Washington University In St. Louis Research Articles

Missouri's Abortion law: Access to care for Patients with Lethal Fetal Anomalies at a Midwest Tertiary care Center.

Missouri passed an 8-week gestational age abortion in August 2019. The objective of this study was to compare distance and time from referral to evaluation between patients who continued their pregnancy and those who terminated in patients with severe and lethal fetal anomalies and estimate the impact of the Missouri gestational age abortion ban on distance to abortion care in this patient population. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients seen at the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) Fetal Care Center (FCC) with a severe or lethal fetal anomaly between July 2018 and June 2019. Patient characteristics including gestational age at referral and distance traveled to the FCC were compared between patients who underwent abortion and who continued their pregnancies. From July 2018 to June 2019, 463 patients were seen in the Fetal Care Center and 13% (60/463) were diagnosed with severe or lethal fetal anomalies comprising the study population for this analysis. Of these, 21 (35%) patients underwent an abortion, and 39 (65%) patients continued their pregnancy. Patients who underwent abortion were referred at a significantly earlier gestational age (median 19 weeks [IQR 17, 20 weeks] v. 20 weeks [IQR 18, 24 weeks]), p = 0.04. There was a statistically significant difference between the median latency time between patients who underwent an abortion and who continued their pregnancy (median 8 days [IQR 4,13 days] v. 14 days [IQR 9, 22 days], p < 0.01). Patients with severe or lethal fetal anomalies are often evaluated at later gestational ages, which may preclude their access to abortion services.

174EMF Acute and Recurrent Firearm Injury Rates in an Urban Population (2010-2021): Using Machine Learning to Improve Classification

Firearm injury is the leading cause of death in children and young adults in the United States. In 2018, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) developed the St. Louis Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program Data Repository (STL-HVIP-DR) from hospital administrative data. This repository shares data on traumatically injured patients (blunt assault, stabbing, firearm injury) across the two research universities (WUSTL and St. Louis University) and their four associated adult and pediatric level-I trauma hospitals.

A reconsideration of university gap funds for promoting biomedical entrepreneurship

Abstract The last 50 years have seen an increasing dependence on academic institutions to develop and commercialize new biomedical innovations, a responsibility for which many universities are ill-equipped. To address this need, we created LEAP, an asset development and gap fund program at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Beyond awarding funds to promising projects, this program aimed to promote a culture of academic entrepreneurship, and thus improve WUSTL technology transfer, by providing university inventors with individualized consulting and industry expert feedback. The purpose of this work is to document the structure of the LEAP program and evaluate its impact on the WUSTL entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our analysis utilizes program data, participant surveys, and WUSTL technology transfer office records to demonstrate that LEAP consistently attracted new investigators and that the training provided by the program was both impactful and highly valued by participants. We also show that an increase in annual WUSTL start-up formation during the years after LEAP was established and implicate the program in this increase. Taken together, our results illustrate that programs like LEAP could serve as a model for other institutions that seek to support academic entrepreneurship initiatives.

Navigating during the Pandemic: Dialogues across Career Stages.

There is no doubting the fact that the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a tremendous impact on every aspect of our life over the past year and a half. Fueled by the lack of voices by young researchers and investigators, Dr Shabaana Khader [Professor of Microbiology, Washington University in St Louis (WUSTL)] and I decided that it was time that we had a panel to discuss how the pandemic has impacted scientists across different career stages. Our (all-women) panel included Liza Loza, a graduate student at WUSTL, Dr Leticia Monin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Francis Crick Institute, and Dr Alissa Rothchild, an Assistant Professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst). I hope that the following conversation strikes a chord with the readers of the journal.

A Brief Early History of Plant Science in St. Louis and the Partnership between Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden

Since the founding of the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) in 1859, the emphasis on research and the distribution of research findings in botany has been, and will remain, one of the central components of the garden’s mission. Likewise, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), the MBG’s partner in graduate programs since 1885, has had a continuous and similarly strong emphasis on research and the dissemination of research findings in plant science through publications. Since the beginning of this partnership, the ongoing extension of common research themes has been critical, through the early focus on traditional botanical studies (1885–1930) at the MBG, the move toward a focus on physiology and the emerging field of ecology (1930–1960), and eventually the shift to the study of biochemistry, molecular biology, and genomic studies in plant science (1960–present), primarily at WUSTL. For more than 135 years (1885–2020), this St. Louis–based collaboration has had a prominent place in the region’s rich history in plant science. In recent years, collaboration with and contributions from other St. Louis–area degree-granting institutions in the field (such as Saint Louis University [SLU] and the University of Missouri–St. Louis [UMSL]) have steadily increased. Couple this with the addition of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center) in 2000, which, like the MBG, has undertaken research and training in plant science, and you now have impressive depth and diversity within St. Louis’s plant science offerings. As a result, both organizations train students and carry out peer-reviewed research funded by the same agencies (i.e., National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture) as the region’s degree-granting institutions. Every year, a significant number of master’s degree and Ph.D. graduates in this consortium comprise an impressive pool of talent available for postdoctoral training, research, and teaching positions, as well as employment in government entities and private and public life science corporations. To this end, St. Louis has one of the largest concentrations of plant science Ph.D.’s in the world (with more than 1,000 such individuals residing in the region [BioSTL, 2018]), as well as a broad diversity of disciplines represented. In addition, the faculties at both the Danforth Center and MBG frequently serve as adjunct members of university departments and as advisors to graduate students, and greatly increase the breadth of topics offered in the St. Louis plant science community, particularly in areas not directly supported by the universities. Both organizations contribute to an increasingly important part of this ecosystem. Below is a short history of the relationship between the MBG and WUSTL, and how this collaboration, primarily through graduate research education, has been foundational for the St. Louis area’s impressive plant science ecosystem. This is not a detailed review of the science generated by these organizations, but rather an account of the initial events and leaders that led to the region becoming the present-day hub for plant science.

Performance and Flexibility Improvements of Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion

Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion (SPOC) is a low-carbon coal combustion power technology being developed by Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Oxy-combustion plants enable straightforward capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) by removing most of the nitrogen in the combustion air prior to use, thereby burning fuel in near-pure oxygen instead of air, producing a flue gas containing primarily CO2 and water. CO2 capture at amounts > 90% is possible, often using cryogenic air separation. Oxy-combustion typically relies on flue gas recycle (FGR) to reduce the peak temperature and radiation that would otherwise occur in a fuel/oxygen only flame. SPOC reduces the peak temperatures of combustion by utilizing two or more pressurized boiler modules connected in series to produce fuel staging; hence, only a portion of the fuel is combusted in any given furnace module. This means that the thermal energy released at each stage can be captured and removed from the gases prior to subsequent stages, when more fuel is introduced. This allows the SPOC process to operate with minimal FGR, avoiding the associated efficiency losses and additional costs. Also, the process operates at an elevated gas-side pressure, reducing boiler size, enhancing heat transfer to achieve a compact boiler configuration as compared to an atmospheric-pressure boiler design, and allowing for recovery of the latent heat of the water from the flue gas at a temperature useful to the steam cycle. The resultant net efficiency of the system is over 3 percentage points greater than traditional atmospheric-pressure oxy-combustion, and 7 percentage points greater than the post combustion variant, representing a step-change improvement over first-generation capture technologies. To further develop the concept, WUSTL and the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc., organized a project with American Air Liquide, Inc., Doosan Babcock Limited, and the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate a practicable and workable boiler design. The team has identified the potential for enhanced process flexibility for controlling power generation over a wider load range than is normally available to conventional coal-fired power plants due to the staged nature of the heat release. With increasing intermittent renewable generator contribution, on-demand generators need to be highly flexible to participate in the future energy market, requiring extensive operation at reduced load. Conventional coal-fired steam generators typically face challenges in maintaining temperature control of the reheat steam and main steam at reduced loads. This results in inefficient operation, both in terms of the boiler efficiency and steam turbine heat rate. The results of this project show the SPOC process is capable of exceptional turndown, both on a stage basis and with the ability to bypass entire stages. Oxygen-supply flexibility was also investigated, as this is also a key consideration for the overall flexibility of the SPOC process given the operating constraints of conventional air separation units. A boiler design concept assessment was conducted and was focused on delivering compact and constructible design. The assessment checked appropriate tube operating metal temperatures at full load and at lower operating loads, balanced against the needs of efficient coal combustion, and the resultant slagging and ash environments. Combustion testing in the 100-kWth pressurized combustion test rig at WUSTL was carried out to validate the combustion, heat flux profiles and burnout at multiple loads. Combustion parameters investigated were flame stability, fuel burnout, ash composition, radiative heat flux, and temperature profiles. The results of these tests formed the basis of a full-scale boiler design that will encompass improvements in both efficiency and flexibility over conventional oxy-combustion processes. The air separation unit flexibility was investigated, and associated cost implications were addressed. Detailed economic assessment results for a 550 MWe net power block are also provided, allowing for a comparison against the baseline NETL oxy-combustion and post combustion capture cases.

