Life Sciences Commons^™

Update On The Role Of Muc13 In Pancreatic Cancer: A Promising Early Detection Biomarker, Anupam Dhasmana, Swati Dhasmana, Sheema Khan, Meena Jaggi, Murali M. Yallapu, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: With the rise in pancreatic cancer (PanCa) prevalence and mortality rate, by 2030 it will secure second position among leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Due to poor prognosis of PanCa only 11% of PanCa patients have a 5-year survival rate, resulting in an equal mortality rate and incidence rate. 85% of PanCa are Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The main clinical challenge with PanCa is poor treatment outcomes due the late diagnosis. Currently, there are traditional biomarkers panels available for diagnosis, however, these biomarkers do not have optimal sensitivity and specificity for PanCa. Considering this alarming unmet clinic need, our …

A Potential Role Of Urinary P75ecd As A Biomarker For Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis In An American Cohort, Swati Dhasmana, Anupam Dhasmana, Sheema Khan, Acharan S. Narula, Murali Yallapu, Subhash Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Neurological disorders present a unique complexity compared to other diseases, involving multiple risk factors, causes, treatments, and outcomes. These disorders often exhibit various molecular and morphological changes indicative of disruptions in cellular plasticity and resilience. The pathogenesis of many neurological disorders remains unclear, necessitating ongoing investigations. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) exemplifies an idiopathic and fatal neurodegenerative disease marked by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. The average life expectancy post-diagnosis is a mere 36 months, primarily attributed to respiratory muscle denervation.The persistent challenges in ALS clinical trials and the absence of effective therapeutic options have intensified interest …

Classification Of Colorectal Cancer Using Resnet And Efficientnet Models, Abhishek Ranjan, Priyanshu Srivastva, B Prabadevi, R Sivakumar, Rahul Soangra, Shamala K. Subramaniam

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction:

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases from children to elderly adults. This will be deadly if not detected at an earlier stage of the cancerous cell formation, thereby increasing the mortality rate. One such cancer is colorectal cancer, caused due to abnormal growth in the rectum or colon. Early screening of colorectal cancer helps to identify these abnormal growth and can exterminate them before they turn into cancerous cells.

Aim:

Therefore, this study aims to develop a robust and efficient classification system for colorectal cancer through Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) on histological images.

Methods:

Despite challenges in …

Machine Learning As A Tool For Early Detection: A Focus On Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer Across Socioeconomic Spectrums, Hadiza Galadima, Rexford Anson-Dwamena, Ashley Johnson, Ghalib Bello, Georges Adunlin, James Blando

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of various machine learning (ML) algorithms in predicting late-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses against the backdrop of socio-economic and regional healthcare disparities. Methods: An innovative theoretical framework was developed to integrate individual- and census tract-level social determinants of health (SDOH) with sociodemographic factors. A comparative analysis of the ML models was conducted using key performance metrics such as AUC-ROC to evaluate their predictive accuracy. Spatio-temporal analysis was used to identify disparities in late-stage CRC diagnosis probabilities. Results: Gradient boosting emerged as the superior model, with the top predictors for late-stage CRC diagnosis being anatomic site, …

Diagnosis Of Urinary Tract Infections And Rapid Molecular Characterization Of Antibiotic Resistance, Mohammed Harris

All Dissertations

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infectious clinical entities in both community and hospital settings. They have a broad range of clinical severity yet inflict large epidemiological burden of morbidity and mortality on patients and the healthcare system with billions of dollars in cost of treatment. Understanding what methods are optimal for diagnosing UTIs are critical to mitigate the marked impact and cost of these infections.

Chapter 1 and 2 in this work surveys the broad array of diagnostic modalities for UTIs and highlights their advantages and limitations in the context of the current standard of …

Potentiation Of The Immune Checkpoint Blockade Response By Metabolic Modulation Is Predictable Using Molecular Imaging, Renee L. Chin

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Unregulated cell division is a hallmark of cancer. The high metabolic needs of the tumor cells result in nutrient depletion and produce a hostile tumor microenvironment (TME) for antitumor immune cells, protecting the tumor from immune cell-mediated control and immunotherapy. Two of these environmental factors, acidosis and hypoxia, are commonly found in solid cancers. In my thesis, I posited that modulation of tumor acidosis and hypoxia can serve as biomarkers by indicating immunogenicity and tumor sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) as monitored using molecular imaging. Esomeprazole was found to promote tumor immunogenicity and induce tumor control when used to …

