Digital Commons Network^™

Racial/Ethnic Disparities And Determinants Of Sufficient Physical Activity Levels, Nikhil Anil Patel, Sina Kianoush, Xiaoming Jia, Vijay Nambi, Stephanie Koh, Jaideep Patel, Anum Saeed, Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, Mouaz Al-Mallah, Anandita Agarwala, Salim S Virani, Mahmoud Al Rifai

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Adequate physical activity is an integral requirement for achieving cardiovascular health. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Hence, it is important to identify racial/ethnic groups that are less likely to achieve sufficient physical activity levels, and to address barriers to meeting physical activity requirements.

METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the 2006-2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were used to compare self-reported sufficient physical activity among different racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic (NH) Whites, NH Blacks, NH Asians, and Hispanics in the United States. Sufficient physical activity was defined as ≥ 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, …

Health Risk Perceptions Regarding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Ends) Among Individuals With Respiratory Illnes, Sarah Ann Sebban

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as electronic cigarettes, are portable battery-powered devices used to smoke or “vape” a flavored solution which usually contains nicotine. Many national organizations (CDC, AMA, AAFP, ALA, AHA) have recognized the alarmingly increased rates of ENDS use in the United States, especially among certain populations. Those most likely to engage in ENDS use are youth and young adults, and adults who already smoke combustible cigarettes. Many people perceive ENDS use as a healthier alternative to smoking regular cigarettes and thus, are more willing to initiate ENDS use. However, research has indicated that ENDS use …

In Silico Integrative Analysis Of Multi-Omics Reveals Regulatory Layers For Diurnal Gene Expression In Mouse Liver, Chunjie Jiang, Panpan Liu, Cam Mong La, Dongyin Guan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Diurnal oscillation persists throughout the body and plays an essential role in maintaining physiological homeostasis. Disruption of diurnal rhythm contributes to many diseases including type 2 diabetes. The regulatory mechanism of the transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL) of core clock genes is well-established, while a systematic study across all regulatory layers of gene expression, including gene transcription, RNA translation, and DNA binding protein (DBP) activities, is still lacking. We comprehensively bioinformatics analyzed the rhythmicity of gene transcription, mature RNA abundance, protein abundance and DBP activity using publicly available omic-datasets from mouse livers. We found that the core clock genes,

The Prevalence And Spectrum Of Reported Incidental Adrenal Abnormalities In Abdominal Computed Tomography Of Cancer Patients: The Experience Of A Comprehensive Cancer Center, Aiham Qdaisat, Sara Bedrose, Obadah Ezzeldin, Ahmed W Moawad, Sai-Ching J Yeung, Khaled M Elsayes, Mouhammed Amir Habra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The increasing use of computed tomography (CT) has identified many patients with incidental adrenal lesions. Further evaluation of these lesions is often dependent on the language used in the radiology report. Compared to the general population, patients with cancer have a higher risk for adrenal abnormalities, yet data on the prevalence and type of incidental adrenal lesions reported on radiologic reports in cancer patients is limited. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and nature of adrenal abnormalities as an incidental finding reported on radiology reports of cancer patients evaluated for reasons other than suspected adrenal pathology. …

A Novel Model Of Gestational Diabetes: Acute High Fat High Sugar Diet Results In Insulin Resistance And Beta Cell Dysfunction During Pregnancy In Mice, Akansha Mishra, Simone Hernandez Ruano, Pradip K Saha, Kathleen A Pennington

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects 7–18% of all pregnancies. Despite its high prevalence, there is no widely accepted animal model. To address this, we recently developed a mouse model of GDM. The goal of this work was to further characterize this animal model by assessing insulin resistance and beta cell function. Mice were randomly assigned to either control (CD) or high fat, high sugar (HFHS) diet and mated 1 week later. At day 0 (day of mating) mice were fasted and intraperitoneal insulin tolerance tests (ipITT) were performed. Mice were then euthanized and pancreata were collected for histological analysis. Euglycemic …

Rev-Erb Is Essential In Cardiac Fibroblasts Homeostasis, Xiaokang Luo, Shiyang Song, Lei Qi, Chih-Liang Tien, Hui Li, Weiyi Xu, Theodore Lemuel Mathuram, Thomas Burris, Yuanbiao Zhao, Zheng Sun, Lilei Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

