Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Sanitation System Types On Residential And Environmental Presence Of Human Waste And Parasites In Alabama, Brandon Hunter, Catherine Coleman Flowers, Rojelio Mejia, Marc Arnold Deshusses

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Lowndes County is a predominantly Black rural county in Alabama, in the United States, which has a historical and current legacy of racial discrimination, creating inequitable infrastructure access and adverse health impacts. Over 80% rely on on-site sanitation infrastructure and most are failing. A community assessment of exposure to untreated sewage was conducted using samples from residential drinking water, surface swabs, and soil combined with environmental water and soil samples using culture-based and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods. Testing varied slightly across samples, due to difficulty of access or availability. Of 43 households, 68% and 55% of houses had …

The Current And Future Burden Of Long Covid In The United States, Sarah M Bartsch, Kevin L Chin, Ulrich Strych, Danielle C John, Tej D Shah, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Kelly J O'Shea, Mckaylee Robertson, Colleen Weatherwax, Jessie Heneghan, Marie F Martinez, Allan Ciciriello, Sarah Kulkarni, Kavya Velmurugan, Alexis Dibbs, Sheryl A Scannell, Yanhan Shen, Denis Nash, Peter J Hotez, Bruce Y Lee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Long coronavirus disease (COVID), which affects an estimated 44.69-48.04 million people in the United States, is an ongoing public health concern that will persist as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread.

Methods: We developed a computational simulation model representing the clinical course, health effects, and associated costs of a person with long COVID.

Results: Simulations show that the average total cost of a long COVID case can range from $5084-$11 646 (assuming symptoms only last 1 year) with 92.5%-95.2% of these costs being productivity losses. Therefore, the current number of long COVID cases could cost …

Hepatitis Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Retrospective Study, Jin-Long Ju, Yun-Tai Yao, Jun Li, Zhi Cheng, Ling-Ling Fan, Yu-Long Zhong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to investigate whether there is difference among various clinical variables, especially blood loss and total drainage volume, among patients with different types of hepatitis undergoing cardiac surgery. A retrospective study was performed on 150 hepatitis patients (127 hepatitis B and 23 hepatitis C) who underwent cardiac surgery at a single cardiovascular center in 2020. Data on their preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were collected and statistically analyzed to assess the inter-group differences in the following variables: intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, proportion of patients treated with blood transfusion, proportion of patients treated with vasoactive drugs, and …

Src/Fn1 Pathway Activation Drives Tumor Cell Cluster Formation And Metastasis In Lung Cancer: A Promising Therapeutic Target, Zujun Que, Zhichao Xi, Dan Qi, Rongchen Dai, Yang Li, Mengfan Liu, Bin Luo, Jiajun Liu, Pan Yu, Yun Yang, Erxi Wu, Hongxi Xu, Jianhui Tian

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death globally, with metastasis driven by circulating tumor cells (CTCs)-particularly clusters-being a major treatment challenge. Despite their critical role, the biological differences between single CTCs and CTC clusters remain unclear. Here, we comprehensively compared their behavioral, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiles in lung cancer models. Compared with single cells, CTC clusters present enhanced metastatic potential, greater survival in the bloodstream and increased resistance to microenvironment. Mechanistically, the Src/FN1 pathway is centrally activated in clusters, promoting intercellular cohesion and protecting against immune clearance and stress in circulation. Pharmacological inhibition of Src with the clinical …

Rapid High-Sensitivity Detection Of Antibodies To Trypanosoma Cruzi With A Recombinant Tc24 Antigen-Based Magneto-Immunoassay: A Pilot Study, Kavya L Singampalli, Bin Zhan, Rojelio Mejia, Peter B Lillehoj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The diagnosis of chronic Chagas disease is challenging due to the wide genetic diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, and low levels of parasitemia, resulting in low sensitivity and accuracy with existing diagnostics. We report a magneto-immunoassay that employs dually labeled magnetic beads incorporating a recombinant Tc24 antigen, which is homologous across multiple discrete typing units of T cruzi. In this pilot study, 102 serum samples from 7 endemic countries were tested by this magneto-immunoassay, revealing its ability to distinguish Chagas-positive from Chagas-negative cases more accurately and faster than a standard Tc24-based immunoassay.

