Digital Commons Network^™

Functional Vs Structural Cortical Deficit Pattern Biomarkers For Major Depressive Disorder, Peter Kochunov, Bhim M Adhikari, David Keator, Daniel Amen, Si Gao, Nicole R Karcher, Demetrio Labate, Robert Azencott, Yewen Huang, Hussain Syed, Hongjie Ke, Paul M Thompson, Danny J J Wang, Braxton D Mitchell, Jessica A Turner, Theo G M Van Erp, Neda Jahanshad, Yizhou Ma, Xiaoming Du, William Burroughs, Shuo Chen, Tianzhou Ma, Jair C Soares, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental illness characterized more by functional rather than structural brain abnormalities. The pattern of regional homogeneity (ReHo) deficits in MDD may relate to underlying regional hypoperfusion. Capturing this functional deficit pattern provides a brain pattern-based biomarker for MDD that is linked to the underlying pathophysiology.

Objective: To examine whether cortical ReHo patterns provide a replicable biomarker for MDD that is more sensitive than reduced cortical thickness and evaluate whether the ReHo MDD deficit pattern reflects regional cerebral blood flow (RCBF) deficit patterns in MDD and whether a regional vulnerability index (RVI) thus …

Multi-Institutional Study On Image Quality For A Novel Cbct Solution On O-Ring Linac, Luis Agulles-Pedrós, R Lee Macdonald, Amanda Jean Cherpak, Nayha Dixit, Lei Dong, Tianyu Zhao, Kundan Thind, Anthony Doemer, Boon-Keng Teo, Shiqin Su, Alexander Moncion, James L Robar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: This work presents a multi-institutional study on image quality provided by a novel cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The main goal is to investigate the consistency of imaging performance across multiple institutions.

METHODS: Phantoms for measuring relative electron density (RED) and image quality were sent to six institutions for imaging on Ethos and Halcyon units equipped with HyperSight CBCT. The imaging protocols included tube potential from 100 to 140 kVp and exposure from 80 to 800 mAs. Imaging performance was evaluated with regard to RED versus Hounsfield units (HU), uniformity, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), slice thickness, circular symmetry, modulation transfer …

Emerging Technologies Of Single-Cell Multi-Omics, Yi June Kim, Koichi Takahashi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The heterogeneity of the hematopoietic system was largely veiled by traditional bulk sequencing methods, which measure the averaged signals from mixed cellular populations. In contrast, single-cell sequencing has enabled the direct measurement of individual signals from each cell, significantly enhancing our ability to unveil such heterogeneity. Building on these advances, numerous single-cell multi-omics techniques have been developed into high-throughput, routinely accessible platforms, delineating the precise relationships among different layers of the central dogma in molecular biology. These technologies have uncovered the intricate landscape of genetic clonality and transcriptional heterogeneity in both normal and malignant hematopoietic systems, highlighting their roles in …

Gut Microbiota In Immuno-Oncology: A Practical Guide For Medical Oncologists With A Focus On Antibiotics Stewardship, Arielle Elkrief, Bertrand Routy, Lisa Derosa, Laura Bolte, Jennifer A Wargo, Jennifer L Mcquade, Laurence Zitvogel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The gut microbiota has emerged as a critical determinant of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy, resistance, and toxicity. Retrospective and prospective studies profiling the taxonomic composition of intestinal microbes of patients treated with ICI have revealed specific gut microbial signatures associated with response. By contrast, dysbiosis, which can be caused by chronic inflammatory processes (such as cancer) or comedications, is a risk factor of resistance to ICI. Recent large-scale meta-analyses have confirmed that antibiotic (ATB) use before or during ICI therapy alters the microbiota repertoire and significantly shortens overall survival, even after adjusting for prognostic factors. These results underscore the …

Postoperative Caregiver Decision Regret Following Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Surgery., Rohit Nallani, Nathan Farrokhian, Meghan Tracy, Kevin J. Sykes, Jill M. Arganbright

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Decision regret (DR) is a powerful factor in medical decision-making, particularly for surgical decisions which carry multiple risks, impact quality of life (QOL), and have uncertain outcomes. While prior studies have investigated caregiver DR after tonsillectomy and otologic surgery, there is a paucity of data assessing DR following pediatric otolaryngology procedures. The aim of this study is to measure DR following velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) surgery.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study with chart review was performed of caregivers of children who had VPD surgery performed by a single surgeon at a tertiary children's hospital. Demographic, medical, and surgical history were …

