Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Preoperative Dialysis On Survival After Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation, Harveen K Lamba, Fadi I Musfee, Subhasis Chatterjee, Ajith P Nair, Andrew B Civitello, Leo Simpson, O H Frazier, George V Letsou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Dialysis is considered a contraindication to continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation. We evaluated clinical outcomes and survival in carefully selected, low-risk patients with renal failure who required dialysis before CF-LVAD implantation.

METHODS: We extracted medical record data of patients who underwent CF-LVAD placement at our centre between 1 January 2006 and 31 August 2017, with 2 clinical scenarios: those who required long-term (>14 days) dialysis and those who required short-term (≤14 days) dialysis immediately before implantation. Demographic, clinical and intraoperative characteristics and survival outcomes were assessed.

RESULTS: Of 621 patients who underwent CF-LVAD implantation during the …

A Synergistic Combination Of Dha, Luteolin, And Urolithin A Against Alzheimer’S Disease, Dona P.W. Jayatunga, Eugene Hone, Binosha W.M.A. Fernando, Manohar L. Garg, Giuseppe Verdile, Ralph N. Martins

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia worldwide. The classical AD brain is characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) protein aggregates as senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), composed of hyper-phosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated protein Tau. There has been limited success in clinical trials for some proposed therapies for AD, so attention has been drawn toward using alternative approaches, including prevention strategies. As a result, nutraceuticals have become attractive compounds for their potential neuroprotective capabilities. The objective of the present study was to derive a synergistic nutraceutical combination in …

Adverse Events Reporting Of Clinical Trials In Exercise Oncology Research (Advance): Protocol For A Scoping Review, Hao Luo, Oliver Schumacher, Daniel A. Galvão, Robert U. Newton, Dennis R. Taaffe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Adequate, transparent, and consistent reporting of adverse events (AEs) in exercise oncology trials is critical to assess the safety of exercise interventions for people following a cancer diagnosis. However, there is little understanding of how AEs are reported in exercise oncology trials. Thus, we propose to conduct a scoping review to summarise and evaluate current practice of reporting of AEs in published exercise oncology trials with further exploration of factors associated with inadequate reporting of AEs. The study findings will serve to inform the need for future research on standardisation of the definition, collection, and reporting of AEs for …

Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Of Pregnant Women Related To Covid-19 Infection: A Cross-Sectional Survey In Seven Countries From The Global Network For Women's And Children's Health, Farnaz Naqvi, Seemab Naqvi, Sk Masum Billah, Sarah Saleem, Elizabeth Fogleman, Nalini Peres Da-Silva, Lester Figueroa, Manolo Mazariegos, Ana L. Garces, Sana Yousaf

Community Health Sciences

Objective: We sought to understand knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 in pregnant women in seven low and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Design: Population-based prospective, observational study.
Settings: Study sites in DRC, Kenya, Zambia, Bangladesh, India (two sites), Pakistan and Guatemala.
Population and sample: Pregnant women in the Global Network's Maternal and Neonatal Health Registry (MNHR).
Methods: A KAP questionnaire was administered in face-to-face interviews with pregnant women from September 2020 through October 2021 in the MNHR.
Main outcome measures: KAP regarding COVID-19 during pregnancy.
Results: In all, 25 260 women completed the survey. Overall, 56.8% of women named ≥3 …

Risk Association Of Tox3 And Mmp7 Gene Polymorphisms With Sporadic Breast Cancer In Mexican Women, Orlando Solis-Coronado, Mónica Patricia Villarreal-Vela, Hazyadee Frecia Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, Juan Francisco González-Guerrero, Ricardo M. Cerda-Flores, Fernando Alcorta-Núñez, Karen Paola Camarillo-Cárdenas, Diana Cristina Pérez-Ibave, Oscar Vidal-Gutiérrez, Genaro A. Ramírez-Correa, María Lourdes Garza-Rodríguez

School of Medicine Publications

Breast cancer (BC) has one of the highest incidences and mortality worldwide. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TOX3 rs3803662 and MMP7 rs1943779 have been associated with susceptibility to BC. In this case-control study, we evaluated the association of rs3803662 (TOX3)/rs1943779 (MMP7) SNPs with clinical features, immunohistochemical reactivity, and risk association with BC in women from northeastern Mexico. We compared 212 BC cases and 212 controls. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood to perform the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. We calculated genotype frequencies, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals. We found that CT …

