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Catatonia And Elevated Mortality: A Population-Wide Cohort Study With Healthy, Sibling, And Schizophrenia Spectrum Controls, Chih-Wei Hsu, Yang-Chieh Brian Chen, Marco Solmi, Chih-Sung Liang, Mu-Hong Chen, Yao-Hsu Yang, Liang-Jen Wang, Edward Chia-Cheng Lai

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Aim: To determine whether catatonia is associated with increased long-term all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database (2000-2022), we assembled a population-based cohort of all adults (≥18 years) with catatonia and matched each to four controls without catatonia on sex and birthdate. Mortality was compared between (1) individuals with catatonia and their unaffected siblings and (2) individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders with catatonia and those with schizophrenia spectrum disorders without catatonia. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes were natural- and unnatural-cause deaths. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with …

International Normative Charts For Twin Weight, Length, And Head Circumference At Birth, By Gestational Age And Sex: The Twin Neonatal Cross-Sectional Study Of The Intergrowth-21st Project, Francesca Giuliani, Sonia Deantoni, Enrico Bertino, Yasmin A. Jaffer, Manorama Purwar, Fernando C. Barros, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Wu Qingqing, Ilaria Stura, Maria Carvalho

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Assessing the size of twins at birth using charts developed for singletons may over diagnose small for gestational age in this sub-population. The study aimed to produce international, twin-specific, newborn size normative charts by gestational age and sex. This longitudinal observational study in eight geographically diverse settings prospectively collected data between May 2009 and August 2013 from healthy pregnant women and their newborn twins. The participants were enrolled as part of the INTERGROWTH-21st study, and recruited based on World Health Organization recommendations for evaluation of anthropometric measures. All the women met, in addition to the underlying population characteristics of low …

Normative Growth Trajectories Of Fetal Brain Regions Validated By Satisfactory Maturation Of Neurodevelopmental Domains At 2 Years Of Age, Madeleine Wyburd, Stephen Kennedy, Michelle Fernandes, Nicola Dinsdale, Linde Hesse, Robert Gunier, Leila Ismail, Eric Ohuma, Michael Gravett, Maria Carvalho

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

We previously constructed a qualitative, 3D ultrasound derived atlas of the normative spatiotemporal dynamics of fetal brain maturation. Here, using the same healthy multi-national cohort, we applied deep learning methods to 4205 fetal brain scans from 18–27 weeks’ gestation, to produce an extensive, quantitative description of the growth of 16 fetal brain structures associated with satisfactory domain-specific neurodevelopmental scores at 2 years of age. The methodology, which is publicly available, takes less than 10 seconds per scan. We define 28 region-specific, functionally relevant, normative growth trajectories, a ratio between the relative volumes of the insular (rILV) and parietal (rPLV) lobes …

Longitudinal Peripheral Blood Transcriptomics Reveal Novel Signatures During Cardiac Allograft Rejection., Rachad Ghazal, Min Wang, Akshatha N. Srinivas, Jenny J. Cao, Hridyanshu Vyas, Duan Liu, Asha Nair, Byron H. Smith, Li Wang, Daniel S. Yip, Parag C. Patel, David E. Steidley, Brian W. Hardaway, Alfredo L. Clavell, Sudhir S. Kushwaha, Walter D. Park, Mark D. Stegall, Howard Eisen, Naveen L. Pereira

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: Acute cellularrejection (ACR) remains a major cause of morbidity afterhearttransplantation despite advances in immunosuppression. Whole genometranscriptomicprofiling offers a systems-based, unbiased approach to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying ACR. However, noninvasive,longitudinal biomarker assessments capable of capturing the temporal dynamics ofrejection biology remain scarce.

Methods: RNA sequencing ofperipheralblood fromheart transplant recipients before, during, and after ACR was compared with nonrejection controls. Pathway analysis was conducted using differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and a machine learning approach was applied to assessgene-based prediction of ACR.

