Internal Medicine Commons^™

Relationship Between Food Security, Nutrition Security, And Diabetes: The Role Of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation, Maha Almohamad, Jayna M Dave, Eric E Calloway, Ruosha Li, Shreela Sharma

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Inadequate nutrition and poor diet quality are associated with a heightened risk of diabetes. The connection between food insecurity measures and diabetes has been established, with evidence indicating that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation contributes to reductions in food insecurity. Recently developed nutrition security measures, defined as the ability to acquire healthful foods to prevent diseases, and their association with diabetes and SNAP participation are not yet understood.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the relationship between food security and nutrition security in relation to diabetes overall and by SNAP participation and nutrition security as potential modifiers.

METHODS: …

Pilot Study To Assess The Effectiveness Of The Sustainable Culturally Adaptive Nutrition Program (Scan) To Improve Adherence To The National Diabetes Prevention Program, William B Perkison, Pierre Fwelo, Fernanda Velasco-Huerta, Natalia I Heredia, James J Yang, Sidra S Beg, Belinda M Reininger, Serena A Rodriguez, Maha Almohamad, Catherine Pulicken, Ella Garza, Grace E White, Maria E Fernandez

Journal Articles

PURPOSE: The Sustainable Culturally Adapted Nutrition Program (SCAN) is a novel adaptation to the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) that aims to improve attendance and effectiveness. This paper presents its feasibility and impact through the initial 6-month outcomes.

DESIGN: A pragmatic quasi-experimental pilot study with intervention (DPP plus SCAN) and control (DPP only) groups.

SAMPLES AND INCLUSION CRITERIA: Sustainable Culturally Adapted Nutrition Program participants were recruited from federally qualified health center (FQHC) clinic patients enrolled in a NDPP in Houston, Texas. Participants needed to be (1) ≥18 years old, (2) body mass index >25, (3) no prior diagnosis of diabetes, …

The Frequency Of Pathogenic Variation In The All Of Us Cohort Reveals Ancestry-Driven Disparities, Eric Venner, Karynne Patterson, Divya Kalra, Marsha M Wheeler, Yi-Ju Chen, Sara E Kalla, Bo Yuan, Jason H Karnes, Kimberly Walker, Joshua D Smith, Sean Mcgee, Aparna Radhakrishnan, Andrew Haddad, Philip E Empey, Qiaoyan Wang, Lee Lichtenstein, Diana Toledo, Gail Jarvik, Anjene Musick, Richard A Gibbs

Journal Articles

Disparities in data underlying clinical genomic interpretation is an acknowledged problem, but there is a paucity of data demonstrating it. The All of Us Research Program is collecting data including whole-genome sequences, health records, and surveys for at least a million participants with diverse ancestry and access to healthcare, representing one of the largest biomedical research repositories of its kind. Here, we examine pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants that were identified in the All of Us cohort. The European ancestry subgroup showed the highest overall rate of pathogenic variation, with 2.26% of participants having a pathogenic variant. Other ancestry groups …

Factors Associated With Blood Mercury Concentrations And Their Interactions With Three Glutathione S-Transferase Genes (Gstt1, Gstm1, And Gstp1): An Exposure Assessment Study Of Typically Developing Jamaican Children, Sheikh Farzana Zaman, Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Sepideh Saroukhani, Jan Bressler, Manouchehr Hessabi, Megan L Grove, Sydonnie Shakespeare Pellington, Katherine A Loveland, Mohammad H Rahbar

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Jamaican soil is abundant in heavy metals including mercury (Hg). Due to availability and ease of access, fish is a traditional dietary component in Jamaica and a significant source of Hg exposure. Mercury is a xenobiotic and known neuro-toxicant that affects children's neurodevelopment. Human glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes, including GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1, affect Hg conjugation and elimination mechanisms.

