Digital Commons Network^™

Mechanical Thrombectomy In The Late Presentation Of Anterior Circulation Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke: A Guideline From The Society Of Vascular And Interventional Neurology Guidelines And Practice Standards Committee, Thanh N Nguyen, Alicia C Castonguay, James E Siegler, Simon Nagel, Maarten G Lansberg, Adam De Havenon, Sunil A Sheth, Mohamad Abdalkader, Jenny Tsai, Gregory W Albers, Hesham E Masoud, Tudor G Jovin, Sheila O Martins, Raul G Nogueira, Osama O Zaidat, Svin Gaps Committee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: Recent clinical trials investigating endovascular therapy (EVT) in the extended time window have opened new treatment paradigms for late-presenting patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke. The aim of this guideline is to provide up to date recommendations for the diagnosis, selection, and medical or endovascular treatment of patients with LVO presenting in the extended time window.

Methods: The Society of Vascular & Interventional Neurology (SVIN) Guidelines and Practice Clinical Standards (GAPS) committee assembled a writing group and recruited interdisciplinary experts to review and evaluate the current literature. Recommendations were assigned by the writing group using the …

Chatgpt: Is It Good For Our Glaucoma Patients?, Gloria Wu, David A Lee, Weichen Zhao, Adrial Wong, Sahej Sidhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Our study investigates ChatGPT and its ability to communicate with glaucoma patients.

Methods: We inputted eight glaucoma-related questions/topics found on the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)'s website into ChatGPT. We used the Flesch-Kincaid test, Gunning Fog Index, SMOG Index, and Dale-Chall readability formula to evaluate the comprehensibility of its responses for patients. ChatGPT's answers were compared with those found on the AAO's website.

Results: ChatGPT's responses required reading comprehension of a higher grade level (average = grade 12.5 ± 1.6) than that of the text on the AAO's website (average = 9.4 grade ± 3.5), (0.0384). For the eight …

Imaging Peripheral Lymphatic Dysfunction In Chronic Conditions, Eva M Sevick-Muraca, Caroline E Fife, John C Rasmussen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The lymphatics play important roles in chronic diseases/conditions that comprise the bulk of healthcare worldwide. Yet the ability to routinely image and diagnose lymphatic dysfunction, using commonly available clinical imaging modalities, has been lacking and as a result, the development of effective treatment strategies suffers. Nearly two decades ago, investigational near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging and ICG lymphography were developed as routine diagnostic for clinically evaluating, quantifying, and treating lymphatic dysfunction in cancer-related and primary lymphedema, chronic venous disease, and more recently, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we provide an overview of what these non-invasive technologies have taught us …

Editorial: In Celebration Of Women In Science: Lipids, Membranes, And Membranous Organelles, Isabel M López-Lara, Elena G Govorunova

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Validation Of The Brazilian Portuguese Version Of The Quick Inventory Of Depressive Symptomatology And Self-Report (Qids-Sr16) For The Brazilian Population, Lucas Bandinelli, Julia Luiza Schäfer, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QID-SR16), a self-report instrument based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria that assesses the severity of depression symptoms, in the Brazilian population.

METHODS: Participants were 4,400 Brazilians over the age of 15 years recruited for an online survey assessing depressive symptoms during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Brazil. The internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity of the QIDS-SR16 were evaluated.

RESULTS: The model tested was considered an adequate fit to the …

Non-Pharmacological Treatment-Related Changes Of Molecular Biomarkers In Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Courtney L Irwin, Patrícia S Coelho, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Anabela Silva-Fernandes, Óscar F Gonçalves, Jorge Leite, Sandra Carvalho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious mood disorder and leading cause of disability. Despite treatment advances, approximately 30% of individuals with MDD do not achieve adequate clinical response. Better understanding the biological mechanism(s) underlying clinical response to specific psychopharmacological interventions may help fine tune treatments in order to further modulate their underlying mechanisms of action. However, little is known regarding the effect of non-pharmacological treatments (NPTs) on candidate molecular biomarker levels in MDD. This review aims to identify molecular biomarkers that may elucidate NPT response for MDD.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review and a multilevel linear mixed-effects …

