Digital Commons Network^™

A Qualitative Study Of Health Priorities Of People With Dementia And Care Partners In Emergency Department And Hospital Care In A Public Safety-Net Setting, Anita Chary, Sumin Yoon, Victor Lara, Annika Bhananker, Michelle Suh, Kei Ouchi, Maura Kennedy, Aanand D Naik

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Over half of the people with dementia visit the emergency department (ED) each year. Little is known about how people with dementia and their care partners conceptualize or communicate about health outcome goals or care preferences during acute care episodes.

Participants and setting: We conducted interviews with 14 Hispanic people with dementia and 19 care partners recruited from a public safety net hospital system in the southeastern United States. Participants were community-dwelling and had recently visited the ED.

Methods: We used a qualitative study design informed by phenomenology and guided by the patient priorities care (PPC) framework. Interviews elicited …

Neighborhood-Level Social Vulnerability, Race And Ethnicity, And Stage At Diagnosis: A Population-Based Study Of 12,957 Patients With Oral Cavity Cancer, Guillermo A Tortolero, Erich M Sturgis, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Melissa F Peskin, Cici Bauer, Caitlin C Murphy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Oral cavity cancer (OCC) is marked by racial and ethnic disparities. We examined these differences in OCC stage at diagnosis and whether neighborhood-level social vulnerability, a measure of susceptibility to hardship at the census-tract level, modifies disparities.

Methods: We identified adults newly diagnosed with OCC (1995 to 2020) from the Texas Cancer Registry. We estimated the association between stage at diagnosis and race and ethnicity using logistic regression and assessed effect modification by neighborhood-level social vulnerability.

Results: The sample included 12,957 reported OCC cases, 77% non-Hispanic White, 6% non-Hispanic Black, and 14% Hispanic patients, and 47.4% late stage at …

The "Woundosome" Concept And Its Impact On Procedural Outcomes In Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia, Lorenzo Patrone, Edoardo Pasqui, Michael S Conte, Alik Farber, Roberto Ferraresi, Matthew Menard, Joseph L Mills, John Rundback, Peter Schneider, August Ysa, Kumar Abhishek, George L Adams, Naseer Ahmad, Irfan Ahmed, Vlad A Alexandrescu, Max Amor, David Alper, Martin Andrassy, Christopher Attinger, Andy Baadh, Hashem Barakat, Lukla Biasi, Theodosios Bisdas, Zagum Bhatti, Erwin Blessing, Marc P Bonaca, Stefano Bonvini, Michel Bosiers, Andrew W Bradbury, Robert Beasley, Christian-Alexander Behrendt, Marianne Brodmann, Gonzalo Cabral, Roberto Cancellieri, Andrea Casini, Venita Chandra, Emiliano Chisci, Omar Chohan, Edward T C Choke, Patrick F S Chong, Giacomo Clerici, Raphael Coscas, Mary Costantino, Luca Dalla Paola, Sabeen Dand, Robert S M Davies, Mario D'Oria, Athanasios Diamantopoulos, Sebastian Debus, Koen Deloose, Costantino Del Giudice, Gianmarco De Donato, Brian De Rubertis, Jean Paul De Vries, Nuno V Dias, Larry Diaz-Sandoval, Florian Dick, Konstantinos Donas, Anahita Dua, Fabrizio Fanelli, Stefano Fazzini, Mazin Foteh, Roberto Gandini, Mauro Gargiulo, Luca Garriboli, Elizabeth A Genovese, Edward Gifford, Yann Goueffic, Peter Goverde, Prem Chand Gupta, Robert Hinchliffe, Andrew Holden, Kim C Houlind, Dominic Pj Howard, Bella Huasen, Giacomo Isernia, Konstantinos Katsanos, Barry Katzen, Philippe Kolh, Igor Koncar, Grigorios Korosoglou, Prakash Krishnan, Thomas Kroencke, Miltiadis Krokidis, Arun Kumarasamy, Paul Hayes, Osamu Iida, Enrique Alejandre Lafont, Ralf Langhoff, Alexandre Lecis, Mark Lessne, Hady Lichaa, Michael Lichtenberg, Marta Lobato, Alice Lopes, Giorgio Loreni, Pierleone Lucatelli, Sreekumar Madassery, Lieven Maene, Marco Manzi, Martin Maresch, Jay Santhosh Mathews, James Mccaslin, Antonio Micari, Stefano Michelagnoli, Bruno Migliara, Robert Morgan, Luis Morelli, Daniele Morosetti, Nicolas Mouawad, Paul Moxey, Stefan Müller-Hülsbeck, Jihad Mustapha, Tatsuya Nakama, Bahaa Nasr, Zola N'Dandu, Richard Neville, Elias Noory, Joakim Nordanstig, Katariina Noronen, Luis Mariano Palena, Gianbattista Parlani, Ashish S Patel, Parag Patel, Rafiuddin Patel, Sanjay Patel, Costantino Pena, Drazen Perkov, Mark Portou, Giovanni Pratesi, Christos Rammos, Jim Reekers, Vicente Riambau, Trisha Roy, Kenneth Rosenfield, Maria Antonella Ruffino, Fadi Saab, Athanasios Saratzis, Paolo Sbarzaglia, Andrej Schmidt, Eric Secemsky, Michael Siah, Henrik Sillesen, Gioele Simonte, Marc Sirvent, Jill Sommerset, Sabine Steiner, Ahmed Sakr, Dierk Scheinert, Mehdi Shishebor, Stavros Spiliopoulos, Alessio Spinelli, Konstantinos Stravoulakis, Gergana Taneva, Desarom Teso, Joerg Tessarek, Selva Theivacumar, Anish Thomas, Shannon Thomas, Narayan Thulasidasan, Giovanni Torsello, Ramesh Tripathi, Nicola Troisi, Srini Tummala, Venkat Tummala, Christopher Twine, Raman Uberoi, Alessandro Ucci, Domenico Valenti, Jos Van Den Berg, Daniel Van Den Heuvel, Isabelle Van Herzeele, Ramon Varcoe, Melina Vega De Ceniga, Frank J Veith, Maarit Venermo, Badri Vijaynagar, Sanjiv Virdee, Conrad Von Stempel, Michiel T Voûte, Kak Khee Yeung, Thomas Zeller, Hany Zayed, Miguel Montero Baker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Maternal Folic Acid Supplement Use, Folate Intake, And Preterm Birth Among Infants With Spina Bifida, Renata H Benjamin, Katherine L Ludorf, Rachel P Allred, Jenil R Patel, Wendy N Nembhard, Gary M Shaw, Suzan L Carmichael, Tania A Desrosiers, Eirini Nestoridi, Eva M Williford, A J Agopian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: We sought to assess the extent to which folic acid supplementation and dietary folate intake are associated with preterm delivery among infants with spina bifida.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based study using the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS; 1999-2011) and the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS; 2014-2019). We utilized robust Poisson regression to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the associations between preterm birth (< 37 weeks) and maternal use of folic acid-containing supplements, dietary folate intake quartile, and a combined variable accounting for supplementation and dietary folate status.

