Digital Commons Network^™

Diversity And Characteristics Of The Oral Microbiome Associated With Self-Reported Ancestral/Ethnic Groups, Qingguo Wang, Bing-Yan Wang, She'neka Williams, Hua Xie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Periodontitis disproportionately affects genetic ancestral/ethnic groups. To characterize the oral microbiome from different genetic ancestral/ethnic groups, we collected 161 dental plaque samples from self-identified African Americans (AAs), Caucasian Americans (CAs), and Hispanic Americans (HAs) with clinical gingival health or biofilm-induced gingivitis on an intact periodontium. DNA was extracted from these samples, and then DNA libraries were prepared and sequenced using an Illumina NovaSeq high-throughput sequencer. We found significant differences in the diversity and abundance of microbial taxa among dental plaque samples of the AA, CA, and HA groups. We also identified unique microbial species in a self-reported ancestral/ethnic group. Moreover, …

Staphylococcus Epidermidis St2 Strains Associated With Bloodstream Infections Contain A Unique Mobile Genetic Element Encoding A Plasmin Inhibitor, Amy A Gomez, Clara Kjerfve, Minseo Choi, Wen Liu, Kelly Churion, Sheila Thomas, Holger Rohde, Sam Shelburne, Jon T Skare, Magnus Hook, Srishtee Arora

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Staphylococcus epidermidis, a common commensal bacterium, is a leading cause of nosocomial catheter-associated bloodstream infections. S. epidermidis sequence type 2 (ST2) is specifically recognized globally for causing invasive disease. In this study, we identified a novel putative integrated conjugative element, pICE-Sepi-ST2, unique to the genomes of S. epidermidis ST2. Our investigation identified pICE-Sepi-ST2 in all ST2 isolates from bloodstream infections. Meanwhile, ST2 isolates from other infection sources, such as catheters, prosthetic joints, and fracture fixations, showed variable pICE-Sepi-ST2 prevalence. pICE-Sepi-ST2 encodes two putative cell wall anchored proteins that we have designated SesX and SesY. Biochemical characterization of SesY revealed …

Nomenclature For Human And Animal Fungal Pathogens And Diseases: A Proposal For Standardized Terminology, Sybren De Hoog, Thomas J Walsh, Sarah A Ahmed, Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo, Maiken Cavling Arendrup, Andrew Borman, Sharon Chen, Anuradha Chowdhary, Robert C Colgrove, Oliver A Cornely, David W Denning, Philippe J Dufresne, Laura Filkins, Jean-Pierre Gangneux, Josepa Gené, Andreas H Groll, Jaques Guillot, Gerhard Haase, Catriona Halliday, David L Hawksworth, Roderick Hay, Martin Hoenigl, Vit Hubka, Tomasz Jagielski, Hazal Kandemir, Sarah E Kidd, Julianne V Kus, June Kwon-Chung, Shawn R Lockhart, Jacques F Meis, Leonel Mendoza, Wieland Meyer, M Hong Nguyen, Yinggai Song, Tania C Sorrell, J Benjamin Stielow, Rachel Vilela, Roxana G Vitale, Nancy L Wengenack, P Lewis White, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Sean X Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Medically important pathogenic fungi invade vertebrate tissue and are considered primary when part of their nature life cycle is associated with an animal host and are usually able to infect immunocompetent hosts. Opportunistic fungal pathogens complete their life cycle in environmental habitats or occur as commensals within or on the vertebrate body, but under certain conditions can thrive upon infecting humans. The extent of host damage in opportunistic infections largely depends on the portal and modality of entry as well as on the host's immune and metabolic status. Diseases caused by primary pathogens and common opportunists, causing the top approximately …

An Empirical Model Of Carbon-Ion Relative Biological Effectiveness Based On The Linear Correlation Between Radiosensitivity To Photons And Carbon Ions, David B Flint, Scott J Bright, Conor Mcfadden, Teruaki Konishi, David K J Martinus, Mandira Manandhar, Mariam Ben Kacem, Lawrence Bronk, Gabriel O Sawakuchi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective.To develop an empirical model to predict carbon ion (C-ion) relative biological effectiveness (RBE).Approach.We used published cell survival data comprising 360 cell line/energy combinations to characterize the linear energy transfer (LET) dependence of cell radiosensitivity parameters describing the dose required to achieve a given survival level, e.g. 5% (D5%), which are linearly correlated between photon and C-ion radiations. Based on the LET response of the metrics D5%and D37%, we constructed a model containing four free parameters that predicts cells' linear quadratic model (LQM) survival curve parameters for C-ions,αCandβC, from the reference LQM parameters …