REV-ERB agonists have shown antifibrotic effects in the heart and other organs. The function of REV-ERB in the cardiac fibroblasts remains unstudied. Here, we characterize the functional difference of REV-ERB in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and cardiac fibroblasts using genetic deletion of REV-ERBα and ß in vitro. We show that REV-ERB α/β double deleted cardiac fibroblasts have reduced viability and proliferation, but increased migration and myofibroblasts activation. Thus, REV-ERB α/β has essential cell-autonomous role in cardiac fibroblasts in maintaining them in a healthy, quiescent state. We also show that existing REV-ERB agonist SR9009 strongly suppresses cardiac fibroblasts activation but in …

A Steroid Receptor Coactivator Small Molecule "Stimulator" Attenuates Post-Stroke Ischemic Brain Injury, Lisa K Mcclendon, Roberto L Garcia, Tyler Lazaro, Ariadna Robledo, Viren Vasandani, Zean Aaron Evan Luna, Abhijit S Rao, Aditya Srivatsan, David M Lonard, Clifford C Dacso, Peter Kan, Bert W O'Malley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Pathologic remodeling of the brain following ischemic stroke results in neuronal loss, increased inflammation, oxidative stress, astrogliosis, and a progressive decrease in brain function. We recently demonstrated that stimulation of steroid receptor coactivator 3 with the small-molecule stimulator MCB-613 improves cardiac function in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia. Since steroid receptor coactivators are ubiquitously expressed in the brain, we reasoned that an MCB-613 derivative (MCB-10-1), could protect the brain following ischemic injury. To test this, we administered MCB-10-1 to rats following middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion.

Methods: Neurologic impairment and tissue damage responses were evaluated on day …

Plasma Diaphanous Related Formin 1 Levels Are Associated With Altered Glucose Metabolism And Insulin Resistance In Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case Control Study, Xing Li, Mingyu Liao, Jiaqing Shao, Weixin Li, Liu Shi, Dong Wang, Juan Ni, Qiuyue Shen, Fan Yang, Guiliang Peng, Ling Zhou, Yuling Zhang, Zheng Sun, Hongting Zheng, Min Long

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Diaphanous related formin 1 (DIAPH1) is a novel component of advanced glycation end product (AGE) signal transduction that was recently found to participate in diabetes-related disorders, obesity, and androgen hormones. We investigated whether plasma DIAPH1 levels were a potential prognostic predictor for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

METHODS: The levels of circulating plasma DIAPH1 and indicators of glucose, insulin, lipid metabolism, liver enzymes, kidney function, sex hormones, and inflammation were measured in 75 patients with PCOS and 77 healthy participants. All of the participants were divided into normal-weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW) subgroups. Statistical analyses were performed with R studio. …

Evaluation Of The Khorana Score For Prediction Of Venous Thromboembolism In Patients With Multiple Myeloma, Kristen M Sanfilippo, Kenneth R Carson, Tzu-Fei Wang, Suhong Luo, Natasha Edwin, Nicole Kuderer, Jesse M Keller, Brian F Gage

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend thromboprophylaxis for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) at high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the optimal risk prediction model for VTE in MM remains unclear. Khorana et al developed a VTE risk score (Khorana score) in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. We aimed to evaluate the predictive ability of the Khorana score in patients with MM.

METHODS: We identified patients with MM within the Veterans Affairs health care system between 2006 and 2013. The Khorana score was calculated before treatment initiation. Using logistic regression, the relationship between risk group and VTE was assessed at 3 and …

Hey! That's How I Feel! A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Anxiety In Middle Grade Literature, Heather M. Wood

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this qualitative content analysis is to examine quality literature focused on anxiety as a mental health concern for middle grade readers and to identify which books should be promoted widely for students and recommended to teachers to support an SEL approach to the curriculum. The analysis of 10 middle grade books (Appendix A) using a book analysis tool (Appendix B) based on previous research completed by Wickham (2018) and Monaghan (2016) and as consistent with CASEL 5 identified four definitive themes in all 10 books. The four themes discovered were:

1) Books Have a Wide Range of …

Development Of Phage Cocktails To Treate Coli Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection And Associated Biofilms, Belkys C Sanchez, Emmaline R Heckmann, Sabrina I Green, Justin R Clark, Heidi B Kaplan, Robert F Ramig, Casey Hines-Munson, Felicia Skelton, Barbara W Trautner, Anthony W Maresso

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

High rates of antimicrobial resistance and formation of biofilms makes treatment of Escherichia coli catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) particularly challenging. CAUTI affect 1 million patients per year in the United States and are associated with morbidity and mortality, particularly as an etiology for sepsis. Phage have been proposed as a potential therapeutic option. Here, we report the development of phage cocktails that lyse contemporary E. coli strains isolated from the urine of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and display strong biofilm-forming properties. We characterized E. coli phage against biofilms in two in vitro CAUTI models. Biofilm viability was …

Development Of Phage Cocktails To Treat E Coli Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection And Associated Biofilms, Belkys C Sanchez, Emmaline R Heckmann, Sabrina I Green, Justin R Clark, Heidi B Kaplan, Robert F Ramig, Casey Hines-Munson, Felicia Skelton, Barbara W Trautner, Anthony W Maresso

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

High rates of antimicrobial resistance and formation of biofilms makes treatment of Escherichia coli catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) particularly challenging. CAUTI affect 1 million patients per year in the United States and are associated with morbidity and mortality, particularly as an etiology for sepsis. Phage have been proposed as a potential therapeutic option. Here, we report the development of phage cocktails that lyse contemporary E. coli strains isolated from the urine of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and display strong biofilm-forming properties. We characterized E. coli phage against biofilms in two in vitro CAUTI models. Biofilm viability was …

Rotavirus-Induced Lipid Droplet Biogenesis Is Critical For Virus Replication, Jeanette M Criglar, Mary K Estes, Sue E Crawford

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, target cellular lipid droplets for their replication. Rotaviruses (RVs) infect the villous epithelium of the small intestine and are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. RVs induce and require lipid droplets for the formation of viroplasms, sites of virus genome replication, and nascent particle assembly. Here we review the role of lipid droplets in RV replication. Inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis or chemicals that interfere with lipid droplet homeostasis decrease the number and size of viroplasms and the yield of infectious virus. We used a …

Why Test Results Are Still Getting "Lost" To Follow-Up: A Qualitative Study Of Implementation Gaps, Andrew J Zimolzak, Umber Shahid, Traber D Giardina, Sahar A Memon, Umair Mushtaq, Lisa Zubkoff, Daniel R Murphy, Andrea Bradford, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Lack of timely follow-up of abnormal test results is common and has been implicated in missed or delayed diagnosis, resulting in potential for patient harm.

OBJECTIVE: As part of a larger project to implement change strategies to improve follow-up of diagnostic test results, this study sought to identify specifically where implementation gaps exist, as well as possible solutions identified by front-line staff.

DESIGN: We used a semi-structured interview guide to collect qualitative data from Veterans Affairs (VA) facility staff who had experience with test results management and patient safety.

SETTING: Twelve VA facilities across the USA.

PARTICIPANTS: Facility staff …

Fourteen-Day Vonoprazan And Low- Or High-Dose Amoxicillin Dual Therapy For Eradicating Helicobacter Pylori Infection: A Prospective, Open-Labeled, Randomized Non-Inferiority Clinical Study, Yi Hu, Xin Xu, Xiao-Shun Liu, Cong He, Yao-Bin Ouyang, Nian-Shuang Li, Chuan Xie, Chao Peng, Zhen-Hua Zhu, Yong Xie, Xu Shu, Yin Zhu, David Y Graham, Nong-Hua Lu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We previously reported that vonoprazan-amoxicillin (VA) dual therapy for 7 or 10 days is not satisfactorily efficacious for

METHODS: This was a single center, prospective, open-labeled, randomized non-inferiority clinical study conducted in China. Treatment naïve

RESULTS: A total of 154 patients were assessed and 110 subjects were randomized. The eradication rate of VPZ with b.i.d. amoxicillin or t.i.d. amoxicillin for 14 days was 89.1% and 87.3% by intention-to-treat analysis, respectively, and 94.1% and 95.9% by per-protocol analysis, respectively. The eradication rate and incidence of adverse events were not different between the two groups.