Results: Among 1199 infants with spina bifida (1011 in NBDPS, 188 in BD-STEPS), 217 (18.1%) were born preterm. There were no statistically significant associations …

Understanding Dental Hygienists’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Regarding Hpv Vaccination, Paula M Cuccaro, Jihye Choi, Kawtar Zouaidi, Efrat K Gabay, Michael Mackert, Josefine Ortiz Wolfe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourage oral health professionals to strongly recommend human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. This study examined oral health professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination. We used purposive sampling to recruit participants through state and national oral health societies and social media platforms. Flyers outlining eligibility criteria were distributed, and eligible participants completed an online survey. Primary measures included participants' HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and willingness to receive HPV-related training and recommend HPV vaccination to patients, including parents of adolescents. Only responses from dental hygienists …

Combine Ebis: A Novel Collaborative Method For Building Interventions From Existing Evidence-Based Interventions, Justin Knox, Kara Portier, Christopher Magana, Maggie Denning, Christopher M Ferraris, Emily Dove-Medows, Cho-Hee Shrader, Ohemaa Poku, Phil Kreniske, Robert Remien, Efrat Aharonovich, Jennifer C Elliott, Denis Nash, Kathryn Lancaster, Till Baernighausen, Kayo Fujimoto, Adam Carrico, John A Schneider, Alida Bouris, D Scott Batey, Sheree R Schwartz, Jose Bauermeister, Patrick S Sullivan, Joseph G Rosen, Gina Wingood, Milton Wainberg, Deborah Hasin, Elvin Geng, Patrick A Wilson, Stefan D Baral

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Combining evidence-based interventions (EBIs) is a discrete process from adapting EBIs, and specific guidance for how to combine EBIs could be helpful amidst the proliferation of frameworks that combine and stage EBIs and calls for services to be combined or bundled. To address this gap, we developed and applied the COllaborative Method for Building INterventions from Existing Evidence-Based Interventions (COMBINE-EBIs) approach, a five-step process for combining EBIs.

