Virginia Commonwealth University

About: Virginia Commonwealth University is a education organization based out in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 23822 authors who have published 49587 publications receiving 1787046 citations. The organization is also known as: VCU.

Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT): A Patient-Centered Approach to Grading Evidence in the Medical Literature

Abstract: A large number of taxonomies are used to rate the quality of an individual study and the strength of a recommendation based on a body of evidence. We have developed a new grading scale that will be used by several family medicine and primary care journals (required or optional), with the goal of allowing readers to learn one taxonomy that will apply to many sources of evidence. Our scale is called the Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy. It addresses the quality, quantity, and consistency of evidence and allows authors to rate individual studies or bodies of evidence. The taxonomy is built around the information mastery framework, which emphasizes the use of patient-oriented outcomes that measure changes in morbidity or mortality. An A-level recommendation is based on consistent and good quality patient-oriented evidence; a B-level recommendation is based on inconsistent or limited quality patient-oriented evidence; and a C-level recommendation is based on consensus, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence, or case series for studies of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or screening. Levels of evidence from 1 to 3 for individual studies also are defined. We hope that consistent use of this taxonomy will improve the ability of authors and readers to communicate about the translation of research into practice.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. Formulating a Topic and Developing a Protocol 3. Locating and Screening Studies 4. Data Extraction and Study Quality Assessment 5. Effect Size Metrics and Pooling Methods 6. Assessing Bias and Variations in Effects 7. Conclusions APPENDICES A: AMSTAR (for assessment of multiple systematic reviews) B: Software for Meta-Analysis C: Suggested Outline for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses D: Sample Search Strategy E: Sample Data Extraction Forms

Influence of Peptide Composition, Gas-Phase Basicity, and Chemical Modification on Fragmentation Efficiency: Evidence for the Mobile Proton Model

Abstract: Relative energetics of fragmentation of protonated peptides are investigated by using electrospray ionization/surface-induced dissociation (ESI/SID) tandem mass spectrometry. ESI/SID fragmentation efficiency curves (percent fragmentation versus laboratory collision energy) are presented for 20 oligopeptides and are a measure of how easily a peptide fragments. The relative positions of the ESI/SID fragmentation efficiency curves depend on several parameters which include peptide composition (e.g., presence/absence of a basic amino acid residue) and peptide size. The ESI/SID fragmentation efficiency curves, in combination with quantum chemical calculations, provide a unique approach to substantiate and refine the mobile proton model for peptide fragmentation. Selected peptides are also investigated to further test and confirm the mobile proton model; these include doubly-protonated peptides and chemically-modified peptides (i.e., acetylated and fixed-charge derivatized peptides). Doubly-protonated peptides ...

Selective blockade of 2-arachidonoylglycerol hydrolysis produces cannabinoid behavioral effects

Abstract: 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide are endocannabinoids that activate the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Endocannabinoid signaling is terminated by enzymatic hydrolysis, a process that for anandamide is mediated by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), and for 2-AG is thought to involve monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). FAAH inhibitors produce a select subset of the behavioral effects observed with CB1 agonists, which suggests a functional segregation of endocannabinoid signaling pathways in vivo. Testing this hypothesis, however, requires specific tools to independently block anandamide and 2-AG metabolism. Here, we report a potent and selective inhibitor of MAGL called JZL184 that, upon administration to mice, raises brain 2-AG by eight-fold without altering anandamide. JZL184-treated mice exhibited a broad array of CB1-dependent behavioral effects, including analgesia, hypothermia and hypomotility. These data indicate that 2-AG endogenously modulates several behavioral processes classically associated with the pharmacology of cannabinoids and point to overlapping and unique functions for 2-AG and anandamide in vivo.