Results: A total of 235 rejection-specific significant DEGs and 863 postrejection DEGs (false discovery rate < 0.05) were identified. During ACR, DEGs were enriched for T-cell activation/differentiation, apoptosis, and B-cell receptor signaling pathways. By combining the 2 sets of DEGs, a panel of 71 common genes was identified that reflected the significant, longitudinal transcriptomic dynamics of ACR. In an elastic net machine learning-based classifier, DYNLL1 and SERF2 were …

Real-World Prevalence Of Pd-L1 Positivity In Early-Stage/Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Primary Results And Pathology Insights From The Global Retrospective Observational Vanessa Study, Corrado D'Arrigo, Sitki Tuzlali, Romualdo Barroso-Sousa, Nagi El Saghir, Rebecca Dent, Nataša Medić-Milijić, Gyungyub Gong, Shahin Sayed, Tu Anh, Alisan Zirtiloglu

Pathology, East Africa

Aim To understand whether the worldwide implementation of PD-L1 testing in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) can be achieved in routine clinical practice.

Methods and results The multicentre retrospective observational VANESSA study consecutively and uniformly enrolled patients treated with systemic therapy for early or metastatic (e/m)TNBC diagnosed between 2014 and 2017. PD-L1 status was retrospectively assessed locally and centrally using the VENTANA PD-L1 (SP142) Assay (PD-L1 expression on tumour-infiltrating immune cells covering ≥1% of the tumour area). The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of PD-L1 positivity assessed locally on primary and/or metastatic tumour tissue. Concordance between local and central …

Utilization Of Intensive Care Interventions In Critically Ill Patients With Candidemia Versus Bacteremia: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study, Mary North Jones, Masayuki Nigo, Stefano Casarin, James Kurian, Aarjav Sanghvi, Enshuo Hsu, Stephen L Jones, Ashton Connor, David B Corry, Cesar A Arias, Max W Adelman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Candida species are one of the most common causes of ICU-onset bloodstream infection (BSI). Yet, there is no robust guidance on when to initiate empiric antifungals for ICU patients suspected of BSI. We compared patients with ICU-onset candidemia vs. ICU-onset bacteremia to determine which patients may benefit from empiric antifungals.

Design: We compared characteristics between patients with bacteremia vs. candidemia at time of culture. We determined risk factors for death and constructed a multivariable regression to determine if candidemia is an independent risk factor for death.

Setting/patients: We included ICU patients from a hospital system in Houston, Texas (n …

Fireproof: Intricacies Of Microglial Biology, Wei Cao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Circulating Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 (Fabp-4) Concentrations And Mortality In Individuals With Colorectal Cancer In The European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer And Nutrition Study, Thu Thi Pham, Katharina Nimptsch, Krasimira Aleksandrova, Mazda Jenab, Veronika Fedirko, Anja Olsen, Anne Tjønneland, Claire Cadeau, Gianluca Severi, Matthias B Schulze, Renée Turzanski Fortner, Verena Katzke, Claudia Agnoli, Carlotta Sacerdote, Rosario Tumino, Simona Signoriello, Camino Trobajo-Sanmartín, Jesús-Humberto Gómez, María-Dolores Chirlaque, Maria-Jose Sánchez, Marta Crous-Bou, Anne May, Alicia Heath, Dagfinn Aune, Elisabete Weiderpass, Tobias Pischon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Human fatty acid binding protein‐4 (FABP‐4), a protein elevated in obesity that promotes colon cancer cell invasiveness and metastasis, may be associated with higher mortality in individuals with colorectal cancer (CRC) and may serve as a mediator of the obesity–mortality association in these individuals. We used a causal diagram to inform covariate selection and applied Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for CRC‐specific, non‐CRC‐specific, and all‐cause mortality by FABP‐4 levels measured in baseline blood samples from 1371 incident CRC cases from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Competing risk analyses were adapted for CRC …

Hypoglossal Neuropathy In The Pathogenesis Of Fibrosis-Related Late-Radiation Associated Dysphagia: A Correlative Analysis Utilizing Electromyography To Explore The Frequency Of Clinical And Subclinical Neuropathy In A Pilot Dysphagia Trial, Holly Mcmillan, Christine Okoro, Sheila Buoy, Karin Woodman, Nicolaas Anderson, Clifton Fuller, Stephen Y Lai, Katherine Hutcheson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Late radiation-associated dysphagia (late-RAD) commonly presents in patients with signs of hypoglossal neuropathy, with hallmark clinical features including lingual atrophy, deviation, and fasciculation. Gold-standard electromyography (EMG) has not been used to explore the frequency of hypoglossal neuropathy in patients with late-RAD.