Methods: The five steps of COMBINE-EBIs are: (1) Identify and Select EBIs, (2) Develop a Shared Conceptual Model, (3) Evaluate the Conceptual Model, (4) Create a Single Combined Protocol, and (5) Refine …

Proteogenomics In Cerebrospinal Fluid And Plasma Reveals New Biological Fingerprint Of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Ilana Caro, Daniel Western, Shinichi Namba, Na Sun, Shuji Kawaguchi, Yunye He, Masashi Fujita, Gennady Roshchupkin, Tim D'Aoust, Marie-Gabrielle Duperron, Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, Ami Tsuchida, Masaru Koido, Marziehsadat Ahmadi, Chengran Yang, Jigyasha Timsina, Laura Ibanez, Koichi Matsuda, Yutaka Suzuki, Yoshiya Oda, Akinori Kanai, Pouria Jandaghi, Markus Munter, Daniel Auld, Iana Astafeva, Raquel Puerta, Jerome I Rotter, Bruce M Psaty, Joshua C Bis, W T Longstreth, Thierry Couffinhal, Pablo García-González, Vanesa Pytel, Marta Marquié, Amanda Cano, Mercè Boada, Marc Joliot, Mark Lathrop, Quentin Le Grand, Lenore J Launer, Joanna M Wardlaw, Myriam Heiman, Agustin Ruiz, Paul M Matthews, Sudha Seshadri, Myriam Fornage, Hieab Adams, Aniket Mishra, David-Alexandre Trégouët, Yukinori Okada, Manolis Kellis, Philip L De Jager, Christophe Tzourio, Yoichiro Kamatani, Fumihiko Matsuda, Carlos Cruchaga, Stéphanie Debette

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is a leading cause of stroke and dementia with no specific treatment, of which molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. To identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, we applied Mendelian randomization to examine over 2,500 proteins measured in plasma and, uniquely, cerebrospinal fluid, in relation to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of cSVD in more than 40,000 individuals. Here we show that 49 proteins are associated with MRI markers of cSVD, most prominently in cerebrospinal fluid. We highlight associations that are consistent across platforms and ancestries, and supported by complementary observational analyses, and we explore differences …

Effect Of Material And Processing Lag Time On Radiant Energy Penetration And Modulus Of 3d-Printed Indirect Bonding Jig Materials, Megan Meyer, Kamal Awad, Baylie Subjeck, Joe C Ontiveros, Venu G Varanasi, F Kurtis Kasper

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To investigate the effect of the time between 3D printing and post-print processing (lag time) on the modulus and radiant energy penetration of 3D-printed indirect bonding jig materials.

Materials and methods: Three 3D-printed resins (Formlabs IBT Resin, SprintRay IDB 2, Pro3dure GR-18.1 IB) were tested for three lag times (0, 16 and 64 h; n = 10 per group). Radiant energy penetration was measured using a power meter, and Vickers hardness was assessed for composites cured through the samples. Mechanical properties were evaluated using uniaxial testing and three-point bending.

Results: Both the resin type and lag time significantly affected …

High-Risk Medications In Pediatric Dentistry: Patterns, Outcomes, And Clinical Implications, Yilei Liu, Kawtar Zouaidi, Colin C Hubbard, Muhammad F Walji, Matthew R Cooke, Donald B Rindal, Kristin N Ray, Elsbeth Kalenderian, Katie J Suda

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: High-risk medications such as opioids and benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed in pediatric dental care, yet their prescribing patterns and associated adverse outcomes remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of such prescribing to pediatric patients and factors associated with adverse outcomes.

Methods: MarketScan data for patients younger than 18 years with a dental visit from 2014 through 2019 were analyzed. High-risk medications included benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and opioids. Composite outcomes included hospitalization, emergency department visit, or urgent care visit within 7 days after the dental visit. Opioid-attributable outcomes included opioid-related overdose within 7 days …

Alk5 Inhibitor Impact On Bleomycin-Induced Systemic Sclerosis Mouse Model Via Multifunctional Optical Coherence Tomography, Pavel V Nikitin, Harshdeep S Chawla, Jessica Gutierrez, Geethangili Madamanchi, Manmohan Singh, Salavat R Aglyamov, Minghua Wu, Jerry Alonso, Matthew Fronheiser, Juliana Coculo, Shuyan Du, Shervin Assassi, Kirill V Larin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis, vascular dysfunction, and immune dysregulation, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Noninvasive imaging techniques are critical for monitoring disease progression and evaluating therapeutic interventions. This study investigates the technical feasibility of multifunctional optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based methods for longitudinal assessment of skin thickness, stiffness, and microvasculature in a murine SSc model as a translational, noninvasive, and quantitative method to study disease progression and treatment response. Our findings demonstrate significant structural, biomechanical, and vascular changes in the skin's stiffness, indicative of fibrosis, a hallmark of SSc. The application of SB …