Validity And Reliability Of The Tampa Scale For Kinesiophobia For Adolescents With Heart Disease., David A. White, William R. Black, Emily Cramer, Lindsey Malloy-Walton, Mollie Walton, Laura Martis, Brandy Enneking, Kelli M. Teson, Jessica S. Watson, Jami Gross-Toalson

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: To assess the validity and reliability of a newly adapted Tampa Scale for KP for adolescents with HD (TSK-Heart-A).

METHODS: The TSK-Heart-A survey consists of 17 Likert scale items, producing a summary score (SS) ranging from 17 (low KP) to 68 (high KP). Following content and face validity, adolescents (age 12-18 yr) with arrhythmia disorders or Fontan palliation were recruited. The PROMIS pediatric anxiety and depression short forms, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) generic core and cardiac module, and a PA questionnaire for adolescents (PAQ-A) were used for criterion validity. The TSK-Heart-A was completed twice (20.4 ± 6.3 …

Externally Validated Digital Decision Support Tool For Time-To-Osteoradionecrosis Risk-Stratification Using Right-Censored Multi-Institutional Observational Cohorts, Laia Humbert-Vidan, Serageldin Kamel, Andrew Wentzel, Zaphanlene Kaffey, Moamen Abdelaal, Kyle B Spier, Natalie A West, G Elisabeta Marai, Guadalupe Canahuate, Xinhua Zhang, Melissa M Chen, Kareem A Wahid, Jillian Rigert, Seyedmohammadhossein Hosseinian, Andrew J Schaefer, Kristy K Brock, Mark Chambers, Adegbenga O Otun, Ruth Aponte-Wesson, Vinod Patel, Andrew Hope, Jack Phan, Adam S Garden, Steven J Frank, William H Morrison, Michael T Spiotto, David Rosenthal, Anna Lee, Renjie He, Mohamed A Naser, Erin Watson, Katherine A Hutcheson, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Vlad C Sandulache, Lisanne V Van Dijk, Amy C Moreno, Teresa Guerrero Urbano, Clifton D Fuller, Stephen Y Lai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Existing studies on osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) have primarily used cross-sectional data, assessing risk factors at a single time point. Determining the time-to-event profile of ORNJ has important implications to monitor oral health in head and neck cancer (HNC) long-term survivors.

Methods: Data were retrospectively obtained for a clinical observational cohort of 1129 patients (198 ORNJ cases) with HNC treated with radiotherapy (RT) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. A Weibull Accelerated Failure Time model was trained on previously identified dosimetric, clinical and demographic predictors. External validation was performed using an independent cohort of 265 …

Nf2 Loss-Of-Function And Hypoxia Drive Radiation Resistance In Grade 2 Meningiomas, Bhuvic Patel, Sangami Pugazenthi, Collin W English, Vijay Nitturi, Shree S Pari, Tatenda Mahlokozera, William A Leidig, Hsiang-Chih Lu, Alicia Yang, Kaleigh Roberts, Patrick Desouza, Kyle P Mcgeehan, Diane D Mao, Namita Sinha, Joseph E Ippolito, Sonika Dahiya, Allegra Petti, Hiroko Yano, Tiemo J Klisch, Akdes S Harmanci, Akash J Patel, Albert H Kim

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: World Health Organization Grade 2 meningiomas (G2Ms) often recur and resist therapies. Grade 2 meningiomas with histopathological necrosis have been associated with worse local control (LC) after radiation therapy, but the drivers and biomarkers of radiation resistance in G2Ms remain unknown.

Methods: We performed genetic sequencing and histopathological analysis of 113 G2Ms and investigated the role of genetic and microenvironmental factors on clonogenic survival after ionizing radiation. We performed transcriptional profiling of our in vitro model and 18 human G2M tumors by bulk RNA sequencing as well as 8 G2Ms by single nuclei RNA sequencing.

