Digital Commons Network^™

Script-Based Implementation Of Automatic Grid Placement For Lattice Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, Wesley W Tucker, Thomas R Mazur, Matthew C Schmidt, Jessica Hilliard, Shahed Badiyan, Matthew B Spraker, James A Kavanaugh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spatially fractionated radiation therapy (SFRT) has demonstrated promising clinical response in treating large tumors with heterogeneous dose distributions. Lattice stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an SFRT technique that leverages inverse optimization to precisely localize regions of high and lose dose within disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate an automated heuristic approach to sphere placement in lattice SBRT treatment planning.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A script-based algorithm for sphere placement in lattice SBRT based on rules described by protocol was implemented within a treatment planning system. The script was applied to 22 treated cases and …

Thirty-Day Hospital Readmission In Females With Acute Heart Failure And Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study From National Readmission Database, Soumya Kambalapalli, Nischit Baral, Timir K. Paul, Prakash Upreti, Fahimeh Talaei, Sarah Ayad, Mahmoud Ibrahim, Vikas Aggarwal, Gautam Kumar, Chadi Alraies, Joshua Mitchell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Breast Cancer and cardiovascular diseases are amongst the two leading causes of mortality in the United States, and the two conditions are connected in part because of recognized cardiotoxicity of cancer treatments. The aim of this study is to investigate the predictors risk factors for thirty-day readmission in female breast cancer survivors presenting with acute heart failure.

METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalization in female patients with breast cancer in 2019 using the National Readmission Database (NRD), which is the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient readmission database in the United States. Our …

Responsive Neurostimulation For People With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy And Autism Spectrum Disorder, Madeline C. Fields, Emily A. Johnson, John Zempel, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have comorbid epilepsy at much higher rates than the general population, and about 30% will be refractory to medication. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) should be referred for surgical evaluation, yet many with ASD and DRE are not resective surgical candidates. The aim of this study was to examine the response of this population to the responsive neurostimulator (RNS) System.

METHODS: This multicenter study evaluated patients with ASD and DRE who underwent RNS System placement. Patients were included if they had the RNS System placed for 1 year or more. Seizure reduction and …

An Overview Of The Effects Of Tenapanor On Visceral Hypersensitivity In The Treatment Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Constipation, Prashant Singh, Gregory S Sayuk, David P Rosenbaum, Susan Edelstein, Kenji Kozuka, Lin Chang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) experience persistent abdominal pain, a common symptom leading to greater healthcare utilization and reports of treatment non-response. Clinically significant improvements in abdominal pain were observed in clinical trials of tenapanor, a first-in-class inhibitor of sodium/hydrogen exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3), for the treatment of IBS-C in adults.

AIM: This narrative review reports the current knowledge about visceral hypersensitivity as a mechanism for abdominal pain in patients with IBS-C and explores the published evidence for hypothesized mechanisms by which tenapanor may reduce visceral hypersensitivity leading to the observed clinical response of decreased abdominal …

Neurosteroids: Mechanistic Considerations And Clinical Prospects, Jamie L Maguire, Steven Mennerick

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Like other classes of treatments described in this issue's section, neuroactive steroids have been studied for decades but have risen as a new class of rapid-acting, durable antidepressants with a distinct mechanism of action from previous antidepressant treatments and from other compounds covered in this issue. Neuroactive steroids are natural derivatives of progesterone but are proving effective as exogenous treatments. The best understood mechanism is that of positive allosteric modulation of GABA

Ct-Based Online Adaptive Radiotherapy Improves Target Coverage And Organ At Risk (Oar) Avoidance In Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (Sbrt) For Prostate Cancer, Michael Waters, Alex Price, Eric Laugeman, Lauren Henke, Geoff Hugo, Hayley Stowe, Neal Andruska, Randall Brenneman, Yao Hao, Olga Green, Clifford Robinson, Hiram Gay, Jeff Michalski, Brian C Baumann

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an emerging treatment modality for clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa). Online daily adaptive radiotherapy (ART) could potentially improve the therapeutic ratio of prostate SBRT by accounting for inter-fraction variation in target and OAR volumes. To our knowledge, no group has evaluated the clinical utility of a novel AI-augmented CT-based ART system for prostate SBRT. In this study we hypothesized that adaptive prostate SBRT plans would result in improved target coverage and lower dose to OARs in comparison to unadapted treatment plans.

