Digital Commons Network^™

Associations Of Sex, Race, And Apolipoprotein E Alleles With Multiple Domains Of Cognition Among Older Adults, Skylar Walters, Carlos Cruchaga, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Sex differences are established in associations between apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, it is unclear whether sex-specific cognitive consequences of APOE are consistent across races and extend to the APOE ε2 allele.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether sex and race modify APOE ε4 and ε2 associations with cognition.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This genetic association study included longitudinal cognitive data from 4 AD and cognitive aging cohorts. Participants were older than 60 years and self-identified as non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic Black (hereafter, White and Black). Data were previously collected across multiple US locations …

The Role Of Bmi In Allostatic Load And Risk Of Cancer Death, Sydney E Andrzejak, Marquita W Lewis-Thames, Marvin E Langston, Yunan Han, Saira Khan, Darryl A Nettles, Lindsay N Fuzzell, Martha S Tingen, Justin X Moore

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Obesity and proinflammatory conditions are associated with increased risks of cancer. The associations of baseline allostatic load with cancer mortality and whether this association is modified by body mass index (BMI) were examined.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed in March-September 2022 using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey years 1988 through 2010 linked with the National Death Index through December 31, 2019. Fine and Gray Cox proportional hazard models were stratified by BMI status to estimate subdistribution hazard ratios of cancer death between high and low allostatic load status (adjusted for age, sociodemographics, and health factors).

RESULTS: In …

The Spectrum Of Covid-19-Associated Chorioretinal Vasculopathy, Piero Carletti, Aaditya Shah, Christopher Bair, Christian Curran, Anthony Mai, Rachel Patel, Ramana Moorthy, Natalia Villate, Janet L Davis, Albert T Vitale, Akbar Shakoor, Lynn Hassman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Although conjunctivitis represents the most common ocular manifestation of COVID-19 infection, sight-threatening retinal involvement has been reported. Herein, we report and characterize with multimodal retinal imaging 5 cases of acute vision loss secondary to presumed chorioretinal vasculopathy temporally associated with COVID-19 infection with varying severity, visual morbidity, and treatment response, and review the available literature on the association between COVID-19 infection and retinal microvascular changes.

DESIGN: Observational case series and literature review.

METHODS: Multicenter case series of 5 patients who presented to academic centers and private offices with acute vision loss temporally associated with COVID-19 infection. A review of …

Neuroinflammation In The Amygdala Is Associated With Recent Depressive Symptoms, Wei Zhang, Jerrel Rutlin, Sarah A Eisenstein, Yong Wang, Deanna M Barch, Tamara Hershey, Ryan Bogdan, Janine D Bijsterbosch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Converging evidence suggests that elevated inflammation may contribute to depression. Yet, the link between peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation in depression is unclear. Here, using data from the UK Biobank, we estimated associations among depression, C-reactive protein (CRP) as a measure of peripheral inflammation, and neuroinflammation as indexed by diffusion basis spectral imaging-based restricted fraction (DBSI-RF).

METHODS: DBSI-RF was derived from diffusion-weighted imaging data (N = 11,512) for whole-brain gray matter (global-RF), and regions of interest in the bilateral amygdala (amygdala-RF) and hippocampus (hippocampus-RF), and CRP was estimated from blood (serum) samples. Self-reported recent depression symptoms were measured using a …

Benzodiazepine-Free Cardiac Anesthesia For Reduction Of Postoperative Delirium (B-Free): A Protocol For A Multi-Centre Randomized Cluster Crossover Trial, Jessica Spence, Michael Avidan, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Delirium is common after cardiac surgery and is associated with adverse outcomes. Administration of benzodiazepines before and after cardiac surgery is associated with delirium; guidelines recommend minimizing their use. Benzodiazepine administration during cardiac surgery remains common because of its recognized benefits. The

Fidelity And Adherence To A Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove And Fuel Intervention: The Multi-Country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (Hapin) Trial, Kendra N Williams, Lindsay J Underhill, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Reducing household air pollution (HAP) to levels associated with health benefits requires nearly exclusive use of clean cooking fuels and abandonment of traditional biomass fuels.

