Digital Commons Network^™

Atn Masquerading Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis: Atypical Presentation Of P-Anca Associated Vasculitis With Rpgn, Nimmy Joy, Anabel Al Abdallah, Andrea Francis, Saurabh Pande

Central & West Texas and San Antonio GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Excitation And Polarization Of Isolated Neurons By High-Frequency Sine Waves For Temporal Interference Stimulation, Iurii Semenov, Vitalii Kim, Giedre Silkuniene, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The capacity of temporal interference (TI) stimulation to target deep brain regions without affecting nearby surface electrodes remains uncertain. Using artifact-free optical recording, we compare excitation patterns and thresholds in hippocampal neurons stimulated by “pure” and amplitude-modulated sine waves, representing TI waveforms near electrodes and at the target, respectively. We show that pure 2- and 20-kHz sine waves induce repetitive firing at rates that increase up to 60–90 Hz with stronger electric fields. Beyond this limit, action potentials merge into sustained depolarization, resulting in an excitation block. Modulating the sine waves at 20 Hz aligns firing with amplitude “beats” and …

Levothyroxine-Associated Thyrotoxicosis And Hyperbilirubinemia On Preoperative Screening Evaluation., Carly J Suriano, Ian P Erkkila, Thomas M Vara

Surgery Articles

BACKGROUND: Levothyroxine is a commonly prescribed medication for treatment of hypothyroidism in the United States. This drug is titrated based on weight and serial laboratory evaluation and is often very well tolerated with few adverse effects. Levothyroxine-associated liver injury and cholestatic disease are regarded as rare phenomena. We report an additional case of levothyroxine-associated hepatic dysfunction with resolution upon decreased dosage and continued tolerance of the medication.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 60-year-old male presenting for preoperative clearance for umbilical hernia repair with previous history of thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter. Laboratory work-up suggested thyrotoxicosis-associated hepatic dysfunction secondary …

St-Segment Resolution As A Predictor Of Short-Term Clinical Outcomes In Patients With Acute Anterior St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction After Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Mohamed Ali Nada, Eid Mohamed Daoud, Ahmed Mohamed Reda

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background: Acute anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) carries a high risk of adverse outcomes despite advances in reperfusion therapy. ST-segment resolution (STR) on electrocardiography has been proposed as a simple marker of myocardial reperfusion and predictor of clinical, but its prognostic role in routine practice remains debated. Aim of the Work: To assess the efficacy of ST-segment resolution as a predictor of short-term clinical outcomes in patients with acute anterior STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at Mansoura University Cardiology Department between January and June 2024. 98 patients with anterior …

Comparison Of The Efficacy Of Topical Cetirizine 1% Versus Topical Minoxidil 5% Solution In Treatment Of Male Androgenetic Alopecia, Hadeer Samy Abd-Elfattah, Bothaina Mahrous Ghanem, Farid Abd-Elreheim Badria, Mohammed Samir Sultan

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common form of non-scaring hair loss characterized by extensive miniaturization of scalp hair follicles. Minoxidil is a standard topical treatment. Cetirizine, an antihistamine with anti-inflammatory properties, may be beneficial by modulating prostaglandins—specifically by inhibiting PGD2 and promoting PGE2, both of which have essential roles in hair cycle regulation. Aim: To compare the efficacy and safety of topical cetirizine 1% versus minoxidil 5% in treating male AGA. Patients and Methods: Forty male patients were randomly allocated in this randomized controlled study to receive topical cetirizine 1% or minoxidil 5%. Clinical photographs and dermoscopic evaluations were …

Enhancing The Accuracy Of Image Classification For Degenerative Brain Diseases With Cnn Ensemble Models Using Mel-Spectrograms, Sang-Ha Sung, Michael Pokojovy, Do-Young Kang, Woo-Yong Bae, Yeon-Jae Hong, Sangjin Kim

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are prevalent neurodegenerative disorders among the elderly, leading to cognitive decline and motor impairments. As the population ages, the prevalence of these neurodegenerative disorders is increasing, providing motivation for active research in this area. However, most studies are conducted using brain imaging, with relatively few studies utilizing voice data. Using voice data offers advantages in accessibility compared to brain imaging analysis. This study introduces a novel ensemble-based classification model that utilizes Mel spectrograms and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to distinguish between healthy individuals (NM), AD, and PD patients. A total of 700 voice …

Radiologic Technology 50th Year Celebration, Hailey Gaines

A with Honors Projects

Presentation detailing the Radiologic Technology 50th anniversary celebration at Parkland College.

