Digital Commons Network^™

Allosteric Targeted Drug Delivery For Enhanced Blood-Brain Barrier Penetration Via Mimicking Transmembrane Domain Interactions, Kaicheng Tang, Zhongjie Tang, Miaomiao Niu, Zuyin Kuang, Weiwei Xue, Xinyu Wang, Xinlong Liu, Yang Yu, Seongdong Jeong, Yifan Ma, Annette Wu, Betty Y S Kim, Wen Jiang, Zhaogang Yang, Chong Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Current strategies for active targeting in the brain are entirely based on the effective interaction of the ligand with the orthosteric sites of specific receptors on the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which is highly susceptible to various pathophysiological factors and limits the efficacy of drug delivery. Here, we propose an allosteric targeted drug delivery strategy that targets classical BBB transmembrane receptors by designing peptide ligands that specifically bind to their transmembrane domains. This strategy prevents competitive interference from endogenous ligands and antibodies by using the insulin receptor and integrin α

The Zbtb24-Cdca7-Hells Axis Suppresses The Totipotent 2c-Like Reprogramming By Maintaining Dux Methylation And Repression, Dan Guo, Zeling Du, Youqi Liu, Meiqi Lin, Yue Lu, Swanand Hardikar, Yanna Xue, Jinghong Zhang, Taiping Chen, Jiameng Dan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Two-cell-like cells (2CLCs), a rare population (∼0.5%) in mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) cultures, are in a transient totipotent-like state resembling that of 2C-stage embryos, and their discovery and characterization have greatly facilitated the study of early developmental events, such as zygotic genome activation. However, the molecular determinants governing 2C-like reprogramming remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that ZBTB24, CDCA7, and HELLS, components of a molecular pathway that is involved in the pathogenesis of immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, and facial anomalies (ICF) syndrome, function as negative regulators of 2C-like reprogramming by maintaining DNA methylation of the Dux cluster, a master …

Cognitive Correlates Of Borderline Personality Disorder Features In Youth With Bipolar Spectrum Disorders And Bipolar Offspring, Alessio Simonetti, Sherin Kurian, Evelina Bernardi, Antonio Restaino, Francesca Bardi, Claudia Calderoni, Gabriele Sani, Jair C Soares, Kirti Saxena

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) share common cognitive impairments. These deficits are also shared by bipolar offspring (BD-OFF). Nevertheless, little is known regarding the association between cognitive impairments and BPD features in youth with BD and BD-OFF. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between BPD features and cognitive impairments in youth with BD and BD-OFF.

Methods: Thirty-nine participants (7-17 years) with BD, 18 BD-OFF, and 50 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. BPD features were assessed using the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children (BPFS-C). Deficits in executive functions and affective processing were assessed using …

Unlocking Nature’S Pharmacy: Using Hidden Secrets From Post Famine Ireland To Direct Modern Scientific Exploration Of Irish Bogland Species., Helen Sheridan

Oxford ICSB

Boglands are iconic landscapes and important carbon sinks, extending across the northern hemisphere, covering approximately 20% of Ireland's land area. These ancient water-logged ecosystems are reservoirs of a unique biodiversity adapted to survive in nutrient-poor yet strikingly beautiful environments. Irish mythology is deeply connected to boglands, featuring stories about healing plants, fairies, and ancient curses. Irish communities historically used bogland plants for their medicinal properties. Many uses are recorded in the Schools' Manuscript Collection (SMC) (1937-1939), a treasure-trove of Irish folklore, customs, and ethnographic data, collected as part of the Irish Folklore Commission's effort to preserve Ireland’s oral traditions (Dúchas.ie). …

Sealing Ability Of White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate Mixed With 2.25% Sodium Hypochlorite Gel Used For Repairing Furcal Perforations In Primary Molars: An In Vitro Study, Mawia M. Karkoutly, Saleh B. Al Kurdi, Nada Bshara

Arabian Journal of Pediatric Dentistry

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and 2.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) gel mixture in repairing furcal perforation in primary molars using methylene blue dye penetration.

