is 36.69%. Using InterProScan v5.50-84.0 software, four genes with putative β-galactosidase function were found.

Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination: longitudinal cohort testing for the early detection of dementia conversion

Background Significant cognitive changes as individuals’ age are not being identified in a timely manner, delaying diagnosis and treatments. Use of brief, multi-domain, self-administered, objective cognitive assessment tools may remove some barriers in assessing and identifying cognitive changes. We compared longitudinal Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) test scores to non-self-administered Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in 5 different diagnostic subgroups. Methods A cohort study evaluating annual rates of change was performed on 665 consecutive patients from Ohio State University Memory Disorders Clinic. Patients with at least two visits 6 months apart evaluated with SAGE and MMSE and classified according to standard clinical criteria as subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia were included. The pattern of change in SAGE scores was compared to MMSE. One way and repeated measures ANOVA and linear regression models were used. Results Four hundred twenty-four individuals (40 SCD, 94 MCI non-converters to dementia, 70 MCI converters to dementia (49 to AD dementia and 21 to non-AD dementia), 220 AD dementia) met inclusion criteria. SAGE and MMSE scores declined respectively at annual rates of 1.91 points/year (p < 0.0001) and 1.68 points/year (p < 0.0001) for MCI converters to AD dementia, and 1.82 points/year (p < 0.0001) and 2.38 points/year (p < 0.0001) for AD dementia subjects. SAGE and MMSE scores remained stable for SCD and MCI non-converters. Statistically significant decline from baseline scores in SAGE occurred at least 6 months earlier than MMSE for MCI converters to AD dementia (14.4 vs. 20.4 months), MCI converters to non-AD dementia (14.4 vs. 32.9 months), and AD dementia individuals (8.3 vs. 14.4 months). Conclusions SAGE detects MCI conversion to dementia at least 6 months sooner than MMSE. Being self-administered, SAGE also addresses a critical need of removing some barriers in performing cognitive assessments. Limitations of our single-site cohort study include potential referral and sampling biases. Repetitively administering SAGE and identifying stability or decline may provide clinicians with an objective cognitive biomarker impacting evaluation and management choices.

The Columbus Linguistics in High School experience: Fits and starts as a prelude to success

We report here on our efforts to incorporate linguistics into the high school curriculum in a large midwestern metropolitan area through a university-based initiative — Linguistics in High School (LxHS) — spearheaded by the Department of Linguistics at The Ohio State University. We offer a brief history of the project, and explain our strategy of targeting non-public schools and the practical nature of the reasoning behind this decision. We chronicle the ups and downs of our efforts, ultimately reporting on our success with implementing a linguistics course and a linguistics club at a small local STEM-oriented high school. This partnership between the school and the Linguistics Department has allowed, among other things, for on-site visits by the students to phonetics and sociolinguistics labs. By presenting our challenges, strategies, failures, and successes, we hope that others may be encouraged to evaluate how they can make a difference in their locale and with the resources they have.

Does BDS Produce Antisemitic Disruption to Student Government and Jewish Student Life? An Analysis of Pro-BDS Resolutions at Ohio State University and the Exclusion of Jewish Students on Campus

The proliferation of debates and resolutions related to the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” movement at US colleges and universities raises questions about the relation­ship between the objectives of Israel- and Palestine-related student activism with that of student governments and their nature and purpose within campus life. This study makes use of direct observation by the first author of two debates held at Ohio State University (OSU) in January 2018 and December 2018 over resolutions proposed to the university’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) to adopt a pro-BDS platform. The authors examine the recognition and non-recognition of Jewish students’ right to perceive and identify racism and exclusion within these contexts. The authors further examine whether purported goals of inclusion, constructive dialogue and conflict resolution are benefited by contemporary BDS resolution debates, concluding that such goals-in addition to the formal purpose and function of student governments-are ill-served by the process, con­tent, and outcomes of debates in the form taken at OSU.