Fam13a Polymorphism Is Associated With A Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern In Patients With Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease, Elana J Bernstein, Francesco Boin, Brett Elicker, Yiming Luo, Yawen Ren, Meng Zhang, John Varga, Shervin Assassi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The MUC5B promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs35705950 has been associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and RA-related interstitial lung disease (ILD), but not with SSc-ILD. We hypothesized that the MUC5B promoter polymorphism or other IPF susceptibility loci are associated with an increased risk for the uncommon SSc-usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) endophenotype, rather than SSc-ILD in general.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of SSc-ILD patients from four US Scleroderma Programs to investigate the frequency of MUC5B rs35705950 and 12 additional IPF susceptibility loci. SSc-ILD patients were stratified by high resolution chest CT (HRCT) imaging findings into UIP and …

Nocturnal Oxygen Therapy For Central Sleep Apnea In Patients With Heart Failure: A Multisite, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial (Loft-Hf), Susan Redline, Dongdong Li, Shahrokh Javaheri, Sanjay R Patel, Sairam Parthasarathy, James C Fang, Lee K Brown, Mark Dunlap, M Safwan Badr, Neomi Shah, Luqi Chi, Ruckshanda Majid, Mihaela Teodorescu, Garrick Stewart, Eileen Hsich, Tamar Polonsky, Justin Vader, Maryl R Johnson, Dennis Auckley, Henry Klar Yaggi, Andrew Kao, Ali Azarbarzin, Raichel Alex, Michael Rueschman, Lisa Wolfe, Daniel J Gottlieb, Scott A Sands, Phyllis C Zee, Reena Mehra, Babak Mokhlesi, Rami Khayat, Eldrin F Lewis, William T Abraham, Rui Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Rationale: There are insufficient data to inform the management of central sleep apnea (CSA) in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Nocturnal oxygen therapy (NOT) has been postulated to benefit CSA patients with HFrEF but has not been rigorously studied. Objectives: To compare NOT with sham NOT (control) in heart failure (HF) patients receiving guideline-based HF therapy on the composite outcome of first occurrence of either mortality due to any cause, a lifesaving cardiovascular intervention, or an unplanned hospitalization for worsening HF, together with other secondary outcomes.

Methods: A multisite, double-blind, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted …

Combining Pirfenidone With Mycophenolate Mofetil For Systemic Sclerosis-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (Scleroderma Lung Study Iii): An Investigator-Initiated, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial, Dinesh Khanna, Cathie Spino, Donald P Tashkin, Elana J Bernstein, Jonathan Goldin, Eric C Kleerup, Airi Harui, Grace Ibrahim, Grace Hyun J Kim, Suiyuan Huang, Richard Mclain, Yi-Hsuan Tu, Vivek Nagaraja, Richard M Silver, Virginia D Steen, S Samuel Weigt, Joyce S Lee, Aryeh Fischer, Mary Beth Scholand, Jessica K Gordon, Paul F Dellaripa, Ivan O Rosas, Gary M Hunninghake, Marcin A Trojanowski, Robert W Simms, Jane E Dematte, Vivien M Hsu, Robyn T Domsic, Ganesh Raghu, Maureen D Mayes, Ryan D Boente, Michael D Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can stabilize or improve lung function in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We hypothesized that combining MMF with pirfenidone (PFD) would produce a significantly more rapid and/or greater improvement in lung function.

Methods: A randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo (PLA)-controlled phase 2 trial was conducted in SSc-ILD in which patients received PFD or PLA (801 mg three times daily) along with MMF (1,500 mg twice daily) for 18 months. The primary outcome was change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC-%). Linear mixed-effects models assessed treatment differences in a modified intention-to-treat population.