Clinical Use Of Bedside Portable Ultra-Low-Field Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Patients On Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Results From The Multicenter Safe Mri Ecmo Study, Sung-Min Cho, Shivalika Khanduja, Christopher Wilcox, Kha Dinh, Jiah Kim, Jin Kook Kang, Ifeanyi David Chinedozi, Zachary Darby, Matthew Acton, Hannah Rando, Jessica Briscoe, Errol L Bush, Haris I Sair, John Pitts, Lori R Arlinghaus, Audrey-Carelle N Wandji, Elena Moreno, Glenda Torres, Bindu Akkanti, Jose Gavito-Higuera, Steven Keller, Huimahn A Choi, Bo Soo Kim, Aaron Gusdon, Glenn J Whitman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Early detection of acute brain injury (ABI) at the bedside is critical in improving survival for patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. We aimed to examine the safety of ultra-low-field (ULF; 0.064-T) portable magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) in patients undergoing ECMO and to investigate the ABI frequency and types with ULF-pMRI.

Methods: This was a multicenter prospective observational study (SAFE MRI ECMO study [Assessing the Safety and Feasibility of Bedside Portable Low-Field Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients on ECMO]; NCT05469139) from 2 tertiary centers (Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD and University of Texas-Houston) with specially trained intensive …

Micrornas: Where Brilliance, Perseverance, And Ambition Converged, Rares Drula, George A Calin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Victor Ambros at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Gary Ruvkun at Harvard University were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for the discovery of microRNAs. This “groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans” (1). This is a well-deserved and highly anticipated recognition for a seminal discovery published 31 years ago in back-to-back Cell publications (2, 3). This landmark finding changed the way we understand gene expression regulation among most multicellular organisms (4) and had …

Oncologic Outcomes In Patients With Localized, Primary Head And Neck Synovial Sarcoma, Riddhi R Patel, Vancheswaran Gopalakrishnan, Behrang Amini, Alexander J Lazar, Patrick P Lin, Robert S Benjamin, Andrew J Bishop, Ryan P Goepfert, Dejka M Araujo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: this study aims to evaluate the survival outcomes of patients suffering from head and neck synovial sarcoma (HNSS), especially in relation to patients with a localized disease at diagnosis.

Methods: this retrospective chart review includes 57 patients diagnosed with primary HNSS between 1981 and 2020 who presented with a localized disease at diagnosis. Overall survival (OS) from diagnosis, local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) from the end of the primary tumor treatment are estimated. The Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox proportional hazards regression are used.

Results: the 5-year OS, LRFS, and MFS are estimated …

Rare Breast Cancers Review, Bowen Song, Harnoor Singh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women, with rare subtypes presenting unique clinical challenges. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of rare breast cancers, including both epithelial and non-epithelial subtypes, and explores their epidemiology, pathology, prognosis, and treatment approaches.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted focusing on recent advancements in the treatment of rare breast cancer subtypes. Articles were selected based on criteria emphasizing studies from the past five years, with older foundational studies included where necessary. The analysis incorporated molecular profiling, clinical trials, and advancements in targeted and immunotherapies, where possible.