Oral Dosing Of The Nucleoside Analog Obeldesivir Is Efficacious Against Rsv Infection In African Green Monkeys, Jared Pitts, J Lizbeth Reyes Zamora, Savrina Manhas, Thomas Aeschbacher, Josolyn Chan, Vincent Cutillas, Varsha Nair, Nicholas C Riola, Arya Vijjapurapu, Meghan S Vermillion, Stacey Eng, Christopher Richards, Dong Han, Jason K Perry, Subhra Chaudhuri, Szu-Wen Liu, Clarissa Martinez, Nadine Peinovich, Kai-Hui Sun, Arthur Cai, Ross Martin, Jasmine Moshiri, Charlotte Hedskog, Darius Babusis, Dustin S Siegel, Rao Kalla, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Pedro A Piedra, Kim Stobbelaar, Peter L Delputte, Caleb Marceau, Roberto Mateo, Evguenia Maiorova, Hongmei Mo, Raju Subramanian, Richard L Mackman, Tomas Cihlar, Simon P Fletcher, John P Bilello

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in high-risk populations. Although prophylactic options are available, there are no effective oral therapeutics for RSV infection. Obeldesivir (ODV) is an orally bioavailable prodrug of the nucleoside analog GS-441524, which is converted intracellularly to its active nucleoside triphosphate and inhibits the RSV RNA polymerase. Here we report the potent antiviral activity of ODV against geographically and temporally diverse RSV A and B clinical isolates (EC50: 0.20–0.66 μM). Resistance selection studies with ODV and GS-441524 against RSV identify a single amino acid substitution, I777L, in the L polymerase with …

Optimizing Stereotactic Intracranial Neoplasm Treatment: A Systematic Review Of Pet Integration With Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, Robert C. Subtirelu, Eric M. Teichner, Milo Writer, Kevin Bryan, Shiv Patil, Talha Khan, Lancelot Herpin, Raj N. Patel, Emily Christner, Chitra Parikh, Thomas Werner, Abass Alavi, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

OBJECTIVE: Traditional imaging modalities for the planning of Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) are non-specific and do not accurately delineate intracranial neoplasms. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of positron emission tomography (PET) for the planning of GKRS for intracranial neoplasms (ICNs) and the post-GKRS applications of PET for patient care.

METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were searched in order to assemble relevant studies regarding the uses of PET in conjunction with GKRS for ICN treatment. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed to identify relevant studies on the use of PET in conjunction with …

The Need For Targeted Prevention And Screening In Gastrointestinal Cancer Disparities, Jason C. Lin, John C. Lin, Joy Zhao

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Blunted Cd40-Responsive Enhancer Activation In Crebbp-Mutant Lymphomas Can Be Restored By Enforced Cd4 T-Cell Engagement, Haopeng Yang, Wenchao Zhang, Vida Ravanmehr, Guiling Cui, Kevin Bowman, Ruidong Chen, Jared M Henderson, Shyanne Lockman, Estela Rojas, Ashley Wilson, Sydney Parsons, Ariel Mechaly, Leslie Regad, Ahmed Haouz, Christopher R Flowers, Sattva Neelapu, Loretta Nastoupil, R Eric Davis, Qing Deng, Fernando Rodrigues-Lima, Michael R Green

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The CREBBP lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) is frequently mutated in follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and has been studied using gene knockout in murine and human cells. However, most CREBBP mutations encode amino acid substitutions within the catalytic KAT domain (CREBBP KAT-PM) that retain an inactive protein and have not been extensively characterized. Using CRISPR gene editing and extensive epigenomic characterization of lymphoma cell lines, we found that CREBBP KAT-PM lead to unloading of CREBBP from chromatin, loss of enhancer acetylation, and prevention of EP300 compensation. These enhancers were enriched for those that are dynamically loaded by CREBBP in …

Prognostic Value Of Lipoprotein(A) For Cardiovascular Events After Lower Limb Revascularization In Diabetic Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia, Federico Biscetti, Maria Margherita Rando, Maria Anna Nicolazzi, Flavia Angelini, Roberto Iezzi, Luis H. Eraso, Paul J. Dimuzio, Dario Pitocco, Massimo Massetti, Antonio Gasbarrini, Andrea Flex

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) presents a major clinical challenge in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), requiring lower extremity revascularization (LER) to mitigate adverse cardiovascular and limb outcomes. Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) has been implicated in cardiovascular risk, but its role in patients with T2DM and CLTI undergoing revascularization remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of Lp(a) levels in diabetic CLTI patients for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), major adverse limb events (MALE), or both after LER.