Results: Only fifty-one of …

Revisiting Soluble Guanylate Cyclase Pharmacology: Additive Potential Of Stimulators And Activators, Alexandra Petraina, Mahmoud H Elbatreek, Christopher T Neullens, Theodora Saridaki, Vu Thao-Vi Dao, Rebecca D Szepanowski, Emil Martin, Wolfgang Sippl, Ana I Casas, Harald H H W Schmidt

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key gasotransmitter that binds to soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), thereby stimulating cGMP production. Under disease conditions, reactive oxygen species disrupt this signaling by either: (1) scavenging NO, or (2) promoting heme-free, NO-insensitive apo-sGC due to impaired heme incorporation or oxidative damage. To counteract these conditions, two pharmacological approaches have emerged: sGC stimulators, which allosterically enhance sGC sensitivity to low NO levels; and sGC activators, which directly activate apo-sGC (heme-free sGC) by binding to its empty heme pocket, inducing a conformation that mimics NO-bound sGC. Thus, sGC stimulators are thought to target only sGC. Instead, we …

A Urine-Based Point-Of-Care Test For Factor Xa Inhibitors In Acute Stroke Management, Prasen R Marella, Jacob A Sambursky, Kriti Bhayana, Asha P Jacob, Varsha Muddasani, Murli Mishra, Alexandra L Czap, James C Grotta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: For stroke patients with history of possible Direct Acting Oral Anticoagulant use, clinicians must make treatment decisions without knowledge of whether the patient is therapeutically anticoagulated. A urine-based point-of-care test might help guide these emergency decisions.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients with suspected recent factor-Xa-inhibitor (Xai) use being evaluated for acute stroke therapy in an urban teaching hospital. We obtained the urine test and plasma anti-Xa level in parallel with usual clinical management; the treating clinician did not use test results for decision-making but recorded treatment they would have given had they known the urine test was accurate. The …

Allogeneic Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells For Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Trial., Mya C Schiess, Jessika Suescun, Juan D Martinez-Lemus, Charles Green, Tia S Thomas, Mohammad Shahnawaz, Emily Tharp, Nikunj B Satani, Jerome G Saltarrelli, Christopher Adams, Marie-Francoise Doursout, Vanessa Thyne, Rula Abuamouneh, Elsa M Rodarte, Sean I Savitz, Timothy M Ellmore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Neuroinflammation contributes to Parkinson's disease (PD) progression and motor dysfunction. Allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (allo-hMSCs) may reduce neuroinflammation and improve motor symptoms.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of repeated intravenous doses of 10 × 106/kg allo-hMSCs in improving motor symptoms in patients with PD (PwP).

Methods: In this phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (November 2020-July 2023), mild-to-moderate PwP received either three allo-hMSC infusions, one placebo followed by two allo-hMSC infusions, or three placebo infusions at 18-week intervals. Follow-up lasted 88 weeks. The primary outcome was a >70% posterior probability (PP) of a difference in the proportion of participants …

Prospective Trial Of Cerebrospinal Fluid Filtration After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Via Lumbar Catheter Extension (Pillar-Xt), Spiros L Blackburn, Marc A Babi, Andrew W Grande, Omar A Choudhri, Erik F Hauck, Christopher P Kellner, Michael C Giordano, Shivanand P Lad, Aaron R Mccabe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is a growing consensus that blood in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is deleterious to outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The extracorporeal filtration of subarachnoid hemorrhage via spinal catheter extension study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and filtration curve of blood and its lysis products from hemorrhagic CSF using the Neurapheresis CSF Management System.

Methods: After aneurysm repair, a dual-lumen intrathecal catheter was inserted into the study participant's spinal canal. CSF was extracorporeally filtered for up to 72 h, removing blood products from the lumbar cistern, and reintroducing filtered CSF to the thoracic subarachnoid space. Neurological examinations were …

Short-Term Preeclampsia Prediction: Cutoff Variations For Sflt-1/Plgf In U.S. Patients With Or Without Hypertensive Disorders, Yaxin Li, Kristen Cagino, Jim Yee, Caroline Andy, Dajana Borova, Ayush Shah, Isla Racine, Tracy B Grossman, Zhen Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a complex disorder with significant maternal and fetal risks. The soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio shows promise as a diagnostic tool, but its adoption in the U.S. remains limited due to the lack of accessible testing platforms, U.S.-based studies, and evidence-based implementation guidelines.

Patients/materials and methods: We conducted a cohort study to evaluate the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for predicting PE within two weeks among pregnant individuals ≥18 years, ≥20 weeks gestation. Serum samples were obtained from routine prenatal visits or triage evaluations. sFlt-1/PlGF ratios were measured using Roche Elecsys assays, and …

Does Reducing Videofluoroscopy Frame Rate Affect Dige/St Grades In Modified Barium Swallow Studies?, Shitong Mao, Carla L Warneke, Sheila N Buoy, Ariana J Sahli, Brinda Rao Korivi, Carly E A Barbon, Kristy K Brock, Katherine A Hutcheson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding the effects of reduced frame rates on the reliability of Modified Barium Swallow (MBS) ratings for swallowing safety and efficiency is essential for clinical practice. While previous research has examined frame rate (simulated pulse rates) implications concerning penetration, aspiration, and residue ratings, the impact on summary grading systems like the Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity (DIGEST) remains unclear. This study analyzed a total of 315 full MBS videos collected from 278 patients, and 76.25% of patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancer (mean age 62.51 years, SD 8.53; 12.23% female). We performed pairwise comparisons of DIGEST grades …