METHODS: The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial randomized 3,195 pregnant women in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda to receive a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove intervention (n = 1,590), with controls expected to continue cooking with biomass fuels (n = 1,605). We assessed fidelity to intervention implementation and participant adherence to the intervention starting in pregnancy through the infant's first birthday using fuel delivery and repair records, surveys, observations, and temperature-logging stove …

Safety And Efficacy Of Riluzole In Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (Riscis): A Multi-Center, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blinded Trial, Michael G Fehlings, Wilson Z Ray, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Riluzole is a sodium-glutamate antagonist that attenuates neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It has shown favorable results in promoting recovery in pre-clinical models of traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) and in early phase clinical trials. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of riluzole in acute cervical tSCI. An international, multi-center, prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, adaptive, Phase III trial (NCT01597518) was undertaken. Patients with American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) A-C, cervical (C4-C8) tSCI, and <12 h from injury were randomized to receive either riluzole, at an oral dose of 100 mg twice per day (BID) for the first 24 h followed by 50 mg BID for the following 13 days, or placebo. The primary efficacy end-point was change in Upper Extremity Motor (UEM) scores at 180 days. The primary efficacy analyses were conducted on an intention to treat (ITT) and completed cases (CC) basis. The study was powered at a planned enrolment of 351 patients. The trial began in October 2013 and was halted by the sponsor on May 2020 (and terminated in April 2021) in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred ninety-three patients (54.9% of the pre-planned enrolment) were randomized with a follow-up rate of 82.7% at 180 days. At 180 days, in the CC population the riluzole-treated patients compared with placebo had a mean gain of 1.76 UEM scores (95% confidence interval: -2.54-6.06) and 2.86 total motor scores (CI: -6.79-12.52). No drug-related serious adverse events were associated with the use of riluzole. Additional pre-planned sensitivity analyses revealed that in the AIS C population, riluzole was associated with significant improvement in total motor scores (estimate: standard error [SE] 8.0; CI 1.5-14.4) and upper extremity motor scores (SE 13.8; CI 3.1-24.5) at 6 months. AIS B patients had higher reported independence, measured by the Spinal Cord Independence Measure score (45.3 vs. 27.3; d: 18.0 CI: -1.7-38.0) and change in mental health scores, measured by the Short Form 36 mental health domain (2.01 vs. -11.58; d: 13.2 CI: 1.2-24.8) at 180 days. AIS A patients who received riluzole had a higher average gain in neurological levels at 6 months compared with placebo (mean 0.50 levels gained vs. 0.12 in placebo; d: 0.38, CI: -0.2-0.9). The primary analysis did not achieve the predetermined end-point of efficacy for riluzole, likely related to insufficient power. However, on pre-planned secondary analyses, all subgroups of cervical SCI subjects (AIS grades A, B and C) treated with riluzole showed significant gains in functional recovery. The results of this trial may warrant further investigation to extend these findings. Moreover, guideline development groups may wish to assess the possible clinical relevance of the secondary outcome analyses, in light of the fact that SCI is an uncommon orphan disorder without an accepted neuroprotective treatment.

The Effect Of Fibre Cell Remodelling On The Power And Optical Quality Of The Lens, J Rodriguez, Q Tan, H Šikić, L A. Taber, S Bassnett

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Vertebrate eye lenses are uniquely adapted to form a refractive index gradient (GRIN) for improved acuity, and to grow slowly in size despite constant cell proliferation. The mechanisms behind these adaptations remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that cell compaction contributes to both. To test this notion, we examined the relationship between lens size and shape, refractive characteristics and the cross-sectional areas of constituent fibre cells in mice of different ages. We developed a block-face imaging method to visualize cellular cross sections and found that the cross-sectional areas of fibre cells rose and then decreased over time, with the most significant …