Results: Rare epithelial …

Does The Mediterranean Diet Play A Beneficial Role In Managing The Health Of Overweight/Obese Breast Cancer Survivors?, Syeda Maria Yaqoob, Layla Haidar, Marlyn A Allicock, Natalia I Heredia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Numerous studies have established a correlation between the Mediterranean diet and a reduced risk of breast cancer, as well as its efficacy in supporting weight management. Notably, obesity is widely recognized as a significant risk factor for the development of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet has been shown to improve health outcomes among overweight or obese breast cancer survivors. This narrative review aims to consolidate information on the existing research interventions elucidating the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for the overall health of breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Using the search terms "Mediterranean diet" and "breast cancer survivor", a total …

Effect Of School Hpv Vaccination Requirements On Pediatricians' Recommendations, Ashley Hedrick Mckenzie, Lara S Savas, Ross Shegog, Dale S Mantey, Erica L Frost, Paul Gerardo Yeh, C Mary Healy, Stanley Spinner, L Aubree Shay, Sharice M Preston, Sally W Vernon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Pediatrician recommendations are highly influential in parents’ decisions to vaccinate their children against HPV. Unqualified, presumptive, and bundled recommendations (UPBRs) are associated with increased HPV vaccine uptake and are considered best practice. This study analyzes pediatricians’ self-reported data to assess changes in UPBR use and the psychosocial determinants of UPBR use as a result of the implementation of a multi-level intervention, the Adolescent Vaccination Program (AVP).

Methods: We surveyed pediatricians across 51 clinics in the Houston area. Baseline surveys (n = 137) were distributed in 2015, and follow-ups (n = 120) in 2019.

Results: Pediatrician UPBR use …

Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis Uncovers Tumor-Immune-Gut Axis Influencing Immunotherapy Outcomes In Ovarian Cancer, Spencer R Rosario, Mark D Long, Shanmuga Chilakapati, Eduardo Cortes Gomez, Sebastiano Battaglia, Prashant K Singh, Jianmin Wang, Katy Wang, Kristopher Attwood, Suzanne M Hess, A J Robert Mcgray, Kunle Odunsi, Brahm H Segal, Gyorgy Paragh, Song Liu, Jennifer A Wargo, Emese Zsiros

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recurrent ovarian cancer patients, especially those resistant to platinum, lack effective curative treatments. To address this, we conducted a phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02853318) combining pembrolizumab with bevacizumab, to increase T cell infiltration into the tumor, and oral cyclophosphamide, to reduce the number of regulatory T cells. The trial accrued 40 heavily pretreated recurrent ovarian cancer patients. The primary endpoint, progression free survival, was extended to a median of 10.2 months. The secondary endpoints demonstrated an objective response rate of 47.5%, and disease control in 30% of patients for over a year while maintaining a good quality of life. We …

Liar-Dependent Gene Expression Contributes To Antimicrobial Responses In Group A, Luis Alberto Vega, Misú Sanson-Iglesias, Piyali Mukherjee, Kyle D Buchan, Gretchen Morrison, Anne E Hohlt, Anthony R Flores

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The ability to sense and respond to host defenses is essential for pathogen survival. Some mechanisms involve two-component systems (TCSs) that respond to host molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and activate specific gene regulatory pathways to aid in survival. Alongside TCSs, bacteria coordinate cell division proteins, chaperones, cell wall sortases, and secretory translocons at discrete locations within the cytoplasmic membrane, referred to as functional membrane microdomains (FMMs). In group A Streptococcus (GAS), the FMM or “ExPortal” coordinates protein secretion, cell wall synthesis, and sensing of AMP-mediated cell envelope stress via the LiaFSR three-component system. Previously, we showed that GAS …

Functional Connectivity Biomarker Extraction For Schizophrenia Based On Energy Landscape Machine Learning Techniques, Janerra D Allen, Sravani Varanasi, Fei Han, L Elliot Hong, Fow-Sen Choa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain connectivity represents the functional organization of the brain, which is an important indicator for evaluating neuropsychiatric disorders and treatment effects. Schizophrenia is associated with impaired functional connectivity but characterizing the complex abnormality patterns has been challenging. In this work, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to measure functional connectivity between 55 schizophrenia patients and 63 healthy controls across 246 regions of interest (ROIs) and extracted the disease-related connectivity patterns using energy landscape (EL) analysis. EL analysis captures the complexity of brain function in schizophrenia by focusing on functional brain state stability and region-specific dynamics. Age, sex, …

Private-Sector Readmissions For Inpatient Surgery In Veterans Health Administration Hospitals, Mary Vaughan Sarrazin, Yubo Gao, Carly A Jacobs, Michael A Jacobs, Susanne Schmidt, Heather Davila, Katherine Hadlandsmyth, Andrea L Strayer, John Cashy, George Wehby, Paula K Shireman, Daniel E Hall

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) reports multiple indicators of hospital surgical performance, including hospital risk-standardized 30-day readmission rates (RSRRs). Currently, most routinely reported measures do not include readmissions that occur outside VHA hospitals. The impact of readmissions outside the VHA on hospital RSRR is not known.