Results: NF2 loss-of-function (LOF) …

Linking Symptom Inventories Using Semantic Textual Similarity, Eamonn Kennedy, Shashank Vadlamani, Hannah M Lindsey, Kelly S Peterson, Kristen Dams O'Connor, Ronak Agarwal, Houshang H Amiri, Raeda K Andersen, Talin Babikian, David A Baron, Erin D Bigler, Karen Caeyenberghs, Lisa Delano-Wood, Seth G Disner, Ekaterina Dobryakova, Blessen C Eapen, Rachel M Edelstein, Carrie Esopenko, Helen M Genova, Elbert Geuze, Naomi J Goodrich-Hunsaker, Jordan Grafman, Asta K Håberg, Cooper B Hodges, Kristen R Hoskinson, Elizabeth S Hovenden, Andrei Irimia, Neda Jahanshad, Ruchira M Jha, Finian Keleher, Kimbra Kenney, Inga K Koerte, Spencer W Liebel, Abigail Livny, Marianne Løvstad, Sarah L Martindale, Jeffrey E Max, Andrew R Mayer, Timothy B Meier, Deleene S Menefee, Abdalla Z Mohamed, Stefania Mondello, Martin M Monti, Rajendra A Morey, Virginia Newcombe, Mary R Newsome, Alexander Olsen, Nicholas J Pastorek, Mary Jo Pugh, Adeel Razi, Jacob E Resch, Jared A Rowland, Kelly Russell, Nicholas P Ryan, Randall S Scheibel, Adam T Schmidt, Gershon Spitz, Jaclyn A Stephens, Assaf Tal, Leah D Talbert, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Brian A Taylor, Sophia I Thomopoulos, Maya Troyanskaya, Eve M Valera, Harm Jan Van Der Horn, John D Van Horn, Ragini Verma, Benjamin S C Wade, Willian C Walker, Ashley L Ware, J Kent Werner, Keith Owen Yeates, Ross D Zafonte, Michael M Zeineh, Brandon Zielinski, Paul M Thompson, Frank G Hillary, David F Tate, Elisabeth A Wilde, Emily L Dennis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

An extensive library of symptom inventories has been developed over time to measure clinical symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but this variety has led to several long-standing issues. Most notably, results drawn from different settings and studies are not comparable. This creates a fundamental problem in TBI diagnostics and outcome prediction, namely that it is not possible to equate results drawn from distinct tools and symptom inventories. Here, we present an approach using semantic textual similarity (STS) to link symptoms and scores across previously incongruous symptom inventories by ranking item text similarities according to their conceptual likeness. We tested …

Corrigendum To “Neuro-Ophthalmic Complications Following Eighth Cranial Nerve Microvascular Decompression” [Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep (2025) Ecollection 1–3 102258], Stanley M Saju, Patrick J Hunt, Pamela Davila-Siliezar, Noor Laylani, Andrew G Lee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This corrects the article "Neuro-ophthalmic complications following eighth cranial nerve microvascularx decompression" in volume 37, 102258.

Impact Of Length Of Stay On Diagnostic Yield In The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit: A Multi-Center Retrospective 12-Year Veterans Health Administration Study, Maximillian S Feygin, Autumn Smith, Sruthi Gopinath Karicheri, Khadar Haroun, Omar Khan, Maria R Lopez, Stephan Eisenschenk, John Jones, Stephanie Reeder, Alan R Towne, Christopher Ransom, Karen Medin, James Chen, Tung Tran, Nina I Garga, Noemi Rincon-Flores, Marissa Kellogg, Steven Tobochnik, Zulfi Haneef

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Epilepsy Monitoring Units (EMUs) in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE) are critical for the diagnosis and management of seizure disorders. Whether a shorter length of stay (LOS) in the EMU due to scheduling impacts diagnostic yield is unclear.