Loss Of Stearoyl-Coa Desaturase 2 Disrupts Inflammatory Response In Macrophages, Joseph B. Lin, Amy Mora, Tzu Jui Wang, Andrea Santeford, Darksha Usmani, Marianne M. Ligon, Indira U. Mysorekar, Rajendra S. Apte

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Macrophages are innate immune cells that patrol tissues and are the first responders to detect infection. They orchestrate the host immune response in eliminating invading pathogens and the subsequent transition from inflammation to tissue repair. Macrophage dysfunction contributes to age-related pathologies, including low-grade inflammation in advanced age that is termed "inflammaging." Our laboratory has previously identified that macrophage expression of a fatty acid desaturase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 2 (SCD2), declines with age. Herein, we delineate the precise cellular effects of SCD2 deficiency in murine macrophages. We found that deletion of

Uncharacterized And Lineage-Specific Accessory Genes Within The Proteus Mirabilis Pan-Genome Landscape, Robert F Potter, Kailun Zhang, Ben Reimler, Jamie Marino, Carol E Muenks, Kelly Alvarado, Meghan A Wallace, Lars F Westblade, Erin Mcelvania, Melanie L Yarbrough, David A Hunstad, Gautam Dantas, Carey-Ann D Burnham

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Pan-Cancer Proteogenomics Connects Oncogenic Drivers To Functional States, Yize Li, Song Cao, Matthew A Wyczalkowski, Yizhe Song, Erik P Storrs, Michael C Wendl, Wen-Wei Liang, Nadezhda V Terekhanova, Fernanda Martins Rodrigues, Daniel Cui Zhou, Liang-Bo Wang, Jessika Baral, Milan G Chheda, Li Ding, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cancer driver events refer to key genetic aberrations that drive oncogenesis; however, their exact molecular mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. Here, our multi-omics pan-cancer analysis uncovers insights into the impacts of cancer drivers by identifying their significant cis-effects and distal trans-effects quantified at the RNA, protein, and phosphoprotein levels. Salient observations include the association of point mutations and copy-number alterations with the rewiring of protein interaction networks, and notably, most cancer genes converge toward similar molecular states denoted by sequence-based kinase activity profiles. A correlation between predicted neoantigen burden and measured T cell infiltration suggests potential vulnerabilities for immunotherapies. Patterns of …

Pan-Cancer Analysis Of Post-Translational Modifications Reveals Shared Patterns Of Protein Regulation, Yifat Geffen, Yizhe Song, Akshay Govindan, Yize Li, Liang-Bo Wang, Li Ding, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) play key roles in regulating cell signaling and physiology in both normal and cancer cells. Advances in mass spectrometry enable high-throughput, accurate, and sensitive measurement of PTM levels to better understand their role, prevalence, and crosstalk. Here, we analyze the largest collection of proteogenomics data from 1,110 patients with PTM profiles across 11 cancer types (10 from the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium [CPTAC]). Our study reveals pan-cancer patterns of changes in protein acetylation and phosphorylation involved in hallmark cancer processes. These patterns revealed subsets of tumors, from different cancer types, including those with …

Ergosterol Distribution Controls Surface Structure Formation And Fungal Pathogenicity, Hau Lam Choy, Elizabeth A. Gaylord, Tamara L. Doering

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Ergosterol, the major sterol in fungal membranes, is critical for defining membrane fluidity and regulating cellular processes. Although ergosterol synthesis has been well defined in model yeast, little is known about sterol organization in the context of fungal pathogenesis. We identified a retrograde sterol transporter, Ysp2, in the opportunistic fungal pathogen

Intensive Care Unit Sinks Are Persistently Colonized With Multidrug Resistant Bacteria And Mobilizable, Resistance-Conferring Plasmids, Luke Diorio-Toth, Meghan A. Wallace, Christopher W. Farnsworth, Bin Wang, Danish Gul, Jennie H. Kwon, Saadia Andleeb, Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Gautam Dantas