METHODS: In this exposure assessment study we used data from 375 typically developing (TD) 2-8-year-old Jamaican children to explore the association between environmental Hg exposure, GST genes, and their interaction effects on blood Hg concentrations (BHgCs). We used multivariable general …

Type 2 Diabetes Modifies The Association Of Cad Genomic Risk Variants With Subclinical Atherosclerosis, Natalie R Hasbani, Kenneth E Westerman, Soo Heon Kwak, Han Chen, Xihao Li, Daniel Di Corpo, Jennifer Wessel, Joshua C Bis, Chloè Sarnowski, Peitao Wu, Lawrence F Bielak, Xiuqing Guo, Nancy Heard-Costa, Gregory L Kinney, Michael C Mahaney, May E Montasser, Nicholette D Palmer, Laura M Raffield, James G Terry, Lisa R Yanek, Jessica Bon, Donald W Bowden, Jennifer A Brody, Ravindranath Duggirala, David R Jacobs, Rita R Kalyani, Leslie A Lange, Braxton D Mitchell, Jennifer A Smith, Kent D Taylor, April P Carson, Joanne E Curran, Myriam Fornage, Barry I Freedman, Stacey Gabriel, Richard A Gibbs, Namrata Gupta, Sharon L R Kardia, Brian G Kral, Zeineen Momin, Anne B Newman, Wendy S Post, Karine A Viaud-Martinez, Kendra A Young, Lewis C Becker, Alain G Bertoni, John Blangero, John J Carr, Katherine Pratte, Bruce M Psaty, Stephen S Rich, Joseph C Wu, Rajeev Malhotra, Patricia A Peyser, Alanna C Morrison, Ramachandran S Vasan, Xihong Lin, Jerome I Rotter, James B Meigs, Alisa K Manning, Paul S De Vries

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but questions remain about the underlying pathology. Identifying which CAD loci are modified by T2D in the development of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcification [CAC], carotid intima-media thickness, or carotid plaque) may improve our understanding of the mechanisms leading to the increased CAD in T2D.

METHODS: We compared the common and rare variant associations of known CAD loci from the literature on CAC, carotid intima-media thickness, and carotid plaque in up to 29 670 participants, including up to 24 157 normoglycemic controls and 5513 …

Eczema Monkeypoxicum In A Female Patient With Atopic Dermatitis, Emma Napoli, Madeline Frizzell, Clark Gravell, Sergio Vallejo, Shasta Theodore, Karen Chen, Huma Siddiqui, Justin Dunn, Dora Marrufo, Jose Cadena, Patrick J Danaher

Journal Articles

A female patient with atopic dermatitis who had recently received a tattoo presented with severe right ear pain and several vesiculopustular lesions. Over 1 week, she developed approximately 80 widely distributed lesions. Laboratory testing confirmed mpox (previously monkeypox) virus, and no further lesions developed after initiation of oral tecovirimat.

Development Of Competency-Based Online Genomic Medicine Training (Cogent)., Susanne B Haga, Wendy K Chung, Luis A Cubano, Timothy B Curry, Philip E Empey, Geoffrey S Ginsburg, Kara Mangold, Christina Y Miyake, Siddharth K Prakash, Laura B Ramsey, Robb Rowley, Carolyn R Rohrer Vitek, Todd C Skaar, Julia Wynn, Teri A Manolio

Journal Articles

The fields of genetics and genomics have greatly expanded across medicine through the development of new technologies that have revealed genetic contributions to a wide array of traits and diseases. Thus, the development of widely available educational resources for all healthcare providers is essential to ensure the timely and appropriate utilization of genetics and genomics patient care. In 2020, the National Human Genome Research Institute released a call for new proposals to develop accessible, sustainable online education for health providers. This paper describes the efforts of the six teams awarded to reach the goal of providing genetic and genomic training …

Further Evidence That Arih1 Rare Variants Predispose To Thoracic Aortic Disease, Maura L Boerio, Nicole M Engelhardt, Sanmati Cuddapah, Jessica I Gold, Isabella C Marin, Amélie Pinard, Dongchuan Guo, Siddharth K Prakash, Dianna M Milewicz

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Association Of Hypomagnesemia And Liver Injury, Role Of Gut-Barrier Dysfunction And Inflammation: Efficacy Of Abstinence, And 2-Week Medical Management In Alcohol Use Disorder Patients., Evan J. Winrich, Khushboo S. Gala, Abhas Rajhans, Christian D. Rios-Perez, Amor J. Royer, Zarlakhta Zamani, Ranganathan Parthasarathy, Luis S. Marsano-Obando, Ashutosh J. Barve, Melanie L. Schwandt, Vatsalya Vatsalya