Development Of Optical Nanomaterial For Enhanced Cerenkov Imaging, Qize Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Imaging has increasingly been used over the last two decades to improve the diagnosis and guidance of tumor tissue removal surgery. Among the most widely used techniques for in vivo imaging are planar and tomographic fluorescence imaging and bioluminescence imaging. Despite their utility, these techniques are primarily restricted to preclinical use. Factors that have prevented translation from the bench to the bedside include depth-penetration considerations, regulatory issues, and toxicity. A recent development in nuclear imaging has been the ability to …

Locked Nucleic Acid Aptamer And 10 Nm Gold Nanoparticles Increases The Sensitivity Of A Prion Protein Detection Assay, Haley Channell

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Using Machine Learning To Recognize Chronic Rhinosinusitis, Irene Liu '23

Student Publications & Research

Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a nasal disease characterized by the inflammation of the mucosa and paranasal sinuses with a duration of at least 12 consecutive weeks. So, to diagnose CRS, one needs to keep a record of their symptoms for ~12 weeks before they are recommended to get a tomography which will allow physicians to classify them as a patient with CRS or without. This is a timely and costly process; thus, machine learning should be used to speed the process up. Since patients with CRS have more obstructed noses, the sound produced should be different than an individual without …

Identification Of Dna Methylation Episignatures For Classification And Phenotype/Genotype Correlation In Mendelian Neurodevelopmental Disorders, John Reilly

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT: Diagnosis for neurodevelopmental disorders poses numerous challenges, related to the lack of specific findings and limited understanding of clinical impact of the majority of genetic variation. Epigenomics mechanisms involve chemical modifications in DNA that involve a range of cellular mechanisms. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism involving addition and removal of methyl groups to cytosine residues. These methylation signals form episignatures; patterns of methylation that can be used as biomarkers capable of differentiating neurodevelopmental disorders. EpiSigns have enabled molecular diagnosis of a number of genetic conditions, classification of variants of unknown significance, and provided insights into the pathophysiology of …

Toward A Multimodal Computer-Aided Diagnostic Tool For Alzheimer’S Disease Conversion, Danilo Pena, Jessika Suescun, Mya Schiess, Timothy M. Ellmore, Luca Giancardo, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Publications and Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. It is one of the leading sources of morbidity and mortality in the aging population AD cardinal symptoms include memory and executive function impairment that profoundly alters a patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living. People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) exhibit many of the early clinical symptoms of patients with AD and have a high chance of converting to AD in their lifetime. Diagnostic criteria rely on clinical assessment and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Many groups are working to help automate this process to improve the clinical workflow. Current …

Clinical Diagnosis Support With Convolutional Neural Network By Transfer Learning, Spencer Fogleman, Jeremy Otsap, Sangrae Cho

SMU Data Science Review

Breast cancer is prevalent among women in the United States. Breast cancer screening is standard but requires a radiologist to review screening images to make a diagnosis. Diagnosis through the traditional screening method of mammography currently has an accuracy of about 78% for women of all ages and demographics. A more recent and precise technique called Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) has shown to be more promising but is less well studied. A machine learning model trained on DBT images has the potential to increase the success of identifying breast cancer and reduce the time it takes to diagnose a patient, …

The Association Of Rs187238, Rs19465518 And Rs1946519 Il-8 Polymorphisms With Acute Kidney Injury In Preterm Infants, Fiva Aprilia Kadi

BioMedicine

ABSTRACT

Background: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) promoter polymorphisms (-656G>T, -607C>A, and -137G>C) affect serum IL-18 (sIL-18) levels and are associated with renal injury.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the diagnostic utility of sIL-18 and urine IL-18 (uIL-18) as biomarkers for acute kidney injury (AKI) and analyse the association of IL-18 polymorphisms to AKI in preterm infants.

Methods: Blood and urine samples were collected from 56 preterm infants with AKI and 56 without AKI to measure serum creatinine (SCr), sIL-18, and uIL-18. Genotyping of polymorphisms was performed and analysed, with AUC-ROCs analysis used to evaluate …

Validation Of Arterial Spin Labeling For Longitudinal Monitoring And Differential Diagnosis Of Frontotemporal Dementia, Tracy Ssali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by a rapid decline in behavioural, language, and motor abilities. Advances in the understanding of FTD genetics and pathophysiology, and the subsequent development of novel disease modifying treatments have highlighted the need for tools to assess their efficacy. While structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional imaging with ¹⁸F-flurodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) are used for clinical diagnosis, structural changes are subtle at the early stages and PET imaging is expensive and access limited. Given the coupling of cerebral blood flow (CBF) to energy metabolism, an attractive alternative is …

Multiple Sclerosis And Its Symptom Management Through Supplementation And Dietary Planning, Lindsey J. Davis