A Deep Residual Model For Characterization Of 5d Spatiotemporal Network Dynamics Reveals Widespread Spatiodynamic Changes In Schizophrenia, Behnam Kazemivash, Theo G M Van Erp, Peter Kochunov, Vince D Calhoun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder with serious symptoms including delusions, disorganized speech, and hallucinations that can have a long-term detrimental impact on different aspects of a patient's life. It is still unclear what the main cause of schizophrenia is, but a combination of altered brain connectivity and structure may play a role. Neuroimaging data has been useful in characterizing schizophrenia, but there has been very little work focused on voxel-wise changes in multiple brain networks over time, despite evidence that functional networks exhibit complex spatiotemporal changes over time within individual subjects. Recent studies have primarily focused on static (average) …

Non-Canonical Pathways In The Pathophysiology And Therapeutics Of Bipolar Disorder, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Alan C Courtes, Carlos A Zarate, Ioline D Henter, Husseini K Manji

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by extreme mood swings ranging from manic/hypomanic to depressive episodes. The severity, duration, and frequency of these episodes can vary widely between individuals, significantly impacting quality of life. Individuals with BD spend almost half their lives experiencing mood symptoms, especially depression, as well as associated clinical dimensions such as anhedonia, fatigue, suicidality, anxiety, and neurovegetative symptoms. Persistent mood symptoms have been associated with premature mortality, accelerated aging, and elevated prevalence of treatment-resistant depression. Recent efforts have expanded our understanding of the neurobiology of BD and the downstream targets that may help track clinical outcomes and …

Editorial: Metabolic Regulation Under Oxidative Stress In Cancer, Elavarasan Subramani, Abishai Dominic, Pratip K Bhattacharya, Daniel E Frigo, Ilya Bederman, Ali Vaziri-Gohar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Oxidative stress has emerged as a key component of cancer metabolism that impacts multiple facets of tumor biology (1). Recent studies have shed light on the complex interplay of cellular redox and its impact on molecular mechanisms that govern metabolic reprogramming under oxidative stress (2, 3). It is well established that altered glucose metabolism exhibited by tumor cells leads to an enormous oxidative burden through various metabolic routes (4, 5). What is less known but remains a great interest to the field is whether elevated oxidative stress has a causal role in …

Development And Internal Validation Of A Novel Nomogram For Predicting Lymph Node Invasion For Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Extended Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection, Zhen Li, Yixin Huang, Diwei Zhao, Xin Luo, Zeshen Wu, Xinyi Zheng, Ye Xie, Yixuan Liu, Jianwei Wu, Yulu Peng, Yonghong Li, Fangjian Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Few studies have focused on the performance of Briganti 2012, Briganti 2017 and MSKCC nomograms in the Chinese population in assessing the risk of lymph node invasion(LNI) in prostate cancer(PCa) patients and identifying patients suitable for extended pelvic lymph node dissection(ePLND). We aimed to develop and validate a novel nomogram based on Chinese PCa patients treated with radical prostatectomy(RP) and ePLND for predicting LNI.

METHODS: We retrospectively retrieved clinical data of 631 patients with localized PCa receiving RP and ePLND at a Chinese single tertiary referral center. All patients had detailed biopsy information from experienced uropathologist. Multivariate logistic-regression analyses …

Role Of Adenosine Deaminase In Prostate Cancer Progression, Christy Charles, Stacy M Lloyd, Danthasinghe Waduge Badrajee Piyarathna, Jie Gohlke, Uttam Rasaily, Vasanta Putluri, Brian W Simons, Alexander Zaslavsky, Srinivas Nallandhighal, George Michailidis, Nallasivam Palanisamy, Nora Navone, Jeffrey A Jones, Michael M Ittmann, Nagireddy Putluri, David R Rowley, Simpa S Salami, Ganesh S Palapattu, Arun Sreekumar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer and constitutes about 14.7% of total cancer cases. PCa is highly prevalent and more aggressive in African-American (AA) men than in European-American (EA) men. PCa tends to be highly heterogeneous, and its complex biology is not fully understood. We use metabolomics to better understand the mechanisms behind PCa progression and disparities in its clinical outcome. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a key enzyme in the purine metabolic pathway; it was found to be upregulated in PCa and is associated with higher-grade PCa and poor disease-free survival. The inosine-to-adenosine ratio, which is a …

