Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Improvements In Radiation Oncology Clinical Trials, Koren Smith, Jeff Michalski, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Clinical trials have become the primary mechanism to validate process improvements in oncology clinical practice. Over the past two decades there have been considerable process improvements in the practice of radiation oncology within the structure of a modern department using advanced technology for patient care. Treatment planning is accomplished with volume definition including fusion of multiple series of diagnostic images into volumetric planning studies to optimize the definition of tumor and define the relationship of tumor to normal tissue. Daily treatment is validated by multiple tools of image guidance. Computer planning has been optimized and supported by the increasing use …

From Perception To Behavior: The Neural Circuits Underlying Prey Hunting In Larval Zebrafish, Shuyu I Zhu, Geoffrey J Goodhill

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A key challenge for neural systems is to extract relevant information from the environment and make appropriate behavioral responses. The larval zebrafish offers an exciting opportunity for studying these sensing processes and sensory-motor transformations. Prey hunting is an instinctual behavior of zebrafish that requires the brain to extract and combine different attributes of the sensory input and form appropriate motor outputs. Due to its small size and transparency the larval zebrafish brain allows optical recording of whole-brain activity to reveal the neural mechanisms involved in prey hunting and capture. In this review we discuss how the larval zebrafish brain processes …

Histopathological Evaluation Of Onchocerca Volvulus Nodules By Microscopy And By Digital Image Analysis For The Study Of Macrofilaricidal Drug Efficacy, Kerstin Fischer, Bettina Dubben, Linda B Debrah, Janina M Kuehlwein, Arcangelo Ricchiuto, Alexander Y Debrah, Achim Hoerauf, Gary J Weil, Peter U Fischer, Ute Klarmann-Schulz

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Novel drugs or drug combinations that kill or permanently sterilize adult

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two expert microscopists independently assessed 605 nodules by direct microscopy. At least two sections with two different stains hematoxylin & eosin (H&E, APR immunostain) of paraffin-embedded, ethanol-fixed whole-nodule cross-sections were analyzed. After variables were identified prone to observer discrepancies, we performed a second study to compare consolidated results for 100 nodules obtained by the two readers by microscopy and by analysis of scanned, high resolution digital images (20x magnification). The last data set analyzed was a quality panel of 100 nodules that has been previously …

Health Disparities In Aging: Improving Dementia Care For Black Women, Caleigh A Findley, Makayla F Cox, Adam B Lipson, Ratasha Bradley, Kevin N Hascup, Carla Yuede, Erin R Hascup

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In the United States, 80% of surveyed Black patients report experiencing barriers to healthcare for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), delaying the time-sensitive treatment of a progressive neurodegenerative disease. According to the National Institute on Aging, Black study participants are 35% less likely to be given a diagnosis of ADRD than white participants, despite being twice as likely to suffer from ADRD than their white counterparts. Prior analysis of prevalence for sex, race, and ethnicity by the Centers for Disease Control indicated the highest incidence of ADRD in Black women. Older (≥65 years) Black women are at a disproportionately …

The Plasma Virome In Longitudinal Samples From Pregnant Patients, Molly J Stout, Anoop K Brar, Brandi N Herter, Ananda Rankin, Kristine M Wylie

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Nucleic acid from viruses is common in peripheral blood, even in asymptomatic individuals. How physiologic changes of pregnancy impact host-virus dynamics for acute, chronic, and latent viral infections is not well described. Previously we found higher viral diversity in the vagina during pregnancy associated with preterm birth (PTB) and Black race. We hypothesized that higher diversity and viral copy numbers in the plasma would show similar trends.

METHODS: To test this hypothesis, we evaluated longitudinally collected plasma samples from 23 pregnant patients (11 term and 12 preterm) using metagenomic sequencing with ViroCap enrichment to enhance virus detection. Sequence data …

Conserved Gene Signatures Shared Among Mapt Mutations Reveal Defects In Calcium Signaling, Miguel A Minaya, Sidhartha Mahali, Abhirami K Iyer, Abdallah M Eteleeb, Rita Martinez, Guangming Huang, John Budde, Sally Temple, Alissa L Nana, William W Seeley, Salvatore Spina, Lea T Grinberg, Oscar Harari, Celeste M Karch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

The Vacc-Seqqc Project: Benchmarking Rna-Seq For Clinical Vaccine Studies, Johannes B Goll, Richard D Head, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1093242.].