Objective: To measure the impact of including non-VHA readmissions on VHA hospital performance rankings for 30-day readmission.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study included patients aged at least 65 years from 2013 to 2019 from the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program linked to patient-level data from the VHA and Medicare. …

Comparative Analysis Of Indices For Social Determinants Of Health In Pediatric Surgical Populations, Caroline Q Stephens, Ava Yap, Lan Vu, Jacqueline M Saito, Dwight Barry, Amy M Shui, Hannah Cockrell, Sarah Cairo, Derek Wakeman, Loren Berman, Sarah Greenberg, Allison F Linden, Jonathan Kohler, Kuojen Tsao, Nicole A Wilson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Conclusions vary substantially among studies examining associations between area-based social determinants of health (SDOH) and pediatric health disparities based on the selected patient population and SDOH index. Most national studies use zip codes, which encompass a wide distribution of communities, limiting the generalizability of findings.

Objectives: To characterize the distributions of composite SDOH indices for pediatric surgical patients within a national sample of academic children's hospitals and to assess SDOH index precision in classifying patients at similar levels of disadvantage.

Design, setting, and participants: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included patients younger than 18 years who underwent surgery from …

Inherited Retinal Degenerations And Non-Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Progress And Unmet Needs, Jacque L Duncan, Angela Bowman, Amy Laster, Claire Gelfman, David G Birch, Shannon E Boye, Stephen P Daiger, Lucian Del Priore, Donald J Zack, James T Handa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) disease and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are leading causes of irreversible vision loss and blindness. Although significant progress has advanced the field in the past 5 years, significant challenges remain. The current article reviews the accomplishments and research advances that have fueled the development of treatments for patients with IRD and AMD, including the first approved gene-augmentation treatment for RPE65-related retinal degeneration and complement inhibition therapies to slow progression of geographic atrophy (GA) in AMD. The article outlines opportunities to address gaps and unmet needs that should lead to additional progress toward the development of treatments …

Rna Shielding Of P65 Is Required To Potentiate Oncogenic Inflammation In Tet2-Mutated Clonal Hematopoiesis, Nana Adjoa Ben-Crentsil, Wazim Mohammed Ismail, Maria E Balasis, Hannah Newman, Ariel Quintana, Moritz Binder, Traci Kruer, Surendra Neupane, Meghan C Ferrall-Fairbanks, Jenna Fernandez, Terra L Lasho, Christy M Finke, Mohammed L Ibrahim, Kathy L Mcgraw, Michael Wysota, Amy L Aldrich, Christopher B Ryder, Christopher T Letson, Joshua Traina, Amy F Mclemore, Nathalie Droin, Aditi Shastri, Seongseok Yun, Eric Solary, David A Sallman, Amer A Beg, Li Ma, Alexandre Gaspar-Maia, Mrinal M Patnaik, Eric Padron

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This work identifies MALAT1 as a requisite downstream effector of oncogenic feedforward inflammatory circuits necessary for the development of TET2-mutated CH and fulminant myeloid malignancy. We elucidate a novel mechanism by which MALAT1 "shields" p65 from dephosphorylation to potentiate this circuit and nominate MALAT1 inhibition as a future therapeutic strategy.