METHODS: In this prospective cohort study of 158 individuals with T2DM and CLTI undergoing LER, baseline clinical data …

Lysosomal Storage Disorders In Nonimmune Hydrops Fetalis Diagnosed By Exome Sequencing, Mona M Makhamreh, Kavya Shivashankar, Stephanie M. Rice, Sascha Wodoslawsky, Christina Grant, Rodney Mclaren, Seth I. Berger, Huda B. Al-Kouatly

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD) are a group of inherited metabolic diseases that contribute to nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF). Our objective was to review the pooled exome sequencing (ES) diagnostic yield of LSD in NIHF cases. We expanded our previous meta-analysis and updated our search strategy of prenatal ES studies from 1/1/2000 to 8/1/2024. Cases with LSD gene variants were reviewed. Variants were curated based on the current American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and ClinGen guidelines. Forty-one ES studies met our inclusion criteria. A total of 207/558 NIHF cases yielded a positive diagnosis by ES. LSD cases represented 27/558 …

Integrase-Deficient Lentiviral Vector As A Platform For Efficient Crispr/Cas9-Mediated Gene Editing For Mucopolysaccharidosis Iva, Fnu Nidhi, Shunji Tomatsu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA) is a lysosomal storage disorder causing systemic skeletal dysplasia due to a deficiency of N-acetyl-galactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS) enzyme activity, leading to the impaired degradation and accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), keratan sulfate (KS) and chondroitin-6-sulfate. While treatments such as enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are available, they have significant limitations regarding efficacy in skeletal tissues and long-term safety, highlighting the need for more effective therapies. We evaluated a novel gene therapy approach using a dual Integrase-deficient lentiviral vector (IDLV) to deliver an expression cassette that includes human GALNS cDNA and Cas9 sgRNA, …

Innovations In Tavr: The Latest In Device Technology, Omar Sheikh, Errol Moras, Lorraine Mascarenhas, Sahar Samimi, Waleed T Kayani, Syed Zaid

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aortic stenosis is the most prevalent valvular disease globally. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a well-established treatment for aortic stenosis, offering outcomes comparable to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Its use has expanded to include younger, lower-risk patients and those with more complex anatomies. Recent advancements in TAVR include the increased adoption of transfemoral access, prosthesis designs optimized for challenging anatomies, enhanced delivery systems with repositioning capabilities, and outer skirts to minimize paravalvular leaks. Despite these innovations, several challenges remain. This review highlights recent updates in transcatheter heart valve (THV) systems, leaflet modification devices, and the current limitations …

The Impact Of Genetic Ancestry On Survival Outcomes In Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report From The Children’S Oncology Group, Ekene A Onwuka, Christina L Magyar, Bailey A Martin-Giacalone, Michael E Scheurer, Deborah A Marquez-Do, Mark Zobeck, Elizabeth G Atkinson, Erin R Rudzinski, Michael A Arnold, Donald A Barkauskas, David Hall, Javed Khan, Jack F Shern, Paul Scheet, Brian Crompton, Corinne M Linardic, Douglas S Hawkins, Rajkumar Venkatramani, Lisa Mirabello, Chad D Huff, Melissa A Richard, Philip J Lupo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Emerging evidence suggests genetic ancestry may influence childhood cancer outcomes, but its impact on pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is unknown. We explored genetic ancestry's impact on survival among children with RMS. This multi-center observational cohort study is a secondary analysis of previously collected biobanking, genomic, and clinical data. The study included 920 individuals with newly diagnosed RMS under 40 years of age enrolled from 2005 to 2017 under the COG soft tissue sarcoma biobanking protocol D9902. The primary endpoints were (1) event-free survival (EFS), defined as the time from study enrollment to tumor recurrence/progression, secondary malignancy, or death from any cause; …