Methods: Data from 7074 EMU visits across 15 VHA EMUs (2012-2024) were analyzed. Based on usual admission schedules, EMUs were divided into "fixed" (typically Monday-Friday) or "flexible" subgroups. Diagnostic outcomes were classified as epileptic seizures (ES), psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), other non-epileptic events, and inconclusive. Diagnostic rates were compared between fixed and flexible sites using cumulative distribution …

Baseline Characteristics Of The Us Study To Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention To Reduce Risk (Us Pointer): Successful Enrollment Of A Diverse Clinical Trial Cohort At Risk For Cognitive Decline, Rachel A Whitmer, Laura D Baker, Maria C Carrillo, Heather M Snyder, Maryjo L Cleveland, Darren R Gitelman, Miia Kivipelto, Xiaoyan I Leng, Laura Lovato, Kathryn V Papp, Valory N Pavlik, Stephen P Salloway, Christy C Tangney, Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Jeff D Williamson, Sharon Wilmoth, Nancy Woolard, Melissa Yu, Mark Andrew Espeland, U.S. Pointer Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER) is a 2-year randomized controlled trial of two lifestyle interventions in 2111 older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline.

Methods: Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and rates of ancillary study participation were described with means and frequencies.

Results: U.S. POINTER successfully enrolled a cohort, ages 60-79 years, which was ethno-racially inclusive (>30% individuals from groups often under-represented in clinical trials with cognitive outcomes) and 18% residing in neighborhoods with moderate or high levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Enrollees were cognitively intact but at increased …

Author Correction: Inhibitory Specificity From A Connectomic Census Of Mouse Visual Cortex, Casey M Schneider-Mizell, Agnes L Bodor, Derrick Brittain, Joann Buchanan, Daniel J Bumbarger, Leila Elabbady, Clare Gamlin, Daniel Kapner, Sam Kinn, Gayathri Mahalingam, Sharmishtaa Seshamani, Shelby Suckow, Marc Takeno, Russel Torres, Wenjing Yin, Sven Dorkenwald, J Alexander Bae, Manuel A Castro, Akhilesh Halageri, Zhen Jia, Chris Jordan, Nico Kemnitz, Kisuk Lee, Kai Li, Ran Lu, Thomas Macrina, Eric Mitchell, Shanka Subhra Mondal, Shang Mu, Barak Nehoran, Sergiy Popovych, William Silversmith, Nicholas L Turner, William Wong, Jingpeng Wu, Jacob Reimer, Andreas S Tolias, H Sebastian Seung, R Clay Reid, Forrest Collman, Nuno Maçarico Da Costa

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Airway Immune Signatures In Severe And Fatal Infection With Covid-19, Naresh Doni Jayavelu, Jing Jing Qi, Slim Fourati, Farrah Kheradmand, Charles R Langelier, Lauren I R Ehrlich, Joann Diray-Arce, Annmarie Hoch, Monica Kraft, Patrice M Becker, Matthew C Altman, Ruth R Montgomery

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

High Immunoproteasome And Low Constitutive Proteasome Subunit Levels Correlate With Sensitivity To Bortezomib-Containing Chemotherapy: Update From The Children’S Oncology Group Aall1231 Trial, Margot S F Roeten, Johan Van Meerloo, Suzanne N Van Dijk, Zinia Kwidama, Gaye Jenkins, David T Teachey, Meenakshi Devidas, Mignon L Loh, Gertjan J L Kaspers, Sonja Zweegman, Gerrit Jansen, Terzah M Horton, Jacqueline Cloos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

A Phenotypic Screen Identifies Xanthohumol And Other Flavonoids As Killers Of Bladder Cancer, Michael J Bolt, Jessica Oceguera, Alejandra Rivera Tostado, Christopher D Candler, Elina Mosa, Kazem Safari, Maureen G Mancini, Michael A Mancini

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Bladder cancer accounts for 4 % of cancer diagnoses in the US. Current treatments primarily involve trans-urethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) and immunotherapy with Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). Despite the efficacy of TURBT, issues with residual tumors persist. We chose to utilize Cell Painting to screen a set of 244 flavonoid compounds for bladder cancer cell toxicity. Using multiparametric high content analysis termed SPACe, we discover promising candidates underscoring the potential of flavonoids in targeting bladder cancer cells and elucidating their mechanisms of action. Notably, compounds such as xanthohumol show promise in reducing cancer cell viability by altering lipid metabolism. …

Neuroanatomical Features Of Naa10 And Naa15-Related Neurodevelopmental Syndromes, Rahi Patel, Rikhil Makwana, Carolina Christ, Elaine Marchi, Christina Y Miyake, Fabricio Guimaraes Goncalves, Gholson J Lyon, Matthew T Whitehead

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: NAA10-related and NAA15-related neurodevelopmental (ND) syndromes present with intellectual disability, hypotonia, cardiac abnormalities, and delayed development. While data exists on the clinical manifestations of these conditions, there are few reports describing the neuroanatomical abnormalities present on imaging.