METHODS: Seven patients with favorable intermediate to oligometastatic PCa treated with 5-fx …

Intratumoral T-Cell Receptor Repertoire Composition Predicts Overall Survival In Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Vikram S Pothuri, Graham D Hogg, Leah Conant, Nicholas Borcherding, C Alston James, Jacqueline Mudd, Greg Williams, Yongwoo David Seo, William G Hawkins, Venu G Pillarisetty, David G Denardo, Ryan C Fields

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy that is refractory to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. However, intratumoral T-cell infiltration correlates with improved overall survival (OS). Herein, we characterized the diversity and antigen specificity of the PDAC T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire to identify novel immune-relevant biomarkers. Demographic, clinical, and TCR-beta sequencing data were collated from 353 patients across three cohorts that underwent surgical resection for PDAC. TCR diversity was calculated using Shannon Wiener index, Inverse Simpson index, and "True entropy." Patients were clustered by shared repertoire specificity. TCRs predictive of OS were identified and their associated transcriptional states were characterized …

Pralsetinib In Patients With Advanced/Metastatic Rearranged During Transfection (Ret)-Altered Thyroid Cancer: Updated Efficacy And Safety Data From The Arrow Study, Vivek Subbiah, Douglas Adkins, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

A Neural Mechanism For Conserved Value Computations Integrating Information And Rewards, Ethan S Bromberg-Martin, Yang-Yang Feng, Takaya Ogasawara, J Kael White, Kaining Zhang, Ilya E Monosov

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Behavioral and economic theory dictate that we decide between options based on their values. However, humans and animals eagerly seek information about uncertain future rewards, even when this does not provide any objective value. This implies that decisions are made by endowing information with subjective value and integrating it with the value of extrinsic rewards, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, we show that human and monkey value judgements obey strikingly conserved computational principles during multi-attribute decisions trading off information and extrinsic reward. We then identify a neural substrate in a highly conserved ancient structure, the lateral habenula (LHb). LHb …

Is Multidimensional Poverty Associated To Dementia Risk? The Case Of Older Adults In Pakistan, Jean-François Trani, Yiqi Zhu, Soobin Park, Ganesh M Babulal

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Multidimensional poverty is associated with dementia. We aimed at establishing this association in Pakistan.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Punjab and Sindh, Pakistan, between March 30, 2002, and August 22, 2022, among adults aged 50 and older. Multidimensional poverty measures were composed of 6 dimensions and 15 indicators. Poverty was compared between adults with and without dementia using the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale, adjusting for sex, age, marital status, and household size. Associations between dementia and poverty were investigated using a multivariate logistic regression model.

RESULTS: We found that 594 (72.7%), …

Selective Breast/Gynecologic Pathology Fellowship Training In The United States: Experience Of Program Directors, Mohamed Mokhtar Desouki, Ian S Hagemann, Thaer Khoury, Oluwole Fadare, Rohit Bhargava, Jennifer L Clark, Michael T Deavers, Julie M Jorns, Ashraf Khan, Ediz F Cosar, Rouzan G Karabakhtsian, Molly E Klein, Andre Pinto, Muhammad Ali

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Published data on combined breast and gynecologic [breast/gyn] surgical pathology fellowship training programs are limited. Our study aimed to survey the landscape of such fellowships in the United States (US), including specific information about their characteristics and the educational activities therein. Using web searches, we identified programs offering combined breast/gyn surgical pathology fellowship training. We developed a 26-item questionnaire asking program directors to report on the characteristics of their fellowship training structure. The search revealed 25 academic based programs offering one-year combined breast/gyn fellowship training, predominantly located (40 %) in the Northeast area. The following data was obtained: 44 % …

