Digital Commons Network^™

Early Alzheimer's Disease Patient Care Pathway And Health System Readiness: A Framework For Integrated Care, Ilya M Nasrallah, Erik S Musiek, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is often underdiagnosed, especially at early stages when symptoms are mild, and patients may benefit from new and recently approved anti-amyloid therapies. An updated patient care pathway may facilitate timely diagnosis and intervention. We conducted a scan of published information and convened an expert panel of health care professionals to gain insights on early AD care pathways. We developed an Early AD Patient Care Pathway as an implementation guide that includes new diagnostic and treatment modalities and addresses needs and opportunities. The Early AD Patient Care Pathway focuses on patient identification, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management …

Discovering Subtypes With Imaging Signatures In The Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome Consortium Using Weakly Supervised Clustering, Bhargav Teja Nallapu, Kellen K Petersen, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the heterogeneity of brain structure in individuals with the Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome (MCR) may improve the current risk assessments of dementia.

METHODS: We used data from six cohorts from the

RESULTS: Three subgroups (Groups A, B, and C) were identified through MRI-based clustering with significant differences in regional brain volumes, gait speeds, and performance on Trail Making (Part-B) and Free and Cued Selective Reminding Tests.

DISCUSSION: Based on structural MRI, our results reflect heterogeneity in the population with moderate and slow gait, including those with MCR. Such a data-driven approach could help pave new pathways toward dementia …

Domain-Specific Customization For Language Models In Otolaryngology: The Ent Gpt Assistant, Brenton T Bicknell, Nicholas J Rivers, Adam Skelton, Delaney Sheehan, Charis Hodges, Stevan C Fairburn, Benjamin J Greene, Bharat Panuganti

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of domain-specific customization in large language models (LLMs) by assessing the performance of the ENT GPT Assistant (E-GPT-A), a model specifically tailored for otolaryngology.

STUDY DESIGN: Comparative analysis using multiple-choice questions (MCQs) from established otolaryngology resources.

SETTING: Tertiary care academic hospital.

METHODS: Two hundred forty clinical-vignette style MCQs were sourced from BoardVitals Otolaryngology and OTOQuest, covering a range of otolaryngology subspecialties (n = 40 for each). The E-GPT-A was developed using targeted instructions and customized to otolaryngology. The performance of E-GPT-A was compared against top-performing and widely used artificial intelligence (AI) LLMs, including …

Variations In Greater Trochanter Height As A Relation To Patient Demographics: Implications For Femoral Nail Design, Jordan A Haber, Amogh I Iyer, Matthew Dulas, Douglas Weaver, Jason A Strelzow

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Intramedullary nail fixation is the "gold standard" for surgical intervention of femoral fractures. While many aspects of nail design and patient anatomy have received specific focus, anatomic variations in proximal femoral geometry and greater trochanteric height variation have been poorly studied. Understanding the potential relationship of the greater trochanter to patient demographics may provide an opportunity to improve implant placement. Retrospective review of x-ray and computed tomography images of the proximal femur was performed. Inclusion criteria consisted of skeletally mature patients over 18 years old with imaging of the proximal femur. Inclusion criteria identified 296 patients. Mean age of included …

Depression And Weight Loss Trajectories During An Integrated Behavioral Intervention: Within-Treatment Analysis Of The Rainbow Trial, Bailey W. Osweiler, Daphne Lew, Nan Lv, Jun Ma, Thomas G. Kannampallil

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Depression and obesity are two of the most common chronic conditions among US adults. The Research Aimed at Improving Both Mood and Weight (RAINBOW) study was the first randomized clinical trial to demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrated behavioral treatment for depression and obesity. We aimed to characterize the trajectories of both depression symptoms and weight loss during the RAINBOW intervention.