Myocardial Rev-Erb-Mediated Diurnal Metabolic Rhythm And Obesity Paradox, Shiyang Song, Chih-Liang Tien, Hao Cui, Paul Basil, Ningxia Zhu, Yingyun Gong, Wenbo Li, Hui Li, Qiying Fan, Jong Min Choi, Weijia Luo, Yanfeng Xue, Rui Cao, Wenjun Zhou, Andrea R Ortiz, Brittany Stork, Vatsala Mundra, Nagireddy Putluri, Brian York, Maoping Chu, Jiang Chang, Sung Yun Jung, Liang Xie, Jiangping Song, Lilei Zhang, Zheng Sun

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The nuclear receptor Rev-erbα/β, a key component of the circadian clock, emerges as a drug target for heart diseases, but the function of cardiac Rev-erb has not been studied in vivo. Circadian disruption is implicated in heart diseases, but it is unknown whether cardiac molecular clock dysfunction is associated with the progression of any naturally occurring human heart diseases. Obesity paradox refers to the seemingly protective role of obesity for heart failure, but the mechanism is unclear.

METHODS: We generated mouse lines with cardiac-specific Rev-erbα/β knockout (KO), characterized cardiac phenotype, conducted multi-omics (RNA-sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, proteomics, and metabolomics) …

Understanding The Context Of Healthcare Utilisation For Children Under-Five With Diarrhoea In The Drc: Based On Andersen Behavioural Model, Siyu Zou, Xinran Qi, Keiko Marshall, Maria Asif Bhura, Rie Takesue, Kun Tang

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of death among children under 5 years old in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Despite positive effects on prognosis, there is limited literature about the healthcare-seeking behaviours of children with diarrhoea, especially in the DRC. This study used the Andersen Behavioural Model, a theoretical framework, which was commonly adopted to study healthcare utilisation, to investigate and predict factors associated with the use of healthcare to treat diarrhoea in the DRC.
Methods: Data collected from 2626 under-five children with diarrhoea in the last 2 weeks from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey …

Rapunzel Syndrome Complicated By Escherichia Coli Sepsis, Bowel Perforation, And Pancreatitis In An 11-Year-Old Malnourished Female, Rhea Daniel, Mary Arbuthnot, Srinivas Ramireddy, Supriya Nair

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The most common presenting symptoms of Rapunzel syndrome include abdominal pain (37%), nausea and vomiting (33.3%), obstruction (25.9%), and peritonitis (18.3%). Less commonly, patients may present with weight loss (7.4%) or intussusception (7.4%). Exceedingly rare complications of Rapunzel syndrome include gastric ulceration, obstructive jaundice, and acute pancreatitis as well as other malabsorptive-related complications including protein-losing enteropathy, iron deficiency, and megaloblastic anemia. This report details the case of an 11-year-old female with Rapunzel syndrome complicated by sepsis, a rare complication reported in only 2% of patients.

Head And Neck Cancer Survivorship Consensus Statement From The American Head And Neck Society, Neerav Goyal, Andrew Day, Joel Epstein, Joseph Goodman, Evan Graboyes, Scharukh Jalisi, Ana P Kiess, Jamie A Ku, Matthew C Miller, Aru Panwar, Vijay A Patel, Assuntina Sacco, Vlad Sandulache, Amy M Williams, Daniel Deschler, D Gregory Farwell, Cherie-Ann Nathan, Carole Fakhry, Nishant Agrawal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To provide a consensus statement describing best practices and evidence regarding head and neck cancer survivorship.

METHODS: Key topics regarding head and neck cancer survivorship were identified by the multidisciplinary membership of the American Head and Neck Society Survivorship, Supportive Care & Rehabilitation Service. Guidelines were generated by combining expert opinion and a review of the literature and categorized by level of evidence.

RESULTS: Several areas regarding survivorship including dysphonia, dysphagia, fatigue, chronic pain, intimacy, the ability to return to work, financial toxicity, lymphedema, psycho-oncology, physical activity, and substance abuse were identified and discussed. Additionally, the group identified and …

Multidisciplinary Care For Refractory Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain Decreases Emergency And Inpatient Utilization, Andrew S Chu, Laura Torres, Grace Kao, Caroyl Gilbert, Evelyn Caro Monico, Bruno P Chumpitazi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Children with refractory functional abdominal pain (FAP) experience functional disability and may utilize emergency department (ED) and/or inpatient services. Whether multidisciplinary programs which help care for children with refractory FAP affect acute healthcare utilization is unknown. A retrospective chart review of children initially evaluated by the outpatient Multidisciplinary Abdominal Pain Program (MAPP) from October 2016 to May 2019 was completed. Patient characteristics and number of ED visits and hospitalizations for abdominal pain in the year prior to versus year after MAPP evaluation were captured. Thirty-eight children (ages 9-17 years [median 13 years]) were included. The median number of ED visits/patient/year …

