Collat School of Business

In order for the hair to serve its designated functions including insulation, forming a protective physical barrier and communication, hair follicles must change and the manner in which they accomplish this goal is through the hair growth cycle. During the hair growth cycle, the original lower portion of the follicle is destroyed and it then regenerates, creating another. This process is unique in that it allows the body to produce hair follicles that contain different characteristics. In other words, post-natal follicles are still capable of recapitulating the later steps in follicular embryogenesis throughout a person’s life. Because many changes in hair (like growing an entire beard) will take several years to complete, experts are still unsure the extent of possible differences in hair size when compared to its predecessor. http://www.curlcentric.com/how-to-grow-natural-hair/

Methods for quantifying DNA damage, as well as repair of that damage, in a high-throughput format are lacking. Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE; comet assay) is a widely-used method due to its technical simplicity and sensitivity, but the standard comet assay has limitations in reproducibility and throughput. We have advanced the SCGE assay by creating a 96-well hardware platform coupled with dedicated data processing software (CometChip Platform). Based on the original cometchip approach, the CometChip Platform increases capacity ~200 times over the traditional slide-based SCGE protocol, with excellent reproducibility. We tested this platform in several applications, demonstrating a broad range of potential uses including the routine identification of DNA damaging agents, using a 74-compound library provided by the National Toxicology Program. Additionally, we demonstrated how this tool can be used to evaluate human populations by analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to characterize susceptibility to genotoxic exposures, with implications for epidemiological studies. In summary, we demonstrated a high level of reproducibility and quantitative capacity for the CometChip Platform, making it suitable for high-throughput screening to identify and characterize genotoxic agents in large compound libraries, as well as for human epidemiological studies of genetic diversity relating to DNA damage and repair.

Searches of electronic databases were performed with the use of a combination of words related to "occiput posterior" and "manual rotation" from inception until July 2021. We included all randomized controlled trials evaluating MR of infants in the OP or OT position in labor. Authors of original studies were contacted for additional data. The primary outcome was the rate of SVD. Metaanalysis was performed using the random effects model of DerSimonian and Laird to produce relative risk (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 643 records were screened. Six studies were included with 1,002 patients. All included studies compared rotation of OP (5 studies) or OT (2 studies) fetuses in the second stage to either no rotation or a sham rotation procedure. There was no difference in the rate of SVD with MR (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.95, 1.20) nor in any other maternal or fetal outcomes. In a planned subgroup analysis of OP only, there was a 12.8-minute decrease in the length of the second stage in the MR group (MD-12.80, 95% CI-22.61,-2.99). There were no other significant differences in maternal or fetal outcomes in the OP subgroup and no differences in the OT subgroup. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in the rate of SVD with MR of OP or OT position in the second stage of labor compared to no MR. As there is no evidence of risk and a shorter second stage for MR performed for OP position, MR can be offered to patients in the second stage with OP position of the fetal head.

IntroductionAchieving glycaemic targets for people living with diabetes (PLWD) is challenging, especially in settings with limited resources. Programmes need to address gaps in knowledge, skills and self-management. Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) is an evidence-based intervention to educate and empower PLWD to improve self-management activities. This protocol describes a pilot study assessing the feasibility, acceptability and effect on clinical outcomes of implementing DSME in clinics caring for people living with insulin-dependent diabetes in Liberia.Methods and analysisOur protocol is a three-phased, mixed-methods, quasi-experimental prospective cohort study. Phase 1 focuses on (a) establishing a Patient Advisory Board and (b) training providers in DSME who provide care for PLWD. In phase 2, clinicians will implement DSME. In phase 3, we will train additional providers who interact with PLWD.We will assess whether this DSME programme can lead to increased provider know...