Methods: Exploratory post hoc secondary analysis of MANTLE trial (NCT03612531) was completed. The presence of cranial nerve XII (CN XII) neuropathy was classified by (1) features of clinical assessment as well as (2) intramuscular genioglossus EMG pre-MANTLE intervention in disease-free HNC survivors ≥ 2 years post-radiotherapy (RT) with grade ≥ 2 fibrosis and dysphagia.

Results: All …

Impact Of Treatment Interruption On Outcomes In Head And Neck Cancer: Nrg/Rtog Secondary Analysis, Laila A Gharzai, Emily Morris, Matthew J Schipper, Kelley M Kidwell, Phuc Felix Nguyen-Tân, David I Rosenthal, Maura L Gillison, Richard C Jordan, Adam S Garden, Shlomo A Koyfman, Jimmy J Caudell, Dukagjin M Blakaj, Neal E Dunlap, Greg A Krempl, John M Longo, Christopher U Jones, Michael F Gensheimer, Thomas J Galloway, Lyudmila Demora, Quynh-Thu Le, Jennifer L Shah, Krithika Suresh, Michelle Mierzwa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Historical evidence demonstrated that delays or interruptions in radiotherapy (RT) are associated with poorer oncologic outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Substantial concerns arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, when treatment schedules were frequently disrupted.

Objective: To determine the association of RT interruptions with locoregional failure (LRF) and overall survival (OS).

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective review and secondary analysis of 3 randomized clinical trials (NRG/RTOG 0129, 0522, and 1016) included patients enrolled in the trials who were treated with RT. Patients with HNSCC were grouped as (1) p16-positive oropharynx (p16+ OPSCC) and (2) p16-negative oropharynx …

Acta2 Pathogenic Variants Activating Heat Shock Factor 1 And Increasing Cholesterol Biosynthesis In Smooth Muscle Cells Predispose To Early Onset Atherosclerosis, Maura L Boerio, Abhijnan Chattopadhyay, Xue-Yan Duan, Aamuktha Karla, Ernesto Calderon Martinez, Amelie Pinard, Andrew K Morse, Darshan Reddy, Sree Dharma, Walter Velasco-Torrez, Julien Marcadier, Siddharth K Prakash, Sherene Shalhub, Julie De Backer, Richmond Jeremy, Shaine A Morris, Anji T Yetman, Alan C Braverman, Dianna M Milewicz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: ACTA2 pathogenic variants predispose to thoracic aortic disease, and a subset of variants lead to early onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The molecular pathway linking misfolded SMA (α-smooth muscle actin) monomers to augmented atherosclerosis-associated smooth muscle cell phenotypic modulation can be modeled in vitro by stably expressing the ACTA2 p.R149C variant in Acta2-/- smooth muscle cells.

Methods: The Montalcino Aortic Consortium patient registry was used to identify cases with ACTA2 pathogenic/likely pathogenic missense variants. These patients were surveyed, and medical records were reviewed, to identify cases with early onset ASCVD. The variants for these cases, as well as …

Quantitative Analysis Of Robustness-Based Versus Let-Based Optimization In Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy For Pediatric Brain Tumors, Fariha Kabir Torsha, Gino Lim, Hadis Moazami Goudarzi, Radhe Mohan, David Grosshans, Wenhua Cao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To perform a quantitative analysis of the trade-off between robustness-based and linear energy transfer (LET)-based optimization of intensity-modulated proton therapy for anatomically challenging pediatric brain tumor cases.

Methods: Three pediatric brain tumor patients were included in this study. Three plans were generated for each case based on: (1) nominal optimization, without considering uncertainties and LET; (2) robust optimization, including proton range and patient setup uncertainties; and (3) LET optimization, considering increasing LET in the target and reducing LET in normal tissues. All plans were optimized with individually fine-tuned objective weighing to obtain highest achievable target coverage and meet dose …