Global Diversity Of Soil-Transmitted Helminths Reveals Population-Biased Genetic Variation That Impacts Diagnostic Targets, Marina Papaiakovou, Andrea Waeschenbach, Olumide Ajibola, Sitara Sr Ajjampur, Roy M Anderson, Robin Bailey, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Maria Cambra-Pellejà, Nicolas R Caro, David Chaima, Rubén O Cimino, Piet Cools, Anélsio Cossa, Julia Dunn, Sean Galagan, Javier Gandasegui, Berta Grau-Pujol, Emma L Houlder, Moudachirou Ibikounlé, Timothy P Jenkins, Khumbo Kalua, Eyrun F Kjetland, Alejandro J Krolewiecki, Bruno Levecke, Adrian Jf Luty, Andrew S Macdonald, Inácio Mandomando, Malathi Manuel, Maria Martínez-Valladares, Rojelio Mejia, Zeleke Mekonnen, Augusto Messa, Harriet Mpairwe, Osvaldo Muchisse, Jose Muñoz, Pauline Mwinzi, Valdemiro Novela, Maurice R Odiere, Charfudin Sacoor, Judd L Walson, Steven A Williams, Stefan Witek-Mcmanus, D Timothy J Littlewood, Cinzia Cantacessi, Stephen R Doyle

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are intestinal parasites that affect over a billion people worldwide. STH control relies on microscopy-based diagnostics to monitor parasite prevalence and enable post-treatment surveillance; however, molecular diagnostics are rapidly being developed due to increased sensitivity, particularly in low-STH-prevalence settings. The genetic diversity of helminths and its potential impact on molecular diagnostics remain unclear. Using low-coverage genome sequencing, we assess the genetics of STHs within worm, faecal, and purified egg samples from 27 countries, identifying differences in the genetic connectivity and diversity of STH-positive samples across regions and cryptic diversity between closely related human- and pig-infective species. We …

Braf V600e-Positive Mononuclear Cells In Blood At Diagnosis Portend Treatment Failure And Neurodegeneration In Pediatric Lch, Howard Lin, Akanksha Batajoo, Erin Peckham-Gregory, Daniel Zinn, Olive S Eckstein, Nader Kim El-Mallawany, Nitya Gulati, Zachary D Prudowsky, Brooks Scull, Jessica Velazquez, Harshal Abhyankar, Stephen J Simko, Daria Vakula, Ryan Fleischmann, Vivekanudeep Karri, M John Hicks, Kevin E Fisher, Choladda V Curry, Angshumoy Roy, Deborah Schiff, Kenneth M Heym, Michael E Scheurer, D Williams Parsons, Miriam Merad, Tsz-Kwong Man, Kenneth L Mcclain, Jennifer Picarsic, Carl E Allen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a myeloid neoplastic disorder driven by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in hematopoietic cells. Historically, LCH has been staged according to involvement of "risk organs" (bone marrow, liver, and spleen), based on risk of death. With improvements in supportive care and efficacy of MAPK pathway inhibitors, patients with LCH now rarely die. However, most patients with LCH with multisystem disease are not cured with current front-line chemotherapy, and treatment failure is associated with long-term morbidity, including LCH-associated neurodegeneration (LCH-ND). In this study, we evaluated the impact of extent of LCH at presentation, tumor genotype, and …

Measles Assessment And Treatment, Bob Underwood, Edward Lyon

Pediatrics in Practice: A CME Podcast

Eddie Lyon, MD, discusses concerns related to an uptick in measles cases, and how community providers can assess, limit exposure and guide patients to remain healthy.

Click here to stream the podcast episode.