Race/Ethnicity And Birthplace As Risk Factors For Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia In A Multiethnic United States Population, Mimi C Tan, Taher Jamali, Theresa H Nguyen, Amy Galvan, Robert J Sealock, Anam Khan, Neda Zarrin-Khameh, Ashley Holloman, Ourania Kampagianni, David Henriquez Ticas, Yan Liu, Hashem B El-Serag, Aaron P Thrift

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Several US subgroups have increased risk of gastric cancer and gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) and may benefit from targeted screening. We evaluated demographic and clinical risk factors for GIM and examined the interaction between race/ethnicity and birthplace on GIM risk.

METHODS: We identified patients who had undergone esophagogastroduodenoscopy with gastric biopsy from 3/2006-11/2016 using the pathology database at a safety net hospital in Houston, Texas. Cases had GIM on ≥1 gastric biopsy histopathology, whereas controls lacked GIM on any biopsy. We estimated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations with GIM risk using logistic regression and developed …

Zoonotic Pathogens From Illegally Traded Wildlife Justify Adopting The One Health Perspective In Disease Response, Marianne Allison G. Lee, Vinyl Joseph S. Valeza, Jonathan Patrick H. Yan, Ronald Allan L. Cruz

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent studies have described a direct relationship between the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in human populations. In the Philippines, the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) framework outlines the monitoring, response, and management of disease outbreaks, but needs to be updated in the wake of zoonoses from IWT. Here, we identified zoonotic pathogens that may be introduced to human populations through the IWT, pinpointed potential outbreak hotspots, and provided recommendations on how to improve the Philippines’ public health response while considering One Health. Using seizure data from the Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) covering …

A Predictive Model For Geographical Location Using Microbiome Composition And Covid-19 Based Analysis, Ahmed Adel Aboushanab

Theses and Dissertations

The human microbiome is a main contributor for the health and welfare of the human body. It is affected by many factors like diet and hygiene. These factors differ between different populations. Testing the population-microbiome differences using healthy samples from different countries is the first objective of this study. This data was then used in training and testing machine learning models (Random Forest and L2-logistic Regression Classifiers) for the prediction of the geographical location based on the microbiome data. Random Forest Classifier had the highest accuracy. Feature importance analysis showed that the data for Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes improved the …

(#Womeninddw) Persistent Speaker Gender Gap At The Premier Digestive Disease Event, Zubair Khan, Rabia Rukhshan, Asmeen Bhatt, Sushovan Guha, Srinivas Ramireddy, Prithvi Patil, Ricardo Badillo, Roy Tomas Davee, Nirav Thosani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Over the last few decades, advances have been made regarding gender equality starting from medical students to trainees, to leadership in academics. The female representation in specialty academic conferences not only reflects the existing gender disparities in that specialty but also can influence young female trainees to join that field. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the premier digestive disease event. We aimed to calculate the proportion of female representation among speakers and moderators at the DDW meetings held from 2018 to 2020.

METHODS: The data for DDW 2018-2020 were collected via the online web-based planner. The gender of speakers …

Clinical Outcomes Of Immunomodulatory Therapies In The Management Of Covid-19: A Tertiary-Care Experience From Pakistan, Noreen Nasir, Salma Tajuddin, Sarah Khaskheli, Naveera Khan, Hammad Niamatullah, Nosheen Nasir

Section of Internal Medicine

The pharmacological management of COVID-19 has evolved significantly and various immunomodulatory agents have been repurposed. However, the clinical efficacy has been variable and a search for cure for COVID-19 continues. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 916 patients hospitalized with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 between February 2020 and October 2020 at a tertiary care academic medical center in Karachi, Pakistan. The median age was 57 years (interquartile range (IQR) 46–66 years). The most common medications administered were Methylprednisolone (65.83%), Azithromycin (50.66%), and Dexamethasone (46.6%). Majority of the patients (70%) had at least two or more medications used in …

Potential Effectiveness Of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists In Healthy Behavior Interventions For Managing Type 2 Diabetes In Older Adults: A Systematic Review, Laurel Dobrow, Isabella Estrada, Nasira Burkholder-Cooley, John Miklavcic