Faculty Scholarship

(1) We investigated the involvement of serum magnesium level in early alcoholic liver disease (ALD), gut barrier dysfunction, and inflammation in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients; and lastly, the efficacy of 2-week abstinence and medical management to alleviate hypomagnesemia. (2) Forty-eight heavy drinking AUD patients (34 males (M)/14 females (F)) participated in this study. Patients were grouped by serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (a marker of liver injury) as group 1 (Group 1 (Gr.1); ALT ≤ 40 U/L, 7M/8F, without any indication of early-stage ALD) and group 2 (Group 2 (Gr.2); ALT > 40 U/L, 27M/6F or early-stage ALD). These patients …

Renal Cell Carcinoma Of Pelvic Kidney With Atypical Nodal Metastasis: A Diagnostic Challenge, Roshan-E-Shahid Rana, Muhammad Hammad Ather

Section of Urology

Ectopic pelvic kidney is a known congenital anomaly; however, the presence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in an ectopic kidney is rare with the evidence available in the form of a few case reports only. In this case report, we present a case of metastatic RCC in the pelvic kidney which became a diagnostic challenge because of atypical contrast-enhanced computed tomographic (CT) characteristics and unusual pattern of lymph node involvement including cervical lymph node in the absence of visceral metastasis. Because of its unusual location and uncertain vascular anatomy, ectopic kidney poses a surgical challenge. Owing to the rarity of …

Role Of Lipid-Lowering Therapy In Peripheral Artery Disease, Agastya Deepak Belur, Aangi J. Shah, Salim S. Virani, Mounica Vorla, Dinesh K. Kalra

Office of the Provost

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial, lipoprotein-driven condition that leads to plaque formation within the arterial tree, leading to subsequent arterial stenosis and thrombosis that accounts for a large burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality globally. Atherosclerosis of the lower extremities is called peripheral artery disease and is a major cause of loss in mobility, amputation, and critical limb ischemia. Peripheral artery disease is a common condition with a gamut of clinical manifestations that affects an estimated 10 million people in the United States of America and 200 million people worldwide. The role of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins, such as LDL and remnant …

Host And Gut Microbial Tryptophan Metabolism And Type 2 Diabetes: An Integrative Analysis Of Host Genetics, Diet, Gut Microbiome And Circulating Metabolites In Cohort Studies, Qibin Qi, Jun Li, Bing Yu, Jee-Young Moon, Jin C Chai, Jordi Merino, Jie Hu, Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Casey Rebholz, Zheng Wang, Mykhaylo Usyk, Guo-Chong Chen, Bianca C Porneala, Wenshuang Wang, Ngoc Quynh Nguyen, Elena V Feofanova, Megan L Grove, Thomas J Wang, Robert E Gerszten, Josée Dupuis, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Wei Bao, David L Perkins, Martha L Daviglus, Bharat Thyagarajan, Jianwen Cai, Tao Wang, Joann E Manson, Miguel A Martínez-González, Elizabeth Selvin, Kathryn M Rexrode, Clary B Clish, Frank B Hu, James B Meigs, Rob Knight, Robert D Burk, Eric Boerwinkle, Robert C Kaplan

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE: Tryptophan can be catabolised to various metabolites through host kynurenine and microbial indole pathways. We aimed to examine relationships of host and microbial tryptophan metabolites with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D), host genetics, diet and gut microbiota.

METHOD: We analysed associations between circulating levels of 11 tryptophan metabolites and incident T2D in 9180 participants of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds from five cohorts. We examined host genome-wide variants, dietary intake and gut microbiome associated with these metabolites.

RESULTS: Tryptophan, four kynurenine-pathway metabolites (kynurenine, kynurenate, xanthurenate and quinolinate) and indolelactate were positively associated with T2D risk, while indolepropionate was inversely associated with …

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Is Infrequent In Individuals With Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease Despite Partially Shared Genetic Susceptibility, Andrea M Murad, Hannah L Hill, Yu Wang, Michael Ghannam, Min-Lee Yang, Norma L Pugh, Federico M Asch, Whitney Hornsby, Anisa Driscoll, Jennifer Mcnamara, Cristen J Willer, Ellen S Regalado, Dianna M Milewicz, Kim A Eagle, Santhi K Ganesh