METHODS: Participants (N = 201) randomly assigned to the RAINBOW treatment arm who provided serial data on depression symptoms (via the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ9]) and self-measured weight were included. Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Modeling is a statistical technique …

Anticodon-Edited Trna Enables Translational Readthrough Of Col4a5 Premature Termination Codons, Kohei Omachi, Joseph J. Porter, John D. Lueck, Jeffrey H. Miner

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alport syndrome is caused by variants in COL4A3, COL4A4, or COL4A5, which encode the α3α4α5 chains of type IV collagen. These variants result in defects in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) and impaired kidney function. Nonsense variants result in truncated proteins lacking the NC1 domain, thereby preventing proper GBM assembly and function and causing the most severe forms of the disease. Restoring full-length protein expression represents a potential therapeutic strategy for Alport syndrome and related disorders. Anticodon-edited transfer RNAs (ACE-tRNAs), which promote premature termination codon (PTC) readthrough, have shown promise in diseases such as cystic fibrosis, but their application in …

Mechanisms And Environmental Factors Shaping The Ecosystem Of Brain Macrophages, Silvia Penati, Simone Brioschi, Zhangying Cai, Claudia Z Han, Marco Colonna

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Brain macrophages encompass two major populations: microglia in the parenchyma and border-associated macrophages (BAMs) in the extra-parenchymal compartments. These cells play crucial roles in maintaining brain homeostasis and immune surveillance. Microglia and BAMs are phenotypically and epigenetically distinct and exhibit highly specialized functions tailored to their environmental niches. Intriguingly, recent studies have shown that both microglia and BAMs originate from the same myeloid progenitor during yolk sac hematopoiesis, but their developmental fates diverge within the brain. Several works have partially unveiled the mechanisms orchestrating the development of microglia and BAMs in both mice and humans; however, many questions remain unanswered. …

Case Report: Molecular Characterization Of Adult Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor And Review Of The Literature, Miguel A Hernandez-Rovira, Michelle Connor, Robert C Osorio, Emilie Russler-Germain, Robert Schmidt, Gabrielle W Johnson, Julie Silverstein, Sonika Dahiya, Nyssa Fox Farrell, Mia C Weiss, Gregory J Zipfel, Jiayi Huang, Dimitrios Mathios

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) are typically aggressive pediatric tumors with a median survival of 11 months. Due to the paucity of cases in adults, the clinical behavior of these pathologies is not well understood. Here we present the case of a 41-year-old female patient with postoperative hyperprogression of a sellar ATRT and provide a detailed description of the molecular composition of this tumor, the protocol used to treat this patient, and the ultimate outcome of this patient.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION: The patient is a 41-year-old woman who presented with headaches and double vision. MRI revealed a sellar/suprasellar …

Integrating Mapk Pathway Inhibition Into Standard-Of-Care Therapy For Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma, Erin E Crotty, Aimee A Sato, Mohamed S Abdelbaki

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG) are a group of tumors largely driven by alterations in a single genetic pathway, known as the RAS-RAF-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Recent biologic insights and therapeutic targeting of MAPK-alterations have dramatically shifted the treatment approach in pLGG. While chemotherapy remains front-line therapy for unresectable pLGG in most scenarios (with the notable exception of

Case Report: Rosah Syndrome Presents Diagnostic And Therapeutic Challenges, Jenny Shunyakova, Margaret Reynolds, Amal Taylor, Erin G Sieck, James T Walsh, Lynn M Hassman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Retinal dystrophy, optic nerve edema, splenomegaly, anhidrosis, and headache (ROSAH) syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by a heterozygous missense mutation in alpha kinase 1 (ALPK1). This series reports the presentation and treatment outcomes of three first-degree relatives with ROSAH syndrome.

METHODS: Retrospective chart review, whole exome sequencing.

RESULTS: A 16-year-old male presented with bilateral optic disc edema, macular edema, retinal degeneration, and vitreous inflammation. His mother and brother had similar clinical features. Whole exome gene sequencing identified a shared heterozygous mutation in the ALPK1 gene c.710C>T, consistent with ROSAH syndrome. Ophthalmic manifestations in this family included …

Multidisciplinary Approach To Treating Complex Immune Dysregulation Disorders: An Adaptive Model For Institutional Implementation, Lauren A Henderson, Megan A Cooper, Anthony French, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Patients with immune dysregulation may present with varying combinations of autoimmunity, autoinflammation, immunodeficiency, atopy, lymphoproliferation, and/or malignancy, often with multisystem involvement. Recognizing specific patterns of immune dysregulation, coordinating and interpreting complex diagnostic testing, and choosing initial (often empiric) treatment can be challenging. Centers are increasingly assembling multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to standardize evaluation and optimize treatment of patients with complex immune dysregulation (immune dysregulation MDTs [immMDTs]). However, published information on the composition and function of immMDTs is sparse, and there is little guidance for those seeking to establish or optimize an immMDT. To inform this review, we assembled a panel of …

