Management of Gut Microbiota to Improve Sleep Dysfunction for Children with Autism-Spectrum Disorders

Many children with Autism-Spectrum Disorders (ASD) struggle with sleep dysfunction. This can be caused by a lack of important gut microbiota (GM) that have the ability to influence functions of the nervous system through the gut-brain axis. The metabolites of GM function are responsible for influencing the production of pertinent sleep hormones, such as melatonin and serotonin. The research has identified lower abundance levels of the gut microbiota species Faecalibacterium and Agathobacter in children with ASD that struggled with sleep disorders. When exploring their impact on sleep hormone production, a positive correlation was identified between these species of GM and melatonin levels, which regulates circadian sleep cycles. In addition, a negative correlation was observed between these species of GM and serotonin levels, which high levels of can lead to wakefulness and sleep dysfunction. To improve GM levels in children with ASD, a Bimuno® galactooligosaccharide (B-GOS®) prebiotic intervention was tested in children with ASD. While this intervention led to improved GM levels and increased levels of Faecalibacterium growth, a significant difference was not noticed between groups. Furthermore, an analysis of probiotic intervention studies in various individuals revealed the ability to improve sleep metric scores through consumption of probiotics. These findings can be further explored in children with ASD for potential treatments for sleep disorders.

The Genetics and Learning Disorders of the Syndromes Involving Craniosynostosis

Prenatal genetic vehicles that lead to facial and cranial dysmorphias, specifically craniosynostosis, are seen in a spectrum of synostotic syndromes that include apert, crouzon, Kleeblattschadel deformity, saethre-chotzen, muenke, cranio-fronto-nasal syndrome, Robinow-Sorauf syndrome and beare-stevenson-cutis-gyrata syndrome. Specific genes involved in cranio-synostotic syndromes include: TWIST1, EFNB1, GLI2, DMD, YWHAE, IRAK2, FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, CNTNAP2, ADAMTS18, SKI, MECP2, KIFBP, TCF12, H2AL1P, GAGE12D and possibly HDAC9. Regarding protein expression, conserved domains found in rpsblast for craniosynostosis using the NCBI homologene tool show IGc2 (smart00408) immunoglobulin C-2 Type, PKc_like (cl09925) Protein Kinases, catalytic domain, Ig (cl11960) Immunoglobulin domain. A discussion of all the syndromes involving craniosynostosis is beyond the scope of this paper. We will discuss the clinical features, genetics, cognitive development and associated psychiatric conditions of the more common syndromes involving craniosynostosis. We theorize that the clinical features and genetics of craniosynostosis involve a spectrum of syndromes on which there is variable severity and involvement of impaired cognition and developmental disorders.

Comparing Effectiveness of Different Microhomology Lengths in Microhomology Mediated End Joining (MMEJ) Repair of DNA Double Stranded Breaks (DSBs)

DNA Double-Stranded Breaks (DSBs) are caused by genotoxic agents, such as ionizing radiation and chemical agents, and can cause an affected cell to undergo apoptosis or cell death. The process of microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) shows promising results in the repair of DSBs in DNA. MMEJ is a mutagenic DSB repair mechanism that uses a certain length of homologous nucleotides adjacent to the DSB to align the broken DNA strands for repair. This can result in insertions, deletions, and even translocations of genes at the DSB site. This has led to discussions of debate on whether MMEJ is efficient in repairing DSBs in DNA. Based on the length of microhomology, the effectiveness of the DSB repair can vary. The purpose of this research is to examine MMEJ repair using micro-homologies of different lengths in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to test the effectiveness of MMEJ repair. The HIS3 gene located in chromosome 15 in the yeast cell is used to test for MMEJ repair, and the full microhomology length represents 311 base pairs (bp). Various crosses are performed on cells to attain desired genotypes that have the homologous chromosomes in alignment for MMEJ repair. After inducing DSBs, media-based testing is used for testing the efficiency of MMEj repair by checking for the presence of certain genes that may have formed or been deleted during the repair process.

The Application and Usage of Anesthetics in the Surgical Treatment of Orbital Cellulitis

Orbital cellulitis is a condition that can require surgery if severe symptoms progress to an undesirable state. Therefore, it is important for physicians to utilize anesthetics during these procedures to cause minimal harm to the patient. This review will analyze the consequences that the current application of anesthetics has on patients when being utilized in surgeries to eliminate orbital cellulitis. The authors find that when performing surgical intervention to terminate orbital cellulitis, physicians will favor bupivacaine, hyaluronidase, and lignocaine as anesthetics. Hyaluronidase is used to enhance the effects of the other two anesthetics, but can cause mild allergic reactions in certain patients. Additionally, this review seeks to analyze the current treatment of orbital cellulitis when surgical intervention is unnecessary. In mild cases of orbital cellulitis, the use of broad-range IV antibiotics in conjunction with oral antibiotics are sufficient remedies. The authors find that although surgical treatment of orbital cellulitis has improved over the years, there are still many changes that could be made to improve patient outcomes.