Journal Articles

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a potential precipitant of myocardial infarction and sudden death for which the etiology is poorly understood. Mendelian vascular and connective tissue disorders underlying thoracic aortic disease (TAD), have been reported in ~5% of individuals with SCAD. We therefore hypothesized that patients with TAD are at elevated risk for SCAD. We queried registries enrolling patients with TAD to define the incidence of SCAD. Of 7568 individuals enrolled, 11 (0.15%) were found to have SCAD. Of the sequenced cases (9/11), pathogenic variants were identified (N = 9), including COL3A1 (N = 3), FBN1 (N = 2), …

Formation, Antimicrobial Activity, And Biomedical Performance Of Plant-Based Nanoparticles: A Review, Ngoan Thi Thao Nguyen, Luan Minh Nguyen, Thuy Thi Thanh Nguyen, Thuong Thi Nguyen, Duyen Thi Cam Nguyen, Thuan Van Tran

Journal Articles

Because many engineered nanoparticles are toxic, there is a need for methods to fabricate safe nanoparticles such as plant-based nanoparticles. Indeed, plant extracts contain flavonoids, amino acids, proteins, polysaccharides, enzymes, polyphenols, steroids, and reducing sugars that facilitate the reduction, formation, and stabilization of nanoparticles. Moreover, synthesizing nanoparticles from plant extracts is fast, safe, and cost-effective because it does not consume much energy, and non-toxic derivatives are generated. These nanoparticles have diverse and unique properties of interest for applications in many fields. Here, we review the synthesis of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles with plant extracts. These nanoparticles display antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and …

Occurrence, Toxicity And Adsorptive Removal Of The Chloramphenicol Antibiotic In Water: A Review, Luan Minh Nguyen, Ngoan Thi Thao Nguyen, Thuy Thi Thanh Nguyen, Thuong Thi Nguyen, Duyen Thi Cam Nguyen, Thuan Van Tran

Journal Articles

Chloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum bacterial antibiotic used against conjunctivitis, meningitis, plague, cholera, and typhoid fever. As a consequence, chloramphenicol ends up polluting the aquatic environment, wastewater treatment plants, and hospital wastewaters, thus disrupting ecosystems and inducing microbial resistance. Here, we review the occurrence, toxicity, and removal of chloramphenicol with emphasis on adsorption techniques. We present the adsorption performance of adsorbents such as biochar, activated carbon, porous carbon, metal-organic framework, composites, zeolites, minerals, molecularly imprinted polymers, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The effect of dose, pH, temperature, initial concentration, and contact time is discussed. Adsorption is controlled by π-π interactions, donor-acceptor interactions, …

Characterizing Long Covid: Deep Phenotype Of A Complex Condition, Rachel R. Deer, Madeline A. Rock, Nicole Vasilevsky, Leigh Carmody, Halie Rando, Alfred J. Anzalone, Marc D. Basson, Tellen D. Bennett, Timothy Bergquist, Eilis A. Boudreau, Carolyn T. Bramante, James Brian Byrd, Tiffany J. Callahan, Lauren E. Chan, Haitao Chu, Christopher G. Chute, Ben D. Coleman, Hannah E. Davis, Joel Gagnier, Casey S. Greene, Ramakanth Kavuluru

Institute for Biomedical Informatics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Numerous publications describe the clinical manifestations of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC or "long COVID"), but they are difficult to integrate because of heterogeneous methods and the lack of a standard for denoting the many phenotypic manifestations. Patient-led studies are of particular importance for understanding the natural history of COVID-19, but integration is hampered because they often use different terms to describe the same symptom or condition. This significant disparity in patient versus clinical characterization motivated the proposed ontological approach to specifying manifestations, which will improve capture and integration of future long COVID studies.

METHODS: The Human Phenotype Ontology …

Adult Spiny Mice (Acomys) Exhibit Endogenous Cardiac Recovery In Response To Myocardial Infarction, Hsuan Peng, Kazuhiro Shindo, Renée R. Donahue, Erhe Gao, Brooke M. Ahern, Bryana M. Levitan, Himi Tripathi, David Powell, Ahmed Noor, Garrett A. Elmore, Jonathan Satin, Ashley W. Seifert, Ahmed K. Abdel-Latif