Objective: We aim to provide neuroimaging analyses for a subset of probands with NAA10- and NAA15-related neurodevelopmental symptoms and assess the severity and number of neuroanatomical anomalies and their associated functional impairments to better understand the pathophysiology of these disease processes.

Materials and methods: Neuroimaging studies were obtained from 26 probands (18 with pathogenic variants in NAA10, 8 with pathogenic variants in …

Conduction System Pacing Compared With Biventricular Pacing For Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy In Patients With Heart Failure And Mildly Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: Results From International Collaborative Lbbap Study (I-Clas) Group, Pugazhendhi Vijayaraman, Francesco Zanon, Shunmuga Sundaram Ponnusamy, Bengt Herweg, Parikshit Sharma, Manuel Molina-Lerma, Marek Jastrzębski, Zachary Whinnett, Kevin Vernooy, Rajeev K Pathak, Roderick Tung, Gaurav Upadhyay, Karol Curila, Dipen Zalavadia, Nischay Shah, Lina Marcantoni, Mohamed Gad, Ramez Morcos, Pawel Moskal, Akriti Naraen, Mishal Mumtaz, Jamario R Skeete, Praneet S Katrapati, Jeffrey Kolominsky, Johan Van Koll, Mihail G Chelu, Kenneth A Ellenbogen, Oscar Cano

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a guideline-recommended therapy in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF, 36%-50%) and left bundle branch block or indication for ventricular pacing. Conduction system pacing (CSP) using left bundle branch area pacing or His bundle pacing has been shown to be a safe and physiologic alternative to biventricular pacing (BVP).

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes between BVP and CSP for patients with HFmrEF undergoing CRT.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent BVP or CSP with HFmrEF between January 2018 and June 2023 at 16 international …

A Flea-Borne Mystery: Unraveling Murine Typhus In A Patient With Unexplained Encephalopathy, Jose J. Loayza Pintado, Jorge A. Aboytes, Cesar Uribe

School of Medicine Publications

Murine typhus is a flea-borne rickettsial infection caused by Rickettsia typhi, commonly seen in endemic regions like Southern California and Texas. While it typically presents with fever, rash, and headache, neurological symptoms such as altered mental status are rare. We present a case of a 66-year-old male in southern Texas with alcohol use disorder who developed progressive confusion, decreased appetite, and subjective fevers. He was found to have severe hyponatremia, acute kidney injury, and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. Despite supportive care and empiric antibiotics for a urinary tract infection, his encephalopathy persisted. Further history revealed exposure to …

Anti-Viral Cd8 Central Memory Veto Cells As A New Platform For Car T Cell Therapy, Wei-Hsin Liu, Anat Globerson Levin, Assaf Lask, Galit Horn, Tova Waks, Bar Nathansohn Levi, Irit Milman Krentsis, Einav Shoshan, Xiaohua Su, Maksim Mamonkin, Richard E Champlin, Yair Reisner, Esther Bachar Lustig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Central memory CD8 T cells exhibit marked veto activity enhancing engraftment in several mouse models of T cell-depleted bone marrow (TDBM) allografting. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can be prevented by stimulation of mouse or human memory CD8 T cells against their cognate antigens under cytokine deprivation, in the early phase of culture followed by further expansion with IL21, IL15, and IL7. Thus, human anti-viral CD8 central memory veto T cells generated from CMV and EBV-positive donors are currently evaluated in a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Centre (MDACC). Results in 15 patients indicate a low risk of GVHD. Considering that …

Decompression With Intradural Dissection For The Chiari Malformation Type I: Toward Eliminating Wound Complications, Anna Lin, Lindsey Asti, Marissa Carroll, Jeffrey Campbell, Jospeh Piatt

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: There is continuing conversation about surgical technique in the management of the Chiari malformation. Popular options include osseous decompression alone, decompression with dural splitting, and decompression with intradural dissection (DID) and duraplasty. Wound complications after intradural dissection are a persistent problem. The current study of an institutional series examines wound complication rates after intradural dissection without dural closure.