Tumor Intrinsic Mettl5 Modulates Atf4 Translation To Prevent T Cell-Induced Ferroptosis In Ovarian Cancer, Jiakai Hou, Cheng-Wei Ju, Nicholas A Egan, Yanjun Wei, Yunfei Wang, Minghao Dang, Tianyi Zhou, Leilei Shi, Ningbo Zheng, Si Chen, Ashley M Guerrero, Xiaofang Liang, Wanfu Wu, Areej Akhtar, Chitra Dhiman, Debanwita Roy Burman, Andro E Gerges, Mason D Flores, Han Li, Li-Sheng Zhang, Marleen Kok, Xiaobo Mao, Linghua Wang, Qin Feng, Yiwen Chen, Sanghoon Lee, Daniel J Mcgrail, Nidhi Sahni, Chuan He, Amir A Jazaeri, Weiyi Peng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Poor clinical responses to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) observed in ovarian cancer (OC) highlight an unmet need to understand the mechanisms driving immune evasion in this disease. To address this, an integrative analysis is conducted by combining in vitro genome‐wide immune screens, in vivo ICB screens, and clinical data mining, and METTL5 is identified as a crucial OC‐intrinsic factor that promotes immune resistance. Immunologically “cold” OC tumors and poor responders to ICB exhibit elevated METTL5 expression. Mechanistically, knocking out (KO) METTL5 in OC disrupts ATF4 translation by altering 18S rRNA m6A levels, leading to the downregulation of SLC7A11 and SLC3A2 …

Perceived Utility Of Genetic Carrier Screening In A Diverse Patient Population, Jack A Colleran, Meagan Choates, Syed Hashmi, Brittanie Shelton, Aranza Gonzalez Cendejas, Angela Haynes Burgess, Blair K Stevens

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Current reproductive guidelines call for offering expanded carrier screening (ECS) for genetic conditions. Currently available panels can include screening for carrier status of tens to hundreds of autosomal recessive and/or X-linked conditions. Clinical utility is based on alterations to reproductive decision-making, but study cohorts supporting the utility of ECS largely consist of individuals of European ancestry who are highly educated, of high income, and who often receive preconception counseling. There is a lack of research on the views of patients from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, we aimed to assess and compare perceptions of the utility of ECS and targeted carrier screening …

Kras Inhibition Activates An Actionable Cd24 "Do Not Eat Me" Signal In Pancreatic Cancer, Yongkun Wei, Minghui Liu, Er-Yen Yen, Jun Yao, Zhenzhen Xun, Phuoc T Nguyen, Xiaofei Wang, Zecheng Yang, Abdelrahman Yousef, Dean Pan, Yanqing Jin, Ching-Fei Li, Madelaine S Theardy, Jangho Park, Yiming Cai, Mitsunobu Takeda, Matthew Vasquez, Elizabeth M Park, David H Peng, Yong Zhou, Hong Zhao, Timothy P Heffernan, Andrea Viale, Huamin Wang, Stephanie S Watowich, Han Liang, Dan Zhao, Ronald A Depinho, Wantong Yao, Haoqiang Ying

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KRASG12C inhibitors (G12Ci) have produced encouraging, albeit modest and transient, clinical benefit in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Identifying and targeting resistance mechanisms to G12Ci treatment is therefore crucial. To better understand the function of KRASG12C and possible G12Ci bypass mechanisms, we developed an autochthonous KRASG12C-driven PDAC model. Compared to the classical KRASG12D PDAC model, the G12C model exhibits slower tumor growth, yet similar histopathological and molecular features. Aligned with clinical experience, G12Ci treatment of KRASG12C tumors produced modest impact despite stimulating a ‘hot’ tumor immune microenvironment. Immunoprofiling revealed that CD24, a ‘don’t eat me’ signal, is significantly upregulated on cancer …

Clinical Outcomes Of Adult Patients With Newly Diagnosed Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia, Hannah Goulart, Farhad Ravandi, Nicholas J Short, Nitin Jain, Naval Daver, Tapan M Kadia, Courtney Dinardo, Gautam Borthakur, Koichi Takahashi, Naveen Pemmaraju, Fadi G Haddad, Guillermo Montalban Bravo, Yesid Alvarado, Ghayas C Issa, Alex Bataller, Sherry Pierce, Sanam Loghavi, Guilin Tang, Sa A Wang, Beenu Thakral, Elizabeth Shpall, Richard Champlin, Issa Khouri, Partow Kebriaei, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Koji Sasaki, Elias J Jabbour, Jayastu Senapati

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a rare clinical entity with historically poor outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of adults 18 years and older with newly diagnosed B-cell (B/M) or T-cell/myeloid (T/M) MPAL treated at our institution between 2017 and 2024.