Transnational educational partnerships: achieving public health impact through cross-cultural pedagogical approaches in Haiti

ABSTRACT As part of the growing movement of transnational educational partnerships, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) partnered with the Université Publique du Nord au Cap-Haitïen (UPNCH) in January 2017 to launch the first undergraduate public health degree program in Haiti with the goal of increasing public health educational capacity in the country. In January 2018, WUSTL and UPNCH introduced the course Introduction to Public Health for the first cohort of public health students, offering the opportunity to practice and assess cross-cultural pedagogy as well as the engagement of students in relevant public health issues impacting Haiti. The goal of the partnership between WUSTL and UPNCH is to further public health education in Haiti, and to help create future public health leaders for the country. Through an assessment of the introductory course, the authors sought to gauge the impact of cross-cultural pedagogy and cooperative learning strategies in Haiti. In addition to describing the history and context of the partnership, this study used qualitative methods to assess student responses to the course through both observational data as well as student course evaluations. Thirty-two students completed course evaluations, providing insight into cross-cultural approaches as well as the effectiveness of collaborative pedagogy in Haiti. Despite challenges related to logistics and resources, students’ responses were overwhelmingly supportive of the course’s novel approach as well as the transnational partnership between WUSTL and UPNCH. Findings from this case example support existing research which claims successful approaches ensure cross-cultural pedagogy and bi-directional benefits via continual engagement between partners.

SAT-LB59 Functional MRI Study: Weight Loss Induced Changes in Taste Receipt-Induced Activation in the Striatum and Hypothalamus

Background: Reward behaviors including those related to eating are influenced by output from the ventral striatum (VS), dorsal striatal [caudate(Cau) and putamen(Put)]and hypothalamus (HTH). We hypothesized that weight loss would induce modifications in activation in these regions of interest (ROI) during a consummatory reward task. Methods: We recruited metabolic abnormal obese (MAO) from the VA St.Louis Health Care System and Washington University in St.Louis (WUSTL). MAO was screened for by fasting insulin and plasma glucose, 2 hour 75 gram OGTT, and hemoglobin A1c. MAO was defined as prediabetes by ADA criteria and/ or elevated HOMA-IR. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning sessions were completed at the WUSTL Center for Clinical Imaging Research. A rapid event-related design was used to randomly deliver taste of chocolate milk (choc) or tasteless water (wat). Each taste receipt was proceeded by a cue of corresponding image of chocolate milk or a glass of water. A total of 5 runs, each with 24 trials were completed. Imaging analyses included preprocessing with fMRIprep including censoring excessive motion ≥ 0.5mm. Single subject GLM analyses were completed in AFNI. ROIs were designated bilaterally (lt and rt) except for HTH. A canonical HRF was applied to the food cue event and the AFNI tent function over 9 TRs was applied to the taste receipt event. To evaluate for an effect of weight loss (WL) on food cue and taste receipt-induced activation, repeated measures ANOVA for each region was completed with condition (choc or wat) as a covariate. Also in the model for taste receipt, repetition time (TR) was included as a covariate. Results reported as F(sign.). Results: Ten participants achieved at least 7% WL, (range 7-15%), 44±8 years, BMI 38±4kg/m2, f/m 4/6, fasting pg 105±11, 2 hour OGTT pg 132 ±49 mg/dL, HOMA-IR 3.9±1.8. One participant fulfilled criteria for T2D. For taste receipt several significant effects were found for WL: Cau_lt WL 5.9(0.02) and WL*TR 4.9(0.03), Cau_rt WL 8.6(0.004) and WL*TR 8(0.005), Put_lt WL 8.5(0.004), HTH WL*condition 5.4(0.02) and a trend for WL 3.3(0.07). All other comparisons were non-significant including all in the VS and all for food cue. Conclusions: Moderate weight loss in MAO modified taste receipt-induced activation in the Cau, Put, and HTH but not in the VS.