METHODS: A retrospective single-institution chart review was performed for patients < 21 years with Chari malformation type I who underwent DID without dural closure and had at least 6 months of follow-up. Bone removal corresponded to the area of attachment of the rectus capitis posterior minor muscles together with laminectomy of the atlas. The trapezius and semispinalis capitis muscles were retracted but were not separated from the occiput.

RESULTS: A total of 76 patients were treated from May 2010 through May 2024. Thirty-eight (50.0%) patients had syringomyelia. The median age at surgery was 9 years (interquartile range [IQR] 4-13), …

Integrating Radiogenomics And Machine Learning In Musculoskeletal Oncology Care, Rahul Kumar, Kyle Sporn, Akshay Khanna, Phani Paladugu, Chirag Gowda, Alex Ngo, Ram Jagadeesan, Nasif Zaman, Alireza Tavakkoli

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Musculoskeletal tumors present a diagnostic challenge due to their rarity, histological diversity, and overlapping imaging features. Accurate characterization is essential for effective treatment planning and prognosis, yet current diagnostic workflows rely heavily on invasive biopsy and subjective radiologic interpretation. This review explores the evolving role of radiogenomics and machine learning in improving diagnostic accuracy for bone and soft tissue tumors. We examine integrating quantitative imaging features from MRI, CT, and PET with genomic and transcriptomic data to enable non-invasive tumor profiling. AI-powered platforms employing convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and radiomic texture analysis show promising results in tumor grading, subtype differentiation …

Artificial Intelligence Use In Medical Education: Best Practices And Future Directions, Rasheed A. M. Thompson, Yash B. Shah, Francisco Aguirre, Courtney Stewart, Costas D. Lallas, Mihir S. Shah

Department of Urology Faculty Papers

PURPOSEOF REVIEW: This review examines the various ways artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilized in medical education (MedEd)and presents ideas that will ethically and effectively leverage AI in enhancing the learning experience of medical trainees.

RECENT FINDINGS: AI has improved accessibility to learning material in a manner that engages the wider population. It has utility as a reference tool and can assist academic writing by generating outlines, summaries and identifying relevant reference articles. As AI is increasingly integrated into MedEd and practice, its regulation should become a priority to prevent drawbacks to the education of trainees. By involving physicians in …

Impact Of A Sepsis Quality Improvement Initiative On Clinical And Operational Outcomes, Christopher B. Thomas, Benjamin Wyler, Claude M. D’Antonio, Mark Laperouse, Shannon Alwood, Kristen Richard, Alyse Grantham, Roya Sheybani, Matt G. Sorrells, Wei Jien Tan, James W. Teague, Hollis O’Neal, Tonya Jagneaux

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background/Objectives: Sepsis is a costly and life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Lack of a reliable, timely diagnostic for sepsis leads to under- and overdiagnosis, suboptimal outcomes, and strained hospital resources. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOLRMC) implemented a sepsis learning health program to evaluate and improve outcomes through standardized ED workflows and the incorporation of a novel sepsis diagnostic test. Methods: We report the results of the first year of experience following the implementation of the learning health initiative and sepsis testing. Data from the Epic EHR were analyzed across two groups: …

Cardiac Amyloid, The Great Imitator, Nolan R. Fox, Nicholas J. Fox, Emily Newman, Brian Osler, Eugene Storozynsky

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Although endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is the criterion standard for diagnosis of infiltrative cardiac disease, cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) or cardiac amyloid can be diagnosed noninvasively through both clinical suspicion and advanced imaging techniques of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) or cardiac positron emission tomography (PET).

CASE SUMMARY: A 79-year-old man with mediastinal sarcoidosis presented with new chest pain and a right bundle branch block, raising concern for CS. CMR and cardiac PET also supported the diagnosis of CS, but EMB ultimately revealed transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. The patient was started on tafamidis and showed improvement at 1-year follow-up.