CONCLUSION: VPZ with b.i.d. …

Associations Of Duration, Intensity, And Quantity Of Smoking With Risk Of Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia, Aaron P Thrift, Andre G Jove, Yan Liu, Mimi C Tan, Hashem B El-Serag

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

GOAL: Determine whether various dimensions of smoking increase risk for gastric intestinal metaplasia.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking has been implicated in the etiology of gastric cancer, but it is not clear if smoking is a risk factor for gastric intestinal metaplasia, a precursor lesion of gastric cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared data from 385 gastric intestinal metaplasia cases and 1577 controls without gastric intestinal metaplasia recruited into a cross-sectional study at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. All participants completed standardized questionnaires and underwent a study endoscopy with gastric mapping biopsies. Gastric intestinal metaplasia cases included …

Front Matter

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Civil Procedure: Pre-Trial & Trial, Amanda Sotak, Don Colleluori, Andrew C. Whitaker

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Annual Review Of Texas Law: Commercial Law, Sally Mcdonald Henry

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Criminal Procedure: Confessions, Searches, And Seizures, Honorable Barbara Parker Hervey, Carson Guy, Alexander R. Comsudi

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Family Law, Joanna L. Grossman, Christine P. Leatherberry

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Franchise Law, Deborah S. Coldwell, Sally Dahlstrom, Taylor Rex Robertson, Wes Dutton, Alicia Pitts, Alexander Clark, Wilson Miller

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Insurance Law, J. Price Collins, Aaron G. Stendell

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Recent Mandamus Decisions Of The Texas Supreme Court, Honorable Douglas S. Lang

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Oil, Gas, And Mineral Law, Austin W. Brister

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Professional Liability, Sven Stricker, Jordan Brownlow, Tania Sethi

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Wills & Trusts, Gerry W. Beyer

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Real Property, J. Richard White, Amanda Grainger

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Inpatient Coding System And Opportunities For Documentation Optimization: An Interactive Session For Internal Medicine Residents, Lindsey Jordan Gay, Doris Lin, Ziba Colah, Glynda Raynaldo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: The Inpatient Prospective Payment System, the framework for categorization of admissions, is based upon physician documentation leading to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code generation and Medical Severity Diagnosis-Related Group (MS-DRG) assignment. In this curriculum, we introduced internal medicine residents to this inpatient coding framework and its effects on hospital quality metrics and reimbursement. We focused on educating learners about the importance of physicians being proficient in providing thorough and specific clinical documentation to produce appropriate DRG assignment.

METHODS: Internal medicine residents participated in a 90-minute session that introduced the basic framework of inpatient coding, discussed effects of …

Multi-Antigen-Targeted T-Cell Therapy To Treat Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Breast Cancer, Valentina Hoyos, Spyridoula Vasileiou, Manik Kuvalekar, Ayumi Watanabe, Ifigeneia Tzannou, Yovana Velazquez, Matthew French-Kim, Wingchi Leung, Suhasini Lulla, Catherine Robertson, Claudette Foreman, Tao Wang, Shaun Bulsara, Natalia Lapteva, Bambi Grilley, Matthew Ellis, Charles Kent Osborne, Angela Coscio, Julie Nangia, Helen E Heslop, Cliona M Rooney, Juan F Vera, Premal Lulla, Mothaffar Rimawi, Ann M Leen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: Adoptively transferred, ex vivo expanded multi-antigen-targeted T cells (multiTAA-T) represent a new, potentially effective, and nontoxic therapeutic approach for patients with breast cancer (BC). In this first-in-human trial, we investigated the safety and clinical effects of administering multiTAA T cells targeting the tumor-expressed antigens, Survivin, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A4, SSX2, and PRAME, to patients with relapsed/refractory/metastatic BC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: MultiTAA T-cell products were generated from the peripheral blood of heavily pre-treated patients with metastatic or locally recurrent unresectable BC of all subtypes and infused at a fixed dose level of 2 × 107/m2. Patients received two infusions of cells 4 …