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Contamination of hospital sinks with microbial pathogens presents a serious potential threat to patients, but our understanding of sink colonization dynamics is largely based on infection outbreaks. Here, we investigate the colonization patterns of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in intensive care unit sinks and water from two hospitals in the USA and Pakistan collected over 27 months of prospective sampling. Using culture-based methods, we recovered 822 bacterial isolates representing 104 unique species and genomospecies. Genomic analyses revealed long-term colonization by

Participatory Logic Modeling In A Multi-Site Initiative To Advance Implementation Science, Douglas V Easterling, Rebekah R Jacob, Ross C Brownson, Debra Haire-Joshu, Daniel A Gundersen, Heather Angier, Jennifer E Devoe, Sonja Likumahuwa-Ackman, Thuy Vu, Russell E Glasgow, Robert Schnoll

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Logic models map the short-term and long-term outcomes that are expected to occur with a program, and thus are an essential tool for evaluation. Funding agencies, especially in the United States (US), have encouraged the use of logic models among their grantees. They also use logic models to clarify expectations for their own funding initiatives. It is increasingly recognized that logic models should be developed through a participatory approach which allows input from those who carry out the program being evaluated. While there are many positive examples of participatory logic modeling, funders have generally not engaged grantees in developing …

Bcl6, Irf2, And Notch2 Promote Nonclassical Monocyte Development, Kevin W O'Connor, Tiantian Liu, Sunkyung Kim, Carlos G Briseño, Katia Georgopoulos, Theresa L Murphy, Kenneth M Murphy

2020-Current year OA Pubs

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S100a8 And S100a9 In Hematologic Malignancies: From Development To Therapy, Farnaz Razmkhah, Sena Kim, Sora Lim, Abdul-Jalil Dania, Jaebok Choi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

S100A8 and S100A9 are multifunctional proteins that can initiate various signaling pathways and modulate cell function both inside and outside immune cells, depending on their receptors, mediators, and molecular environment. They have been reported as dysregulated genes and proteins in a wide range of cancers, including hematologic malignancies, from diagnosis to response to therapy. The role of S100A8 and S100A9 in hematologic malignancies is highlighted due to their ability to work together or as antagonists to modify cell phenotype, including viability, differentiation, chemosensitivity, trafficking, and transcription strategies, which can lead to an oncogenic phase or reduced symptoms. In this review …

Entry Receptor Ldlrad3 Is Required For Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Peripheral Infection And Neurotropism Leading To Pathogenesis In Mice, Natasha M Kafai, Hana Janova, Matthew D Cain, Yael Alippe, Stefanie Muraro, Alan Sariol, Michelle Elam-Noll, Robyn S Klein, Michael S Diamond

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an encephalitic alphavirus responsible for epidemics of neurological disease across the Americas. Low-density lipoprotein receptor class A domain-containing 3 (LDLRAD3) is a recently reported entry receptor for VEEV. Here, using wild-type and Ldlrad3-deficient mice, we define a critical role for LDLRAD3 in controlling steps in VEEV infection, pathogenesis, and neurotropism. Our analysis shows that LDLRAD3 is required for efficient VEEV infection and pathogenesis prior to and after central nervous system invasion. Ldlrad3-deficient mice survive intranasal and intracranial VEEV inoculation and show reduced infection of neurons in different brain regions. As LDLRAD3 is a determinant …

Perspectives On Long-Acting Formulations Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Who Are Non-Adherent To Daily Oral Prep In The United States, Brooke G Rogers, R R Patel, K Curoe, J Villalobos, A Underwood, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) persistence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in real world clinical settings for HIV prevention is suboptimal. New longer-acting formulations of PrEP are becoming available, including injectables, subdermal implants, and other oral medications. These longer-acting formulations have the potential to improve retention among those who have challenges remaining adherent to daily oral PrEP.

