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The lack of an instructional definition of bioinformatics delays its effective integration into biology coursework. Using an iterative process, our team of biologists, a mathematician/computer scientist, and a bioinformatician together with an educational evaluation and assessment specialist, developed an instructional definition of the discipline: Bioinformatics is "an interdisciplinary field that is concerned with the development and application of algorithms that analyze biological data to investigate the structure and function of biological polymers and their relationships to living systems." The field is defined in terms of its two primary foundational disciplines, biology and computer science, and its interdisciplinary nature. At the same time, we also created a rubric for assessing open‐ended responses to a prompt about what bioinformatics is and how it is used. The rubric has been shown to be reliable in successive rounds of testing using both common percent agreement (89.7%) and intraclass correlation coefficient (0.620) calculations. We offer the definition and rubric to life sciences instructors to help further integrate bioinformatics into biology instruction, as well as for fostering further educational research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: To evaluate the clinical features of children with type I and type II laryngeal cleft and the role of conservative monitoring versus endoscopic repair in their management. Methods: Clinical presentation and evaluation; findings at the time of laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, and esophagoscopy; and efficacy and outcome of conservative monitoring and endoscopic CO2 laser repair. Results: Eighty-one patients were evaluated for aspiration. Seventy-four patients were diagnosed as having a clinically significant laryngeal cleft. Thirty-two patients (14 males, 18 females) were monitored conservatively. Forty-nine patients (26 males, 23 females) required surgical intervention due to failed medical and feeding therapy of aspiration related to their laryngeal clefts (28 type I, 21 type II). Endoscopic CO2 laser repair was used in all these patients. Conclusions: Medical and feeding therapy should be the first modality of treatment in patients with laryngeal cleft type I and type II. Factors supporting surgical repair include: 1) clinically apparent aspiration with feeding, 2) severity of pulmonary status, 3) findings on modified barium swallow and chest x-ray, 4) absence of significant comorbid conditions predisposing to aspiration, 5) findings on upper aerodigestive endoscopy, and 6) poor response to medical management and feeding therapy. Laryngoscope, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the physiological role of epithelial cells peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorϒ (PPARϒ) and its potential contribution to lung development and homeostasis by conditionally disrupting the PPARϒ gene. Histological inspection of the lungs from adult conditionally targeted animals; Molecular defects associated with the abnormality in lung maturation; Characterization of gene expression in PPARϒ-targeted airway epithelial cells.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation. We previously described mice with conditional PPARγ deficiency within the conducting airway epithelium. These conditionally targeted mice develop airspace enlargement coincident with alveolarization that is not progressive with ageing. Measurement of lung mechanics in these animals revealed decreased tissue resistance and increased lung volumes. Analysis of air-saline filled pressure volume profiles demonstrated loss of elastic recoil. No significant differences in surfactant quantity (phospholipids content) or function (surfactometry) were observed between targeted animals and littermate controls. Elastin and collagen histochemistry and biochemistry also showed no gross changes between targeted and control animals. We analyzed parenchymal structure by measuring the distribution of alveoli (defined as airspaces of 250-2000_m2) and alveolar ducts (>5000_m2). At 8 weeks of age, there were fewer alveoli (mean number of 126 vs 154, p<0.001) and more alveolar ducts (mean number of 11.1 vs 8.4, p<0.001). Additionally, the alveolar ducts were larger (mean size of 10,274_m2 vs 8,658 _m2, p<0.001) in the targeted animals. Radial alveolar counts were reduced in the targeted animals (mean number of 8.2 vs. 9.9, p=0.045). These data suggest that the functional abnormalities, including loss of recoil contributed by the air-liquid interface are secondary to altered force transmission due to differences in structure of the alveolar duct, rather than changes in surfactant function or elastin or collagen content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]