Results: We identified 42 patients (median age 70 years); 20 (48%) had B/M MPAL, and 22 (52%) had T/M MPAL; 57% of patients had adverse risk cytogenetics, and 41% had a TP53 mutation. Sixty-two percent of patients were treated with a hybrid regimen, and 45% of patients received intensive therapy. A composite complete remission (CRc; CR …

Mecom Fusion Partner And Bone Marrow Blast Percentage Influence Outcomes Of Patients With Mecom Rearranged Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, Wei-Ying Jen, Guilin Tang, Eitan Kugler, Jennifer Croden, Koji Sasaki, Alexandre Bazinet, Alex Bataller, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Gautam Borthakur, Gokce A Toruner, Sanam Loghavi, Nicholas J Short, Ghayas C Issa, Ian M Bouligny, Sherry Pierce, Uday Popat, Naveen Pemmaraju, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Kapil Bhalla, Farhad Ravandi, Naval G Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Hagop M Kantarjian, Tapan M Kadia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

MECOM rearrangements (MECOM-r) are acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)-defining, regardless of blast percentage or MECOM fusion partner. We sought to investigate if blast percentage or MECOM-r partner was associated with overall survival (OS). We included 152 adult patients with newly diagnosed MECOM-r and classified blast percentage into < 20% or ≥20% and MECOM-r partner into classic (GATA2::MECOM) or variant (others). Thirty-one per cent had < 20% blasts, with 69% having ≥20%; 57% had classic and 43% variant MECOM-r. Treatment was with intensive chemotherapy (IC) in 41% and low-intensity therapy (LIT) in 59%. Composite complete remission rates were similar between IC (50%) and LIT (48%, p = 0.99). The median OS was 17 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 12-not estimable [NE]) for < 20% blasts, compared with 9 months (95% CI, 6-10) for ≥20% blasts (p <  0.01). On multivariate analysis, ≥20% blasts were associated with worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.9, [95% CI, 1.2-3.2], p <  0.01), independent of age, MECOM-r partner, additional cytogenetic abnormalities, treatment intensity, addition of venetoclax and stem cell transplant (SCT). HR for IC was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.1-3.7, p = 0.03). In < 20% blasts, variant MECOM-r was independently associated with a reduced hazard of death (HR 0.2 [95% CI, 0.1-0.8], p <  0.01). MECOM-r AML is a heterogenous entity; consideration should be given to LIT approaches.

The Pneumonia Challenge: Time To End The Global Neglect, Catia Cillóniz, Markus Fally, Scott Evans, Guinevere Dy-Agra, Pneumo-Strategy Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Differential Microrna Profiling Of Blood L1cam And Bulk Extracellular Vesicles In Bipolar Disorder, Gabriel R Fries, Salahudeen Mirza, Jun Wang, Camila N C Lima, Wei Zhang, Marcela Carbajal Tamez, Giselli Scaini, Jair C Soares, Joao Quevedo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: This preliminary study aimed to identify microRNA (miRNA) signatures associated with bipolar disorder (BD) by profiling blood-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) of both putative neuronal origin and from all sources.

Method: In two parallel studies of individuals with BD and controls (CON), we characterized miRNA expression profiles of blood EVs selected for L1CAM, a putative marker of neuronal origin (n = 20 BD/20 CON), as well as bulk EVs (n = 21 BD/20 CON). For each study, analyses identified miRNAs differentially expressed between groups, followed by functional interrogation and testing for associations with clinical features.