Physiology Faculty Publications

Complex tissue regeneration is extremely rare among adult mammals. An exception, however, is the superior tissue healing of multiple organs in spiny mice (Acomys). While Acomys species exhibit the remarkable ability to heal complex tissue with minimal scarring, little is known about their cardiac structure and response to cardiac injury. In this study, we first examined baseline Acomys cardiac anatomy and function in comparison with commonly used inbred and outbred laboratory Mus strains (C57BL6 and CFW). While our results demonstrated comparable cardiac anatomy and function between Acomys and Mus, Acomys exhibited a higher percentage of cardiomyocytes displaying …

Output Consistency Scale To Standardize Ostomate Output Description In Clinical Practice And Studies, Lisa Whisenhunt, Linda Xu, Fan Yang, Jacques Izard

Food for Health: Publications

Stool descriptors have become popular due to the large diffusion of the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) via clinical studies, clinical trials, and social media. The applications have been numerous and centered around standardization of terminology that can be used by health care professionals and patients alike, as well as individuals interested in their wellness and the associated partners in the wellness industry. For a portion of the population, the digestive content is rerouted to an external manufactured pouch or bag, making the use of the BSFS visual descriptors of stool difficult. From day one post-resection surgery, ostomates are challenged …

Bone Quality And Fractures In Women With Osteoporosis Treated With Bisphosphonates For 1 To 14 Years, Hartmut H. Malluche, Jin Chen, Florence Lima, Lucas J. Liu, Marie-Claude Monier-Faugere, David A. Pienkowski

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Oral bisphosphonates are the primary medication for osteoporosis, but concerns exist regarding potential bone-quality changes or low-energy fractures. This cross-sectional study used artificial intelligence methods to analyze relationships among bisphosphonate treatment duration, a wide variety of bone-quality parameters, and low-energy fractures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and histomorphometry quantified bone-quality parameters in 67 osteoporotic women treated with oral bisphosphonates for 1 to 14 years. Artificial intelligence methods established two models relating bisphosphonate treatment duration to bone-quality changes and to low-energy clinical fractures. The model relating bisphosphonate treatment duration to bone quality demonstrated optimal performance when treatment durations of 1 to 8 …

Intravesical Cd74 And Cxcr4, Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (Mif) Receptors, Mediate Bladder Pain, Shaojing Ye, Fei Ma, Dlovan F. D. Mahmood, Katherine L. Meyer-Siegler, Raymond E. Menard, David E. Hunt, Lin Leng, Richard Bucala, Pedro L. Vera

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Activation of intravesical protease activated receptor 4 (PAR4) leads to release of urothelial macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). MIF then binds to urothelial MIF receptors to release urothelial high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) and elicit bladder hyperalgesia. Since MIF binds to multiple receptors, we investigated the contribution of individual urothelial MIF receptors to PAR4-induced HMGB1 release in vivo and in vitro and bladder pain in vivo.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We tested the effect of intravesical pre-treatment with individual MIF or MIF receptor (CD74, CXCR4, CXCR2) antagonists on PAR4-induced HMGB1 release in vivo (female C57/BL6 mice) and in vitro (primary …

Innate Immune Activation By Checkpoint Inhibition In Human Patient-Derived Lung Cancer Tissues, Teresa W. M. Fan, Richard M. Higashi, Huan Song, Saeed Daneshmandi, Angela L. Mahan, Matthew S. Purdom, Therese J. Bocklage, Thomas A. Pittman, Daheng He, Chi Wang, Andrew N. Lane

Center for Environmental and Systems Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although Pembrolizumab-based immunotherapy has significantly improved lung cancer patient survival, many patients show variable efficacy and resistance development. A better understanding of the drug’s action is needed to improve patient outcomes. Functional heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial to modulating drug resistance; understanding of individual patients’ TME that impacts drug response is hampered by lack of appropriate models. Lung organotypic tissue slice cultures (OTC) with patients’ native TME procured from primary and brain-metastasized (BM) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were treated with Pembrolizumab and/or beta-glucan (WGP, an innate immune activator). Metabolic tracing with ¹³C₆-Glc/ …

Discrepancy Between Pcr Based Sars-Cov-2 Tests Suggests The Need To Re-Evaluate Diagnostic Assays, Zain Mushtaq, Sadia Shakoor, Akber Kanji, Najma Shaheen, Asghar Nasir, Zeeshan Ansar Ahmed, Imran Ahmed, Syed Faisal Mahmood, Rumina Hasan, Zahra Hasan