Presenilin L166p Mutation, A Model Of Familial Alzheimer's Disease, Leads To Early Onset Bone Loss, Vidyani Suryadevara, Connor J Krehbial, Anuradha K Valiya, Melinda Vang, Julian Balanta-Melo, Pierre P Eleniste, Sumana Posritong, Jung Min Hong, Katie Chester, Gabriel M Pagnotti, Teresita Bellido, Monte S Willis, Angela Bruzzaniti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Accelerated bone loss has been reported in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) as indicated by reduced bone mineral density and increased fracture risk in these patients, compared to healthy individuals. In the present study, we investigated bone loss in mouse models of familial Alzheimer's disease harboring the Presenilin 1 (L166P) knock-in mutation (PSEN1 KI), with or without the human amyloid precursor protein transgene (hAPP Tg+) known to induce brain amyloid pathology by 6 months. Female and not male 12-month PSEN1/hAPP Tg+ mice exhibited reduced whole-body bone mineral density and bone mineral content, compared to sex-matched controls. Consistent with …

A Guide To Transcriptomic Deconvolution In Cancer, Yaoyi Dai, Shuai Guo, Yidan Pan, Carla Castignani, Matthew D Montierth, Peter Van Loo, Wenyi Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer tissues are heterogeneous mixtures of tumour, stromal and immune cells, where each component comprises multiple distinct cell types and/or states. Mapping this heterogeneity and understanding the unique contributions of each cell type to the tumour transcriptome is crucial for advancing cancer biology, yet high-throughput expression profiles from tumour tissues only represent combined signals from all cellular sources. Computational deconvolution of these mixed signals has emerged as a powerful approach to dissect both cellular composition and cell-type-specific expression patterns. Here, we provide a comprehensive guide to transcriptomic deconvolution, specifically tailored for cancer researchers, presenting a systematic framework for selecting and …

Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Scaffolds To Engineer The Dormant Landscape Of Microscopic Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastasis, Sabrina N Vandenheuvel, Lucia L Nash, Abigail J Clevenger, Claudia A Collier, Oscar R Benavides, Sanjana Roy, Brinlee Goggans, Aelita Salikhova, Anvitha Tharakesh, Svasti Haricharan, Amber N Stratman, Scott Kopetz, Alex J Walsh, Shreya A Raghavan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recurrent liver-metastatic colorectal cancer contributes to high mortality. Recurrence occurs when dormant, microscopic residual disease survives initial treatment to escape dormancy. In their dormant, microscopic state within the liver, these metastatic lesions are undetectable by clinical diagnostic imaging until they form overt, chemoresistant metastases. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying dormancy in colorectal cancer liver metastases is a significant knowledge gap, motivating the engineering of nuanced in vitro models of disease. The current work presents an engineered model of liver-metastatic colorectal cancer dormancy. Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) scaffolds are used to provide microscopic colorectal cancer cell clusters with a biomimetic, …

Local Delivery Of Mir-27a* Using Ultrasound-Targeted Microbubble Cavitation Inhibits Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth, Nikhil S Chari, Cheng Chen, Thiruganesh Ramasamy, Xucai Chen, Geetika Wadhwa, Anurag N Paranjape, Stephen Y Lai, Flordeliza S Villanueva

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Ultrasound-targeted microbubble (MB) cavitation (UTMC) is an image-guided therapeutic oligonucleotide delivery platform utilizing intravenously injected gas-filled ultrasound contrast agents, which carry the therapeutic on the MB shell. During transit of MBs in the microcirculation of target tissue, ultrasound causes MB oscillation, facilitating endocytosis-independent payload uptake within insonified cells. Here, we tested the hypothesis that UTMC-mediated miR-27a* delivery will reduce tumor growth rate and result in accumulation of miR-27a* within tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment.

Methods: We used UTMC to deliver miR-27a* to SCC-VII cells in vitro and in SCC-VII mouse tumor models. Pulsed ultrasound was delivered during intravenous …

Who Classification Of Skin Tumours: Key Updates In The Fifth Edition, Gabrielle Goldman-Lévy, Raymond Barnhill, Boris C Bastian, Werner Kempf, David Elder, Pedram Gerami, Wayne Grayson, Dmitry Kazakov, Daniela Massi, Jane Messina, Arnaud De La Fouchardière, Alexander J Lazar, Thomas Brenn, Brian Rous, Andrew Field, Anthony Gill, Jennelle C Hodge, Joseph D Khoury, Katia Leite, Shahin Sayed, Puay Hoon Tan, Rosalie Elenitsas, Eduardo Calonje, Lyn M Duncan, Liang Zhiyong, Holger Moch, Rajendra Singh, Harshima Wijesinghe, Ian Cree, Dilani Lokuhetty