Infections Independent of Contamination: From Organic Matter, Evolution or Stem Cells

This study presents evidence to propose that some human infections may derive Independent of contamination by invading pathogens. Diverse data suggest multiple pathways Independent of contamination may generate human infections. For instance, the first microorganisms that emerged from lifeless organic matter 3.6 billion years ago indicated transformation of lifeless organic matter to micro organisms. Viral infections do correspondent to a lifeless protein particle in a cell of a complex multi- cellular organism reproducing and spreading infections to other complex multi- cellular organisms. Some microbes -such as pseudomonas aeruginosa with a larger genome and greater functional complexity than common bacteria -may evolve from human flora as observed in mammalian decomposition in sterile soil. For, decomposer species are not foreign Invaders from the environment and they represent evolution of common microorganisms during mammalian decomposition. Human cells may produce microorganisms consistent with a proven genetic link between humans cells and the Christensenellaceae (a family in the phylum Firmicutes). Human stem cells which are capable to differentiate to epithelial cells and cancer and have the essentials to produce microbes are the most likely candidates to produce microorganisms. What may be almost certain and not experimentally validated is the possibility that infections have multiple pathways of origin independent of contamination. Most nosocomial and opportunistic infections may be endogenous. Our knowledge may demolish the dogma of contamination by foreign microbes as the exclusive source of infections and pave novel avenues to prevent and treat diverse infections.

Determining the Efficiency and Yield of Caffeine Extraction for Robusta and Arabica Coffee Beans

The objective of this review is to determine the difference in caffeine content in the coffee beans from different brands that are available in Costco. Two different popular coffee bean brands were bought and tested to determine which brand would have the highest caffeine content and their relative popularity among consumers. The extraction DMC method was conducted by using chemicals such as calcium carbonate, water, and DMC. The same amount of coffee beans were boiled with water until highly concentrated solutions were formed. Extraction funnel was utilized to wash out caffeine. Then, the recrystallization and vacuum filtration was utilized to obtain caffeine in solid form. The identity of the product along with the purity of the product was determined using melting temp, IR-spectroscopy, UV-vis spectrum, and TLC plating. The mass of caffeine produced from individual coffee brands were measured and compared. It was hypothesized that robusta coffee beans would yield more caffeine than arabica coffee beans. The expected results verify those claims as the data demonstrates that the amount of caffeine extracted from 10 grams of robusta coffee would be around .8021 grams, while the amount of caffeine extracted from 10 grams of arabica coffee would be around .4321 grams. The IR graph, UV-vis graph, and TLC plate were conducted to verify the identity of the product. The predicted IR graph, UV-vis graph, and TLC plate closely matched with the literature values, which indicates that the product produced is pure caffeine. One source of error that could skew the data could be the presence of impurities from the coffee beans that react in solution while we are trying to extract the caffeine. The broader impact of this review is that by understanding the caffeine content in different products, the medical and scientific field can further determine the difference in health effects between excess and optimal caffeine consumption to the human body. Additionally, scientists can research various medical usages of caffeine to help different patients with sleep disorders.

Protective Effect of QiOne® 2 Pro on Cultured Intestinal Epithelial Cells after Mobile Phone Radiation

QiOne® 2 Pro is a specific device which creates a static field that stimulates water molecules to undergo a transition into the coherent state. Since our body consists of about 70 to 85% of water (depending on age), this coherent state of the water molecules might increase the cellular resistance against exogenous reliabilities such as electromagnetic fields. In this study, the protective effect of QiOne® 2 Pro against mobile phone radiation was examined by using the cultured intestinal epithelial cells. Unprotected cells and untreated control cells served as point of reference. The cell regeneration process as well as the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier was investigated by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance. Mobile phone radiation caused a reduced cell regenerative activity by approximately 60%, whereas the values were about 15% for QiOne® 2 Pro protected cells and untreated controls, respectively. Moreover, mobile phone radiation caused a rupture on the epithelial barrier in unprotected cells by cell death caused due to the oxidative stress with a complete loss of morphological integrity on the barrier. In contrast, untreated controls and QiOne® 2 Pro protected cells did not show any morphological change on the cell layers with an epithelial barrier of a 10-fold higher transepithelial electrical resistance than the unprotected cells. Overall the results clearly demonstrate the sensitivity of intestinal barrier against oxidative stress generated by mobile phone radiation. In addition, the results also show that the QiOne® 2 Pro device is able to reduce unwanted cellular effects of mobile phone radiation.

A Biological Analysis on the Invasiveness of the Corbicula Fluminea

Corbicula fluminea is an invasive species that has been observed to outcompete the native clams at the American River located near Sacramento in the Central Valley in California. We hypothesized that C. Fluminea has advantages exhibited physically including utilization of filter-feeding methods and relative spacing of its cirri as compared to the native American River clams. To investigate what makes the species so successful, we tested C. Fluminea versus the native clams in algal and E.coli environments to predict the relative advantage of a filter feeder. In addition, we used computer programs to digitally analyze the spacing between the actual cirri, which help bivalves capture food particles, of the two species. The findings pointed towards C. Fluminea’s inherent advantage in both physical and genetic traits over the native clams species which allowed it to flourish and successfully invade the American River ecosystem. However, the species’ genetic findings are found through DNA analysis.

Exploring Drug and Antibody-Based Treatment Options for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by mutant PrP prion proteins, which accumulates and impairs the function of wild-type PrPc proteins. The interaction of prion proteins with wild-type proteins converts the PrPc proteins to mutant PrP proteins. These mutant prion proteins lead to neural tissue degradation and other nervous system problems that can eventually lead to death. The use of antibodies to target and destroy prion proteins can be used to decrease PrP levels that can stop CJD progression. The binding affinities of different anti-PrP Fab antibodies are analyzed to determine which antibody best binds to PrP proteins and targets them for destruction. Through antibody-based targeting of prion proteins, potential treatment methods could be developed for CJD. In addition, the use of drugs, such as quinacrine and doxycycline, also show short-term effects in decreasing the progression of CJD. These drugs extend the average lifespan of tested subjects with CJD but also lead to the development of drug-resistant prion proteins that eventually cause the death of the subject affected by CJD.