Use Of Telehealth For Measurement Of Anthropometrics In Toddlers And Their Parents, Sarah S Farabi, Cindy Schwarz, Bria Lee-Robinson, Lauren G Fiechtner, Victor Davila-Roman, Rachel G Tabak, Debra Haire-Joshu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The use of telehealth (e.g., live video calling) to collect anthropometric data in toddlers and their parents to increase participation in lifestyle interventions holds promise. But, there is limited evidence to support reliability of telehealth for the collection of these measures. This study aimed to determine the reliability of use of telehealth with parents to collect anthropometric and blood pressure measures on themselves and anthropometric measures on their toddler and determine the acceptability of instruction.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the developmental phase of a larger study. Research staff instructed parents via video call to …

Defining Knowledge Gaps In Preterm Birth Research: Can Biomarkers Fill The Gaps?, Scott M Williams, Kevin P Rosenblatt, Sandra Reznik, Dawn P Misra, Shajila Siricilla, Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Brandie D Taylor, Kristina M Adams Waldorf, Ramkumar Menon, Prebic North America 2024

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Preterm birth (PTB) is a syndrome arising from multiple etiologies that manifest as a final common phenotype, delivery before full term. Current knowledge gaps in epidemiologic, basic science, and clinical fields have limited our understanding of this complex pregnancy syndrome. Lack of insight into the cellular and molecular pathways underlying spontaneous PTB (PTB) has thus limited effective clinical management and restricted the investigation of novel treatments or druggable targets. Here, we examine several areas of domain-driven research that may lead to a better understanding of PTB, including infection and inflammation that drive early labor, social factors and their biological consequences …

Co-Designing A Mobile Application To Reduce Self-Stigma For People With Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy And The Postpartum Period, Bailey W Osweiler, Thue Rammaha, Hannah S Szlyk, Nathaniel A Dell, Jushawn Macon, Nicholas C Jacobson, Casey Burley, Micah Goodman, Patricia A Cavazos-Rehg, Alex T Ramsey

2020-Current year OA Pubs

AIMS: Pregnant and postpartum individuals (PPI) face unique challenges to recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD), including stigma from self and others.

METHODS: In this fully-remote study, participants provided human-centered design feedback in semi-structured interviews at 1-month to guide adaptations. Participants also completed structured questionnaires including validated measures of self-stigma at baseline, 1-month, and 2-month follow-ups and technology acceptance at 1-month and 2-month follow-ups. Paired samples t-tests determined whether differences existed between baseline and 2-month self-stigma and between 1-month and 2-month technology acceptance.

RESULTS: Twenty PPI (40% pregnant, 60% postpartum) representing diverse geographic U.S. regions used

CONCLUSIONS: These results support …

The Catalytic Tool To Assess Feasibility Of Implementing Evidence-Based Interventions For Cardiovascular Diseases In 46 Low- And Middle-Income Countries: Survey Outcomes And Tool Reliability Testing, Temitope Ojo, Hanan Yassin, Esther Sowunmi, Tania Hameed, Nessa Ryan, Joyce Gyamfi, Donna Shelley, Olugbenga Ogedegbe, Emmanuel Peprah

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based interventions (EBI) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) may face feasibility challenges due to the inadequacy of existing instruments. To address this, researchers developed the Contextual Index of Feasibility on Early-Stage Implementation in LMIC (CATALYTIC) tool, which integrates contextual factors into the assessment of feasibility.

METHODS: The tool's items were developed through a systematic review and key informant interviews, and were later assessed for relevance and importance by 13 LMIC researchers and implementers employing a Delphi technique. The survey was then tested for usability by five individuals with CVD experience in LMIC. The CATALYTIC …

Clinician Perspectives On The Multilevel Impacts Of Pediatric Early Warning Systems (Pews) In Resource-Variable Hospitals, Amela Siječić, Sayeda Islam, Sara Malone, Kim Prewitt, Bobbi J Carothers, Douglas A Luke, Virginia Mckay, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) are evidence-based interventions that monitor hospitalized pediatric patients to improve outcomes and prevent complications, particularly in children with cancer. However, there is limited data on how clinicians perceive the impact of PEWS on patient care across healthcare centers in resource-variable settings. Understanding clinicians' perceptions of PEWS is crucial, as their recognition of its benefits can enhance adoption and sustainability across various healthcare settings.