Materials and methods:
It was an in vitro experimental study. Sixty human primary molars were randomly divided into four groups (n = 15). Group 1 (MTA + distilled water (DW)): Furcal perforations were repaired with MTA and DW mixture. Group 2 (MTA + NaOCl gel): Furcal perforations were repaired with MTA and 2.25% NaOCl gel mixture. Group 3 (Positive control): Furcal perforations left untreated. Group 4 (Negative …

The Relationship Between Maternal Dental Anxiety And Children's Dental Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Study, Mariam I. Sharaf, Mayssoon A. Dashash

Arabian Journal of Pediatric Dentistry

Background and aim of the study: Dental fear and anxiety are one of the main challenges in pediatric dentistry, and dental fear and anxiety are a common reason for avoiding dental treatments, which may lead to deterioration of oral health status over time. Many researchers have shown that the relationship between parents and children has a direct impact on dental anxiety in children, so this study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the relationship between dental anxiety in mothers and dental anxiety in children.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 children and their mothers …

Hdac5 Enzymatic Activity Regulates Scn4b Expression To Control Relapse-Like Cocaine Seeking, Daniel J. Wood

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a relapsing disorder characterized by repeated seeking and use of psychoactive substances despite negative consequences to the individual. Epigenetic changes within the medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are thought to underly the lasting propensity to relapse in SUD. The epigenetic enzyme histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) in NAc MSNs limits the formation of reward-cue associations in rodent models of drug seeking, but not sucrose seeking, leading to decreased relapse-like behavior. However, whether HDAC5 reduces drug seeking behavior through its own deacetylase activity or through the recruitment of co-repressors is unknown. Furthermore, these …

Association Of Clonal Hematopoiesis Of Indeterminate Potential With Cardiovascular Events In Patients With Ckd, Yang Pan, Caitlyn Vlasschaert, Varun Rao, Elvis A Akwo, James E Hixson, Md Mesbah Uddin, Zhi Yu, Do-Kyun Kim, Alexander Bick, Bryan Kestenbaum, Michael Chong, Guillaume Paré, Michael Rauh, Adeera Levin, James P Lash, Manjula Kurella Tamura, Debbie L Cohen, Jiang He, Lee Hamm, Rajat Deo, Zeenat Bhat, Panduranga Rao, Dawei Xie, Pradeep Natarajan, Tanika N Kelly, Cassianne Robinson-Cohen, Matthew B Lanktree

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Key Points:

1. In patients with CKD, non-DNMT3A clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events.

2. There was no significant difference in the CHIP–cardiovascular disease association based on baseline eGFR, diabetes status, or race.

3. The protective effect of IL6R p.Asp358Ala on non-DNMT3A CHIP cardiovascular risk was similar to the general population.

Background: Patients with CKD are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) has been associated with cardiovascular disease in the general population, with a causal role observed in animal models. In the general population, the effect of …

Planning And Dissemination Of Quality Improvement Activities: A Qualitative Study Evaluating Barriers And Enablers To Implementation Of The Squire 2.0 Guidelines, Jessica Rose Phillips

Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Health Sciences Dissertations

Background: Quality improvement (QI) initiatives aim to systematically improve the efficiency and safety of healthcare provided to patients. These data-driven projects also seek to improve processes within the healthcare industry. Potential goals for quality improvement projects (QIPs) can include improving patient outcomes, improving healthcare access, increasing efficiency, and enhancing patient safety. While essential to improve care at the local level, QIPs are not without challenges. Currently, healthcare organizations plan and report the findings of these QIPs in non-standardized ways. This can lead to missing key details and the sharing of inaccurate results, among other things. The Standards for Quality Improvement …

The Association Of Sleep Quality And Depression On Having Three Vs. All Five Diagnostic Criteria Of Metabolic Syndrome, Nina Pollard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Metabolic syndrome is increasing in prevalence in the United States. To be diagnosed, three of the five diagnostic criteria must be met. There is a higher risk of metabolic syndrome due to lifestyle and social factors, with increased criteria occurring as an individual has unmet social determinants of health. This quantitative quasi-experimental/quasi-comparative study examined the association between education level, with sleep quality and depression as moderators, on a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome with all five criteria versus three criteria using a binary logistic regression while controlling for age, race, gender, income, employment, and marital status. Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological theory served …