First-In-Human Phase I Open-Label Study Of The Anti-Tim-3 Monoclonal Antibody Incagn02390 In Patients With Select Advanced Or Metastatic Solid Tumors, Martin E. Gutierrez, Shou Ching Tang, John D. Powderly, Ani S. Balmanoukian, Paul E. Hoyle, Zhiwan Dong, Lulu Cheng, Xiaohua Gong, John E. Janik, Nawel Bourayou, Omid Hamid

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein-3 (TIM-3) is an immune checkpoint receptor upregulated during anti-programmed death protein-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy for cancer. TIM-3 blockade may improve the antitumor activity of PD-1/PD-L1inhibition. This phase 1 study evaluated INCAGN02390, a novel, fully human Fc-engineered antibody against TIM-3. Methods INCAGN02390 was evaluated by dose escalation at 10-1600 mg infused in 14-day cycles (every 2 weeks [Q2W]) in pretreated patients with select advanced/metastatic immunogenic solid tumors. Objectives included evaluation of safety/tolerability and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) (primary), pharmacokinetics, preliminary antitumor activity, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity (secondary). Results Forty patients were enrolled and …

From Novice To Expert: Preparing Your Peer Review, Diana M Proctor, Rachy Abraham, Shannon Esher Righi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Peer review is the process by which the quality of scholarly work is assessed prior to being published, presented, or funded. The consequences of flawed research entering the public domain in the "post-truth" era highlight the need to improve peer review quality, which we believe can be achieved by standardizing training. Here, we aim to enhance the quality of published literature by presenting a systematic guide to train new reviewers (and aid experienced ones) in the art of peer reviewing the rigor of scientific manuscripts.

Systematic Analysis Of Nonsense Variants Uncovers Peptide Release Rate As A Novel Modifier Of Nonsense-Mediated Mrna Decay, Divya Kolakada, Rui Fu, Nikita Biziaev, Alexey Shuvalov, Mlana Lore, Amy E Campbell, Michael A Cortázar, Marcin P Sajek, Jay R Hesselberth, Neelanjan Mukherjee, Elena Alkalaeva, Zeynep H Coban-Akdemir, Sujatha Jagannathan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The phenotypic impact of nonsense variants is determined by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which degrades transcripts with premature termination codons (PTCs). Despite the clinical importance of nonsense variants, transcript-specific and context-dependent variations in NMD activity remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the amino acid preceding the PTC strongly influences NMD activity. Glycine codons promote robust NMD efficiency and show striking enrichment before PTCs but are depleted before normal termination codons. Glycine-PTC enrichment is particularly pronounced in genes tolerant to loss-of-function variants, suggesting efficient elimination of truncated proteins from nonessential genes. We further demonstrate that the peptide release rate during …

Wdr2 Regulates The Orphan Kinesin Kin-G To Promote Hook Complex And Golgi Biogenesis In Trypanosoma Brucei, Qing Zhou, Huiqing Hu, Ziyin Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The flagellum in Trypanosoma brucei plays crucial roles in cell locomotion, cell morphogenesis, and cell division, and its inheritance depends on the faithful duplication of multiple flagellum-associated structures. One of such cytoskeletal structures is a hairpin-like structure termed the hook complex, composed of a fishhook-like structure and a centrin arm structure, whose cellular functions remain poorly understood. We recently identified KIN-G, an orphan kinesin that promotes hook complex and Golgi biogenesis. Here we report a WD40 repeat-containing protein named WD40 Repeat-containing protein 2 (WDR2), which interacts with and regulates KIN-G. WDR2 co-localizes with KIN-G at the centrin arm, and knockdown …

Inferring Chromosome Segregation Error Stage And Crossover In Trisomic Disorders With Application To Down Syndrome, Zhenhua Li, Wenjian Yang, Gang Wu, Ti-Cheng Chang, Zhongshan Cheng, Meenakshi Devidas, Mary Shago, Andrew J Carroll, Nyla A Heerema, Julie M Gastier-Foster, Brent L Wood, Lauren Sanclemente, Elizabeth A Raetz, Stephen P Hunger, Mignon L Loh, Eleanor Feingold, Tracie C Rosser, Emily G Allen, Stephanie L Sherman, Karen R Rabin, Philip J Lupo, Jun J Yang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Errors in chromosome segregation during gametogenesis, such as nondisjunction (NDJ) errors, have severe consequences in human reproduction, and a better understanding of their etiology is of fundamental interest in genetics. Mapping NDJ errors to meiotic/mitotic stages typically requires proband-parent comparison, limiting its applicability. Herein, we develop Mis-segregation Error Identification through Hidden Markov Models (MeiHMM), a method for inferring NDJ error stage and crossover events based on only genomic data of trisomic probands. Guided by triallelic genotype/haplotype configurations, MeiHMM discerns the allelic origin at each locus, which informs NDJ error during gamete formation, without identifying the parental origin of the trisomy. …