Interactions Of Pathogenic Escherichia Coli With Ceacams, Alaullah Sheikh, James M Fleckenstein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The pathogenic

Objective Response To Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy In Nras-Mutant Melanoma: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Zachary J Jaeger, Neel S Raval, Natalia K A Maverakis, David Y Chen, George Ansstas, Angela Hardi, Lynn A Cornelius

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION:

METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search across several large databases. Inclusion criteria were trials, cohorts, and large case series that analyzed the primary outcome of objective response rate by

RESULTS: Data on 1770 patients from ten articles were pooled for meta-analysis, and the objective response rate to ICIs was calculated to compare

DISCUSSION: In this meta-analysis evaluating the impact of

Psychosocial Work Environment Stressors For School Staff During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Barriers And Facilitators For Supporting Wellbeing, Liz R Rolf, Liz Vestal, Ashley C Moore, Nikole Lobb Dougherty, Nancy Mueller, Jason G Newland

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: After periods of remote and/or hybrid learning as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the return to in-person learning has been beneficial for both students and teachers, but it has not been without challenges. This study was designed to assess the impact of the return to in-person learning on the school experience, and efforts made to ease the transition in furthering a positive in-person learning environment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a series of listening sessions with 4 stakeholder groups: students (

RESULTS: Three main themes emerged around school staff experiences: (1) increased levels of stress and anxiety …

Review Of Factors Resulting In Systemic Biases In The Screening, Assessment, And Treatment Of Individuals At Clinical High-Risk For Psychosis In The United States, Miranda A Bridgwater, Emily Petti, Maksim Giljen, Leeann Akouri-Shan, Joseph S Deluca, Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, Caroline Millar, Nicole R Karcher, Elizabeth A Martin, Jordan Devylder, Deidre Anglin, Raquel Williams, Lauren M Ellman, Vijay A Mittal, Jason Schiffman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Since its inception, research in the clinical high-risk (CHR) phase of psychosis has included identifying and exploring the impact of relevant socio-demographic factors. Employing a narrative review approach and highlighting work from the United States, sociocultural and contextual factors potentially affecting the screening, assessment, and service utilization of youth at CHR were reviewed from the current literature.

RESULTS: Existing literature suggests that contextual factors impact the predictive performance of widely used psychosis-risk screening tools and may introduce systemic bias and challenges to differential diagnosis in clinical assessment. Factors reviewed include racialized identity, discrimination, neighborhood context, trauma, immigration status, gender …

3′-Sulfated Lewisa/C: An Oncofetal Epitope Associated With Metaplastic And Oncogenic Plasticity Of The Gastrointestinal Foregut, Koushik K Das, Jeffrey W Brown

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Metaplasia, dysplasia, and cancer arise from normal epithelia

A Systematic Framework For Predictive Biomarkers In Immune Effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome, Omar H Butt, Alice Y Zhou, Beau M Ances, John F Dipersio, Armin Ghobadi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has revolutionized the management of several life-threatening malignancies, often achieving durable sustained responses. The number of patients treated with this new class of cell-based therapy, along with the number of Food and Drug Association (FDA) approved indications, are growing significantly. Unfortunately Immune Effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome (ICANS) can often occur after treatment with CAR-T cells, and severe ICANS can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Current standard treatments are mainly steroids and supportive care, highlighting the need for early identification. In the last several years, a range of predictive biomarkers have been proposed …

A Practitioner's Guide To Geospatial Analysis In A Neuroimaging Context, Julie K Wisch, Ganesh M Babulal, Kalen Petersen, Peter R Millar, Enbal Shacham, Stephen Scroggins, Anna H Boerwinkle, Shaney Flores, Sarah Keefe, Brian A Gordon, John C Morris, Beau M Ances

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Health disparities arise from biological-environmental interactions. Neuroimaging cohorts are reaching sufficiently large sample sizes such that analyses could evaluate how the environment affects the brain. We present a practical guide for applying geospatial methods to a neuroimaging cohort.

METHODS: We estimated brain age gap (BAG) from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 239 city-dwelling participants in St. Louis, Missouri. We compared these participants to population-level estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS). We used geospatial analysis to identify neighborhoods associated with patterns of altered brain structure. We also evaluated the relationship between Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and BAG.