The Role Of Hyperexcitability In Gliomagenesis, Eric A Goethe, Benjamin Deneen, Jeffrey Noebels, Ganesh Rao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor. Recent studies have demonstrated that excitatory or activity-dependent signaling-both synaptic and non-synaptic-contribute to the progression of glioblastoma. Glutamatergic receptors may be stimulated via neuron-tumor synapses or release of glutamate by the tumor itself. Ion currents generated by these receptors directly alter the structure of membrane adhesion molecules and cytoskeletal proteins to promote migratory behavior. Additionally, the hyperexcitable milieu surrounding glioma increases the rate at which tumor cells proliferate and drive recurrent disease. Inhibition of excitatory signaling has shown to effectively reduce its pro-migratory and -proliferative effects.

Self-Managed Dietary Changes And Functional Gut Symptoms In Endometriosis: A Qualitative Interview Study, Komal Kumar, Nitish N. Narvekar, Kate Maslin

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Objective Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological condition, often causing gastrointestinal symptoms and misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Endometriosis guidelines do not formally endorse dietary changes and little is known about how they are self-managed. The objective of this study is to understand nutritional practices and management of gut symptoms in people with endometriosis. Study design Participants were recruited as part of a larger survey study via endometriosis support groups on social media. Eligibility criteria were: a self-reported physician-led diagnosis of endometriosis, over 18 years old and residing in the United Kingdom (UK). Semi-structured interviews were undertaken virtually via Zoom …

Impacts Of Polyethylene Microplastics On The Microalga, Spirulina (Arthrospira Platensis), Sajjad Abbasi, Sahar Amiranipour, Javad Karimi, Sasan Mohsenzadeh, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microalgae play a critical role in the food web and biogeochemical cycling and produce compounds that are commercially exploited. However, their reactions and responses to microplastic contamination are not well understood. In this study, the widely distributed and commercially important cyanobacterium, Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), was exposed to different concentrations (1–100 mg L−1) of low-density polyethylene microplastics (<5 μm) over a 20-d period. Various end-points were combined with different microscopic techniques in order to examine physiological and biochemical effects and interactions between the plastic and microalga. Growth rate and photosynthetic activity decreased with increasing microplastic concentration, and a maximum inhibition ratio of about 9% was calculated from optical density measurements. Plastic concentrations above 10 mg L−1 resulted in oxidative stress and the intracellular production of proline. Fragmentation and swelling of trichomes and attachment of microplastics was observed in the exposures, and microplastics appeared to adhere or aggregate around fragmented or fragmenting regions. The latter effect may indicate trichome weakening by microplastics or their concentration around cytosolic debris; nevertheless, it provides a potential mechanism for internalisation of small particles. Although unrealistically high concentrations of well-defined microplastics have been employed, relatively small disruptions at the population level incurred by lower concentrations could have more serious implications for ecosystem services and functioning.

Physical And Biogeochemical Controls On Seasonal Iron, Manganese, And Cobalt Distributions In Northeast Atlantic Shelf Seas, Xue Gang Chen, Dagmara Rusiecka, Martha Gledhill, Angela Milne, Amber L. Annett, Aaron Joseph Beck, Antony J. Birchill, Maeve C. Lohan, Simon Ussher, Eric P. Achterberg

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Global Variability And Controls On The Accumulation Of Fallout Radionuclides In Cryoconite, Caroline C. Clason, Giovanni Baccolo, Edyta Łokas, Philip N. Owens, Przemyslaw Wachniew, Geoff E. Millward, Alex Taylor, Will H. Blake, Dylan B. Beard, Ewa Poniecka, Nick Selmes, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Joseph Cook, Ralph Fyfe, Melanie Hay, Deborah Land, Nozomu Takeuchi, Massimiliano Nastasi, Monica Sisti, Francesca Pittino, Andrea Franzetti, Roberto Ambrosini, Mauro B Di