Selected Honors Theses

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, neuroinflammatory disorder that is characterized by the breakdown of myelinated axons in the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems. It is a potentially debilitating autoimmune disease that affects almost 1 million people in the United States, and nearly 2.5 million people worldwide. The precise etiology of MS is still being researched, but much progress has been made towards understanding the molecular mechanisms and impactful ways to treat this disease. While there is still no cure, new treatment plans are constantly being orchestrated in effort to alleviate the burden that MS carries. Combination treatment plans have …

Gene Expression Profiling Of Mapk Pathway Inhibitor Resistance In Cutaneous Melanoma: Can Bioinformatics Be Used To Select Better Melanoma Cell Lines?, Stephen Luebker

Theses & Dissertations

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and incidence has continued to increase. Half of all melanomas have a BRAF V600E mutation and respond to MAPK pathway inhibitors, including BRAF inhibitor therapy or BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy, but nearly all patients develop treatment resistance. Melanoma cell lines produce variable results as models of MAPK pathway inhibitor resistance. To better understand how the genomic similarity of a melanoma cell line to patient-derived tumors affects resistance mechanisms, differences in DNA mutations and copy-number alterations were compared between melanoma cell lines profiled by the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia and cutaneous melanoma tumors …

Developing Methods To Detect And Diagnose Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy During Life: Rationale, Design, And Methodology For The Diagnose Cte Research Project, Jeffrey Cummings, Numerous Authors, See Full List Below

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that has been neuropathologically diagnosed in brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts, including boxers and American football, soccer, ice hockey, and rugby players. CTE cannot yet be diagnosed during life. In December 2015, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded a seven-year grant (U01NS093334) to fund the “Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (DIAGNOSE CTE) Research Project.” The objectives of this multicenter project are to: develop in vivo fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers for CTE; characterize its clinical presentation; refine …

Euadb: A Resource For Covid-19 Test Development And Comparison, Alyssa Woronik, Henry W. Shaffer, Karin Kiontke, Jon M. Laurent, Ronald Zambrano, Mariah Daley, Jef D. Boeke, David H. Fitch

Biology Faculty Publications

Due to the sheer number of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases there is a need for increased world-wide SARS-CoV-2 testing capability that is both efficient and effective. Having open and easy access to detailed information about these tests, their sensitivity, the types of samples they use, etc. would be highly useful to ensure their reproducibility, to help clients compare and decide which tests would be best suited for their applications, and to avoid costs of reinventing similar or identical tests. Additionally, this resource would provide a means of comparing the many innovative diagnostic tools that are currently being developed in …

Microrna-26a-5p As A Potential Predictive Factor For Determining The Effectiveness Of Trastuzumab Therapy In Her-2 Positive Breast Cancer Patients, Sadra Samavarchi Tehrani, Ehsan Zaboli, Farzin Sadeghi, Soraya Khafri, Ansar Karimian, Mahnoosh Rafie, Hadi Parsian

BioMedicine

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is known as the most prevalence type of cancer among women. Trastuzumab, as a cancer drug, has been used broadly in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) positive BC patients. On the other hand, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs involved in pathogenesis BC. Hence, we aimed to investigate the effect of trastuzumab on the expression levels of microRNA-26a in HER-2positiveBC patients.

Methods: This study was conducted on HER-2 positive BC patients and HER-2 Negative BC patients. Serum expression of microRNA-26a were detected by real-time PCR. Then, we assessed the correlation of microRNA-26a level with …

Pushing The Limits: Increasing The Speed And Specificity Of Sars-Cov-2 Testing, Grayson Way

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence and spread of the current COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of continual improvements upon current microbiological testing methods. Rapid and accurate testing can help mitigate spread by improving on the time to quarantine and quarantine duration required. As of the writing of this thesis, COVID-19 has been responsible for more than 500,000 deaths in the United States of America, and greater than 2 million deaths globally. The work done in this thesis has shown improvements in the current SARS-CoV-2 testing methodology by reducing the time it takes for patient testing while maintaining accuracy and the sensitivity required …

Aci-35 And Aadvac1 Active Immunotherapy As Preventative Treatment Options For Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Emily C. Boehlein

Selected Honors Theses

One of the most common, as well as one of the most dangerous injuries amongst athletes today is mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as concussion. Aside from physical symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches; concussions have can have longterm effects on brain physiology. A common neurological disease that can result from multiple concussions is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), characterized by symptoms such as severe depression, anxiety, confusion, and aggression; amongst others.1 On the cellular level, CTE is classified by a unique pathway that leads to the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and subsequent clumping of tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles …

Optimizing Preprocessing Of Fmri Data To Maximize Correspondence Of Functional Anatomy Across Individuals, Nargess Ghazaleh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In movie-activation fMRI, intersubject correlation (ISC) indicates a functional correspondence across viewers. Brains di↵er in shape; spatial normalization and smoothing enhance inter-subject functional overlap. We compare three normalization methods and six smoothing levels to discover which method yields the best functional overlap, indexed by ISC. This is key to optimizing data analysis in clinical studies using movie-activation fMRI in future. In a 3T scanner, 44 healthy subjects watched an 8-min movie. Both normalization and smoothing a↵ected the strength and extent of the ISC. ISC values were more robust for ANTs and DARTELthanforSPM12andwere(asymptotically)thestrongestat12mmsmoothing. When image data are preprocessed with high-dimensional volumetric …

Frequency Of Monocyte Subsets Is Linked To The Severity Of Atherosclerosis In Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease: A Case-Control Study, Irina V. Kologrivova, Tatiana Suslova, Olga Koshelskaya, Oksana Trubacheva, Olga Haritonova, Irina Vinnitskaya

BioMedicine

Background: Monocytes are recognized as central cells in the progression of atherosclerosis, and are subcategorized into classical (CD14++CD16^lo), intermediate (CD14++CD16^hi) and non-classical (CD14+CD16^hi) subsets.

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the relationships between different subsets of monocytes, metabolic and inflammatory factors in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

Methods: A total of 26 patients (both men and women) with stable ischemic heart disease (IHD). Among all the recruited patients, 17 patients had significant coronary artery disease defined as diameter stenosis more than 70%. Severity of CHD was assessed by the Gensini score (GS). …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Multi-Drug Resistant Enterococci, Ayesha Khan

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Antibiotic resistance is a major global public health threat. Enterococci are recalcitrant, nosocomial pathogens that can be intrinsically resistant to valuable antibiotics, like beta-lactams, or evolve resistance to all existing antimicrobials. The LiaFSR system regulates resistance to cell membrane (CM) stressors like daptomycin (DAP), a front-line drug for multi-drug resistant infections. DAP resistance (DAP-R) in E. faecalis is mediated by CM phospholipid alterations. Emergence of DAP-R often leads to b-lactam resensitization, a phenomenon called the seesaw effect. The molecular mechanism of DAP-R and the seesaw effect are unknown. Here we show that LiaX is a surface exposed protein whose C-terminal …

Demarcation Of Sepsis-Induced Peripheral And Central Acidosis With Ph (Low) Insertion Cycle Peptide, Kelly E. Henry, Aisling M. Chaney, Veronica L. Nagle, Haley C. Cropper, Saghar Mozaffari, Chip Slaybaugh, Keykavous Parang, Oleg A. Andreev, Yana K. Reshetnyak, Michelle L. James, Jason S. Lewis

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Acidosis is a key driver for many diseases, including cancer, sepsis, and stroke. The spatiotemporal dynamics of dysregulated pH across disease remain elusive, and current diagnostic strategies do not provide localization of pH alterations. We sought to explore if PET imaging using hydrophobic cyclic peptides that partition into the cellular membrane at low extracellular pH (denoted as pH [low] insertion cycles, or pHLIC) can permit accurate in vivo visualization of acidosis. Methods: Acid-sensitive cyclic peptide c[E₄W₅C] pHLIC was conjugated to bifunctional maleimide-NO2A and radiolabeled with ⁶⁴Cu (half-life, 12.7 h). C57BL/6J mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (15 …

Breast Cancer Screening Implications Of Risk Modeling Among Female Relatives Of Atm And Chek2 Carriers, Anne E. Weidner, Mariel E. Liggin, Brenda I. Zuniga, Ann L. Tezak, Georgia L. Wiesner, Tuya Pal

Biology Student Research

Background

With the increasing use of multigene panel tests, pathogenic and likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants are identified more frequently in the moderate-penetrance breast cancer genes ATM and CHEK2. Lifetime breast cancer risk among women with P/LP variants in these genes generally exceeds 20%, meeting the threshold at which high-risk breast cancer screening through breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended.

Methods

Among a registry-based sample of 56 ATM and 69 CHEK2 carriers, the authors sought to determine the percentage of relatives in whom a P/LP variant would impact breast cancer surveillance. Lifetime breast cancer risks for unaffected, female first-degree …

Tick-Borne Infections In New Hampshire: An Evaluation Of The Diagnostic Process In A Local Patient Population, Katherine Anderson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Overall, approximately 95 percent of reported cases of vector-borne disease were associated with ticks, making these the most medically important group of arthropods in the United States.¹ Despite the prevalence of tick-borne infections, the process for the diagnosis of this condition is not well studied. This study aims to analyze data from a pool of 100 patients who underwent testing for tick-borne disease in the same institution in Dover, New Hampshire during the most recent peak tick season of 2019. Information utilized in this study included: patient age, sex, location of testing (inpatient versus outpatient), diagnostic testing methods used …