Cell Type-Specific Multi-Omics Analysis Of Cocaine Use Disorder In The Human Caudate Nucleus, Lea Zillich, Annasara Artioli, Veronika Pohořalá, Eric Zillich, Laura Stertz, Hanna Belschner, Ammar Jabali, Josef Frank, Fabian Streit, Diana Avetyan, Maja P Völker, Svenja Müller, Anita C Hansson, Thomas D Meyer, Marcella Rietschel, Julia Ladewig, Rainer Spanagel, Ana M M Oliveira, Consuelo Walss-Bass, Rick E Bernardi, Philipp Koch, Stephanie H Witt

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Structural and functional alterations in the brain's reward circuitry are present in cocaine use disorder (CocUD), but their molecular underpinnings remain unclear. To investigate these mechanisms, we performed single-nuclei multiome profiling on postmortem caudate nucleus tissue from six individuals with CocUD and eight controls. We profiled 30,030 nuclei, identifying 13 cell types including D1- and D2-medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and glial cells. We observed 1485 differentially regulated genes and 10,342 differentially accessible peaks, with alterations in MSNs and astrocytes related to neurotransmitter activity and synapse organization. Gene regulatory network analysis identified transcription factors including ZEB1 as exhibiting distinct CocUD-specific subclusters, …

Can Endothelin-1 Help Address The Diagnostic And Prognostic Challenges In Multimorbid Acute Heart Failure Patients?, Bianca-Ana Dmour, Minerva Codruta Badescu, Cristina Tuchiluș, Corina Maria Cianga, Daniela Constantinescu, Nicoleta Dima, Ștefania Teodora Duca, Awad Dmour, Alexandru Dan Costache, Maria-Ruxandra Cepoi, Adrian Crișan, Sabina Andreea Leancă, Cătălin Loghin, Ionela-Lăcrămioara Șerban, Irina Iuliana Costache-Enache

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The management of acute heart failure (AHF) is becoming increasingly complex, especially in patients with multiple comorbidities. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoconstrictive peptide, is an important mediator of neurohormonal activation, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiac remodeling-key processes involved in the pathogenesis of AHF. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of ET-1 in multimorbid AHF patients, compared to established markers such as amino terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). We conducted a single-center prospective study including 76 patients; 54 with AHF and 22 serving as controls. Upon admission, all patients …

Geographic Divergence Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus St5-Scc Mec I In The Aftermath Of A Major Earthquake And Tsunami: Impact Of A Plasmid Harboring Heavy Metal Resistance Genes, Jose R W Martínez, Manuel Alcalde-Rico, Estefanía Jara-Videla, Jinnethe Reyes, Lina P Carvajal, Sandra Rincon, Rafael Ríos, Lorena Diaz, Ana Quesille-Villalobos, Roberto Riquelme-Neira, Lina Rivas, Ahmed M Moustafa, Blake Hanson, Eduardo A Undurraga, Jorge Olivares-Pacheco, Patricia García, Rafael Araos, Paul J Planet, César A Arias, Jose M Munita

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major public health menace. The global spread of MRSA is characterized by successive waves of epidemic clones dominating specific geographical regions. The acquisition of genes encoding resistance to heavy metals (HMRGs) is thought to be a key feature in the geographic divergence of MRSA. However, the cause-effect relationship between the presence of HMRGs and the divergence of MRSA clones remains to be clarified. In this study, we assessed the role that HMRGs may have played in the evolutionary divergence of the MRSA ST5-SCCmecI lineage in Latin America. We conducted a genomic characterization …

An In Vivo Microscopy Dataset For The Characterization Of Leukocyte Death, Alain Pulfer, Diego Ulisse Pizzagalli, Miguel Palomino Segura, Nina Germic, Tommaso Virgilio, Mauro Di Pilato, Pau Carrillo Barbera, Elisa Palladino, Paola Antonello, Marcus Thelen, Hans-Uwe Simon, Rolf Krause, Santiago F Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent advancements in intravital microscopy have enabled the study of cell death in vivo under various experimental conditions, such as infection and cancer. However, the limited throughput of this technology, together with a lack of openly accessible datasets, affects the development of algorithms for the automatic detection and characterization of cell death, which in turn require the integration of extensive and curated datasets. To address these needs, we present a curated dataset of microscopy videos depicting the death of neutrophils, eosinophils, and dendritic cells, acquired in the spleen and in the lymph node of mice under inflammatory conditions. The dataset …