678 The neonatal Fc receptor is elevated in monocyte-derived immune cells in pancreatic cancer

BackgroundPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with 5-year survival rates below 10%. PDAC is commonly diagnosed after metastasis has occurred and treatment options are limited. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy has shown great promise in other cancers, however little efficacy has been observed in patients with PDAC. The protein responsible for recycling IgG based mAb therapeutics like ICIs in the bloodstream, as well as processing peptides for antigen presentation, is the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). Little is known about FcRn in cancer, and to our knowledge no characterization of host FcRn, or FcRn extrinsic to tumor cells exists in PDAC patients. We hypothesized that PDAC patients and tumor-bearing animals would have altered FcRn expression by their immune populations compared to their healthy counterparts.MethodsC57BL/6 mice were orthotopically injected with KPC-luc (KrasLSL-G12D, Trp53LSL-R270H, Pdx1-cre) pancreatic tumor cells, and FcRn expression in myeloid-derived splenocytes were analyzed by fluorescence cytometry. Time-of-flight mass cytometry (CyTOF) was utilized to immunophenotype peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PDAC or non-cancer patients for expression levels of FcRn within these immune populations.ResultsPDAC tumor-bearing mice exhibit altered FcRn expression among myeloid immune cell populations. Mice with pancreatic tumors had elevated expression of FcRn on migratory cDC2 (CD8-CD11b+CD103+CD24++; p = 0.017), monocytic MDSC (CD11b+Ly6G-Ly6C+; p = 0.0023), granulocytic MDSC (CD11b+Ly6G+Ly6C±; p = 0.0542), and cDC2 (CD8-CD11b+CD103-CD24±; p=0.036) cells. PBMCs from non-cancer obese patients (healthy control samples; n=8) and PDAC patients prior to surgical resection (n=13) were subjected to CyTOF analyses. The majority of FcRn expression was concentrated to monocyte (p=0.017), DCs (p=0.017) and MDSC (p=0.012) immune populations. Overall, we observed increased expression of FcRn on myeloid-derived immune populations from patients with PDAC. FcRn expression was elevated in both monocytes and DC populations in PDAC relative to non-cancer PBMCs. Monocytic and granulocytic MDSC from patients with PDAC had significantly elevated FcRn positivity compared to healthy controls (p = 0.034, p = 0.026, respectively).ConclusionsFcRn is upregulated in monocytes, dendritic cells and MDSC immune populations in patients and mice with pancreatic tumors. Future investigations into FcRn function in preclinical models and PDAC patients will hopefully elucidate new mechanisms of ICI resistance and possible alternative approaches for improving immunotherapy efficacy in these patients.Ethics ApprovalAll patients provided voluntary written informed consent (Institutional Review Board protocol: 2010C0051) to participate. The protocols and subsequent amendments were approved by The Ohio State University Institutional Review Board. All animal protocols were approved by the Ohio State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at The Ohio State University (Approved IACUC protocols 2009A0178-R4 and 2017A00000117-R1) and mice were treated in accordance with institutional guidelines for animal care. The Ohio State University Laboratory Animal Shared Resource is an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International accredited program that follows Public Health Service policy and guidelines. All other experiments were completed under the research protocols (2014R00000086; 2013R00000056) approved by the Ohio State University Institutional Biosafety Committee.

Myxedema Coma and Acute Hepatopathy in a Dog with Severe Atherosclerosis

A 9-year-old male intact mixed-breed dog was presented to The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center for evaluation of two days’ duration of weakness, lethargy, inappetence, and one episode of vomiting the day of presentation. On presentation, the dog was depressed and tetraparetic. He was noted to be icteric and dehydrated. Obesity and truncal alopecia with a “rat tail” appearance were observed. Diagnostic testing revealed evidence of an acute hepatopathy and peritonitis. Given the dog’s neurologic status, physical examination abnormalities, including a “tragic facial expression”, and hyperlipidemia, there was concern for possible myxedema coma. A thyroid panel was consistent with hypothyroidism. The dog experienced respiratory arrest prior to initiation of therapy, and an autopsy confirmed the presence of subacute necrotizing cholangiohepatitis, marked atherosclerosis, and severe thyroid atrophy. These clinical and pathologic changes were supportive of myxedema coma.

Clinical Outcomes with Ertapenem for Pneumonia in Obese versus Non-obese Patients

The objective of this study was to compare the rate of pneumonia resolution in obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) and non-obese (BMI < 30 kg/m 2 ) patients treated with ertapenem one gram daily. This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating patients treated at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2020. Patients were included if they were between 18 and 89 years old and received ertapenem for at least 48 hours for pneumonia. Patients were excluded if pregnant, incarcerated, had renal impairment, received antibiotics with gram-negative activity for a significant period prior to or in addition to ertapenem, and patients with other concomitant deep-seated infections. The primary outcome of clinical resolution was defined as meeting any of three criteria in order of evaluation: discontinuation of antibiotics by day 8 of therapy, afebrile while on ertapenem in addition to a decrease in white blood cell count, or improvement on chest radiograph at day 7 of therapy. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between obesity and clinical resolution, while adjusting for proven confounders. There were 76 non-obese and 65 obese patients included. The median patient BMI was 23.7 kg/m 2 (21.0-26.9) and 35.0 kg/m 2 (32.8-39.8) for the non-obese and obese cohorts, respectively. Clinical resolution was achieved in 78% (59/76) of non-obese and 75% (49/65) of obese patients (p=0.75) without an observed difference in the regression model. Outcomes were similar in obese and non-obese patients treated with ertapenem one gram daily for pneumonia.