Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Methamphetamine use among gay and bisexually identified men (GBM) and other men who have sex with men (MSM) is strongly associated with HIV infection due to the concomitant high-risk sexual behaviors that often occur while using the drug. As a result, HIV prevalence is significantly higher among MSM that report frequent use of methamphetamine and highest among ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Effective early intervention depends on reliable screening of risk for communication impairments as soon as possible. Established infant communication risk factors include poor attention, gestures, social connectedness,exploratory play, and speech. Although these risk factors can be detected by 12-18 mos. and reliably predict later language and social disorders ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): About 28.3 million Americans have type II diabetes (T2D) and over 40.1% of middle-aged adults have prediabetes, a condition characterized by impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Current antidiabetic medications are effective in improving insulin sensitivity, but their chronic administration has significant side effects suc as cardiovascular compli ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Counteracting the threat of intoxication by organophosphorus nerve agents (OP's) is an important mission for homeland security as well as for treating workers exposed to pesticides. OP's act on acetylcholinesterase to prevent synaptic inactivation, thereby leading to immobilization and death on sustained application. Currently, the most promising stra ...

Project Summary/Abstract Ocular pharmaceuticals predominantly use the topical route of administration, which involves a number of benefits and limitations when compared to systemic drug routes. A major limitation of the ocular topical route is the rapid loss of drug via tearing and nasolacrimal drainage, requiring the use of frequent dosing and high drug concentrations that then create formulation ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mycotoxin is naturally occurring and is a toxic small molecule produced by fungi. These fungal toxins are representative of a large number of lipophilic agents that pose significant acute and chronic dangers to militarycombatants as potential warfare agents. There are many examples of mycotoxins, some more acutely potent than others. Mycotoxin is classified as ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary We propose to develop a non-invasive method to predict mammalian oocyte quality by analyzing the surrounding cumulus cells' gene expression patterns (cGEP). The result of the cGEP assay---a cGEP score---can be used to predict embryo quality and ultimately the embryo transfer (ET) results. This technology, if success, will for the first time ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Human Microvessel Culture System (hMCS) Angiogenesis-targeting therapies, either inhibiting or promoting new vessel growth, have the potential for treating numerous diseases including cancer, eye diseases, cardiac and peripheral vascular disease, skin disorders, fibro-proliferative diseases, and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Furthermore, growing ev ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this proposal is to exploit a newly discovered anti-inflammatory function involving the aminopeptidase activity of the leukotriene A4 hydrolase for the treatment of pulmonary emphysema. The leukotrieneA4 hydrolase is a dual-functioning enzyme with dichotomously opposing functions. As an epoxide hydrolase, it catalyzes the conversion of leukotri ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nonlinear optical microscopy techniques (such as two-photon florescence) are being used to acquire volumetric (i.e. three dimensional) images that probe several hundred microns into scattering tissue. These techniques are being combined with fast acquisition schemes to allow imaging of live, moving specimens at high NA. This combination allows for high-resoluti ...