RESULTS: …

Predicting Continuous Amyloid Pet Values With Csf And Plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, Julie K Wisch, Brian A Gordon, Anna H Boerwinkle, Patrick H Luckett, James G Bollinger, Vitaliy Ovod, Yan Li, Rachel L Henson, Tim West, Mathew R Meyer, Kristopher M Kirmess, Tammie L S Benzinger, Anne M Fagan, John C Morris, Randall J Bateman, Beau M Ances, Suzanne E Schindler

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Continuous measures of amyloid burden as measured by positron emission tomography (PET) are being used increasingly to stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study examined whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma amyloid beta (Aβ)42/Aβ40 could predict continuous values for amyloid PET.

METHODS: CSF Aβ42 and Aβ40 were measured with automated immunoassays. Plasma Aβ42 and Aβ40 were measured with an immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry assay. Amyloid PET was performed with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB). The continuous relationships of CSF and plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 with amyloid PET burden were modeled.

RESULTS: Most participants were cognitively normal (427 of 491 [87%]) and the mean age was …

Abundance Of Acvr1b Transcript Is Elevated During Septic Conditions: Perspectives Obtained From A Hands-On Reductionist Investigation, Anucha Preechanukul, Thatcha Yimthin, Sarunporn Tandhavanant, Tobias Brummaier, Chalita Chomkatekaew, Sukanta Das, Basirudeen Syed Ahamed Kabeer, Mohammed Toufiq, Darawan Rinchai, T Eoin West, Damien Chaussabel, Narisara Chantratita, Mathieu Garand

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Sepsis is a complex heterogeneous condition, and the current lack of effective risk and outcome predictors hinders the improvement of its management. Using a reductionist approach leveraging publicly available transcriptomic data, we describe a knowledge gap for the role of ACVR1B (activin A receptor type 1B) in sepsis. ACVR1B, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, was selected based on the following: 1) induction upon

The Pace Of Biological Aging Helps Explain The Association Between Insomnia And Chronic Low Back Pain, Edwin N Aroke, Asia M Wiggins, Joanna M Hobson, Vinodh Srinivasasainagendra, Tammie L Quinn, Pooja Kottae, Hemant K Tiwari, Robert E Sorge, Burel R Goodin

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is associated with insomnia and advanced age. Emerging evidence suggests that the severity of both sleep disorders (like insomnia) and chronic pain are associated with a faster pace of biological aging. We aimed to determine whether the pace of biological age mediates the relationship between insomnia and the impact of cLBP in a sample of community-dwelling adults ages 19 to 85 years. Participants (49 with no pain, 32 with low-impact pain, and 37 with high-impact pain) completed sociodemographic, pain, insomnia, and short physical performance battery assessments. We calculated the pace of biological aging using DunedinPACE …

Recruitment Methods And Yield Rates For A Multisite Clinical Trial Exploring Risk Reduction For Alzheimer's Disease (Rrad), Amanda N Szabo-Reed, Monica Sewell, Ellen F Binder, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The risk reduction for Alzheimer's disease (rrAD) trial was a multisite clinical trial to assess exercise and intensive vascular pharmacological treatment on cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS: Eligibility, consent, and randomization rates across different referral sources were compared. Informal interviews conducted with each site's project team were conducted upon study completion.

RESULTS: Initially, 3290 individuals were screened, of whom 28% were eligible to consent, 805 consented to participate (87.2% of those eligible), and 513 (36.3% of those consented) were randomized. Emails sent from study site listservs/databases yielded the highest amount (20.9%) …

A Critical Scientific Evaluation Of A Purportedly Negative Data Report - Response To Seneviratne Et Al. 2022, Bankole Johnson, Giovanni Addolorato, Otto Lesch, Lei Liu, Zachary A Rodd

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A core principle in the pursuit of scientific knowledge is that science is self-correcting and that important results should be replicable. Hypotheses need to be reinforced, adjusted, or rejected when novel results are obtained. Replication of results confirms hypotheses and enhances their integration into scientific practice. In contrast, publication of substantiated and replicated negative findings (i.e., non-significant or opposite findings) can be the basis to reject erroneous hypotheses or develop alternative strategies for investigation. Replication is a problem in all research fields. The Psychology Reproductivity Project reported that only 36% of 'highly influential' published research in highly ranked journals were …

Critcom: Assessment Of Quality Of Interdisciplinary Communication Around Deterioration In Pediatric Oncologic Patients, Jocelyn Rivera, Sara Malone, Kim Prewitt, Lara Counts, Douglas A Luke, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: High-quality clinical care requires excellent interdisciplinary communication, especially during emergencies, and no tools exist to evaluate communication in critical care. We describe the development of a pragmatic tool focusing on interdisciplinary communication during patient deterioration (CritCom).