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: A systematic review was conducted to assess how the involvement of a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) in healthy behavior interventions (HBIs) potentially affects outcomes in older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: Literature was searched for primary research published between 2016 and 2020 on HBI involving a RDN affecting outcomes in older adults with T2D. Evaluations of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, anthropometry, body composition, medication usage, healthcare cost, and self-efficacy and/or adherence to healthy behaviors outcomes were selected for inclusion. All the literature included were summarized, evaluated for certainty of evidence criteria, and assessed …

Common Genetic Variants Contribute To Risk Of Transposition Of The Great Arteries, Doris Škorić-Milosavljević, Rafik Tadros, Fernanda M Bosada, Federico Tessadori, Jan Hendrik Van Weerd, Odilia I Woudstra, Fleur V Y Tjong, Najim Lahrouchi, Fanny Bajolle, Heather J Cordell, A J Agopian, Gillian M Blue, Daniela Q C M Barge-Schaapveld, Marc Gewillig, Christoph Preuss, Elisabeth M Lodder, Phil Barnett, Aho Ilgun, Leander Beekman, Karel Van Duijvenboden, Regina Bokenkamp, Martina Müller-Nurasyid, Hubert W Vliegen, Thelma C Konings, Joost P Van Melle, Arie P J Van Dijk, Roland R J Van Kimmenade, Jolien W Roos-Hesselink, Gertjan T Sieswerda, Folkert Meijboom, Hashim Abdul-Khaliq, Felix Berger, Sven Dittrich, Marc-Phillip Hitz, Julia Moosmann, Frank-Thomas Riede, Stephan Schubert, Pilar Galan, Mark Lathrop, Hans M Munter, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Christopher E Shaw, Pamela J Shaw, Karen E Morrison, Jan H Veldink, Leonard H Van Den Berg, Sylvia Evans, Marcelo A Nobrega, Ivy Aneas, Milena Radivojkov-Blagojević, Thomas Meitinger, Erwin Oechslin, Tapas Mondal, Lynn Bergin, John F Smythe, Luis Altamirano-Diaz, Jane Lougheed, Berto J Bouma, Marie-A Chaix, Jennie Kline, Anne S Bassett, Gregor Andelfinger, Roel L F Van Der Palen, Patrice Bouvagnet, Sally-Ann B Clur, Jeroen Breckpot, Wilhelmina S Kerstjens-Frederikse, David S Winlaw, Ulrike M M Bauer, Seema Mital, Elizabeth Goldmuntz, Bernard Keavney, Damien Bonnet, Barbara J Mulder, Michael W T Tanck, Jeroen Bakkers, Vincent M Christoffels, Cornelis J Boogerd, Alex V Postma, Connie R Bezzina

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

RATIONALE: Dextro-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) is a severe congenital heart defect which affects approximately 1 in 4,000 live births. While there are several reports of D-TGA patients with rare variants in individual genes, the majority of D-TGA cases remain genetically elusive. Familial recurrence patterns and the observation that most cases with D-TGA are sporadic suggest a polygenic inheritance for the disorder, yet this remains unexplored.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to study the role of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in risk for D-TGA.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a genome-wide association study in an international set of 1,237 patients …

An Estrogen-Sensitive Hypothalamus-Midbrain Neural Circuit Controls Thermogenesis And Physical Activity, Hui Ye, Bing Feng, Chunmei Wang, Kenji Saito, Yongjie Yang, Lucas Ibrahimi, Sarah Schaul, Nirali Patel, Leslie Saenz, Pei Luo, Penghua Lai, Valeria Torres, Maya Kota, Devin Dixit, Xing Cai, Na Qu, Ilirjana Hyseni, Kaifan Yu, Yuwei Jiang, Qingchun Tong, Zheng Sun, Benjamin R Arenkiel, Yanlin He, Pingwen Xu, Yong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Estrogen receptor–α (ERα) expressed by neurons in the ventrolateral subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (ERαvlVMH) regulates body weight in females, but the downstream neural circuits mediating this biology remain largely unknown. Here we identified a neural circuit mediating the metabolic effects of ERαvlVMH neurons. We found that selective activation of ERαvlVMH neurons stimulated brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis, physical activity, and core temperature and that ERαvlVMH neurons provide monosynaptic glutamatergic inputs to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Notably, the ERαvlVMH → DRN circuit responds to changes in ambient temperature and nutritional states. We further showed …