Appraisal of CFD Discrete-Phase Models to be employed for Modeling Coal Particle Feeding in a Staged, Pressurized Oxy-fuel Combustor (SPOC)

In the present computational study employing the ANSYS Fluent commercial software, two different discrete phase formulations, namely, the discrete phase model (DPM) and the dense discrete phase model (DDPM) are tested and compared. Specifically, the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations with the Lagrangian-Eulerian models are performed in both cases. The configuration employed is a cylindrical combustor with three inlet gas streams that feed the system with mixtures of different O2 and CO2 mole fractions under an operating condition of 15 bar, emulating the 100 kW lab-scale facility employed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Specifically, the coal particles are fed into the system by the secondary gas stream through an annulus-axial convergent duct surrounding the primary inlet stream. Distributions of the DPM concentration (the ratio of the dispersed phase mass to the mesh cell volume; in kg/m3) of the coal particles along the axial direction within this secondary inlet agree for both the DPM and DDPM models even though these models mimic the coupling between the phases in a different manner. However, the particle grouping is observed not only axially, along the inlet duct, but also in the radial direction as there are zones experiencing non-uniform particle distribution. Overall, the impact of DPM concentration on the flame stability is shown to be minor since a continuous particle release prior to burning zone is successfully achieved for both models.

Rituximab/bendamustine and rituximab/cytarabine induction therapy for transplant-eligible mantle cell lymphoma

AbstractThe addition of high-dose cytarabine to rituximab/bendamustine (RB) induction could improve outcomes for transplant-eligible patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We conducted a pooled analysis of 2 phase 2 trials and an off-trial cohort each testing 3 cycles of RB and 3 cycles of rituximab/high-dose cytarabine (RC) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) among untreated, transplant-eligible patients with MCL. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) led separate phase 2 trials testing sequential and alternating cycles of RB/RC, respectively. Patients treated at DFCI with sequential RB/RC off trial were retrospectively identified. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was assessed in the DFCI trial. A total of 88 patients (23 DFCI trial, 18 WUSTL trial, and 47 off trial) received RB/RC; 92% of patients completed induction, and 84% underwent planned consolidative ASCT. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events among trial patients included lymphopenia (88%), thrombocytopenia (85%), neutropenia (83%), and febrile neutropenia (15%). There were no treatment-related deaths during induction and 2 following ASCT. Among 87 response-evaluable patients, the end-of-induction overall and complete response rates were 97% and 90%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 33 months, 3-year progression-free survival and overall survival were 83% and 92%, respectively. Patients undergoing MRD testing experienced prolonged MRD negativity after ASCT with emergence of MRD occurring in only 1 patient who subsequently relapsed. RB/RC followed by ASCT achieves high rates of durable remissions in transplant-eligible patients with MCL. These trials were registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01661881 (DFCI trial) and #NCT02728531 (WUSTL trial).

Rituximab/Bendamustine and Rituximab/Cytarabine (RB/RC) Induction Chemotherapy for Transplant-Eligible Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma: A Pooled Analysis of Two Phase 2 Clinical Trials and Off-Trial Experience

Rituximab/Bendamustine and Rituximab/Cytarabine (RB/RC) Induction Chemotherapy for Transplant-Eligible Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma: A Pooled Analysis of Two Phase 2 Clinical Trials and Off-Trial Experience

Improving Flexibility and Performance of Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion

Staged pressurized oxy-combustion (SPOC) is a novel coal combustion power technology being developed by Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) that offers the potential to deliver low-carbon power at a reduced cost. Oxy-combustion plants operate by removing most of the nitrogen contained in air prior to combustion, thereby burning fuel in a near-pure oxygen stream instead of air. This combustion produces a flue gas containing primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor that allows relatively straightforward CO2 capture. First-generation, atmospheric oxy-combustion technology relies on a flue gas recycle (FGR) diluent to reduce the peak temperatures achieved and the resulting high thermal radiation levels that would otherwise occur in a fuel/oxygen only flame. In contrast, by staging the combustion in several steps, SPOC reduces the peak temperatures of combustion without resorting to a high degree of FGR to control flame temperatures. The SPOC process operates by utilizing two or more pressurized boiler modules connected in series to produce fuel staging; hence, only a portion of the fuel is combusted in any given combustion module. Subsequently the thermal energy released at each stage can be captured and removed from the gases prior to subsequent stages, when more fuel is introduced. This allows the SPOC process to operate with minimal FGR, avoiding the associated efficiency losses and additional costs. While the staging controls the heat release profile in SPOC, operating in a pressurized condition yields a more compact system, reducing modular boiler size and delivering enhanced heat transfer. Additionally, operating at elevated pressures ensures that the latent heat of moisture available from moisture in the fuel and generated by the combustion of the hydrogen content in the fuel can be captured as useful thermal energy for steam turbine integration. This is possible due to elevated dew point from the high partial pressure of the moisture generated in this process, which allows substantial feedwater heater bypassing to be achieved. The inclusion of this thermal energy, normally lost to the atmosphere in traditional combustion processes or to cooling systems in atmospheric oxy-combustion, allows the resultant net efficiency of the SPOC system to be up to 6 percentage points greater than first-generation systems. To begin the process of developing this technology for full-scale application, the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. teamed up with WUSTL, American Air Liquide, Doosan Babcock, and the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate a practical and workable boiler design concept that would minimize process risks where possible. The SPOC system offers unique process flexibility opportunities due to the staged nature of the combustion, making it a prime candidate for future primary energy delivery where the ability to operate at reduced load in an efficient manner and ramp rapidly will be valuable for balancing intermittent renewable electricity generation. The efficiency of traditional coal-fired power plants is lower at reduced loads below the steam temperature control range due to the challenges in balancing the heat pickup between radiative and convective superheater and reheater surface. Introducing additional heating surface for optimal extended controlled low load operation will likely lead to excessive attemperation at high loads, ultimately leading to a poorer overall cycle efficiency. The SPOC process can facilitate the adjustment of fuel firing rates between stages, targeting heat pickup to where it is most needed and potentially can shut down stages for low-load operation, facilitating an increased steam temperature control range on turndown. The boiler design concept assessment is being carried out to identify the maximum permissible compactness of the SPOC boiler heating surfaces. The assessment will determine the minimum overall height that will deliver appropriate tube operating metal temperatures at full load and achieve rated reheat steam temperatures at low operating loads, balanced against the needs of efficient coal combustion, and the potential resultant slagging and ash environments. The design parameters are being validated by combustion testing in the 100-kWth pressurized combustion test rig at WUSTL. Parameters being investigated include flame stability, fuel burnout, ash composition, radiative heat flux, and temperature profiles. These are being carried out for a range of inlet gas conditions and compositions and at multiple load conditions to investigate combustion stability at reduced load. The results of this testing inform the modeling of the large-scale system, that was sized at 550 MWe to allow direct comparison with the National Energy Technology Laboratory baseline cases for atmospheric oxy-combustion, air firing, and air firing with post-combustion capture.

Abstract A83: Development of a New Inter-Institutional Partnership to Assess Health Literacy Disparities in the Context of Kidney Cancer and Smoking