Section of Internal Medicine

Objective: We investigated the discrepancy between clinical and PCR-based diagnosis of COVID-19. We compared results of ten patients with mild to severe COVID-19. Respiratory samples from all cases were tested on the Roche SARS-CoV-2 (Cobas) assay, Filmarray RP2.1 (bioMereiux) and TaqPath™ COVID19 (Thermofisher) PCR assays.
Results: Laboratory records of ten patients with mild to severe COVID-19 were examined. Initially, respiratory samples from the patients were tested as negative on the SARS-CoV-2 Roche® assay. Further investigation using the BIOFIRE® Filmarray RP2.1 assay identified SARS-CoV-2 as the pathogen in all ten cases. To investigate possible discrepancies between PCR assays, additional testing was …

Biomarkers For Impending Risk Of Osteoporosis In Premenopausal Women, Rehana Rehman, Ali Usman, Aisha Sheikh, Rozeena Baig

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Objective: To compare 'cytokines' and 'bone turnover markers' in pre- and post-menopausal women and identify their relationship with bone mineral density (BMD) in both groups. Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Place and duration of study: Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, from June 2017 to August 2019.
Methodology: Groups comprised of healthy premenopausal and postmenopausal women from the general population belonging to different ethnic groups and socio-economic status. Serum cytokines and bone turnover markers were assessed by solid-phase immunoassays, BMD (gm /cm2)] measurement was performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the hip, lumbar spine, …

Cardiomyocyte Deletion Of Bmal1 Exacerbates Qt- And Rr-Interval Prolongation In Scn5a+/Δkpq Mice, Elizabeth A. Schroder, Jennifer L. Wayland, Kaitlyn M. Samuels, Syed F. Shah, Don E. Burgess, Tanya S. Seward, Claude S. Elayi, Karyn A. Esser, Brian P. Delisle

Physiology Faculty Publications

Circadian rhythms are generated by cell autonomous circadian clocks that perform a ubiquitous cellular time-keeping function and cell type-specific functions important for normal physiology. Studies show inducing the deletion of the core circadian clock transcription factor Bmal1 in adult mouse cardiomyocytes disrupts cardiac circadian clock function, cardiac ion channel expression, slows heart rate, and prolongs the QT-interval at slow heart rates. This study determined how inducing the deletion of Bmal1 in adult cardiomyocytes impacted the in vivo electrophysiological phenotype of a knock-in mouse model for the arrhythmogenic long QT syndrome (Scn5a+/ΔKPQ). Electrocardiographic telemetry showed inducing the …

Assessment Of Pathogenic Changes In The Gut-Liver Axis In Plwh With Heavy Alcohol Drinking And Gut Dysbiosis Marked By Decreased Butyrogenic Potential., Smita Ghare, Vaughn Bryant, Richa Singhal, Sabina Gautam, Chanakya Charan Tirumala, Andrea Reyes-Vega, Craig J. Mcclain, Ronald Cohen, Varand Govind, Robert L. Cook, Shirish Barve

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: People living with HIV infection (PLWH) experience increasing risk for non-AIDS diseases including liver dysfunction and injury. Both HIV-infection and heavy alcohol drinking (HAD) are known to cause gut microbial dysbiosis and systemic inflammation that may potentially contribute to altered Gut-Liver axis. However, the specific pathogenic features associated with combinatorial harmful effects of alcohol and HIV infection on gut-liver interactions are not completely understood. This study evaluate the pathogenic changes in the Gut-Liver axis in PLWH with HAD.

An Ensemble Of The Icluster Method To Analyze Longitudinal Lncrna Expression Data For Psoriasis Patients, Suyan Tian, Chi Wang

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, inflammatory disorder of the skin with chronic inflammation and hyper-proliferation of the epidermis. Since psoriasis has genetic components and the diseased tissue of psoriasis is very easily accessible, it is natural to use high-throughput technologies to characterize psoriasis and thus seek targeted therapies. Transcriptional profiles change correspondingly after an intervention. Unlike cross-sectional gene expression data, longitudinal gene expression data can capture the dynamic changes and thus facilitate causal inference.