Rspo2 And Rankl Signal Through Lgr4 To Regulate Osteoclastic Premetastatic Niche Formation And Bone Metastasis, Zhiying Yue, Xin Niu, Zengjin Yuan, Qin Qin, Wenhao Jiang, Liang He, Jingduo Gao, Yi Ding, Yanxi Liu, Ziwei Xu, Zhenxi Li, Zhengfeng Yang, Rong Li, Xiwen Xue, Yankun Gao, Fei Yue, Xiang H-F Zhang, Guohong Hu, Yi Wang, Yi Li, Geng Chen, Stefan Siwko, Alison Gartland, Ning Wang, Jianru Xiao, Mingyao Liu, Jian Luo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Therapeutics targeting osteoclasts are commonly used treatments for bone metastasis; however, whether and how osteoclasts regulate premetastatic niche and bone tropism are largely unknown. In this study, we report that osteoclast precursors (OPs) can function as a premetastatic niche component that facilitates breast cancer (BCa) bone metastasis at early stages. At the molecular level, unbiased GPCR ligand/agonist screening in BCa cells suggested that R-spondin 2 (RSPO2) and RANKL, through interaction with their receptor LGR4, promoted osteoclastic premetastatic niche formation and enhanced BCa bone metastasis. This was achieved by RSPO2/RANKL-LGR4 signal modulating the WNT inhibitor DKK1 through Gαq and β-catenin signaling. …

Differences In Health-Related Outcomes And Health Care Resource Utilization In Breast Cancer Survivors With And Without Type 2 Diabetes, Susan Storey, Zuoyi Zhang, Xiao Luo, Megan Metzger, Amrutha Ravali Jakka, Kun Huang, Diane Von Ah

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Up to 74% of breast cancer survivors (BCS) have at least one preexisting comorbid condition, with diabetes (type 2) common. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in health-related outcomes (anemia, neutropenia, and infection) and utilization of health care resources (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency visits) in BCS with and without diabetes.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, data were leveraged from the electronic health records of a large health network linked to the Indiana State Cancer Registry. BCS diagnosed between January 2007 and December 2017 and who had received chemotherapy were included. Multivariable logistic regression and generalized …

Prevalence Of Endocrine Disorders Among 6078 Individuals With Down Syndrome In The United States, Anne Rivelli, Veronica Fitzpatrick, Danielle Wales, Laura Chicoine, Gengjie Jia, Andrey Rzhetsky, Brian Chicoine

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Findings from a recent study describing prevalence of common disease conditions in the largest documented cohort of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) in the United States strongly suggested significant disparity in endocrine disorders among these individuals when compared with age- and sex-matched individuals without DS. This retrospective, descriptive study is a follow-up report documenting prevalence of 21 endocrine disorder conditions, across 28 years of data, from 6078 individuals with DS and 30,326 age- and sex-matched controls, abstracted from electronic medical records within a large integrated health system. Overall, individuals with DS experienced higher prevalence of adrenal insufficiency and Addison’s disease; …

Health Expectations, Risk Tolerance, And Walking In Peripheral Artery Disease-Related Claudication, Sherene Sharath, Panos Kougias, Neal Barshes

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

We examined the association between health expectations, baseline physical activity, and self-reported symptom severity among patients with claudication: calf pain that occurs during walking and is relieved at rest. Beliefs and attitudes toward exercise influence the behavior. When walking is prescribed as an alternative to surgical intervention with the intention of decreasing symptom severity, as is the case with claudication, it is important to assess patient perceptions, beliefs, and expectations. Through a phone survey, participants described the severity of their symptoms via the Walking Impairment Questionnaire. Data were collected on (1) health expectations and attitudes, assessments of value placed on …

Glynac (Glycine And N-Acetylcysteine) Supplementation Improves Impaired Mitochondrial Fuel Oxidation And Lowers Insulin Resistance In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Results Of A Pilot Study, Rajagopal V Sekhar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are known to have mitochondrial dysfunction and increased insulin resistance (IR), but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We reported previously that (a) adequacy of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) is necessary for optimal mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation (MFO); (b) supplementing the GSH precursors glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) in mice corrected GSH deficiency, reversed impaired MFO, and lowered oxidative stress (OxS) and IR; and (c) supplementing GlyNAC in patients with T2D improved GSH synthesis and concentrations, and lowered OxS. However, the effect of GlyNAC on MFO, MGO (mitochondrial glucose oxidation), IR and plasma FFA …