Janus Kinase Inhibition In The Treatment And Prevention Of Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Elisa De Togni, Oladipo Cole, Ramzi Abboud

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For many years, corticosteroids have been the mainstay treatment for GVHD, but cases of steroid-refractory GVHD and the severe adverse effects of high-dose corticosteroids have increased the need for preventative and therapeutic strategies for GVHD. Due to the nature of alloreactive T cells, GVHD is inherently linked to the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect, the therapeutic driving force behind stem cell transplantation. A considerable clinical challenge is to preserve GVL while suppressing GVHD. The field of GVHD research has greatly expanded over the past …

Researching Covid To Enhance Recovery (Recover) Pediatric Study Protocol: Rationale, Objectives And Design, Rachel S Gross, Deanna M. Barch, Andrew C. Heath, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: The prevalence, pathophysiology, and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 [PASC] or "Long COVID") in children and young adults remain unknown. Studies must address the urgent need to define PASC, its mechanisms, and potential treatment targets in children and young adults.

OBSERVATIONS: We describe the protocol for the Pediatric Observational Cohort Study of the NIH's REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative. RECOVER-Pediatrics is an observational meta-cohort study of caregiver-child pairs (birth through 17 years) and young adults (18 through 25 years), recruited from more than 100 sites across the US. This report focuses on two of …

A Feasibility Trial Of Skin Surface Motion-Gated Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy For Treatment Of Upper Abdominal Or Lower Thoracic Targets Using A Novel O-Ring Gantry, Kendall Kiser, Joshua Schiff, Eric Laugeman, Taeho Kim, Olga Green, Casey Hatscher, Hyun Kim, Shahed Badiyan, Matthew Spraker, Pamela Samson, Clifford Robinson, Alex Price, Lauren Henke

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A novel O-ring gantry can deliver stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with artificial intelligence-facilitated, CT-guided online plan adaptation. It gates mobile targets by optically monitoring skin surface motion. However, this gating solution has not been clinically validated. We conducted a trial to evaluate the feasibility of optical skin surface-guided gating for patients with mobile upper abdominal or lower thoracic malignancies treated with SBRT on this platform (NCT05030454).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients who were prescribed SBRT to a thoracic or abdominal target and were capable of breath-hold for at least 17 s enrolled. They received SBRT in …

Thrombectomy In Stroke Patients With Low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score: Is Modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (Mtici) 2c/3 Superior To Mtici 2b?, Sameh Samir Elawady, Joshua Osbun, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Outcomes following mechanical thrombectomy (MT) are strongly correlated with successful recanalization, traditionally defined as modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) ≥2b. This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS; 2-5) who achieved mTICI 2b versus those who achieved mTICI 2c/3 after MT.

METHODS: This study utilized data from the Stroke Thrombectomy and Aneurysm Registry (STAR), which combined databases from 32 thrombectomy-capable stroke centers between 2013 and 2023. The study included only patients with low ASPECTS who achieved mTICI 2b, 2c, or 3 after MT …

Elevating Voices, Addressing Depression, Toxic Stress, And Equity Through Group Prenatal Care: A Pilot Study, Shannon N Lenze, Kelly Mckay-Gist, Rachel Paul, Melissa Tepe, Katherine Mathews, Sara Kornfield, Cheron Phillips, Richelle Smith, Amanda Stoermer, Ebony B Carter

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Elevating Voices, Addressing Depression, Toxic Stress and Equity (EleVATE) is a group prenatal care (GC) model designed to improve pregnancy outcomes and promote health equity for Black birthing people. This article outlines the foundational community-engaged process to develop EleVATE GC and pilot study results.