Time Of Urine Sampling May Influence The Association Between Urine Specific Gravity And Body Composition, Patrick B. Wilson, Brian K. Ferguson, Ian P. Winter

Exercise Science Faculty Publications

Urine specific gravity (USG) is frequently utilized in sports practice and research to assess hydration status. Prior research suggests that individuals with large amounts of fat-free mass (FFM) and muscle have elevated USG, but little is known about whether the time of collection (first-morning vs. spot sampling) and various nutritional factors influence these relationships. This cross-sectional, observational study assessed fasted first-morning (n = 55) and non-fasted spot USG (n = 51) samples in adults and evaluated relationships of USG with body composition and nutrition intake. The InBody 770 was used to estimate FFM, skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and total body …

Plasma S100Β Is A Predictor For Pathology And Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer’S Disease, Geetika Nehra, Bryan J. Maloney, Rebecca Smith, Wijitra Chumboatong, Erin L. Abner, Peter T. Nelson, Björn Bauer, Anika M. S. Hartz

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Background Blood–brain barrier dysfunction is one characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is recognized as both a cause and consequence of the pathological cascade leading to cognitive decline. The goal of this study was to assess markers for barrier dysfunction in postmortem tissue samples from research participants who were either cognitively normal individuals (CNI) or diagnosed with AD at the time of autopsy and determine to what extent these markers are associated with AD neuropathologic changes (ADNC) and cognitive impairment.

Methods We used postmortem brain tissue and plasma samples from 19 participants: 9 CNI and 10 AD dementia patients who …

Artesunate Enhances The Efficacy Of Enzalutamide In Advanced Prostate Cancer, Xinyi Wang, Jinghui Liu, Fengyi Mao, Yifan Kong, Qiongsi Zhang, Chaohao Li, Daheng He, Chi Wang, Yanquan Zhang, Ruixin Wang, Sally R. Ellingson, Qiou Wei, Zhiguo Li, Xiaoqi Liu

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of death among men worldwide. Treatments targeting the androgen receptor pathway remain the standard therapy for PCa patients. Enzalutamide (ENZ), a second-generation androgen receptor inhibitor, was developed to treat castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, while patients initially respond to ENZ, drug resistance typically develops within a few months. Artesunate (ART), a semisynthetic derivative of the Artemisinin plant, is approved for antimalaria treatment. In this study, we conducted an FDA-approved drug screening and identified ART as a potential candidate for overcoming ENZ resistance in PCa. Mechanistically, ART induces the degradation of c-Myc, enhancing …

Metformin In Overcoming Enzalutamide Resistance In Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer, Kendall Simpson, Derek B. Allison, Daheng He, Jinpeng Liu, Chi Wang, Xiaoqi Liu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Androgen deprivation is the standard treatment for patients with prostate cancer. However, the disease eventually progresses as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Enzalutamide, an androgen receptor inhibitor, is a typical drug for treating CRPC and with continuous reliance on the drug, can lead to enzalutamide resistance. This highlights the necessity for developing novel therapeutic targets to combat the gain of resistance. Metformin has been recently investigated for its potential antitumorigenic effects in many cancer types. In this study, we used enzalutamide and metformin in combination to explore the possible rescued efficacy of enzalutamide in the treatment of enzalutamide-resistant CRPC. We first …

Portable Multi-Parametric Microscopy For Noninvasive Metabolic And Vascular Imaging Of Orthotopic Tongue Cancer Models In Vivo, Pranto Soumik Saha, Jing Yan, Caigang Zhu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Significance: Precise imaging of tumor metabolism with its vascular microenvironment becomes emerging critical for cancer research because increasing evidence shows that the key attribute that allows a tumor to survive therapies is metabolic and vascular reprogramming. However, there are surprisingly few imaging techniques available to provide a systems-level view of tumor metabolism and vasculature in vivo on small animals for cancer discoveries.