Myeloid Activation Clears Ascites And Reveals Il27-Dependent Regression Of Metastatic Ovarian Cancer, Brennah Murphy, Taito Miyamoto, Bryan S Manning, Gauri Mirji, Alessio Ugolini, Toshitha Kannan, Kohei Hamada, Yanfang P Zhu, Daniel T Claiborne, Lu Huang, Rugang Zhang, Yulia Nefedova, Andrew Kossenkov, Filippo Veglia, Rahul Shinde, Nan Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with metastatic ovarian cancer (OvCa) have a 5-year survival rate of < 30% due to the persisting dissemination of chemoresistant cells in the peritoneal fluid and the immunosuppressive microenvironment in the peritoneal cavity. Here, we report that intraperitoneal administration of β-glucan and IFNγ (BI) induced robust tumor regression in clinically relevant models of metastatic OvCa. BI induced tumor regression by controlling fluid tumor burden and activating localized antitumor immunity. β-glucan alone cleared ascites and eliminated fluid tumor cells by inducing intraperitoneal clotting in the fluid and Dectin-1-Syk-dependent NETosis in the omentum. In omentum tumors, BI expanded a novel subset of immunostimulatory IL27+ macrophages and neutralizing IL27 impaired BI efficacy in vivo. Moreover, BI directly induced IL27 secretion in macrophages where single agent treatment did not. Finally, BI extended mouse survival in a chemoresistant model and significantly improved chemotherapy response in a chemo-sensitive model. In summary, we propose a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of metastatic OvCa.

Assessment Of Gender Differences In Letters Of Recommendation For Physical Therapy Residency Applications, Darren Q Calley, Sunyang Fu, Marissa D Hamilton, Austin W Kalla, Christopher K Lee, Veronica A Rasmussen, John H Hollman, Hongfang Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Letters of recommendation (LOR) are an integral component of physical therapy residency applications. Identifying the influence of applicant and writer gender in LOR will help identify whether potential implicit gender bias exists in physical therapy residency application processes.

Review of literature: Several medical and surgical residency education programs have reported positive, neutral, or negative LOR female gender bias among applicants and writers. Little research exists on gender differences in LOR to physical therapy education programs or physical therapy residency programs.

Subjects: Seven hundred sixty-eight LOR were analyzed from 256 applications to 3 physical therapy residency programs (neurologic, orthopaedic, sports) …

Reduction Of Overactive Bladder Medications In Spinal Cord Injury With Self-Administered Neuromodulation: A Randomized Trial, Argyrios Stampas, Radha Korupolu, Kyung Hyun Lee, Betsy Salazar, Rose Khavari

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Our goal was to evaluate if self-administered bladder neuromodulation with transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation could safely replace overactive bladder medications in people with spinal cord injury.

Materials and methods: We performed a 3-month, randomized, investigator-blinded, tibial nerve stimulation vs sham-control trial in adults with spinal cord injury and neurogenic bladder performing intermittent catheterization and taking overactive bladder medications. The primary outcome was a reduction in bladder medications while maintaining stable bladder symptoms and quality of life based on pre/post Neurogenic Bladder Symptom Score and the Incontinence Quality of Life questionnaire, respectively. Secondary outcomes included changes in pre/post cystometrogram, 2-day …

Biomechanics And Clinical Implications Of Fontan Upsizing, Vijay Govindarajan, Akshita Sahni, Emily Eickhoff, Peter Hammer, David M Hoganson, Rahul H Rathod, Pedro J Del Nido

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The Fontan operation, a palliative procedure for single ventricle patients, has evolved to improve outcomes and reduce complications. While extracardiac conduit (ECC) is favored for its simplicity and potential hemodynamic benefits, concerns arise about conduit size adequacy over time. Undersized ECC conduits may cause hemodynamic inefficiencies and long-term complications, while oversizing can lead to flow disturbances, stagnation, and thrombosis, necessitating surgical revision or upsizing to optimize hemodynamics.

Objectives: The study aimed to predict the impact of upsizing by developing a patient-specific workflow using cardiac magnetic resonance-based imaging and computational fluid dynamics to assess Fontan hemodynamic changes and determine the …

External Validation Of The Epic Sepsis Predictive Model In 2 County Emergency Departments, Daniel G Ostermayer, Benjamin Braunheim, Amit M Mehta, Jeremy Ward, Sara Andrabi, Anwar Mohammad Sirajuddin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To describe the diagnostic characteristics of the proprietary Epic sepsis predictive model best practice advisory (BPA) alert for physicians in the emergency department (ED).

