University of Nevada, Reno

About: University of Nevada, Reno is a education organization based out in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13561 authors who have published 28217 publications receiving 882002 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Nevada & Nevada State University.

Improved refill persistence with fluticasone propionate and salmeterol in a single inhaler compared with other controller therapies.

Abstract: Background Improved adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) has also been associated with decreased asthma-associated morbidity and mortality. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess patient medication refill persistence with fluticasone propionate (FP) and salmeterol combination in a single inhaler (FSC), FP and salmeterol in combination from 2 separate inhalers, FP and montelukast in combination, FP as monotherapy, and montelukast as monotherapy. Methods We performed a retrospective, observational, 24-month (12-month baseline and 12-month follow-up) database study using medical and pharmacy claims from a large managed care organization. We identified 2511 subjects 12 years of age or older with a claim for asthma (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision: 493.XX): 563 patients receiving FSC, 224 receiving FP plus salmeterol, 75 receiving FP plus montelukast, 798 receiving FP only, and 776 receiving montelukast only. Refill rates of FP, as a measure of adherence, were compared for each FP-containing cohort during the 12-month follow-up period. In addition, refill rates were compared between FSC, an inhaler, and montelukast, an oral medication. Results Twelve-month baseline asthma medication use and patient demographics were comparable among cohorts. Patients in the FSC cohort obtained significantly more refills compared with the number of FP refills in the other FP-containing cohorts (4.06 for FSC vs 2.35 for FP plus salmeterol, 1.83 for FP plus montelukast, and 2.27 for FP alone) over the 12-month follow-up period. In addition, patients taking FSC had similar refill persistence compared with patients taking the oral leukotriene modifier montelukast (4.51). Conclusion FSC might increase ICS refill persistence compared with FP alone in a single inhaler, FP in combination with salmeterol from 2 separate inhalers, and FP in combination with montelukast. In addition, FSC in a dry powdered inhaler had similar refill rates compared with an oral asthma agent, montelukast. Use of a single inhaler containing both an ICS (FP) and a long-acting bronchodilator (salmeterol) might increase the likelihood that patients are getting more optimal ICS therapy, as well as the benefits from the long-acting bronchodilator, with patient adherence comparable to an oral agent.

The cavefish genome reveals candidate genes for eye loss

Abstract: Natural populations subjected to strong environmental selection pressures offer a window into the genetic underpinnings of evolutionary change. Cavefish populations, Astyanax mexicanus (Teleostei: Characiphysi), exhibit repeated, independent evolution for a variety of traits including eye degeneration, pigment loss, increased size and number of taste buds and mechanosensory organs, and shifts in many behavioural traits. Surface and cave forms are interfertile making this system amenable to genetic interrogation; however, lack of a reference genome has hampered efforts to identify genes responsible for changes in cave forms of A. mexicanus. Here we present the first de novo genome assembly for Astyanax mexicanus cavefish, contrast repeat elements to other teleost genomes, identify candidate genes underlying quantitative trait loci (QTL), and assay these candidate genes for potential functional and expression differences. We expect the cavefish genome to advance understanding of the evolutionary process, as well as, analogous human disease including retinal dysfunction.

A Ca2+-activated Cl− conductance in interstitial cells of Cajal linked to slow wave currents and pacemaker activity

Abstract: Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are unique cells that generate electrical pacemaker activity in gastrointestinal (GI) muscles. Many previous studies have attempted to characterize the conductances responsible for pacemaker current and slow waves in the GI tract, but the precise mechanism of electrical rhythmicity is still debated. We used a new transgenic mouse with a bright green fluorescent protein (copGFP) constitutively expressed in ICC to facilitate study of these cells in mixed cell dispersions. We found that ICC express a specialized ‘slow wave’ current. Reversal of tail current analysis showed this current was due to a Cl− selective conductance. ICC express ANO1, a Ca2+-activated Cl− channel. Slow wave currents are not voltage dependent, but a secondary voltage-dependent process underlies activation of these currents. Removal of extracellular Ca2+, replacement of Ca2+ with Ba2+, or extracellular Ni2+ (30 μm) blocked the slow wave current. Single Ca2+-activated Cl− channels with a unitary conductance of 7.8 pS were resolved in excised patches of ICC. These are similar in conductance to ANO1 channels (8 pS) expressed in HEK293 cells. Slow wave current was blocked in a concentration-dependent manner by niflumic acid (IC50= 4.8 μm). Slow wave currents are associated with transient depolarizations of ICC in current clamp, and these events were blocked by niflumic acid. These findings demonstrate a role for a Ca2+-activated Cl− conductance in slow wave current in ICC and are consistent with the idea that ANO1 participates in pacemaker activity.

A cyclic nucleotide-gated channel is essential for polarized tip growth of pollen

Abstract: Ion signals are critical to regulating polarized growth in many cell types, including pollen in plants and neurons in animals. Genetic evidence presented here indicates that pollen tube growth requires cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGC) 18. CNGCs are nonspecific cation channels found in plants and animals and have well established functions in excitatory signal transduction events in animals. In Arabidopsis, male sterility was observed for two cngc18 null mutations. CNGC18 is expressed primarily in pollen, as indicated from a promoter::GUS (β-glucuronidase) reporter analysis and expression profiling. The underlying cause of sterility was identified as a defect in pollen tube growth, resulting in tubes that were kinky, short, often thin, and unable to grow into the transmitting tract. Expression of a GFP-tagged CNGC18 in mutant pollen provided complementation and evidence for asymmetric localization of CNGC18 to the plasma membrane at the growing tip, starting at the time of pollen grain germination. Heterologous expression of CNGC18 in Escherichia coli resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent accumulation of more Ca2+. Thus, CNGC18 provides a mechanism to directly transduce a cyclic nucleotide (cNMP) signal into an ion flux that can produce a localized signal capable of regulating the pollen tip-growth machinery. These results identify a CNGC that is essential to an organism's life cycle and raise the possibility that CNGCs have a widespread role in regulating cell-growth dynamics in both plant and animals. calcium male sterile Arabidopsis CaM