Aim: We aim to develop a new multi-parametric microscope that can faithfully recapitulate in vivo metabolic and vascular changes with a wide field of view and microscope-level resolution to advance cancer-related investigations. To maximize the ease and accessibility …

Dihydropyrimidine Enzyme Activity And Its Effect On Chemotherapy Toxicity: Importance Of Genetic Testing, Alexia Shamaei Zadeh, Danielle Roberts, Abby Williams, Deepali Pandey, John L. Villano

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Purpose

Patients with partial or complete DPD deficiency have decreased capacity to degrade fluorouracil and are at risk of developing toxicity, which can be even life-threatening.

Case

A 43-year-old man with moderately differentiated rectal adenocarcinoma on capecitabine presented to the emergency department with complaints of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and lower abdominal pain for several days. Laboratory findings include grade 4 neutropenia (ANC 10) and thrombocytopenia (platelets 36,000). Capecitabine is used as a component of first-line adjuvant therapy by approximately 2 million patients worldwide each year. Capecitabine is metabolized to fluorouracil via the enzyme dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). With worsening pancytopenia …

Optimizing Opioid Selection For Vaso-Occlusive Crisis: Identifying The Best Option To Reduce Hospital Length Of Stay, Benjamin H. Bridges, Laura Strom, Eric Belcher, Winston Daniels, Ansley Connelly, Joshua Ferrell

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Skin Grafting After Reconstruction For Head And Neck Cancer: Does Thickness Matter?, P Larson Miller, Nicholas Hrdlicka, Eric Shaw, Robert Liebman, Matthew Ochsner

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Autism Prevalence And Appropriate Care Analytics, Brittany Bare, Final Patel, Peyton Dekle, Jessica Donaldson

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Link Between Low-Income Communities And Increased Cancer Risk From Nitrate Contamination In Drinking Water: A Review, Anna Wiggins, Rena Phillips, Michael L. Phillips, Wei-Hsiung Yang

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Abnormal Pap Smears In Pregnancy And The Potential For Fulminant Cervical Cancer: A Case Report And Review Of Staging And Contemporary Treatment, Aliya Nurani, Claud Crosby, Ashley Valenzuela, Meenah Dhir, Mikalah Maury, Stephen Salmieri, Anthony Royek

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Occlusive Thrombosis Of Superior Mesenteric And Portal Veins, Radhika Mohan, Genevieve Mccloskey, Curtis Wong, Hedaya Othman, Valerie Sinkler

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

A Complex Case Of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma In A Patient With Multisystem Complications Leading To Acute Cerebral Infarctions And Debility, Genevieve Mccloskey, Radhika Mohan, Michael A. Smith

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Dress Syndrome Following Recurrent Hardware-Related Knee Infection: Diagnosis, Management, And Recovery, Cooper Alden Josephs, Himani Patel, James Everhart

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

A Rare Case Of Vulvar Endometriosis, Taylor Penny, Shelby Freeberg, Brittany Stofko

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Ballistics Gel Model To Teach Ultrasound Guided Pericapsular Nerve Group (Peng) Block, Nicholas Murphy, Matthew Carr, Taryn Hoffman, Leily Naraghi

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Fluid Balance On Clinical Outcomes In Icu Patients W. Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Geran Maule, John Rickards, Abdallah Rayyan, Moh'd Alamin Daise, Kobina Essilfie-Quaye, Peters Okonoboh

North Florida Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study Of Glp-1 Agonist Effects On Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty, Mckenna Box, Troy B. Puga, Neil J. Werthmann, Andrew M. Jen, Yingxian Liu, John T. Riehl

North Texas Research Forum 2025

Objective: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most common elective orthopaedic surgeries. In addition, there are rising rates of obesity and diabetes and, with it, medications to treat them. This retrospective cross-sectional analysis aims to examine the outcomes of patients who underwent TKA and were on a Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1a) at the time of surgery Methods: This study analyzes a database using CPT and ICD-10 codes to identify patients having primary TKA for knee osteoarthritis. Patients were divided into two groups based on GLP-1a use at TKA. Control variables included sex, age, BMI, smoking status, ECI, and …

A Rare Case Of Cutaneous Vulvar Leiomyoma Complicated By Postoperative Hematoma Formation, Ariel Moskowitz, Kimberly Udell