Mitochondrial Responses To Conventional And Ultra-High Dose Rate (Flash) Radiation, Emily G Caggiano, Alan Lopez Hernandez, Trey Waldrop, Kevin Liu, Henry Gatica-Gutierrez, Sofía Vargas-Hernández, Nefetiti Mims, Ariana Acevedo-Diaz, Brett Velasquez, Denae Neil, Edgardo Aguilar, Matthew D Meyer, Gloria V Echeverria, Albert C Koong, Michael T Spiotto, Anna-Karin Gustavsson, Emil Schüler

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Ultra-high dose rate (>40 Gy/s, FLASH) radiation therapy (RT) provides equivalent tumor control while reducing normal tissue toxicity relative to conventional dose rate (CONV) RT. However, the mechanisms underlying the observed FLASH effect are unknown. We hypothesized that the preservation of mitochondrial integrity in nontumorigenic cells by FLASH RT could be a key factor in reducing normal tissue toxicity and improving overall treatment outcomes.

Methods: We examined mitochondrial health and function after CONV and FLASH in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo through assays of metabolic flux, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial DNA damage …

Co-Designing A Web-Based And Tablet App To Evaluate Clinical Outcomes Of Early Psychosis Service Users In A Learning Health Care Network: User-Centered Design Workshop And Pilot Study, Kathleen E Burch, Adam B Wilcox, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The Early Psychosis Intervention Network of California project, a learning health care network of California early psychosis intervention (EPI) programs, prioritized incorporation of community partner feedback while designing its eHealth app, Beehive. Though eHealth apps can support learning health care network data collection aims, low user acceptance or adoption can pose barriers to successful implementation. Adopting user-centered design (UCD) approaches, such as incorporation of user feedback, prototyping, iterative design, and continuous evaluation, can mitigate these potential barriers.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to use UCD during development of a data collection and data visualization web-based and tablet app, Beehive, to promote …

Activation Of Endoplasmic Reticulum-Localized Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (Mglu5) Triggers Calcium Release Distinct From Cell Surface Counterparts In Striatal Neurons, Yuh-Jiin I Jong, Steven K Harmon, Karen L O'Malley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu

Bioseq: A Molecular Intelligence Platform Based On Organism-On-Chip Technology For Bridging Data Gaps Between C. Elegans And Humans, Hunter Edwards, Adnan Qureshi, Mizanur Rahman, Tyler Chiriboga, Amar Chittiboyina, Ikhlas Khan, Siva Vanapalli

Oxford ICSB

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, emphasizes the urgent need for New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to replace conventional animal testing in safety and efficacy assessments. NemaLife’s organism-on-chip platform, utilizing C. elegans, microfluidics and visual AI, provides a high throughput platform for in vivo screening. To enhance human relevance and reduce the inter-species gap between C. elegans and human, we developed BioSeq, a novel discovery workflow, based on high-throughput transcriptomics. Leveraging the 60-80% homology between C. elegans and human genomes, BioSeq translates worm gene expression data to human orthologs. This enables: (i) identification of differentially expressed human-relevant genes triggered by bioactive ingredients …

Cosmetic Adverse Events And The Product Safety Landscape, Rick Kingston

Oxford ICSB

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) became effective December 29th, 2023 and is the most significant expansion of FDA’s authority to regulate cosmetics since the FD&C Act was enacted in 1938. MoCRA expands the FDA's rulemaking and enforcement authority over cosmetics and creates new compliance obligations for manufacturers. There are six key areas of the legislation including Facility Registration, Product & Ingredient Listing, Safety Substantiation, Cosmetics Labeling, and Adverse Event Reporting and Record Keeping. Each of these areas has significant implications for manufacturers and cosmetic ingredients. Given the ubiquitous presence of botanical and other naturally occurring substances …

Herbal Medicine For The Management Of Asthma In Taiwan: Insights From Big Data, Laboratory Studies, And Clinical Research, Hung-Rong Yen, Chuan-Teng Liu, Ying-Chyi Song