DISCUSSION: This case …

Histodx: Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Diagnosis Through Advanced Imaging Techniques, Wishal Arshad, Thhreem Masrood, H. M. Shahzhad, Hassan A. Ahmed, Syed Hamza Ahmed, Hafiz Muhammad Tayyab Khushi

Business Faculty Publications

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of mortality among women worldwide, highlighting the need for efficient histopathology-based screening methods for early diagnosis. This study introduces HistoDX, a deep learning framework to classify Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) using 277,524 histopathology image patches ( 50×50 pixels) from Paul Mooney’s IDC dataset on Kaggle, comprising No Cancer and IDC(+) classes. HistoDX employs a preprocessing pipeline with normalization, data augmentation, and class balancing via oversampling and weighted loss to address the class imbalance. A customized convolutional neural network, built on EfficientNetV2-B3 with additional layers, achieves 97% accuracy and a 0.91 ROC-AUC score on …

The Effect Of Bilateral Inferior Oblique Myectomy Surgery On The Astigmatism, Ayman M Elghonemy

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

INTRODUCTION: The function of the inferior oblique (IO) muscle is to externally rotate, elevate, and abducts the eye. Inferior oblique myectomy (IOM) is one of the most commonly used techniques for correction of inferior oblique overactions (IOOA). Surgical strabismus procedures have been known to cause refractive changes. The change in ocular torsion is known to cause changes to the axis of astigmatism. AIM: To study the effect of bilateral inferior oblique myectomy on the axis and power of astigmatism. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Medical records of 40 patients (80 eyes) who underwent bilateral IOM have been reviewed. Both eyes spherical equivalent, …

A Novel Arthroscopic-Assisted Fibular-Based Dual Reconstruction With Popliteus Repair Technique For Posterolateral Corner Injury: A Cadaveric And Functional Anatomic Study, S. Ali Ghasemi, Ahmad Naja, Benjamin C. Murray, Arthur Bartolozzi, Gene Shaffer, James Raphael

Einstein Health Papers

The structures of the posterolateral corner (PLC) work together as a single unit to provide both static and dynamic functions to the knee. Multiple techniques have been described for PLC reconstruction, however most of these techniques re-establish the static function of the PLC without addressing dynamic components. The popliteus muscle serves an important role in providing dynamic stability to the PLC, but this function is often not restored in reconstruction techniques. We describe a novel technique for PLC reconstruction that includes popliteus repair, and review the functional anatomy and biomechanics of the PLC. We also confirm the dynamic stabilizing role …

Antibiofilm Properties Of 4-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-2-Alkenylquinoline, A Novel Burkholderia-Derived Alkaloid, Mckinley D Williams, Taylor R Sweeney, Sabrina Trieu, Ravi Orugunty, Abdelahhad Barbour, Fereshteh Younesi, Michael Glogauer, Nopakorn Hansanant, Ronald Shin, Shi-En Lu, Kevin Cao, Abraham Tenorio, Sigmund J Haidacher, Anthony M Haag, Thomas D Horvath, Leif Smith

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Biofilms are an important colonization mechanism employed by several microbial species to better establish themselves and monopolize the acquisition of resources across different environs. Some bacteria have evolved specialized metabolites that, when secreted, disrupt the formation and stability of biofilms generated by competing heterospecies, providing the producing organism with an ecological advantage. Soil-derived species are probable candidates for the identification of such compounds, given the intense level of competition that occurs within the terrestrial ecosystem. The MS14 strain of Burkholderia contaminans isolated from soil in Mississippi has previously been shown to produce antimicrobial compounds like occidiofungin and ornibactin. In this …

Outcome Of Multiple Organ Dysfunction In Older Major Trauma Critical Care Patients In The Intensive Care Unit, Talal Ibrahim Mostafa Hagag, Salwa Mohamed Ahmed Dahesh, Shimaa Mohamed Kalama

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background: Elderly trauma patients in the ICU often face the critical complication of Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score (MODS). Age-related physiological changes, comorbidities, and impaired recovery mechanisms contribute to poorer outcomes. Recognizing how MODS affects this population's ability to survive is essential for enhancing critical care strategies. Objective: To evaluate the incidence, predictors, and outcomes of MODS in trauma patients aged 70 years and older, focusing on survival rates and key influencing factors. Methods: This prospective observational study focused on ICU patients aged 70 and older who underwent surgery between January 1 and June 1, 2024. The study tracked various factors …