OBJECTIVE: To assess clinician perceptions of impacts following PEWS implementation across pediatric oncology centers in Latin America and Spain.

METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a study assessing capacity for …

Perceptions Of Anti-Racism Efforts And Mental Health Among Students In Higher Education In The United States, Hans Oh, Nicole R Karcher, Megan Besecker, Jordan E Devylder, Karen D Lincoln

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Anti-racism efforts are imperative for campus communities, yet little is known about whether perceiving their presence on campuses relates to a range of mental health outcomes among students.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Study 2020-2021 (

RESULTS: Individuals who disagreed that their schools combatted racism in their campus communities had significantly greater odds of mental health problems (depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, perceived need for help, and loneliness), and lower odds of flourishing when compared with those who strongly agreed with the statement. For most outcomes, we observed an apparent dose-response …

Reporting Of Immune-Related Adverse Events In Us Food And Drug Administration Approvals Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Shaili Tapiavala, Chongliang Luo, Mina Shenouda, Vaibhav Patel, Andrew A Davis

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Predicting the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) related to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) is complex. Monitoring of irAEs is critical as toxicities cause morbidity and impact quality of life. Thus, we systematically evaluated the patterns and consistency of irAEs reporting in trials leading to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ICI approvals.

METHODS: We evaluated 75 primary articles from 2011-2021. The authors independently collected data regarding reporting frequency as a binary classification of reported versus not reported and irAE frequency of 24 irAEs classified by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Version 1.2024 guidelines. Reporting trends and irAE events …

Efficient Gba1 Editing Via Hdr With Ssodns By Outcompeting Pseudogene-Mediated Gene Conversion Upon Crispr/Cas9 Cleavage, Joseph S Lagas, Monica F Sentmanat, Xiaoxia Cui

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: CRISPR/Cas9-edited induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are valuable research models for mechanistic studies. However, gene conversion between a gene-pseudogene pair that share high sequence identity and form direct repeats in proximity on the same chromosome can interfere with the precision of gene editing. Mutations in the human beta-glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA1) are associated with Gaucher disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lewy body dementia. During the creation of a GBA1 KO iPSC line, we detected about 70% gene conversion from its pseudogene GBAP1. These events maintained the reading frame and resulted from GBA1-specific cleavage by CRISPR/Cas9, without disrupting the GBA1 gene.

METHOD: …

Overcoming Recruitment Barriers Through Meaningful Community Engagement: Lessons Learned From A Maternal-Child Food Insecurity Assessment In Underserved Communities, Gabriela Buccini, Cristina Hernandez, Kristen N Herlosky, Shannon Rabb, Lizette Guillen, Dodds Simangan, Jyoti Desai, Alison Brown, Juanita Chinn, Timothy Grigsby, Jason Flatt, Ana A Baumann

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Recruiting participants from underserved communities for research can be challenging due to multilevel barriers. We conducted a maternal-child food insecurity needs assessment within underserved communities in urban Las Vegas, Nevada, and numerous barriers were faced to recruiting participants. This study aimed to examine barriers to participant recruitment, identify practical strategies for engaging participants, and analyze these strategies guided by the Meaningful Community Engagement Framework.

METHODS: This case study used an ethnography approach to analyze data collection barriers and community engagement strategies employed from March 2022 to February 2023 during a maternal-child food insecurity needs assessment. Inductive and deductive qualitative …

Effects Of Anesthetic Agents On The Evaluation Of Systolic And Diastolic Function In Mice, Dzmitry Matsiukevich, David M Ornitz, Attila Kovacs

2020-Current year OA Pubs

AIM: This study aimed to optimize non-invasive echocardiographic evaluation of myocardial function in a mouse model of diastolic heart failure, emphasizing the methodological challenges in assessing diastolic and left atrial (LA) function. Recognizing that clinical human studies frequently assess cardiac performance in non-sedated subjects, this investigation compared systolic and diastolic functional outcomes in mice subjected to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) using two anesthetic agents: Avertin (mild sedation) and isoflurane (deep sedation). Additionally, we present a histological and echocardiographic correlation of the LA changes in established HFpEF mouse model.

