Seton Hall University

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Genetics

Retrospective MicroRNA Sequencing: Complementary DNA Library Preparation Protocol Using Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded RNA Specimens

Olivier Loudig^1,2,3, Christina Liu^1,2, Thomas Rohan³, Iddo Z. Ben-Dov⁴

¹Department of Research, Hackensack University Medical Center, ²Department of Medical Sciences, Seton Hall University, ³Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ⁴Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens represent a valuable source of molecular biomarkers of human diseases. Here we present a laboratory-based cDNA library preparation protocol, initially designed with fresh frozen RNA, and optimized for the analysis of archived microRNAs from tissues stored up to 35 years.

Neuroscience

The Sol Braiding Method for Handling Thick Hair During Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An Address for Potential Bias in Brain Stimulation

Qiana Archer¹, Janet Brenya¹, Katherine Chavaria², Anjel Friest³, Nathira Ahmad⁴, Samantha Zorns¹, Sahana Vaidya¹, Taylor Shelanskey¹, Sarah Sierra¹, Sydney Ash¹, Briana Balugus⁵, Alexa Alvarez⁶, Mathew Pardillo¹, Roy Hamilton⁷, Julian Paul Keenan¹

¹Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Montclair State University, ²School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University, ³Department of Biology, Rutgers University, ⁴Department of Health Informatics, Rutgers University, ⁵Department of Physician Assistant, Seton Hall University, ⁶School of Nursing, Felician College, ⁷Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation, University of Pennsylvania

Hair type commonly seen in historically underrepresented minorities appears to interfere with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Here we describe a hair braiding method (The Sol Braiding Technique) that improves TMS.