Single-Cell Profiling Of Bone Metastasis Ecosystems From Multiple Cancer Types Reveals Convergent And Divergent Mechanisms Of Bone Colonization, Fengshuo Liu, Yunfeng Ding, Zhan Xu, Xiaoxin Hao, Tianhong Pan, George Miles, Siyue Wang, Yi-Hsuan Wu, Jun Liu, Igor L Bado, Weijie Zhang, Ling Wu, Yang Gao, Liqun Yu, David G Edwards, Hilda L Chan, Sergio Aguirre, Michael Warren Dieffenbach, Elina Chen, Yichao Shen, Dane Hoffman, Luis Becerra Dominguez, Charlotte Helena Rivas, Xiang Chen, Hai Wang, Zbigniew Gugala, Robert L Satcher, Xiang H-F Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Bone is a common site for metastasis of solid cancers. The diversity of histological and molecular characteristics of bone metastases (BMs) remains poorly studied. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 42 BMs from eight cancer types, identifying three distinct ecosystem archetypes, each characterized by an enrichment of specific immune cells: macrophages/osteoclasts, regulatory/exhausted T cells, or monocytes. We validated these archetypes by immunostaining on tissue sections and bioinformatic analysis of bulk RNA sequencing/microarray data from 158 BMs across more than 10 cancer types. Interestingly, we found only a modest correlation between the BM archetypes and the tissues of origin; BMs …

Genome Report: Whole-Genome Assembly Of The Relapsing Fever Tick Ornithodoros Turicata Dugès (Acari: Argasidae), Mackenzie Tietjen, Amanda R Stahlke, David Luecke, Perot Saelao, Sheina B Sim, Scott M Geib, Brian E Scheffler, Anna K Childers, Alexander R Kneubehl, Pete D Teel, Job E Lopez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The soft tick family Argasidae contains vectors of medical and veterinary importance, but few molecular resources are available compared to hard ticks (Ixodidae). One example is Ornithodoros turicata, a recognized vector of Borrelia turicatae, causal agent of human relapsing fever, and a putative vector of African swine fever virus. To address the current lack of molecular resources for the Argasidae, we generated a chromosome-level genome assembly for O. turicata using PacBio sequencing in conjunction with an Illumina Hi-C library. The resulting reference genome has a total of 1.1 Gb in length and was assembled into 10 chromosomes and 368 unplaced …

Clinically Important Endpoints In Individuals With Leukodystrophy: A Multisite Study, Emma R Kotes, Sarah Woidill, Russell D'Aiello, Amina Khan, Jacob Mccann, Mark Ramos, Francesco Gavazzi, Stephanie Keller, Keith Van Haren, Ali Fatemi, Florian Eichler, Joshua Bonkowsky, Jamie Fraser, Lisa Emrick, Omar Sherbini, Ashley Hackett, Jeilo Gauna, Dandre Amos, Jordan Goodman, Amena Smith Fine, Amanda Nagy, Seungil Lee, Nicole Page, Johanna Schmidt, Amy Pizzino, Kayla Muirhead, Mariko Bennett, Amy Waldman, Justine Shults, Laura Adang, Robert Grundmeier, Adeline Vanderver

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: Leukodystrophies are a diverse group of rare disorders that disrupt central myelination. These disorders present with a broad spectrum of neurologic severity and are associated with a range of potential secondary complications, such as scoliosis and failure of independent feeding.

Objective: we explore real-world data of leukodystrophy complications to inform future evidence-based care guidelines across these rare diseases.

Design: In a cross-sectional observational study, we use a leukodystrophy-specific research consortium and the availability of electronic health records (EHR) to capture a cross-section of real-world data.