Abstract Background: Kidney cancer mortality rates are significantly higher among individuals diagnosed with later-stage disease, but there are currently no efficacious methods for kidney cancer screening. As a result, primary prevention via reduction of modifiable risk factors such as smoking, as well prompt diagnosis following early symptoms of the disease, are key to reducing kidney cancer mortality. Recent research conducted at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSOM) has found that rural residents of Southern and Central Illinois have some of the highest kidney cancer incidence and mortality rates in the nation. However, this disparity is not fully explained by the limited number of urologists practicing within this region. Higher rates of smoking, higher thresholds for medical help-seeking behavior, and/or lower levels of health literacy may contribute to the increased incidence and mortality rates within this population, but urban-rural differences in these factors have not be examined within the region. Partnership Development: To address these critical research gaps, SIUSOM investigators with expertise in urology and clinical trial implementation developed a pilot research project with Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) investigators specializing in health behavior and health disparities research. The pilot project was submitted as part of an NCI-funded P20 center exploring the feasibility of building a collaborative partnership between Simmons Cancer Institute at SIUSOM and WUSTL's Siteman Cancer Center. Research Objectives: The goals of the pilot project are to assess potential geographic differences (urban vs. rural) in: 1) health literacy and cancer literacy; 2) knowledge of smoking as a kidney cancer risk factor; and 3) degree of bother caused by general urologic symptoms. During the development and implementation of the pilot project, the research team is also monitoring the progress and barriers in building new collaborative partnerships that span two institutions located approximately 100 miles apart. Research Methods: The pilot project is currently enrolling a total of 300 individuals attending primary care or urology clinic appointments in Springfield, IL (n=60); Carbondale, IL (n=120); and St. Louis, MO (n=120). Because the pilot project is designed to assess regional variation in relevant risk factors rather than the relationship between risk factors and kidney cancer development, all clinic patients must be at least 40 years old and must not have a personal history of kidney cancer. Individuals who consent to participate in the study complete a self-administered survey via Android tablet while waiting for their clinic appointment. Interim Findings: During the pilot project development and implementation phases, we have leveraged existing institutional resources, such as the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) system, to streamline our data collection and management across multiple locations. However, we have encountered some challenges in establishing uniform practices for clinic-based recruitment and enrollment, given the unique clinic organization and patient flow issues in each geographic location. Recruitment and enrollment are currently underway, and preliminary quantitative results will be available by mid-September. Citation Format: Erin Linnenbringer, Shaheen Alanee, Katina Richardson, Nirek Sharma, Aimee James, Danuta Dynda, Kevin McVary. Development of a New Inter-Institutional Partnership to Assess Health Literacy Disparities in the Context of Kidney Cancer and Smoking. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A83.

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Euchromatic and Heterochromatic Chromosomal regions of two species of Drosophila

Comparative genomic analyses can yield important information about the structure and function of genomes. The public availability of DNA sequence data from genome sequencing projects provides opportunities for undergraduate and high school students to do genomics research. The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP, see www.gep.wustl.edu) is a scientific and educational collaboration centered at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), which provides a variety of tools for comparative genome analysis of several Drosophila species. The goal of the current GEP project is to compare sequences of chromosome four (also called the ‘dot' chromosome) from D. melanogaster with homologous regions from other species. The dot chromosome has interesting features of heterochromatin and euchromatin, and is therefore a good choice for studying the evolution of these two types of sequences. Here we describe the analysis of a euchromatic region from D. biarmipes that is homologous to chromosome 3L of D. melanogaster. This analysis serves as an important control comparison in our larger project. We analyzed 40,000 base pairs of DNA from contig 6 of the D. biarmipes genome. Initial analysis suggested there are nine predicted genes in this region. We used several analysis tools available from the GEP and other sources to generate precise gene models for these genes. Our results will contribute to the completion of the full genomic map of D. biarmipes and will be compiled along with other student data to analyze the evolution of the structure and function of heterochromatin as compared to euchromatin. *The Genomics Education Partnership is funded by HHMI (Professors grant #52007051 to SCR Elgin) and by Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL).

Using Comparative Genomics to Study DNA Sequences of the Muller F Element from Drosophila biarmipes

The Genomics Education Partnership* (GEP) is a scientific and educational partnership using comparative genomics to characterize the Muller F element, a distinct chromosomal domain, from the genomes of several Drosophila species (see www.gep.wustl.edu). In Drosophila melanogaster, the F element corresponds to the fourth chromosome (or “dot” chromosome), which appears to be heterochromatic by many criteria, but has a relatively high gene density. Our goal is to study the evolution of these sequences to further our understanding of the function of heterochromatin. As part of an advanced genetics course at Albion College, we used several web-based tools to annotate a 50,000 base pair contiguous sequence from the genome of Drosophila biarmipes. The annotation process involved using the corresponding genomic region of the Drosophila melanogaster fourth chromosome as a reference sequence. Using BLAST we estimated the positions of each exon, then using a variety of evidence tracks from the UCSC genome browser, we precisely localized start codons, donor and acceptor splice sites, and stop codons for each isoform. Gene models were verified using the Gene Model Checker program and by generating final sequence alignments and dot plots using BLAST. Our analysis resulted in the annotation of five distinct genes in this contig. The genes ranged in complexity from 2-7 splice variants, with individual isoforms ranging in size from 4 to 12 exons each. Our analysis will be combined with data from other student members of the partnership to help answer questions about the organization and function of the Muller F element in several different species. *The Genomics Education Partnership is funded by HHMI (Professors grant #52007051 to SCR Elgin) and by Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL).