Oxford ICSB

Introduction: Asthma affects individuals across all age groups and poses a significant public health challenge in Taiwan, with high morbidity rates and substantial healthcare burdens. Traditional medicine theory emphasizes restoring the yin-yang balance, achieved through methods such as herbal medicine. Real-world data from Taiwan highlight the growing reliance on complementary therapies due to recurrent exacerbations and the potential side effects of conventional asthma medications. Materials and Methods: First, we analyzed the National Health Insurance Research Database, encompassing a population of 23 million in Taiwan, to identify the most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal medicines. Subsequently, we conducted in vitro experiments and …

Functional Mushrooms Supplementation As A Prebiotic Fibre Impacting Microbiome Composition, The Gut Metabolome And Impact On The Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Integrity, Julie Daoust

Oxford ICSB

This study aimed to determine if functional mushroom preparation supplementation with Cordyceps militaris mycelium and fruiting body, Ganoderma lucidum mycelium and fruiting body, and a blend of ten species of functional mushrooms could impact gut health. The Ex Vivo model Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME®) has been used to study the behaviour of a human microbiome in response to various factors. The aim of this study was to demonstrate changes in the microbiome after supplementation with functional mushroom preparation and the resulting neuroactive metabolome using the SHIME® model. The endpoints measured were microbial fermentation activity, metabolic fingerprinting, microbial …

Caffeine-Free Plant-Based Nootropics: The Evolving Science And Regulatory Journey Of Alpinia Galanga., Deshanie Rai

Oxford ICSB

Consumer interest in using botanicals as complementary medicine to help address a variety of health benefits is rooted in the traditional use of botanicals to support for example vision performance, joint health, and mental wellbeing. With increasingly busy lifestyles, consumers are seeking ways to support their mental energy. While caffeine is a widely used nootropic, consumers are wary of consuming too much caffeine and/or it’s associated “caffeine-crash” effects, and therefore looking for plant-based nootropic alternates. Plant-derived nutraceutical research is now on the research agendas in academic and industry settings. At OmniActive Health Technologies, we are helping to address consumer health …

South African Plants With Potential Applications In Traditional Medicine For Wound Healing, Salome Mahlo

Oxford ICSB

Skin infections are primarily fungal and bacterial attacks on the skin. The aim of the study was to investigate medicinal plants used for the treatment of wound infections by the local people and traditional health practitioners. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality, Limpopo Province to identify plant species used to treat skin infections. Guided fieldwork and a semi-structured questionnaire were used to gather information from the traditional healers. A questionnaire was designed to gather information on the common names, plant parts used, preparation, administration, and illnesses treated were recorded for each species. In the current …

Ashwagandha – Is It Safe? A Toxicologist’S Perspective, Mukesh Summan

Oxford ICSB

Withania somnifera (WS) also known as ashwagandha is a herb commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine with recorded use dating back centuries. Different plant parts including roots, leaves, fruits, seeds and stems are purported to have various biological actions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-stress, anti-anxiety when used alone or in combination with other plants. Despite this long history of use as a traditional herb in Indian medicine and world-wide as a food supplement, regulatory health authorities have begun to question the safety of WS due clinical cases of herb-induced liver injury from products labelled as containing ashwagandha and concerns for WS …

Evaluation Of Potential Hormonal Activities Of Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera), Guenter Vollmer

Oxford ICSB

No abstract provided.

Examining Physiological Responses To Misophonic Triggers, Christian O'Reilly, Xuan Yang, Sewon Oh, Doug Wedell, Svetlana Shinkareva

Faculty Publications

We collected and analyzed an array of biosignals (face electromyogram, skin electrodermal activity, peripheral temperature, and electrocardiogram) in 60 participants with and without misophonia, a condition characterized by decreased tolerance to innocuous sounds. Our goal was to objectively characterize the physiological response to misophonia triggering sounds. We found that misophonic responses can be objectively identified in some cases through atypical physiological reactions to triggering stimuli, though not all participants exhibited this response. Our analyses suggest a large interindividual variability in response to misophonic triggers and highlights the need for methodological adjustments in future experiments to increase the detectability of misophonic …