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (WCT) serves as a foundation for global diagnostic standards in tumour pathology. Similar to other volumes in this series, the Skin Tumours (Skin5) edition follows a standardized approach. This edition introduces two new chapters: 'Tumours of the nail unit' and 'Metastases to skin', along with new entities across relevant chapters. This review article provides an overview of the updates in Skin5 based on currently published evidence, with emphasis on newly introduced chapters and newly described entities that involve the skin, in particular, epidermal, melanocytic and appendageal tumours.

A Comparative Study Of Statistical Methods For Identifying Differentially Expressed Genes In Spatial Transcriptomics, Yishan Wang, Chenxuan Zang, Ziyi Li, Charles C Guo, Dejian Lai, Peng Wei

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) provides unprecedented insights into gene expression patterns while retaining spatial context, making it a valuable tool for understanding complex tissue architectures, such as those found in cancers. Seurat, by far the most popular tool for analyzing ST data, uses the Wilcoxon rank-sum test by default for differential expression analysis. However, as a nonparametric method that disregards spatial correlations, the Wilcoxon test can lead to inflated false positive rates and misleading findings. This limitation highlights the need for a more robust statistical approach that effectively incorporates spatial correlations. To this end, we propose a Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) …

Melody: Mediation Analysis In Logistic Regression For High-Dimensional Mediators And A Binary Outcome, Sunyi Chi, Xingyu Li, Peng Wei, Xuelin Huang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mediation analysis is a pivotal tool for elucidating the indirect effect of an environmental factor or treatment on disease through potentially high‐dimensional omics data, such as gene expression profiles. However, traditional mediation analysis methods tailored for binary outcomes often rely on the rare disease assumption in logistic regression and provide inadequate measures of total mediation effect when multiple mediators have effects in different directions. In this paper, we develop a MEdiation analysis framework in LOgistic regression for high‐Dimensional mediators and a binarY outcome (MELODY). It leverages a second‐moment‐based measure analogous to the ��2 for linear models to quantify the total …

Investigating The Oxygen Dependence Of Flash-Rt Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging, Trey Waldrop, Grace Murley, Brett Velasquez, Elise Konradsson, Denae Neill, Luke Connell, Alan Lopez Hernandez, Abagail Delahoussaye, F William Schuler, Jorge De La Cerda, Ziyi Li, Mark D Pagel, Emil Schüler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The FLASH effect occurs when radiation given at ultra-high dose rates spares healthy tissue while achieving isoeffective tumor control relative to conventional (CONV) dose rate irradiation. Limited data has implicated oxygen in the FLASH effect. This study investigated the effect of tissue oxygen tension (pO2) on gastrointestinal (GI) FLASH sparing in mice.

Methods: pO2 was quantified in vivo by electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI)- noninvasive oximetry through spin probe injection and magnetic resonance co-registration- and a phosphorescent quenching microsensor. B6(Cg)-Tyrc-2 J/J female mice were imaged while breathing 10%, 21%, and 95% oxygen. C57BL/6 mice of both sexes underwent microsensor …

Tbr2-Dependent Parallel Pathways Regulate The Development Of Distinct Iprgc Subtypes, Takae Kiyama, Ching-Kang Chen, Halit Y Altay, Yu-Jiun Chen, Leviette Sigala, Dan Su, Steven Eliason, Brad A Amendt, Chai-An Mao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC) are the conduit between the retina and brain regions responsible for non-image-forming and image-forming vision. In mice, six ipRGC subtypes have been discovered based on morphological characteristics, functions, and molecular profiles. All ipRGCs arise from Tbr2-expressing RGCs during developmental stages and subsequently diverge and differentiate into the six mature, distinct subtypes in adult retinas. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the formation and maturation of the six ipRGC subtypes remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that two Tbr2-dependent transcription factors, Iroquois‑related homeobox 1 (Irx1) and T-box containing factor 20 (Tbx20), are key downstream …