Setting: Subjects were identified using EHR data from five hospital systems with established expertise …

Flipping The Curriculum For Resident Didactics: In-Training And Certifying Examination Scores In An Internal Medicine Residency, Luke Mccoy, Ronald J. Markert, Elysha Thoms, Olivia Noall, Kathryn Burtson

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose The flipped classroom (FC) model is increasingly used in undergraduate medical education, where it has been associated with improved knowledge acquisition. However, its impact on graduate medical education (GME) remains underexplored. We hypothesized that implementing a flipped didactics curriculum in our internal medicine residency program would improve performance on the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) and the American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination (IM-CE). Methods In 2017, we transitioned from a traditional lecture-based (LB) curriculum to a flipped model. Noon conferences were replaced with problem-based learning (PBL) sessions three days per week, with additional active learning formats used …

Breastfeeding Continuation At One Month Postpartum Among Women In Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder Who Initiated Breastfeeding: Prevalence And Determinants, Julia Eisenberg, Meghan Gannon, Kim Mclaughlin, Diane J. Abatemarco, Vanessa L. Short

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

Objective: To describe breastfeeding behaviors and determinants in the 1-month postdelivery period among women in treatment for opioid use disorder.

Study Design: Participants completed one questionnaire during pregnancy and one questionnaire at 1 month postpartum. Those who reported on the postpartum questionnaire that they had initiated breast- feeding were included in this analysis (N = 31). Infant feeding practices, receipt of lactation support, and demographic, psychosocial, and infant birth characteristics were compared between those who breastfed for at least 1 month and those who did not.

Results: In all, 45% of the participants were breastfeeding at 1 month post delivery. …

First Quantitative Investigation On The Dosimetric Perturbation From Dental Hardware In Spot-Scanning Proton Arc (Sparc®) Therapy And Planning Strategies In Head Neck Cancer Patient Population, Evan Harbert

Masters Projects

Purpose

There has been a tremendous interest in applying Spot-scanning Proton Arc (SPArc^®) to benefit head and neck cancer (HNC) patient population. However, the dental hardware materials effects on the beam distribution are not well understood, and placing spots through the dental hardware may cause an unnecessary degradation of target coverage if the material components differ from the nominal plan. The purpose of this study is to provide a quantitative dose perturbation analysis of the uncertainties caused by dental hardware and introduce a SPArc^® planning strategy to mitigate such impacts.

Methods and Materials

A published in-house developed …

Systemic Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors In Common Ophthalmic Diseases: A Scoping Review From A Clinical Standpoint, Shahin Hallaj, Wesam S. Shalaby, Sapna Sinha, Jonathan S. Myers, Reza Razeghinejad

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper provides a detailed overview of systemic carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) and their application in managing ophthalmic conditions, including glaucoma, cystoid macular edema, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Despite their recognized clinical benefits, the potential for severe systemic adverse effects often discourages clinicians from prescribing these agents. By examining the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, safety profile, and clinical indications of systemic CAIs, this review highlights strategies to mitigate treatment challenges, particularly in patients with comorbidities and complex medical backgrounds.

RECENT FINDINGS: New insights into the diverse roles and distribution of carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozymes have expanded our understanding of …

Food Noise: Definition, Measurement, And Future Research Directions, Emily J Dhurandhar, Kevin C Maki, Nikhil V Dhurandhar, Theodore K Kyle, Sydney Yurkow, Misty A W Hawkins, Jon Agley, Emily H Ho, Lawrence J Cheskin, Thorkild I A Sørensen, Xi Rita Wang, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The term food noise has been recently popularized by individuals managing their weight or adhering to specific diets for health reasons. Anecdotal evidence from patients and clinical observations suggests that food noise involves constant preoccupation with food-related decisions-such as which foods to eat, caloric intake, macronutrient balance, and meal timing-which can become intrusive and unpleasant. Food noise also appears to affect cognitive burden and quality of life, and is being cited as one reason weight-loss attempts fail. The increase in public discourse about food noise has highlighted its potential significance, yet a formal clinical definition and method of measurement of …