METHODS: We used community-based participatory research principles and the Ferguson Commission Report to guide creation of EleVATE GC. The intervention, designed by and for Black birthing people, centers trauma-informed care, antiracism, and integrates behavioral health strategies into group prenatal care to address unmet mental health needs. Using a convenience sample of patients seeking care at …

Ddr2-Regulated Arginase Activity In Ovarian Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Promotes Collagen Production And Tumor Progression, Favour A Akinjiyan, Zainab Ibitoye, Peinan Zhao, Leah P Shriver, Gary J Patti, Gregory D Longmore, Katherine C Fuh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Ovarian cancer has poor survival outcomes particularly for advanced stage, metastatic disease. Metastasis is promoted by interactions of stromal cells, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME), with tumor cells. CAFs play a key role in tumor progression by remodeling the TME and extracellular matrix (ECM) to result in a more permissive environment for tumor progression. It has been shown that fibroblasts, in particular myofibroblasts, utilize metabolism to support ECM remodeling. However, the intricate mechanisms by which CAFs support collagen production and tumor progression are poorly understood. In this study, we show that the fibrillar collagen receptor, …

The Forkhead Transcription Factor Foxj1 Controls Vertebrate Olfactory Cilia Biogenesis And Sensory Neuron Differentiation, Dheeraj Rayamajhi, Steven L. Brody, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In vertebrates, olfactory receptors localize on multiple cilia elaborated on dendritic knobs of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). Although olfactory cilia dysfunction can cause anosmia, how their differentiation is programmed at the transcriptional level has remained largely unexplored. We discovered in zebrafish and mice that Foxj1, a forkhead domain-containing transcription factor traditionally linked with motile cilia biogenesis, is expressed in OSNs and required for olfactory epithelium (OE) formation. In keeping with the immotile nature of olfactory cilia, we observed that ciliary motility genes are repressed in zebrafish, mouse, and human OSNs. Strikingly, we also found that besides ciliogenesis, Foxj1 controls the …

Transcription Factor Interactions Explain The Context-Dependent Activity Of Crx Binding Sites, Kaiser J. Loell, Ryan Z. Friedman, Connie A. Myers, Joseph C. Corbo, Barak A. Cohen, Michael A. White

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The effects of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) on the activity of a cis-regulatory element (CRE) depend on the local sequence context. In rod photoreceptors, binding sites for the transcription factor (TF) Cone-rod homeobox (CRX) occur in both enhancers and silencers, but the sequence context that determines whether CRX binding sites contribute to activation or repression of transcription is not understood. To investigate the context-dependent activity of CRX sites, we fit neural network-based models to the activities of synthetic CREs composed of photoreceptor TFBSs. The models revealed that CRX binding sites consistently make positive, independent contributions to CRE activity, while …

Educating Future Generations Of Surgeons Across Borders: Novel Global Linked Hybrid Live Cadaveric Peripheral Nerve Surgical Training Course, Abdus S Burahee, Liron S. Duraku, Caroline A. Hundepool, Kyle R Eberlin, Amy Moore, Christopher J. Dy, Shalimar Abdullah, Vaikunthan Rajaratnam, J. Michiel Zuidam, Dominic M. Power

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate a novel, multi-site, technology-facilitated education and training course in peripheral nerve surgery. The program was developed to address the training gaps in this specialized field by integrating a structured curriculum, high-fidelity cadaveric dissection, and surgical simulation with real-time expert guidance.

METHODS: A collaboration between the Global Nerve Foundation and Esser Masterclass facilitated the program, which was conducted across three international sites. The curriculum was developed by a panel of experienced peripheral nerve surgeons and included both text-based and multimedia resources. Participants' knowledge and skills were assessed using pre- and postcourse questionnaires.