RESULTS: Mice received angiotensin II and phenylephrine (AngII/PE) infusions …

Applications Of Quantum Computing In Clinical Care, Stevan C Fairburn, Lara Jehi, Brenton T Bicknell, Beckley G Wilkes, Bharat Panuganti

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: This review examines quantum computing (QC) applications in clinical care, emphasizing advancements directly impacting patient outcomes. QC holds transformative potential in medicine, particularly through enhancing diagnostic accuracy, optimizing treatment plans, and enabling real-time decision-making.

METHODS: A systematic analysis of 35 studies published between 2015 and 2024 was conducted. The studies were evaluated for their contributions to diagnostic, therapeutic, and decision-support improvements in clinical care enabled by quantum computing technologies.

RESULTS: The analysis revealed QC's promise in improving diagnostic accuracy in medical imaging, optimizing treatments in oncology, and enhancing real-time clinical decision-making. QC-driven algorithms demonstrated potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy …

Speech Pattern Disorders In Verbally Fluent Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Machine Learning Analysis, Chuanbo Hu, Jacob Thrasher, Wenqi Li, Mindi Ruan, Xiangxu Yu, Lynn K Paul, Shuo Wang, Xin Li

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in verbally fluent individuals based on speech patterns in examiner-patient dialogues is challenging because speech-related symptoms are often subtle and heterogeneous. This study aimed to identify distinctive speech characteristics associated with ASD by analyzing recorded dialogues from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2).

METHODS: We analyzed examiner-participant dialogues from ADOS-2 Module 4 and extracted 40 speech-related features categorized into intonation, volume, rate, pauses, spectral characteristics, chroma, and duration. These acoustic and prosodic features were processed using advanced speech analysis tools and used to train machine learning models to classify ASD participants into two subgroups: …

Religious Factors Predict Support For Genomic Medicine More Strongly Than Politics, Education, Or Trust: A Survey Of 4,939 Adults In The United States, James M Dubois, Eu Gene Chin, Erin D Solomon, Jenine K Harris, Peter Hill, Kari Baldwin, Lauren L Baker

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Religious affiliation and attendance at services is associated with lower levels of support for some genomic activities, such as genetic testing. However, little is known about why or how religion shapes attitudes toward genomics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 4,939 participants representative of nine religious groups in the US (including atheist and agnostic). The survey examined (a) attitudes toward diverse activities associated with genomic medicine, (b) religious beliefs and practices, (c) control variables including trust in the healthcare system and knowledge of genetics, and (d) demographics. We examined differences between groups using an Analysis of …

Trust, Trust Repair, And Public Health: A Scoping Review, Peter Kalulu, Aubrey Fisher, Grace Whitter, Ipek Sener, Michelle Doering, David B Carter, Matthew Gabel, Jimin Ding, Michael Esposito, Caitlin L Mcmurtry, Pradeep Sopory, Mark D Huffman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the scope of evidence on trust, trust repair, and public health.

METHODS: We identified quantitative studies that evaluated the relationship between trust or trust repair and public health from January 1990 to May 2023. Results were stratified evaluating trust as an exposure or outcome and reporting on trust repair. Data are reported on spatiotemporal trends in publications, level of trust (institutional trust, generalized trust, and interpersonal trust), types of trust measures used, objects and determinants of trust, and associations between trust and public health behaviors.

RESULTS: Among 194 included studies, most (86%, 166/194) were published after …

Digital Strategies To Promote Crowdsourcing Open Calls For Co-Creating Hiv Interventions: A Youth Community-Based Participatory Approach, Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana, Peter Kalulu, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Olufunto A Olusanya, Oluwayemisi T Olaoluwa, Temitope Ojo, Titilola Gbaja-Biamila, Chiyere Arinze, Lateef Akeem, Lauren Fidelak, Chisom Obi-Jeff, Oliver C Ezechi, Joseph D Tucker, Juliet Iwelunmor

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults (AYA), yet their engagement in HIV programming remains limited. Digital strategies, such as social media campaigns, engage a diverse range of AYA to co-create HIV interventions, but their effectiveness is less known. This study examines the digital strategies employed to engage AYA (ages 14-24) in the participatory design of HIV research and interventions in Nigeria.