Molecular Subtyping Of Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy, Michal Elovitz, Elaine Gee, Nathaniel Delaney-Busch, Alison Moe, Mitsu Reddy, Arkady Khodursky, Johnny La, Ilma Abbas, Kay Mekaru, Hunter Collins, Farooq Siddiqui, Rory Nolan, Rupsa Boelig, Daniel Kiefer, Pamela Simmons, George Saade, Antonio Saad, Ebony Carter, Thomas Mcelrath, Stephen Quake, Mark Depristo, Carrie Haverty, Manfred Lee, Eugeni Namsaraev, Vincenzo Berghella, Ai-Ris Collier, Antonia Frolova, Esther Park-Hwang, Luis Pacheco, Elizabeth Sutton, Maneesh Jain, Kara Rood, William A Grobman, Joseph Biggio, Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, Arun Jeyabalan, Morten Rasmussen

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), including preeclampsia, affect 1 in 6 pregnancies, are major contributors to maternal morbidity and mortality, yet lack precision medicine strategies. Analyzing transcriptomic data from a prospectively-collected diverse cohort (n = 9102), this study reveals distinct RNA subtypes in maternal blood, reclassifying clinical HDP phenotypes like early/late-onset preeclampsia. The placental gene PAPPA2 strongly predicts the most severe forms of preeclampsia in individuals without pre-existing high risk factors, months before symptoms, and its overexpression correlates with earlier delivery in a dose-dependent manner. Further, molecular subtypes characterized by immune genes are upregulated in less severe forms of HDP. …

Implementation Of The Masac Recommendations For The Practical Application Of The Cdc Opioid Prescription Guidelines For Chronic Pain Management In Persons With Bleeding Disorders (Pwbd): A Mixed-Methods Study, Lena M. Volland

Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Health Sciences Dissertations

Background: Chronic pain affects the majority of individuals with bleeding disorders (PWBD), diminishing functional abilities, community participation, mental health, and autonomy while increasing opioid usage and healthcare expenses. Despite calls for integrated care models, evidence-based guidelines tailored to PWBD have historically been insufficient. In early 2020, the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation (NBDF) published the first evidence-based recommendations for chronic pain management, incorporating the 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prescribing guidelines along with additional suggestions for healthcare providers (HCP). The extent of their implementation at U.S. Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTC) …

Prenatal Exposure To Pm2.5 Concentration And Risk Of Preterm Birth In New Mexico; A Seasonal Pattern And Spatio-Temporal Modeling., Onyedikachi J. Okeke

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

This study investigates the association between prenatal PM2.5 exposure and preterm birth risk in New Mexico (2014–2021). Using descriptive statistics, time series models, and spatial analyses, findings show an average preterm birth rate of 14.87 per 1,000 live births, with moderate correlation (r = 0.727) between PM2.5 levels and very preterm births. While traditional models revealed no significant global effect, spatial methods such as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and Multiscale GWR uncovered strong spatial heterogeneity. PM2.5 effects varied by county (coefficients: -0.00154 to 0.00150), with clustering evident in 2018–2019 (Moran’s I = 0.155–0.174). Results highlight the limitations of global models …

Tumor-Derived Arachidonic Acid Reprograms Neutrophils To Promote Immune Suppression And Therapy Resistance In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Liqun Yu, Keziah Liebenberg, Yichao Shen, Fengshuo Liu, Zhan Xu, Xiaoxin Hao, Ling Wu, Weijie Zhang, Hilda L Chan, Bo Wei, Philip L Lorenzi, Yang Gao, Igor Bado, Luis Becerra-Dominguez, Charlotte Helena Rivas, Sergio Aguirre, Bradley C Pingel, Yi-Hsuan Wu, Yunfeng Ding, Jun Liu, David G Edwards, Livia S Eberlin, Xiang H-F Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The combination of immune checkpoint blockade and chemotherapies is the standard of care for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, initially, responsive tumors can still develop recurrences, suggesting acquired resistance mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Herein, we discover that TNBC cells surviving anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (anti-PD-1) and chemotherapy treatment accumulate neutral lipids. Disrupting lipid droplet formation in cancer cells reverses resistance and mitigates the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals a subset of neutrophils exhibiting a lipid-laden phenotype similar to adjacent tumor cells. Mechanistically, tumor-derived extracellular vesicles carrying lipids, including arachidonic acid (AA), mediate neutrophil reprogramming. Blocking dietary intake of …