Materials and methods: The Epic Sepsis Predictive Model v1.0 (ESPMv1), a proprietary algorithm, is intended to improve provider alerting of patients with a likelihood of developing sepsis. This retrospective cohort study conducted at 2 county EDs from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 evaluated the predictive characteristics of the ESPMv1 for 145 885 encounters. Sepsis was defined according to the Sepsis-3 definition with the onset of sepsis defined as an increase in 2 points …

Individual Dynamic Prediction For Cure And Survival Based On Longitudinal Biomarkers, Can Xie, Xuelin Huang, Ruosha Li, Alexander Tsodikov, Kapil Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To optimize personalized treatment strategies and extend patients' survival times, it is critical to accurately predict patients' prognoses at all stages, from disease diagnosis to follow-up visits. The longitudinal biomarker measurements during visits are essential for this prediction purpose. Patients' ultimate concerns are cure and survival. However, in many situations, there is no clear biomarker indicator for cure. We propose a comprehensive joint model of longitudinal and survival data and a landmark cure model, incorporating proportions of potentially cured patients. The survival distributions in the joint and landmark models are specified through flexible hazard functions with the proportional hazards as …

Biological Validation Of Peak-Width Of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity As A Vcid Biomarker: The Markvcid Consortium, Alison M Luckey, Saptaparni Ghosh, Chen-Pin Wang, Alexa Beiser, Rebecca Bernal, Zhiguang Li, Djass Mbangdadji, Elyas Fadaee, Haykel Snoussi, Angel Gabriel Velarde Dediós, Hector A Trevino, Monica Goss, Laura J Hillmer, Christopher E Bauer, Adam M Staffaroni, Lara Stables, Marilyn Albert, Jayandra J Himali, Thomas H Mosley, Lars Forsberg, Vilmundur Guðnason, Baljeet Singh, Herpreet Singh, Kristin Schwab, Joel H Kramer, Gary A Rosenberg, Karl G Helmer, Steven M Greenberg, Mohamad Habes, Danny J J Wang, Brian T Gold, Hanzhang Lu, Arvind Caprihan, Myriam Fornage, Lenore J Launer, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Sudha Seshadri, Charles Decarli, Pauline Maillard, Claudia L Satizabal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Peak-width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), a neuroimaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), has shown excellent instrumental properties. Here, we extend our work to perform a biological validation of PSMD.

METHODS: We included 396 participants from the Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID-1) Consortium and three replication samples (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology = 6172, Rush University Medical Center = 287, University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center = 567). PSMD was derived from diffusion tensor imaging using an automated algorithm. We related PSMD to a composite measure …

Understanding The Association Between Neighborhoods And Adolescent Sleep: Evidence From Add Health, Sam J Neally, Breanna J P Rogers, Yangyang Deng, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Qian Xiao, Kosuke Tamura

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Research suggests that perceived neighborhood social environments (PNSE) may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity-based sleep disparities. Our study aimed to examine associations between PNSE factors and adolescents' sleep patterns. As a secondary aim, we examined how gender and race/ethnic groups might moderate these associations.

METHOD: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=5158; mean age=15.34 years). Four self-reported sleep outcomes were created: 1) sleep duration (hours/night), 2) short sleep (≥8 hours [reference] vs <8 >hours), 3) parental set bedtime (10:00 PM/earlier [reference] among girls vs by 11:00PM vs by/after 12:00AM), and 4) sleep satisfaction (enough …

Genetic Architecture Of Cerebrospinal Fluid And Brain Metabolite Levels And The Genetic Colocalization Of Metabolites With Human Traits, Ciyang Wang, Chengran Yang, Daniel Western, Muhammad Ali, Yueyao Wang, Chia-Ling Phuah, John Budde, Lihua Wang, Priyanka Gorijala, Jigyasha Timsina, Agustin Ruiz, Pau Pastor, Maria Victoria Fernandez, Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (Dian), Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Adni), Daniel J Panyard, Corinne D Engelman, Yuetiva Deming, Merce Boada, Amanda Cano, Pablo Garcia-Gonzalez, Neill R Graff-Radford, Hiroshi Mori, Jae-Hong Lee, Richard J Perrin, Laura Ibanez, Yun Ju Sung, Carlos Cruchaga