Leveraging Large Language Models For Heuristic Usability Assessment Of Medical Software: Insights With The Radiation Planning Assistant, Laurence E Court, Jacobus Smit, Lourens Strauss, William Shaw, Andrea Marais, Christoph Trauernicht, Nanette Joubert, Elaine Smith, Shona Badre, Graeme L Lazarus, Thekiso Khotle, Lauren Netherton, Wanda Van Heerden, Carlos Cardenas, Monica Serban, Jan Seuntjens, Christine V Chung, Pavel Govyadinov, Meena Khan, Saurabh Nair, Tucker Netherton, Lifei Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Usability engineering is essential for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medical software, as design-related issues are a leading cause of use errors in clinical settings. Heuristic evaluation provides a practical approach to identifying usability problems, but its outcomes depend heavily on expert interpretation. Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, offer a potential means to augment heuristic evaluation by generating structured, context-aware usability feedback. This study explored the use of ChatGPT to support heuristic assessment of the Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA), a web-based radiotherapy planning tool designed to support clinical teams in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: ChatGPT …

Neurological Recovery After Ich Is Mediated By The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-Bilirubin Interplay Through Improved Erythrophagocytosis, Xiurong Zhao, Shun-Ming Ting, Guanghua Sun, Jaroslaw Aronowski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Hematoma clearance after ICH is a pro-hemostatic process aiming at repair/recovery and is achieved through microglia/macrophages (MMΦ)-mediated erythrophagocytosis. Upon the engulfment of masses of erythrocytes and toxic hemolysis products, hemoglobin and heme, phagocytes convert them to bilirubin (BrB). Bilirubin is essentially not soluble in water and when overproduced, it precipitates within the cell causing injury. Thus, keeping bilirubin soluble and at a low intracellular level is needed for proper function of MMΦ. Here, using cultured microglia (MG), we found that intracellular formation of BrB in microglia during erythrophagocytosis coincides with the activation of transcription factor AhR, and AhR target genes …

Venous Thromboembolism In Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma Patients Treated With Cd19 Car-T Therapy: Single-Institution Study, Neha Venkatesh, Kevin Milligan, Julia Parrish, Yun Qing, Ryan Sun, Paolo Strati, Jeremy Ramdial, Amy Ayers, Sairah Ahmed, Cristhiam Rojas Hernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Large B-cell lymphomas (LBCLs) are a common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized LBCL treatment, with high remission rates but also significant toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in CAR-T therapy patients is understudied.

Objective: This study aims to determine the incidence and characteristics of acute VTE in LBCL patients treated with CAR-T therapy and identify baseline clinical features associated with VTE. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 172 adult LBCL patients treated with CAR-T therapy from January 2018 to November 2019 at MD …

Controlled Antibiotic Release From Emulsion-Loaded Alginate And Fibrin Hydrogels Using Ultrasound, Ziba Ghareh Nazi Fam, Asia Winslow, Mario Fabiilli, Sam Varghese, Brian Oeffinger, Flemming Forsberg, Noreen Hickok, Lauren Delaney

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

Postoperative infections remain a major complication after spinal fusion surgery, often caused by biofilm-forming bacteria that resist short-term antibiotic prophylaxis. Vancomycin (VAN) is sometimes delivered locally during surgery; however, levels diminish rapidly, leaving patients vulnerable to late-onset infections. We developed a composite hydrogel integrating perfluorohexane-based emulsions within alginate or fibrin matrices to enable both sustained and ultrasound-triggered VAN release. Water-in-oil-in-water emulsions were prepared using fluorosurfactant-stabilized perfluorohexane as the volatile oil phase, then embedded in hydrogels and exposed to ultrasound (2.5 MHz, 5.5 MPa peak negative pressure) to initiate acoustic droplet vaporization for triggered release. Drug release was quantified spectrophotometrically and …

An Examination Of Racial Bias In Scoring The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Ados) Module 3: An Item Response Theory Analysis, Yuen Yvonne Yu, Austin Wyman, Calliana J Faulk, Lizzy J Fulop, Rebecca L Greenberg, Rachel M Benecke, Lauren K Steinbeck, Jessica Foy, Caitlyn Kim, George O Emory, Eric A Storch, Casey J Zampella, Benjamin E Yerys, Robert T Schultz, Julia Parish-Morris, John D Herrington, Caitlin C Clements