Paving the Road to Clinical Trial Participation: Removing Road Blocks and Directing Patients Toward Novel Therapies

Paving the Road to Clinical Trial Participation: Removing Road Blocks and Directing Patients Toward Novel Therapies

Didactic and experiential interprofessional, inter-institutional courses at a private college of pharmacy

Creating opportunities for students of multiple health professions to achieve the interprofessional competencies is critical to prepare them to enter the health care system and provide effective team-based care. Challenges can be experienced by any health profession school when establishing these opportunities; independent, private schools with limited health profession degrees may experience even greater difficulty. As an independent, private college, St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) has successfully created interprofessional courses with three neighboring schools. In Interprofessional Team Seminar (IPTS), students participate in an interprofessional experience at St. Louis University (SLU) as part of the required Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience in professional year (PY)-3. SLU students enrolled in medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, and physician assistant programs join with STLCOP student pharmacists to discuss patient cases with an emphasis on patient safety, prioritizing goals, and teamwork. An elective course, “Indigent Populations: Focus on Health Literacy” is co-coordinated with Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College (GSN) faculty and allows PY-2 and PY-3 student pharmacists to work collaboratively with students from GSN to serve the homeless in the city. The aim is to describe lessons learned and share strategies for successful interprofessional education design and implementation among similar institutions.

Treatment Planning Constraints to Avoid Xerostomia in Head-and-Neck Radiotherapy: An Independent Test of QUANTEC Criteria Using a Prospectively Collected Dataset

The severe reduction of salivary function (xerostomia) is a common complication after radiation therapy for head-and-neck cancer. Consequently, guidelines to ensure adequate function based on parotid gland tolerance dose-volume parameters have been suggested by the QUANTEC group and by Ortholan et al. We perform a validation test of these guidelines against a prospectively collected dataset and compared with a previously published dataset. Whole-mouth stimulated salivary flow data from 66 head-and-neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) were measured, and treatment planning data were abstracted. Flow measurements were collected from 50 patients at 3 months, and 60 patients at 12-month follow-up. Previously published data from a second institution, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), were used for comparison. A logistic model was used to describe the incidence of Grade 4 xerostomia as a function of the mean dose of the spared parotid gland. The rate of correctly predicting the lack of xerostomia (negative predictive value [NPV]) was computed for both the QUANTEC constraints and Ortholan et al. recommendation to constrain the total volume of both glands receiving more than 40 Gy to less than 33%. Both datasets showed a rate of xerostomia of less than 20% when the mean dose to the least-irradiated parotid gland is kept to less than 20 Gy. Logistic model parameters for the incidence of xerostomia at 12 months after therapy, based on the least-irradiated gland, were D(50) = 32.4 Gy and and γ = 0.97. NPVs for QUANTEC guideline were 94% (BCCA data), and 90% (WUSTL data). For Ortholan et al. guideline NPVs were 85% (BCCA) and 86% (WUSTL). These data confirm that the QUANTEC guideline effectively avoids xerostomia, and this is somewhat more effective than constraints on the volume receiving more than 40 Gy.

Remembering and Researching the Old and the New: An Interview with Roddy Roediger

Dr. Henry L. (Roddy) Roediger is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and a scholar of human memory. He graduated from Washington &amp; Lee University in 1969 and received his PhD in psychology from Yale University. He served as chair of the Psychology Department at WUSTL from 1996 to 2004, when he was named dean of academic planning in Arts and Sciences. Roediger's research interests include such topics as how people can suffer memory illusions and false memories (remembering events differently from the way they happened or remembering events that never happened at all); implicit memory (when past events affect ongoing behavior without one's awareness); and, most recently, applying cognitive psychology to improving learning in educational situations. One primary current interest is why the process of retrieval serves as a powerful memory enhancer. David G. Elmes is professor emeritus of psychology at Washington &amp; Lee University, where he taught for 40 years. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia. Elmes was a research associate at the Human Performance Center of the University of Michigan, and he was a Visiting Fellow of University College at the University of Oxford. He has coauthored or edited four books that focus on research methods and has numerous publications on learning, memory, and olfaction. Elmes served as president of the Council on Undergraduate Research. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Virginia Academy of Science.