RESULTS: A total …

Sirtuin3 Ensures The Metabolic Plasticity Of Neurotransmission During Glucose Deprivation, Anupama Tiwari, Arsalan Hashemiaghdam, Marissa A Laramie, Dario Maschi, Tristaan Haddad, Marion I Stunault, Carmen Bergom, Ali Javaheri, Vitaly Klyachko, Ghazaleh Ashrafi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neurotransmission is an energetically expensive process that underlies cognition. During intense electrical activity or dietary restrictions, the glucose level in the brain plummets, forcing neurons to utilize alternative fuels. However, the molecular mechanisms of neuronal metabolic plasticity remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that glucose-deprived neurons activate the CREB and PGC1α transcriptional program, which induces expression of the mitochondrial deacetylase Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) both in vitro and in vivo. We show that Sirt3 localizes to axonal mitochondria and stimulates mitochondrial oxidative capacity in hippocampal nerve terminals. Sirt3 plays an essential role in sustaining synaptic transmission in the absence of glucose …

Pectoral Muscle Removal In Mammogram Images: A Novel Approach For Improved Accuracy And Efficiency, Simin Chen, Debbie L Bennett, Graham A Colditz, Shu Jiang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Accurate pectoral muscle removal is critical in mammographic breast density estimation and many other computer-aided algorithms. We propose a novel approach to remove pectoral muscles form mediolateral oblique (MLO) view mammograms and compare accuracy and computational efficiency with existing method (Libra).

METHODS: A pectoral muscle identification pipeline was developed. The image is first binarized to enhance contrast and then the Canny algorithm was applied for edge detection. Robust interpolation is used to smooth out the pectoral muscle region. Accuracy and computational speed of pectoral muscle identification was assessed using 951 women (1,902 MLO mammograms) from the Joanne Knight Breast …

Control Intervention Design For Preclinical And Clinical Trials: Consensus-Based Core Recommendations From The Third Stroke Recovery And Rehabilitation Roundtable, Kathryn S Hayward, Emily J Dalton, Jessica Barth, Marian Brady, Leora R Cherney, Leonid Churilov, Andrew N Clarkson, Jesse Dawson, Sean P Dukelow, Peter Feys, Maree Hackett, Steve R Zeiler, Catherine E Lang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Control comparator selection is a critical trial design issue. Preclinical and clinical investigators who are doing trials of stroke recovery and rehabilitation interventions must carefully consider the appropriateness and relevance of their chosen control comparator as the benefit of an experimental intervention is established relative to a comparator. Establishing a strong rationale for a selected comparator improves the integrity of the trial and validity of its findings. This Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable (SRRR) taskforce used a graph theory voting system to rank the importance and ease of addressing challenges during control comparator design. "Identifying appropriate type of control" was …

Cryptosporidium Infection Of Human Small Intestinal Epithelial Cells Induces Type Iii Interferon And Impairs Infectivity Of Rotavirus, Valentin Greigert, Iti Saraav, Juhee Son, Yinxing Zhu, Denise Dayao, Avan Antia, Saul Tzipori, William H Witola, Thaddeus S Stappenbeck, Siyuan Ding, L David Sibley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cryptosporidiosis is a major cause of severe diarrheal disease in infants from resource poor settings. The majority of infections are caused by the human-specific pathogen

Arid1a Loss Is Associated With Increased Nrf2 Signaling In Human Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas, Vinh Nguyen, Travis P. Schrank, Michael B. Major, Bernard E. Weissman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Prior to the next generation sequencing and characterization of the tumor genome landscape, mutations in the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex and the KEAP1-NRF2 signaling pathway were underappreciated. While these two classes of mutations appeared to independently contribute to tumor development, recent reports have demonstrated a mechanistic link between these two regulatory mechanisms in specific cancer types and cell models. In this work, we expand upon these data by exploring the relationship between mutations in BAF and PBAF subunits of the SWI/SNF complex and activation of NRF2 signal transduction across many cancer types. ARID1A/B mutations were strongly associated with NRF2 transcriptional …