Results: Results of …

Author Correction: Evidence For Improved Dna Repair In The Long-Lived Bowhead Whale, Denis Firsanov, Max Zacher, Xiao Tian, Todd L Sformo, Yang Zhao, Gregory Tombline, J Yuyang Lu, Zhizhong Zheng, Luigi Perelli, Enrico Gurreri, Li Zhang, Jing Guo, Anatoly Korotkov, Valentin Volobaev, Seyed Ali Biashad, Zhihui Zhang, Johanna Heid, Alexander Y Maslov, Shixiang Sun, Zhuoer Wu, Jonathan Gigas, Eric C Hillpot, John C Martinez, Minseon Lee, Alyssa Williams, Abbey Gilman, Nicholas Hamilton, Ekaterina Strelkova, Ena Haseljic, Avnee Patel, Maggie E Straight, Nalani Miller, Julia Ablaeva, Lok Ming Tam, Chloé Couderc, Michael R Hoopmann, Robert L Moritz, Shingo Fujii, Amandine Pelletier, Dan J Hayman, Hongrui Liu, Yuxuan Cai, Anthony K L Leung, Zhengdong Zhang, C Bradley Nelson, Lisa M Abegglen, Joshua D Schiffman, Vadim N Gladyshev, Carlo C Maley, Mauro Modesti, Giannicola Genovese, Mirre J P Simons, Jan Vijg, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Evidence For Improved Dna Repair In The Long-Lived Bowhead Whale, Denis Firsanov, Max Zacher, Xiao Tian, Todd L Sformo, Yang Zhao, Gregory Tombline, J Yuyang Lu, Zhizhong Zheng, Luigi Perelli, Enrico Gurreri, Li Zhang, Jing Guo, Anatoly Korotkov, Valentin Volobaev, Seyed Ali Biashad, Zhihui Zhang, Johanna Heid, Alexander Y Maslov, Shixiang Sun, Zhuoer Wu, Jonathan Gigas, Eric C Hillpot, John C Martinez, Minseon Lee, Alyssa Williams, Abbey Gilman, Nicholas Hamilton, Ekaterina Strelkova, Ena Haseljic, Avnee Patel, Maggie E Straight, Nalani Miller, Julia Ablaeva, Lok Ming Tam, Chloé Couderc, Michael R Hoopmann, Robert L Moritz, Shingo Fujii, Amandine Pelletier, Dan J Hayman, Hongrui Liu, Yuxuan Cai, Anthony K L Leung, Zhengdong Zhang, C Bradley Nelson, Lisa M Abegglen, Joshua D Schiffman, Vadim N Gladyshev, Carlo C Maley, Mauro Modesti, Giannicola Genovese, Mirre J P Simons, Jan Vijg, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

At more than 200 years, the maximum lifespan of the bowhead whale exceeds that of all other mammals. The bowhead is also the second-largest animal on Earth1, reaching over 80,000 kg. Despite its very large number of cells and long lifespan, the bowhead is not highly cancer-prone, an incongruity termed Peto’s paradox2. Here, to understand the mechanisms that underlie the cancer resistance of the bowhead whale, we examined the number of oncogenic hits required for malignant transformation of whale primary fibroblasts. Unexpectedly, bowhead whale fibroblasts required fewer oncogenic hits to undergo malignant transformation than human fibroblasts. …

Reference Dosimetry Data And Machine Performance Comparison For Tomotherapy Delivery Systems Audited By Iroc, Paige A Taylor, Hunter Mehrens, Mallory C Glenn, Fre'etta Brooks, Hayden Scott, Lian Duan, Taylor Meyers, Diana Carrasco Rojas, Michael Yang, Paola Alvarez, Jessica Lowenstein, Andrea Molineu, Stephen F Kry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The aim of this work was to compare the imaging and radiation oncology core (IROC) on-site TomoTherapy dosimetry measurement results among institutions and generate a dataset of basic dosimetric properties for TomoTherapy units. Independent ion chamber measurements for nine TomoTherapy units were acquired by IROC physicists between 2008 and 2023. Measurements included percent depth dose (PDD) in a water tank and off axis factors (OAF) in a solid Polystyrene phantom. The independent measurements collected during the on-site audits for each TomoTherapy system were compared to corresponding TomoTherapy TPS calculations from the institution to assess agreement. Numeric measurement values and comparative …

Periostin Promotes Sarcoma Growth By Promoting Tumor-Associated Macrophage Migration And Differentiation, Jin-Fen Xiao, Kristin Ishaya, Emily Y Ko, Annaliese Fowler, Marina T Broz, Jlenia Guarnerio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) are characterized by abundant extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, yet the functional contribution of specific ECM components remains poorly understood. In this study, we identify periostin (POSTN), a matricellular protein, as a regulator of sarcoma progression and the tumor immune microenvironment. Analysis of human sarcoma datasets revealed that high POSTN expression correlates with poor prognosis and elevated expression of ECM-related and myeloid cell–associated genes. In murine genetic models of sarcoma, tumors expressing high levels of Postn displayed enhanced expression of ECM genes and monocyte-recruiting cytokines. Functional silencing of Postnin vivo reduced tumor growth without altering tumor cell …