METHODS: We employed youth participatory action research (PAR), specifically using a crowdsourcing open call strategy to generate innovative ideas from AYA on how community-based organizations can sustain youth-friendly HIV services for at-risk youth. Crowdsourcing involves …

Who Benefits? Health Equity And The Translational Science Benefits Model, Anna La Manna, Julie Heidbreder, Shannon Casey, Kat Phelps, Mia Labrier, Laura Brossart, Ella Clark, Emmanuel Tetteh, Sara Malone, Douglas A Luke, Todd Combs

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Cantú syndrome (CS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the

METHODS: We investigated the effects of CS-associated KATP channel overactivity on epithelial barrier integrity and tight junction (TJ) proteins using murine models. Heterozygous (SUR2

RESULTS: GOF mutations in KATP channels caused significant dysregulation of TJ proteins. Occludin expression was increased in SUR2

DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate that CS-associated KATP channel GOF mutations disrupt tight junction dynamics and induces structural remodeling of the colon. This establishes a novel link between KATP channel dysregulation, metabolic-epithelial interactions, and intestinal pathophysiology in CS. Furthermore, the results highlight potential …

Examining Associations Among Daily Discrimination, Psychosocial Risk Factors, And Pain Outcomes In People With Chronic Low Back Pain, Joanna M Hobson, Matthew C Morris, Robert E Sorge, D Leann Long, Tammie Quinn, Demario S Overstreet, Asia M Wiggins, Eeshaan K Bajaj, Jonas G Dembowski, Edwin N Aroke, Burel R Goodin, Calia A Torres

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Substantial evidence suggests that experiences of discrimination negatively influence sleep, depressive symptoms, stress, and pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strength of the associations between discrimination and pain, and to determine which psychosocial risk factors help explain these associations.

METHODS: Participants (

RESULTS: Majority of the participants self-identified as women (55.3%), and Black (62%). There were positive associations between discrimination and insomnia (

DISCUSSION: Our findings highlight the harmful associations between discrimination, mental health outcomes, pain severity, and reduced quality of life. Additionally, these findings emphasize the need for more stress engaged research to continue …

Associations Between Microaggressions, Depression, Anxiety, And Alcohol Use Among Black Young Adults: Findings From A Pilot Study, Patricia A Cavazos-Rehg, Xiao Li, Layna Paraboschi, Lucy Meigs, Erin Kasson, Hannah S Szlyk, Janiene E Peoples, Devin E Banks, Alex T Ramsey, Nicholas C Jacobson, Carolyn E Sartor

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study, which was designed to inform mobile health intervention development, assessed the frequency of various microaggressions and explored associations among microaggressions, alcohol use, depression, and anxiety in Black young adults.

METHODS: Ninety-two Black adults (mean age = 22.2 [SD = 1.9]) who regularly consume alcohol were recruited through social media to complete a survey on microaggressions, depression, anxiety, and alcohol use. Microaggression frequencies were calculated and a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used to model interrelationships among microaggressions, depression, and anxiety with respect to binge drinking.

RESULTS: Past-30-day microaggression experiences were reported by 82.6% of participants. Stratified analyses signaled …

Dfcp1 Is A Regulator Of Starvation-Driven Atgl-Mediated Lipid Droplet Lipolysis, Victoria A Ismail, Meg Schuetz, Zak N Baker, Jean A Castillo-Badillo, Teri V Naismith, David J Pagliarini, David J Kast

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Lipid droplets (LDs) are transient lipid storage organelles that can be readily tapped to resupply cells with energy or lipid building blocks, and therefore play a central role in cellular metabolism. Double FYVE Domain Containing Protein 1 (DFCP1/ZFYVE1) has emerged as a key regulator of LD metabolism, where the nucleotide-dependent accumulation of DFCP1 on LDs influences their size, number, and dynamics. Here we show that DFCP1 regulates lipid metabolism by directly modulating the activity of Adipose Triglyceride Lipase (ATGL/PNPLA2), the rate-limiting lipase driving the catabolism of LDs. We show through pharmacological inhibition of key enzymes associated with LD metabolism that …