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The accumulation of fallout radionuclides (FRNs) from nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents has been evaluated for over half a century in natural environments; however, until recently their distribution and abundance within glaciers have been poorly understood. Following a series of individual studies of FRNs, specifically 137Cs, 241Am and 210Pb, deposited on the surface of glaciers, we now understand that cryoconite, a material commonly found in the supraglacial environment, is a highly efficient accumulator of FRNs, both artificial and natural. However, the variability of FRN activity concentrations in cryoconite across the global cryosphere has never been assessed. This study thus …

Accumulation Of Polystyrene Nanoplastics And Triclosan By A Model Tooth-Carp Fish, Aphaniops Hormuzensis (Teleostei: Aphaniidae), Maryam Saemi-Komsari, Reza Pashaei, Sajjad Abbasi, Hamid Reza Esmaeili, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Hadavand B Shirkavand, Kalako M Pasalari, Malgorzata Szultka-Mlynska, Renata Gadzała-Kopciuch, Boguslaw Buszewski, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The presence and effects of nanoplastics (NPs; <1 μm) in the aquatic environment are a growing concern. In this study, a model tooth-carp fish, Aphaniops hormuzensis, has been exposed to different concentrations of fluorescent polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NP) in its diet (up to 5 mg kg−1) over periods of 28 d and the particle accumulation in different tissues determined. Accumulation was observed in both digestive and non-digestive organs, with concentrations greater in the gut, liver and gill (up to 400 μg kg−1 dw) than in the skin and muscle (<180 μg kg−1 dw), but no dependency on exposure time or dose was evident. The presence of the organic contaminant, triclosan (TCS), in the diet and at concentrations up to 0.5 μg kg−1 did not affect PS-NP uptake by A. hormuzensis, while TCS accumulation in the whole body increased with time (up to 10 μg kg−1) and, likewise, appeared to be unaffected by the presence of PS-NPs. These observations suggest that the two contaminants do not interact with each other or that any interactions have no impact on accumulation. The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that NPs can be translocated by aquatic organisms after ingestion, and reveal that, for the species and conditions employed, nanoplastics are accumulated more readily than a widely used organic chemical.

Assessing The Effects Of Single And Binary Exposures Of Copper And Lead On Mytilus Galloprovincialis: Physiological And Genotoxic Approaches, Charlotte Crowther, Andrew Turner, Michael N. Moore, Awadhesh N. Jha

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

It is becoming increasingly recognised that contaminants are not isolated in their threats to the aquatic environment, with recent shifts towards studying the effects of chemical mixtures. In this study, adult marine mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were exposed to two aqueous concentrations of the essential trace metal, Cu (5 and 32 μg L−1), and the non-essential metal, Pb (5 and 25 μg L−1), both individually and in binary mixtures. After a 14-day exposure, metal accumulation was determined in the digestive gland, gill and mantle tissues by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry following acid digestion, and a number of biochemical, neurotoxic and physiological …

Nutritional Practices And Dietetic Provision In The Endometriosis Population, With A Focus On Functional Gut Symptoms, Komal Deepak Kumar, Bridie Appleby-Gunnill, Kate Maslin

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background: Endometriosis is a common condition causing chronic pain, fatigue and gut symptoms. Research suggests that dietary changes may improve symptoms; however, evidence is lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the nutritional practices and needs of individuals with endometriosis (IWE) and the management of endometriosis by dietitians in the UK, focusing on gut symptoms. Methods: Two online questionnaires were distributed via social media: a survey of dietitians working with IWE and functional gut symptoms and a survey of IWE. Results: All respondents to the dietitian survey (n = 21) used the low fermentable oligosaccharides disaccharides monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) …

Spatial And Seasonal Variations In Dissolved Methane Across A Large Lake, Mike Peacock, Scott J. Davidson, Dolly N. Kothawala, Joel Segersten, Martyn N. Futter