Shared And Unique Heritability Of Hippocampal Subregion Volumes In Children And Adults, Jacob G Pine, Arpana Agrawal, Ryan Bogdan, Sridhar Kandala, Shelly Cooper, Deanna M Barch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Behavioral genetic analyses have not demonstrated robust, unique, genetic correlates of hippocampal subregion volume. Genetic differentiation of hippocampal longitudinal axis subregion volume has not yet been investigated in population-based samples, although this has been demonstrated in rodent and post-mortem human tissue work. The following study is the first population-based investigation of genetic factors that contribute to gray matter volume along the hippocampal longitudinal axis. Twin-based biometric analyses demonstrated that longitudinal axis subregions are associated with significant, unique, genetic variance, and that longitudinal axis subregions are also associated with significant shared, hippocampus-general, genetic factors. Our study's findings suggest that genetic differences …

Assessment Of The Quality Of Interdisciplinary Communication (Critcom): Evaluation And Refinement Of A Center Summary Report, Lara Counts, Jocelyn Rivera, Parima Wiphatphumiprates, Maria Puerto-Torres, Kim Prewitt, Douglas A Luke, Dylan E Graetz, Sara Malone, Asya Agulnik

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Communication failures among clinicians in the ICU (intensive care unit) often lead to worse patient outcomes. CritCom is a bilingual (English and Spanish) tool to evaluate the quality of interdisciplinary communication around patient deterioration for pediatric oncology patients. The use of reports, such as the CritCom report, as dissemination methods lead to quicker knowledge translation and implementation of research findings into policy. Nurses and physicians at participating centers who care for patients at risk of deterioration completed the CritCom survey and center-specific reports were generated to communicate CritCom results. Focus groups were conducted with clinicians receiving CritCom reports in both …

Case Report: Increased Efficacy Of Cetuximab After Pembrolizumab Failure In Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Renee Morecroft, Jordan Phillipps, Alice Zhou, Omar Butt, Karam Khaddour, Tanner Johanns, George Ansstas

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Immunotherapy is the first-line option for treating advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). However, up to half of patients experience no benefit and treatment resistance, warranting newer therapeutic approaches. Combinatory approaches, including cetuximab, may help overcome immunotherapy resistance and improve response rates in advanced cSCC. We report three cases of metastatic cSCC that achieved significant clinical responses after cetuximab therapy following initial progression on pembrolizumab. We have retrospectively reviewed these cases at a single academic center between 2018 and 2023. All patients initially progressed on pembrolizumab, after which cetuximab (mono- or combination therapy) was added with two complete responses and …

Modular Horizontal Network Within Mouse Primary Visual Cortex, Andreas Burkhalter, Weiqing Ji, Andrew M Meier, Rinaldo D D'Souza

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Interactions between feedback connections from higher cortical areas and local horizontal connections within primary visual cortex (V1) were shown to play a role in contextual processing in different behavioral states. Layer 1 (L1) is an important part of the underlying network. This cell-sparse layer is a target of feedback and local inputs, and nexus for contacts onto apical dendrites of projection neurons in the layers below. Importantly, L1 is a site for coupling inputs from the outside world with internal information. To determine whether all of these circuit elements overlap in L1, we labeled the horizontal network within mouse V1 …

Plasma Mirna Expression Profile In Pediatric Pineal Pure Germinomas, Mona Fakhry, Moatasem Elayadi, Mariam G Elzayat, Omar Samir, Eslam Maher, Hala Taha, Mohamed El-Beltagy, Amal Refaat, Manal Zamzam, Mohamed S Abdelbaki, Ahmed A Sayed, Mark Kieran, Alaa Elhaddad

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Pure germinomas account for 40% of pineal tumors and are characterized by the lack of appreciable tumor markers, thus requiring a tumor biopsy for diagnosis. MicroRNAs (miRNA) have emerged as potential non-invasive biomarkers for germ cell tumors and may facilitate the non-invasive diagnosis of pure pineal germinomas.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients treated at the Children's Cancer Hospital Egypt diagnosed with a pineal region tumor between June 2013 and March 2021 for whom a research blood sample was available. Plasma samples were profiled for miRNA expression, and DESeq2 was used to compare …