North Texas Research Forum 2025

Leiomyomas are benign, well-circumscribed, monoclonal smooth muscle tumors. While leiomyoma of the uterus are exceedingly common, soft tissue leiomyomas are rare and often misdiagnosed. While excisional therapy is the mainstay of treatment, wide vulvar excisions can cause significant discomfort and disfigurement of the vulva. Here we present a unique case of a vulvar hematoma excision complicated by hematoma formation. A 39-year-old female presented to the ambulatory gynecology clinic with a 4-month history of an enlarging vulvar mass. On exam, a 4-cm mass was seen arising from the right upper labium. Office biopsy showed a well-circumscribed spindle cell lesion without nuclear …

Acute Hepatitis B Infection In A Patient With Confirmed Immunity On Long-Acting Cabotegravir/Rilpivirine, William K B Boateng, Neil Carlin, Etan Spira, Maria E Szabela, Kosisochukwu J Ezeh

Faculty and Staff Publications

Long-acting injectable formulation of cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CAB/RPV) is a promising novel maintenance therapy for HIV infection. However, coinfection with active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a contraindication to initiating this therapy. Despite guidelines, patients with HBV immunity can still contract acute HBV infection. We report a case of a 30-year-old man with HIV who transitioned from antiretroviral therapy to CAB/RPV and had confirmed HBV immunity. The patient, though asymptomatic, showed significantly elevated liver function tests (LFTs) before his monthly CAB/RPV injection. He was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute HBV infection. His LFTs improved, and he was taken off CAB/RPV and …

A Knowledge-Based Planning Model To Identify Fraction-Reduction Opportunities In Brain Stereotactic Radiotherapy, Shane Mccarthy, William St. Clair, Damodar Pokhrel

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop and validate a HyperArc-based RapidPlan (HARP) model for three-fraction brain stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) plans to then use to replan previously treated five-fraction SRT plans. Demonstrating the possibility of reducing the number of fractions while achieving acceptable organs-at-risk (OAR) doses with improved target biological effective dose (BED) to brain lesions. Methods: Thirty-nine high-quality clinical three-fraction HyperArc brain SRT plans (24–27 Gy) were used to train the HARP model, with a separate 10 plans used to validate its effectiveness. Fifty-eight five-fraction HyperArc brain SRT plans (30–40 Gy) attempted to be retrospectively replanned for three fractions scheme using the HARP …

An Investigation Into The Feasibility And Efficacy Of Stereotactic Radiosurgery For 1–3 Cm Single Brain Lesions On The Ring-Mounted Halcyon Linac, Kristin J. Hazelwood, Shane Mccarthy, Josh Misa, David Castelvetere, William St. Clair, Damodar Pokhrel

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose: An evaluation of the accuracy, safety, and efficiency of the Halcyon ring delivery system (RDS) for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatment to relatively small (1–3 cm) brain lesions.

Methods: After completing the extensive in-house quality assurance checks including Winston–Lutz test and independent dose verification via MD Anderson IROC SRS head phantom irradiation on Halcyon, fifteen brain SRS patients previously treated with a single dose of 20 Gy on TrueBeam (6MV-FFF) with HyperArc geometry were retrospectively replanned on Halcyon (6MV-FFF). Plan quality metrics including conformity index (CI), gradient index (GI), gradient distance (GD), PTV coverage, gross tumor volume (GTV) dose, heterogeneity …

A Predictive Quality Assurance Model For Patient-Specific Gamma Passing Rate Of Hyperarc-Based Stereotactic Radiotherapy And Radiosurgery Of Brain Metastases, Shane Mccarthy, Brent Harrison, Damodar Pokhrel

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: Measurement-based patient specific quality assurance (PSQA) is an increasingly debated topic among medical physicists. Developments like online adaptive radiotherapy and same-day stereotactic treatments limit the time to do measurement-based PSQA. Herein, we develop a predictive machine learning model to supplement PSQA by predicting the gamma passing rate (GPR) per stereotactic arc. This streamlines PSQA, providing planners the insight to replan potentially sub-optimal plans, to mitigate machine time inefficiencies.

Methods: 122 patients that had previously received HyperArc stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy on a TrueBeam LINAC (Millenium 120 MLCs, 6MV-FFF) were used to generate a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network to …