METHODS: We interviewed 49 MSM who had initiated but discontinued oral PrEP at three diverse clinics across the United States. We examined participants' perspectives about long-acting PrEP formulations and how long-acting options could affect PrEP use using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Participants …

Microglial Rev-Erbα Regulates Inflammation And Lipid Droplet Formation To Drive Tauopathy In Male Mice, Jiyeon Lee, Julie M Dimitry, Jong Hee Song, Minsoo Son, Patrick W Sheehan, Melvin W King, G Travis Tabor, Young Ah Goo, Mitchell A Lazar, Leonard Petrucelli, Erik S Musiek

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alzheimer's disease, the most common age-related neurodegenerative disease, is characterized by tau aggregation and associated with disrupted circadian rhythms and dampened clock gene expression. REV-ERBα is a core circadian clock protein which also serves as a nuclear receptor and transcriptional repressor involved in lipid metabolism and macrophage function. Global REV-ERBα deletion has been shown to promote microglial activation and mitigate amyloid plaque formation. However, the cell-autonomous effects of microglial REV-ERBα in healthy brain and in tauopathy are unexplored. Here, we show that microglial REV-ERBα deletion enhances inflammatory signaling, disrupts lipid metabolism, and causes lipid droplet (LD) accumulation specifically in male …

Genetic Modifiers Of Mendelian Monogenic Collagen Iv Nephropathies In Humans And Mice, Constantinos Deltas, Gregory Papagregoriou, Stavroula F Louka, Apostolos Malatras, Frances Flinter, Daniel P Gale, Susie Gear, Oliver Gross, Julia Hoefele, Rachel Lennon, Jeffrey H Miner, Alessandra Renieri, Judy Savige, A Neil Turner

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Familial hematuria is a clinical sign of a genetically heterogeneous group of conditions, accompanied by broad inter- and intrafamilial variable expressivity. The most frequent condition is caused by pathogenic (or likely pathogenic) variants in the collagen-IV genes,

Rapid Direct Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Aerosols In Exhaled Breath At The Point Of Care, Dishit P Ghumra, Nishit Shetty, Kevin R Mcbrearty, Joseph V Puthussery, Benjamin J Sumlin, Woodrow D Gardiner, Brookelyn M Doherty, Jordan P Magrecki, Jane A O'Halloran, Rachel M Presti, Traci L Bricker, Adrianus C M Boon, Carla M Yuede, John R Cirrito, Rajan K Chakrabarty, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Airborne transmission via virus-laden aerosols is a dominant route for the transmission of respiratory diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Direct, non-invasive screening of respiratory virus aerosols in patients has been a long-standing technical challenge. Here, we introduce a point-of-care testing platform that directly detects SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in as little as two exhaled breaths of patients and provides results in under 60 s. It integrates a hand-held breath aerosol collector and a llama-derived, SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein specific nanobody bound to an ultrasensitive micro-immunoelectrode biosensor, which detects the oxidation of tyrosine amino acids present in SARS-CoV-2 viral particles. Laboratory …

Sustainable Development For Mobile Health Apps Using The Human-Centered Design Process, Qingfan An, Marjorie M Kelley, Audra Hanners, Po-Yin Yen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Well-documented scientific evidence indicates that mobile health (mHealth) apps can improve the quality of life, relieve symptoms, and restore health for patients. In addition to improving patients' health outcomes, mHealth apps reduce health care use and the cost burdens associated with disease management. Currently, patients and health care providers have a wide variety of choices among commercially available mHealth apps. However, due to the high resource costs and low user adoption of mHealth apps, the cost-benefit relationship remains controversial. When compared to traditional expert-driven approaches, applying human-centered design (HCD) may result in more useable, acceptable, and effective mHealth apps. In …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Novel Δ2‑Thiazolino2‑Pyridone Derivatives That Potentiate Isoniazid Activity In An Isoniazid-Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Mutant, Souvik Sarkar, Anne E. Mayer Bridwell, Erin R. Wang, Samuel R. Mckee, Joy Valenta, Gregory A. Harrison, Kelly N. Flentie, Frederick L. Henry, Christina L. Stallings, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

New Concepts In Steroid Glaucoma, A M. Levin, E G. Sieck

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Changing Severity And Epidemiology Of Adults Hospitalized With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) In The United States After Introduction Of Covid-19 Vaccines, March 2021-August 2022, Noah Kojima, Jennie H Kwon, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the changing epidemiology of adults hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) informs research priorities and public health policies.