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Lakes process large volumes of organic carbon (OC), are important sources of methane (CH4), and contribute to climatic warming. However, there is a lack of data from large lakes >500 km2, which creates uncertainty in global budgets. In this data article, we present dissolved CH4, OC bioreactivity measurements, water chemistry, and algal biovolumes at 11 stations across Lake Mälaren, the third largest (1,074 km2) Swedish lake. Total phosphorus concentrations show that during the study period the lake was classed as mesotrophic/eutrophic. Overall mean CH4 concentration from all stations, sampled five times to cover seasonal variation, was 2.51 μg l−1 (0.98–5.39 …

An Evidence Base Of Ecosystems Services Provided By Diadromous Fish In The European Atlantic Area, Matthew Ashley, Arantza Murillas, Angela Muench, Cristina Marta-Pedroso, Lynda Rodwell, Sian Rees, Emma Rendle, Tea Bašić, Gordon H. Copp, Estibaliz Díaz, David J. Nachón, Patrick Lambert, Geraldine Lassalle

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Historical and existing environmental and human induced pressures have negatively impacted diadromous species, as well as benefits to humans, derived from the ecosystem services these species contribute to. As species move across national boundaries, successful management is rendered a complex process. Future climate change scenarios are likely to change species distributions, further impacting management and the benefits available to people across each species range. To provide an evidence base on the contribution of eleven diadromous fish populations to ecosystem services, and so gains and losses of ecosystem service benefits in the European Atlantic Area, we completed an evidence review of …

Sea-Ice Decline Could Keep Zooplankton Deeper For Longer, Hauke Flores, Gaëlle Veyssière, Giulia Castellani, Jeremy Wilkinson, Mario Hoppmann, Michael Karcher, Lovro Valcic, Astrid Cornils, Maxime Geoffroy, Marcel Nicolaus, Barbara Niehoff, Pierre Priou, Katrin Schmidt, Julienne Stroeve

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

AbstractAs Arctic sea ice deteriorates, more light enters the ocean, causing largely unknown effects on the ecosystem. Using an autonomous biophysical observatory, we recorded zooplankton vertical distribution under Arctic sea ice from dusk to dawn of the polar night. Here we show that zooplankton ascend into the under-ice habitat during autumn twilight, following an isolume of 2.4 × 10−4 W m−2. We applied this trigger isolume to CMIP6 model outputs accounting for incoming radiation after sunset and before sunrise of the polar night. The models project that, in about three decades, the total time spent by zooplankton in the under-ice …

Isotopic Signatures Of Plutonium In The Global Cryosphere, Edyta Łokas, Giovanni Baccolo, Caroline Clason, Przemysław Wachniew, Nozomu Takeuchi, Krzysztof Zawierucha, Dylan Beard, Roberto Ambrosini, Francesca Pittino, Andrea Franzetti, Philip Owens, Anna Cwanek, Katarzyna Koltonik

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Development Of Two Disease Specific Scales To Assess The Impact Of Severe Asthma On Patients' Lives, Joseph Lanario

School of Psychology Theses

Joseph W Lanario Title: Development of two disease specific scales to assess the impact of severe asthma on patients’ lives Asthma is a disease of the airways, characterised by airway obstruction, inflammation, and hyper-responsiveness resulting in symptoms of breathlessness, wheeze, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Severe asthma is distinct from mild/moderate asthma in terms of symptom severity, frequency of exacerbations, medication side effects and disruption to life. The increasing availability of biologic treatments have revolutionised the treatment of severe asthma. Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) provide evidence of their efficacy at improving objective outcomes, e.g., lung function. However, scores of …

Paul's Attitude Towards Empire, Matthew Kwabena Appiah

Master's Theses

The concept of imperialism has come to stay in the study of Paul and his letters. However, does contextual analysis of his selected texts support such claims of him being anti-imperial? Various arguments arise to challenge Paul to have used hidden codes and imperial ideology to counter the imperial propaganda of the Roman empire of his day. However, contextual analysis of Paul and his letters suggest otherwise. His pastoral care duties, coupled with a desire to win his natives, namely, the Jews, to accept Jesus Christ as the messiah prophesied in the Old Testament is key in his letters. Proponents …