METHODS: Using the iCluster method as a building block, an ensemble method was proposed and applied to a longitudinal gene expression dataset for psoriasis, with the …

Genetic Discovery And Risk Characterization In Type 2 Diabetes Across Diverse Populations, Linda M Polfus, Burcu F Darst, Heather Highland, Xin Sheng, Maggie C Y Ng, Jennifer E Below, Lauren Petty, Stephanie Bien, Xueling Sim, Wei Wang, Pierre Fontanillas, Yesha Patel, Michael Preuss, Claudia Schurmann, Zhaohui Du, Yingchang Lu, Suhn K Rhie, Joseph M Mercader, Teresa Tusie-Luna, Clicerio González-Villalpando, Lorena Orozco, Cassandra N Spracklen, Brian E Cade, Richard A Jensen, Meng Sun, Yoonjung Yoonie Joo, Ping An, Lisa R Yanek, Lawrence F Bielak, Salman Tajuddin, Aude Nicolas, Guanjie Chen, Laura Raffield, Xiuqing Guo, Wei-Min Chen, Girish N Nadkarni, Mariaelisa Graff, Ran Tao, James S Pankow, Martha Daviglus, Qibin Qi, Eric A Boerwinkle, Simin Liu, Lawrence S Phillips, Ulrike Peters, Chris Carlson, Lynne R Wikens, Loic Le Marchand, Kari E North, Steven Buyske, Charles Kooperberg, Ruth J F Loos, Daniel O Stram, Christopher A Haiman

Journal Articles

Genomic discovery and characterization of risk loci for type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been conducted primarily in individuals of European ancestry. We conducted a multiethnic genome-wide association study of T2D among 53,102 cases and 193,679 control subjects from African, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and European population groups in the Population Architecture Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) and Diabetes Genetics Replication and Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) Consortia. In individuals of African ancestry, we discovered a risk variant in the

Real World Clinicopathologic Observations Of Patients With Metastatic Solid Tumors Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Analysis From Kentucky Cancer Registry, Aasems Jacob, Jianrong Wu, Jill M. Kolesar, Eric B. Durbin, Aju Mathew, Susanne Arnold, Aman Chauhan

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

The state of Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality in the United States. High‐risk populations such as this are often underrepresented in clinical trials. The study aims to do a comprehensive analysis of molecular landscape of metastatic cancers among these patients with detailed evaluation of factors affecting response and outcomes to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. We performed a retrospective analysis of metastatic solid tumor patients who received ICI and underwent molecular profiling at our institution.

Sixty nine patients with metastatic solid tumors who received ICI were included in the study. Prevalence of smoking and secondhand tobacco exposure …

The Association Of Chest Radiographic Findings And Severity Scoring With Clinical Outcomes In Patients With Covid-19 Presenting To The Emergency Department Of A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Raima Kaleemi, Kiran Hilal, Ainan Arshad, Russell S. Martins, Avinash Nankani, Tanveer Ul Haq, Sundas Basharat, Zeeshan Ansar

Department of Radiology

Introduction: While chest x-rays (CXRs) represent a cost-effective imaging modality for developing countries like Pakistan, their utility for the prognostication of COVID-19 has been minimally explored. Thus, we describe the frequency and distribution of CXR findings, and their association with clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19.
Methods: All adult (≥ 18 years) patients presenting between 28th February-31st May to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan, who were COVID-19 positive on RT-PCR with CXR done on presentation, were included. A CXR Severity Score (CXR-SS) of 0-8 was used to quantify the extent of pulmonary infection on CXR, …

Dual-Functional Phosphorene Nanocomposite Membranes For The Treatment Of Perfluorinated Water: An Investigation Of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Removal Via Filtration Combined With Ultraviolet Irradiation Or Oxygenation, Joyner Eke, Lillian Banks, M. Abdul Mottaleb, Andrew J. Morris, Olga V. Tsyusko, Isabel C. Escobar

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Nanomaterials with tunable properties show promise because of their size-dependent electronic structure and controllable physical properties. The purpose of this research was to develop and validate environmentally safe nanomaterial-based approach for treatment of drinking water including removal and degradation of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS). PFAS are surfactant chemicals with broad uses that are now recognized as contaminants with a significant risk to human health. They are commonly used in household and industrial products. They are extremely persistent in the environment because they possess both hydrophobic fluorine-saturated carbon chains and hydrophilic functional groups, along with being oleophobic. Traditional drinking water …