METHODS: The preliminary CritCom tool was developed after a literature review and consultation with a multidisciplinary panel of global experts in communication, pediatric oncology, and critical care to review the domains and establish content validity iteratively. Face and linguistic validity were established through cognitive interviews, translation, and linguistic synthesis. We conducted a pilot study among an international group of clinicians to establish reliability …

A Pooled Long-Term Follow-Up After Radiotherapy For Prostate Cancer With And Without A Rectal Hydrogel Spacer: Impact Of Hydrogel On Decline In Sexual Quality Of Life, Zachary A Seymour, Michael Pinkawa, Stephanie Daignault-Newton, Walter Bosch, Jeff M Michalski, Hiram Gay, Daniel A Hamstra

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of prostate rectal spacers on sexual quality of life (QOL) following external beam radiation therapy (RT).

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patient- reported QOL was evaluated using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC). Patients were pooled from two sources: a randomized controlled trial and a non-randomized cohort of patients from a single institution. Both cohorts used the same spacing product and QOL instrument. Analysis was limited to those with good baseline pre-treatment sexual QOL (EPIC >/= 60). Differences in QOL summary score and individual items were assessed compared with baseline …

Simple And Complex Cells Revisited: Toward A Selectivity-Invariance Model Of Object Recognition, Xin Li, Shuo Wang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This paper presents a theoretical perspective on modeling ventral stream processing by revisiting the computational abstraction of simple and complex cells. In parallel to David Marr's vision theory, we organize the new perspective into three levels. At the computational level, we abstract simple and complex cells into space partitioning and composition in a topological space based on the redundancy exploitation hypothesis of Horace Barlow. At the algorithmic level, we present a hierarchical extension of sparse coding by exploiting the manifold constraint in high-dimensional space (i.e., the blessing of dimensionality). The resulting over-parameterized models for object recognition differ from existing hierarchical …

Case Report: Stereotactic Body Radiation Treatment For Immunotherapy Escaped Oligometastatic Progression In Cutaneous Melanoma And Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Karam Khaddour, Alice Zhou, Omar Butt, Jiayi Huang, George Ansstas

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Oligometastatic progression represents a unique manifestation of tumor immune-escape that can lead to disease progression during treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). The diagnosis and further optimal management of oligometastatic progression through ICI remains unclear. Diagnostic challenges include practical limitations due to the anatomical sites of oligometastatic progression, such as the para-aortic region, where traditional tissue biopsy carries high risk, and circulating-tumor DNA (ctDNA) could aid in diagnosis and disease monitoring as a supplement to surveillance imaging. In this report, we describe two cases of one patient with metastatic melanoma and the other with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) who …

Interobserver Variability In Target Definition For Stereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation, Martijn H Van Der Ree, Phillip S Cuculich, Geoffrey D Hugo, Clifford G Robinson, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) is a potential new therapy for patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). The arrhythmogenic substrate (target) is synthesized from clinical and electro-anatomical information. This study was designed to evaluate the baseline interobserver variability in target delineation for STAR.

METHODS: Delineation software designed for research purposes was used. The study was split into three phases. Firstly, electrophysiologists delineated a well-defined structure in three patients (spinal canal). Secondly, observers delineated the VT-target in three patients based on case descriptions. To evaluate baseline performance, a basic workflow approach was used, no advanced techniques were allowed. Thirdly, observers delineated …

An Image-Based Modeling Framework For Predicting Spatiotemporal Brain Cancer Biology Within Individual Patients, Kamila M Bond, Lee Curtin, Sara Ranjbar, Ariana E Afshari, Leland S Hu, Joshua B Rubin, Kristin R Swanson

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Imaging is central to the clinical surveillance of brain tumors yet it provides limited insight into a tumor's underlying biology. Machine learning and other mathematical modeling approaches can leverage paired magnetic resonance images and image-localized tissue samples to predict almost any characteristic of a tumor. Image-based modeling takes advantage of the spatial resolution of routine clinical scans and can be applied to measure biological differences within a tumor, changes over time, as well as the variance between patients. This approach is non-invasive and circumvents the intrinsic challenges of inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity that have historically hindered the complete assessment of …