Ecological-Niche Modeling Reveals Current Opportunities For Agave Dryland Farming In Sonora, Mexico And Arizona, Usa, Hector G. Ortiz-Cano, Robert Hadfield, Teresa Gomez, Kevin Hultine, Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez, Steven L. Petersen, Neil C. Hansen, Michael T. Searcy, Jason Stetler, Teodoro Cervantes-Mendivil, David Burchfield, Pilman Park, J. Ryan Stewart

Faculty Publications

For centuries, humans occupying arid regions of North America have maintained an intricate relationship with Agave (Agavoideae, Asparagaceae). Today Agave cultivation, primarily for beverage production, provides an economic engine for rural communities throughout Mexico. Among known dryland-farming methods, the use of rock piles and cattle-grazed areas stand out as promising approaches for Agave cultivation. Identifying new cultivation areas to apply these approaches in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico warrants a geographic assessment of areas outside the known ranges of rock piles and grasslands. The objective of this study was to predict areas for dryland-farming of Agave and develop models to …

The Assembled Genome Of The Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Theodore S Kalbfleisch, Nahla A Hussien Abouel Ela, Kai Li, Wesley A Brashear, Kelli J Kochan, Andrew E Hillhouse, Yaming Zhu, Isha S Dhande, Eric J Kline, Elizabeth A Hudson, Terence D Murphy, Françoise Thibaud-Nissen, Melissa L Smith, Peter A Doris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We report the creation and evaluation of a de novo assembly of the genome of the spontaneously hypertensive rat, the most widely used model of human cardiovascular disease.

METHODS: The genome is assembled from long read sequencing (PacBio HiFi and continuous long read data [CLR]) and scaffolded with long-range structural information obtained from Bionano optical maps and proximity ligation sequencing proximity analysis of the genome. The genome assembly was polished with Illumina short reads. Completeness of the assembly was investigated using Benchmarking Universal Single Copy Orthologs analysis. The genome assembly was also evaluated with the rat reference gene set, …

Frontostriatal And Limbic Contributions To Cognitive Decline In Parkinson’S Disease, Gregory Brown, Jonathan Hakun, Mechelle M Lewis, Sol De Jesus, Guangwei Du, Paul J Eslinger, Lan Kong, Xuemei Huang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The circuitry underlying heterogenous cognitive profiles in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether structural changes in frontostriatal and limbic pathways contribute to different cognitive trajectories in PD.

METHODS: We obtained clinical and multimodal MRI data from 120 control and 122 PD subjects without dementia or severe motor disability. T1/T2-weighted images estimated volume, and diffusion imaging evaluated fractional anisotropy (FA) of frontostriatal (striatum and frontostriatal white matter [FSWM]) and limbic (hippocampus and fornix) structures. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) gauged total and domain-specific (attention/executive and memory) cognitive function. Linear mixed-effects models …

Combining Mek And Src Inhibitors For Treatment Of Colorectal Cancer Demonstrate Increased Efficacy In Vitro But Not In Vivo, Fan Fan, Susmita Ghosh, Reid Powell, Jason Roszik, Yongsun Park, Mary Sobieski, Alexey Sorokin, Clifford Stephan, Scott Kopetz, Lee M Ellis, Rajat Bhattacharya

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. More than 50% of patients with mCRC harbor mutations of the oncogenic driver RAS (KRAS or NRAS). Because directly targeting most mutations of RAS is technically challenging, researchers have concentrated on targeting MEK, a downstream mediator of RAS. However, targeting MEK as single-agent therapy is ineffective in patients with mCRC. We hypothesize that combining a MEK inhibitor with other agents can enhance the efficacy of MEK targeting in mCRC. Unbiased high-throughput screening (HTS) was performed to identify drugs that enhance the efficacy of MEK …

Plant Sentience? Between Romanticism And Denial: Science, Miguel Segundo-Ortin, Paco Calvo

Animal Sentience

A growing number of non-human animal species are being seriously considered as candidates for sentience, but plants are either forgotten or explicitly excluded from these debates. In our view, this is based on the belief that plant behavior is hardwired and inflexible and on an underestimation of the role of plant electrophysiology. We weigh such assumptions against the evidence to suggest that it is time to take seriously the hypothesis that plants, too, might be sentient. We hope this target article will serve as an invitation to investigate sentience in plants with the same rigor as in non-human animals.