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain metabolism perturbation can contribute to traits and diseases. We conducted a genome-wide association study for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain metabolite levels, identifying 205 independent associations (47.3% new signals, containing 11 new loci) for 139 CSF metabolites, and 32 independent associations (43.8% new signals, containing 4 new loci) for 31 brain metabolites. Of these, 96.9% (CSF) and 71.4% (brain) of the new signals belonged to previously analyzed metabolites in blood or urine. We integrated the metabolite quantitative trait loci (MQTLs) with 23 neurological, psychiatric and common human traits and diseases through colocalization to identify metabolites and biological processes implicated …

Navigating Physical Activity Promotion And Policy In The Post-Covid-19-Pandemic Era, Justin Richards, Katja Siefken, Michael Pratt, Adrian Bauman, Juliana Mejía-Grueso, Catherine B Woods, Wanda Wendel-Vos, Erica Hinckson, Deborah Salvo, Pedro C Hallal, Andrea Ramírez Varela

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is limited evidence on the priorities and opportunities associated with promoting population physical activity (PA) participation for the post-COVID-19-pandemic future.

Purpose: This study assessed government-led PA promotion efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with post-COVID-19-pandemic priorities and recommendations.

Methods: Two separate cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2023. Survey 1 was targeted at the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) Country Contacts. Survey 2 also included key international informants representing influential stakeholders in PA policy implementation.

Results: There were 68 respondents to Survey 1, collectively representing 61 countries. An additional 37 people, including representatives from 14 key international …

Continuous Vital Sign Monitoring On Surgical Wards: The Cosmos Pilot, Nikola Anusic, Alper Gulluoglu, Elyad Ekrami, Edward J Mascha, Shuyi Li, René Coffeng, Alparslan Turan, Amber Clemens, Christine Perez, John W Beard, Daniel I Sessler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Study objectives: Alerts for vital sign abnormalities seek to identify meaningful patient instability while limiting alarm fatigue. Optimal vital sign alarm settings for postoperative patients remain unknown, as is whether alerts lead to effective clinical responses reducing vital sign disturbances. We conducted a 2-phase pilot study to identify thresholds and delays and test the hypothesis that alerts from continuous monitoring reduce the duration of vital sign abnormalities.

Design: Two-phase pilot.

Patients: 250 adults having major non-cardiac surgery.

Setting: Surgical wards.

Intervention: All patients had routine vital sign monitoring by nurses at 4-h intervals. We initially continuously recorded clinician-blinded saturation, heart …

Prediagnostic Amino Acid Metabolites And Risk Of Gout, Accounting For Serum Urate: Prospective Cohort Study And Mendelian Randomization, Natalie Mccormick, Amit D Joshi, Chio Yokose, Bing Yu, Adrienne Tin, Robert Terkeltaub, Tony R Merriman, Oana Zeleznik, A Heather Eliassen, Gary C Curhan, Hang-Korng Ea, Matthew Nayor, Laura M Raffield, Hyon K Choi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Our objective was to prospectively investigate prediagnostic population-based metabolome for risk of hospitalized gout (ie, most accurate, severe, and costly cases), accounting for serum urate.

Methods: We conducted prediagnostic metabolome-wide analyses among 249,677 UK Biobank participants with nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic profiling (N = 168 metabolites, including eight amino acids) from baseline blood samples (2006-2010) without a history of gout. We calculated multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) for hospitalized incident gout, before and after adjusting for serum urate levels; we included patients with nonhospitalized incident gout in a sensitivity analysis. Potential causal effects were evaluated with two-sample Mendelian randomization.

Results: …

Associations Between Metabolic Disorders And Sjögren’S Disease, Chihiro Iwaya, Junichi Iwata

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sjögren’s disease (SjD) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by dry eyes and mouth caused by chronic inflammation and is often accompanied by various extra-glandular manifestations, including fatigue and diffuse pain. Although the pathogenesis of the disease remains elusive, several factors (e.g. environmental, genetic and hormonal factors, abnormal metabolic status) are associated with this condition. Accumulating evidence suggests a potential role of cholesterol metabolism in immune and non-immune modulation in various diseases. In this review, we summarize the current findings on the associations between cholesterol metabolism and SjD.