The Immunology Of Takotsubo Syndrome, Kenji Rowel Q Lim, Douglas L Mann, Tsuneaki Kenzaka, Tomohiro Hayashi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a disorder characterized by transient cardiac dysfunction with ventricular regional wall motion abnormalities, primarily thought to be caused by the effects of a sudden catecholamine surge on the heart. Although the majority of patients exhibit prompt recovery of their cardiac dysfunction, TTS remains associated with increased mortality rates acutely and at long-term, and there is currently no cure for TTS. Inflammation has been shown to play a key role in determining outcomes in TTS patients, as well as in the early pathogenesis of the disorder. There are also cases of TTS patients that have been successfully …

Leishmania Major- Derived Lipophosphoglycan Influences The Host's Early Immune Response By Inducing Platelet Activation And Dkk1 Production Via Tlr1/2, Olivia C Ihedioha, Anutr Sivakoses, Stephen M Beverley, Diane Mcmahon-Pratt, Alfred L M Bothwell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Platelets are rapidly deployed to infection sites and respond to pathogenic molecules via pattern recognition receptors (TLR, NLRP). Dickkopf1 (DKK1) is a quintessential Wnt antagonist produced by a variety of cell types including platelets, endothelial cells, and is known to modulate pro-inflammatory responses in infectious diseases and cancer. Moreover, DKK1 is critical for forming leukocyte-platelet aggregates and induction of type 2 cell-mediated immune responses. Our previous publication showed activated platelets release DKK1 following

RESULTS: Here we probed the role of the key surface virulence glycoconjugate lipophosphoglycan (LPG), on DKK1 production using null mutants deficient in LPG synthesis (

CONCLUSION: …

Use Of Learner-Driven, Formative, Ad-Hoc, Prospective Assessment Of Competence In Physical Therapist Clinical Education In The United States: A Prospective Cohort Study, Carey Holleran, Jeffrey Konrad, Barbara Norton, Tamara Burlis, Steven Ambler

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project was to implement a process for learner-driven, formative, prospective, ad-hoc, entrustment assessment in Doctor of Physical Therapy clinical education. Our goals were to develop an innovative entrustment assessment tool, and then explore whether the tool detected (1) differences between learners at different stages of development and (2) differences within learners across the course of a clinical education experience. We also investigated whether there was a relationship between the number of assessments and change in performance.

METHODS: A prospective, observational, cohort of clinical instructors (CIs) was recruited to perform learner-driven, formative, ad-hoc, prospective, entrustment assessments. …

Chronic Gcpii (Glutamate-Carboxypeptidase-Ii) Inhibition Reduces Pt217tau Levels In The Entorhinal And Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices Of Aged Macaques, Shveta Bathla, Nicolas Barthelemy, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Current approaches for treating sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) focus on removal of amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ

METHODS: Aged rhesus macaques were treated daily with the GCPII inhibitor, 2-MPPA (2-3-mercaptopropyl-penanedioic acid (2-MPPA)),Aged rhesus macaques were treated daily with the GCPII inhibitor, 2-MPPA (2-3-mercaptopropyl-penanedioic acid (2-MPPA)).

RESULTS: Aged macaques that received 2-MPPA had significantly lower pT217Tau levels in dlPFC and ERC, and had lowered plasma pT217Tau levels from baseline. pT217Tau levels correlated significantly with GCPII activity in dlPFC. Both 2-MPPA- and vehicle-treated monkeys showed cognitive improvement; 2-MPPA had no apparent side effects. Exploratory CSF analyses indicated reduced pS202Tau with 2-MPPA administration, …

Stem Outreach Activities In Academic Libraries: Planning Strategies, Covid’S Impact, And Future Considerations, Cori Biddle, Elise Gowen

Library Staff Publications

Outreach in academic libraries is an important aspect of their mission to support campus communities, but the nature of these activities, and the steps taken to plan them, is not fully understood at the profession-wide level. This study aimed to start the process of gathering data on outreach, especially among those who serve STEM-related constituents, and to begin recording the effects of COVID on library programming and events. In the summer of 2022, surveys were sent to representative librarians from Association of Academic Universities (AAU) members asking about their current outreach offerings and whether they utilized a formal outreach document …