Mapk4 Promotes Triple Negative Breast Cancer Growth And Reduces Tumor Sensitivity To Pi3k Blockade, Wei Wang, Dong Han, Qinbo Cai, Tao Shen, Bingning Dong, Michael T Lewis, Runsheng Wang, Yanling Meng, Wolong Zhou, Ping Yi, Chad J Creighton, David D Moore, Feng Yang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

About 15-20% of breast cancer (BCa) is triple-negative BCa (TNBC), a devastating disease with limited therapeutic options. Aberrations in the PI3K/PTEN signaling pathway are common in TNBC. However, the therapeutic impact of PI3K inhibitors in TNBC has been limited and the mechanism(s) underlying this lack of efficacy remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that a large subset of TNBC expresses significant levels of MAPK4, and this expression is critical for driving AKT activation independent of PI3K and promoting TNBC cell and xenograft growth. The ability of MAPK4 to bypass PI3K for AKT activation potentially provides a direct mechanism regulating tumor sensitivity …

Risk Factors For Acute Respiratory Infections In Children Between 0 And 23 Months Of Age In A Peri-Urban District In Pakistan: A Matched Case–Control Study, Fatima Mir, Shabina Ariff, Maria Asif Bhura, Suhail Chanar, Aspara Ali, Muhammad Jawwad, A Hussain, Arjumand Rizvi, Muhammad Umer, Zahid Memon, Atif Habib, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) accounts for nearly 15% of all childhood mortality in South Asia, with children from rural areas at higher risk due to inaccessibility to healthcare facilities. We therefore aimed to identify risk factors associated with ARI in children under 2 years of age in rural Pakistan.
Methods: A retrospective 1:2 matched case-control study was conducted between October and December 2018 in Taluka Kotri, Jamshoro District of Pakistan. Cases were identified as children between 0 and 23 months of age with a history of fever, cough, sore throat, fast breathing, difficulty breathing, or chest indrawing in the …

Do Empowered Women Receive Better Quality Antenatal Care In Pakistan? An Analysis Of Demographic And Health Survey Data, Muhammad Asim, Waqas Hameed, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

Introduction: Quality antenatal care is a window of opportunity for improving maternal and neonatal outcomes. Numerous studies have shown a positive effect of women empowerment on improved coverage of maternal and reproductive health services, including antenatal care (ANC). However, there is scarce evidence on the association between women's empowerment and improved ANC services both in terms of coverage and quality. Addressing this gap, this paper examines the relationship between multi-dimensional measures of women empowerment on utilization of quality ANC (service coverage and consultation) in Pakistan.
Methods: We used Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 (PDHS) data which comprises of 6,602 …

Comparison Of Percutaneous Vs Oral Infection Of Hamsters With The Hookworm Ancylostoma Ceylanicum: Parasite Development, Pathology And Primary Immune Response, Richard D. Bungiro, Lisa M. Harrison, Blaise Dondji, Michael Cappello

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Background

Hundreds of millions of people in poor countries continue to suffer from disease caused by bloodfeeding hookworms. While mice and rats are not reliably permissive hosts for any human hookworm species, adult Golden Syrian hamsters are fully permissive for the human and animal pathogen Ancylostoma ceylanicum. Similar to humans, hamsters may be infected with A. ceylanicum third-stage larvae orally or percutaneously. Oral infection typically leads to consistent worm yields in hamsters but may not accurately reflect the clinical and immunological manifestations of human infection resulting from skin penetration.

Methodology/Principal findings

In this study we compared host responses …

Why Employees Are Learving And Will Not Return To Work In The Hospitality Industry, Robertico Croes, Kelly Semrad, Manuel Rivera

Rosen Research Review

An important new report by Rosen College researchers should be taken as a wakeup call for the tourism and hospitality industry in the U.S. following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does Tight Glycemic Control Slow The Progression Of Chronic Kidney Disease?, Elani Dodd

Graduate Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Diabetes Mellitus Among Black/African Americans: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Epigenetic Research, Eliana Jacobs

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During their lifetime, Black/African Americans have a higher likelihood of developing the diabetes mellitus metabolic disorder than other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. While research indicates that socioeconomic status, diet, and obesity factor into race disparities, the epigenetics field additionally identifies historical and contemporary racism as contributors to race disparities. This study is a qualitative analysis that examines a sample of health science research articles that use an epigenetics approach to understand diabetes among Black/African Americans. I analyzed the extent and mechanisms through which articles subtly reproduce dominant stereotypes of Black/African Americans and diabetes through representations of …