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Given the rising prevalence of autism among racial minority children in the United States, but persistent service use disparities, this study examines potential bias in specific items from the autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS), a highly regarded autism evaluation. We leveraged unidimensional item response theory graded response models and a sample of 735 children to analyze the differential item functioning (DIF) of items within ADOS Module 3. Three items showed significant signs of racial bias: A1 (overall language level), A5 (offers information), and D5 (compulsions and rituals). On these items, Black/African American and Asian children were usually more likely to …

Rethinking The Centrality Of Brain Areas In Understanding Functional Organization, Benjamin Yost Hayden, Sarah R Heilbronner, Seng Bum Michael Yoo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Parcellation of the cerebral cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to cognitive and systems neuroscience. Here, we question the central status of brain areas from the perspectives of neuroanatomy and electrophysiology. We argue that the major ostensible determinants of brain function, such as cytoarchitecture and connectivity, seldom produce convergent parcellations. Brain areas themselves are just one of several equally important organizing principles; others include macroscale gradients, distributed networks, layers, columns and patches. We further argue that the evidence for a close correspondence between areal parcellation and cognitive function is weaker than is generally supposed. Indeed, many important cognitive …

13 C-Spirulina Gastric Emptying Breath Test Normative Values In Healthy Children: A Multicenter Study With Comparison To Symptomatic Children, Katja Karrento, Bruno P Chumpitazi, Liyun Zhang, Pippa Simpson, Robert J Shulman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Diagnosing pediatric gastroparesis presents a significant challenge due to lack of normative data in children. We aimed to determine normative values for gastric emptying using the nonradioactive 13 C-Spirulina gastric emptying breath test ( 13 C-GEBT) in a large cohort of healthy children (HC) and examine differences compared to children with gastroparesis-like symptoms (GLS).

Methods: A total of 301 HC ages 7-18 years completed the 13 C-GEBT with 10 different breath samples × 4 hours. 13 CO 2 excretion rate (kPCD) was determined by change in 13 CO 2 / 12 CO 2 . Outcome variables included: kPCD at …

Induction Of Yin Yang 1 (Yy1) Overexpression In Mature Adipocytes Promotes Dysfunctional Adipose Tissue And Systemic Insulin Resistance In Mice, Line Pedersen, Christy M Gliniak, Thomas Myhre Dale, Qingzhang Zhu, Chao Li, Jan-Bernd Funcke, Clair Crewe, Jiahui Luo, Lauren Palluth, Yi Zhu, Philipp E Scherer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The ubiquitous transcription factor Ying Yang 1 (YY1) plays a fundamental role in multiple biological processes and is believed to regulate up to 10 % of all human genes. In thermogenic brown adipose tissue, YY1 has been linked to controlling mitochondrial gene expression and regulating cellular oxidative respiration, protecting against diet-induced obesity and alterations in energy balance. The role of YY1 in non-thermogenic, white adipose tissue, on the other hand, remains largely unknown. Here, we show that adipocyte-specific induction of YY1 promotes dysfunctional adipose tissue and systemic insulin resistance in mice. Long-term YY1 induction in mature adipocytes leads to reduced …

Participant Retention In A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Of Participants With Pancreatitis And Factors Associated With Attrition, Radmila Choate, Jun Xu, Jeffrey J Easler, Samuel Han, Anna E Phillips, Melena D Bellin, William E Fisher, Evan L Fogel, Chris Forsmark, Phil A Hart, Stephen J Pandol, Walter G Park, Jose Serrano, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Santhi Swaroop Vege, Liang Li, Darwin L Conwell, Dhiraj Yadav

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Participant retention is essential in prospective studies to minimize bias and maintain validity. This study aimed to estimate retention rates and identify factors influencing attrition in a multicenter cohort (PROCEED) of US adults with acute/recurrent acute pancreatitis (AP/RAP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Methods: Participants from the PROCEED study with AP/RAP or CP eligible for follow-up within the designated visit window were included. Retention was defined as completing at least one follow-up visit during the observation period. Retention was analyzed by follow-up mode (in-person and/or medical record review) and disease type (AP/RAP and CP). Retention factors were assessed using univariate …