METHODS: Among adults (≥18 years) hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed, acute COVID-19 between 11 March 2021, and 31 August 2022 at 21 hospitals in 18 states, those hospitalized during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron-predominant period (BA.1, BA.2, BA.4/BA.5) were compared to those from earlier Alpha- and Delta-predominant periods. Demographic characteristics, biomarkers within 24 hours of admission, and outcomes, including oxygen support and death, were assessed.

RESULTS: Among 9825 patients, median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 60 years (47-72), …

The Proteome Of Extracellular Vesicles Of The Lung Fluke Paragonimus Kellicotti Produced In Vitro And In The Lung Cyst, Lucia S Di Maggio, Kerstin Fischer, Devyn Yates, Kurt C Curtis, Bruce A Rosa, John Martin, Petra Erdmann-Gilmore, Robert S W Sprung, Makedonka Mitreva, R Reid Townsend, Gary J Weil, Peter U Fischer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Paragonimiasis is a zoonotic, food-borne trematode infection that affects 21 million people globally. Trematodes interact with their hosts via extracellular vesicles (EV) that carry protein and RNA cargo. We analyzed EV in excretory-secretory products (ESP) released by Paragonimus kellicotti adult worms cultured in vitro (EV ESP) and EV isolated from lung cyst fluid (EV CFP) recovered from infected gerbils. The majority of EV were approximately 30-50 nm in diameter. We identified 548 P. kellicotti-derived proteins in EV ESP by mass spectrometry and 8 proteins in EV CFP of which 7 were also present in EV ESP. No parasite-derived proteins were …

Prevalence And Trends Of Advanced Hiv Disease Among Antiretroviral Therapy-Naïve And Antiretroviral Therapy-Experienced Patients In South Africa Between 2010-2021: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Marcel K Kitenge, Geoffrey Fatti, Ingrid Eshun-Wilson, Omololu Aluko, Peter Nyasulu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Despite the significant progress made in South Africa in getting millions of individuals living with HIV into care, many patients still present or re-enter care with Advanced HIV Disease (AHD). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AHD among ART-naive and ART-experienced patients in South Africa using studies published between January 2010 and May 2022.

METHODS: We searched for relevant data on PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and other sources, with a geographical filters limited to South Africa, up to May 31, 2022. Two reviewers conducted all screening, eligibility assessment, data extraction, and critical appraisal. We synthesized the data using the …

Interpreting The Mechanism Of Synergism For Drug Combinations Using Attention-Based Hierarchical Graph Pooling, Zehao Dong, Heming Zhang, Yixin Chen, Philip R O Payne, Fuhai Li

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Synergistic drug combinations provide huge potentials to enhance therapeutic efficacy and to reduce adverse reactions. However, effective and synergistic drug combination prediction remains an open question because of the unknown causal disease signaling pathways. Though various deep learning (AI) models have been proposed to quantitatively predict the synergism of drug combinations, the major limitation of existing deep learning methods is that they are inherently not interpretable, which makes the conclusions of AI models untransparent to human experts, henceforth limiting the robustness of the model conclusion and the implementation ability of these models in real-world human-AI healthcare. In this paper, we …

Risk Of Autism Spectrum Disorder And Association Of Its Symptoms With Psychiatric And Substance Use Disorders In Non-Clinical Student Sample In Kenya: Cross-Sectional Study, Victoria N Mutiso, David M Ndetei, Esther N Muia, Monicah Masake, Rita K Alietsi, Lydia Onsinyo, Christine Musyimi, Daniel Mamah

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and patterns of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms/traits and the associations of ASD with psychiatric and substance use disorders has not been documented in non-clinical students in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya in particular.

AIMS: To document the risk level of ASD and its traits in a Kenyan student population (high school, college and university) using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ); and to determine the associations between ASD and other psychiatric and substance use disorders.

METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study among students (

RESULTS: Of the total sample, 54 (0.56%) were at high risk of ASD. Sociodemographic differences …