Digital Commons Network^™

Chd1, A Multifaceted Epigenetic Remodeler In Prostate Cancer, Haoyan Li, Loraine Gigi, Di Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chromatin remodeling proteins contribute to DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination. The chromodomain helicase DNA-binding (CHD) family of remodelers plays crucial roles in embryonic development, hematopoiesis, and neurogenesis. As the founding member, CHD1 is capable of assembling nucleosomes, remodeling chromatin structure, and regulating gene transcription. Dysregulation of CHD1 at genetic, epigenetic, and post-translational levels is common in malignancies and other human diseases. Through interacting with different genetic alterations, CHD1 possesses the capabilities to exert oncogenic or tumor-suppressive functions in context-dependent manners. In this Review, we summarize the biochemical properties and dysregulation of CHD1 in cancer cells, and then discuss CHD1's …

Pseudohypoadrenalism, A Subclinical Cortisol Metabolism Disorder In Hyperuricemia, Ruixia Bao, Beibei Chen, Jujie Pan, Alexander Wang, Haiyang Yu, Qian Chen, Yi Zhang, Tao Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hyperuricemia is a known risk factor of lipid metabolism disorder. However, the mechanisms have not been fully understood.

Methods: The serum samples from hyperuricemia subjects were used to analyze the correlation between serum uric acid and clinical characteristics. Hyperuricemia mice induced by potassium oxonate (PO) and adenine were used to explore glucocorticoid metabolism.

Results: In hyperuricemia patients, the levels of serum uric acid were positively correlated with the levels of γ-glutamyltransferase, associated with a cortisol metabolism disorder. In hyperuricemia state, the adrenal glands failed to respond to adrenocorticotropic hormone properly, leading to low cortisol, but not corticosterone production, and …

Estimating Dementia Risk In An African American Population Using The Dctclock, Marissa Ciesla, Jeff Pobst, Joyce Gomes-Osman, Melissa Lamar, Lisa L Barnes, Russell Banks, Ali Jannati, David Libon, Rodney Swenson, Sean Tobyne, David Bates, John Showalter, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) is increasing. African Americans are twice as likely to develop dementia than other ethnic populations. Traditional cognitive screening solutions lack the sensitivity to independently identify individuals at risk for cognitive decline. The DCTclock is a 3-min AI-enabled adaptation of the well-established clock drawing test. The DCTclock can estimate dementia risk for both general cognitive impairment and the presence of AD pathology. Here we performed a retrospective analysis to assess the performance of the DCTclock to estimate future conversion to ADRD in African American participants from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Research …

Testing Of An Electronic Clinical Quality Measure For Diagnostic Delay Of Venous Thromboembolism (Dove) In Primary Care, Patricia C Dykes, Mica Bowen, Frank Chang, Jin Chen, Krissy Gray, John Laurentiev, Luwei Liu, Purushottam Panta, Michael Sainlaire, Wenyu Song, Ania Syrowatka, Tien Thai, Li Zhou, David W Bates, Lipika Samal, Stuart Lipsitz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious, preventable public health problem that requires timely treatment. Because signs and symptoms are non-specific, patients often present to primary care providers with VTE symptoms prior to diagnosis. Today there are no federal measurement tools in place to track delayed diagnosis of VTE. We developed and tested an electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) to quantify Diagnostic Delay of Venous Thromboembolism (DOVE); the rate of avoidable delayed VTE events occurring in patients with a VTE who had reported VTE symptoms in primary care within 30 days of diagnosis. DOVE uses routinely collected EHR data without contributing …

A Critical Look At Modern Graduate Education Through The Lens Of Ancient Textbooks, Oliver Glanz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Predator-Prey Biological Model With Combined Birth Rates, Self-Limitation And Competition Terms, Joon Hyuk Kang, Lucinda Ford

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to give sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of positive solutions to a rather general type of elliptic system of the Dirichlet problem on a bounded domain Ω in Rn. Also considered are the effects of perturbations on the coexistence state and uniqueness. The techniques used in this paper are super-sub solutions method, eigenvalues of operators, maximum principles, spectrum estimates, inverse function theory, and general elliptic theory. The arguments also rely on some detailed properties for the solution of logistic equations. These results yield an algebraically computable criterion for the positive coexistence of …

James White Library Celebrates Its 85th Anniversary, Margaret Adeogun

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Doktrine O Svetištu I Spasenju U Razvoju Crkve Adventista Sedmog Dana, Denis Fortin

Faculty Publications

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is no longer a young denomination within the large family of Christian churches. It has been one hundred and sixty years since the organization of our General Conference and many things have changed since the time of our pioneers. We have grown from a “little flock” of a few hundred believers in the northeastern part of the United States to an international community of close to twenty-five million members. Along with the numerical growth we have also experienced many doctrinal developments in our teachings. Our doctrines of the sanctuary and of salvation have changed since the …

Economic Thought: A Biblical Perspective, Williams Kwasi Peprah, Lucile Sabas, Quentin Sahly, Delynne Shepard

Faculty Publications

This study joins the debate about whether capitalism or socialism best shows how the Bible sees economic interactions between people and, by extension, provides insights into how a Christian should live. Capitalism is based on the private ownership and control of resources and profit, which spread with the migration process of the Protestants. Socialism is based on the idea that the group or community should own the means of production and distribution to benefit everyone equally. This paper argues that biblical principles point neither to socialism nor capitalism as the appropriate economic framework for economic interactions and the organization of …

Economic Rights And Human Dignity, Lucile Sabas, Syoum Negassi

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Challenges Of Depression: Biblical Background And Impact On The Dynamics Of Family Relationships, Anna Galeniece, Eriks Galenieks

Faculty Publications

Today we are witnessing a global epidemic of rapidly spreading mental health problems among all age groups. However, a growing mental health crisis among youth is of particular concern. According to the World Health Organization, “1 in every eight people in the world live with a mental disorder.”1 The informative data are more than impressive. For many reasons, the accurate picture of various mental health disorders is much more widespread than the latest accessible information indicates. The fundamental question revolves not only around the mental health challenges of the afflicted but especially around its practical aspect: How can ordinary people …

Living Out The Principles Of The Ten Commandments, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Luther On Sabbath & Eschatology, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Writing, The Bible & Me, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Divorce Recovery, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Editorial: Prion-Like Transmission Of Pathogenic Proteins In Neurodegenerative Diseases: Structural And Molecular Bases, Victor Banerjee, Fei Wang, Daniela Sarnataro, Claudio Soto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Heterozygous Deletion Of Autism-Related Gene Cullin-3 In Mice, Qiang-Qiang Xia, Angela K Walker, Chenghui Song, Jing Wang, Anju Singh, James A Mobley, Zhong X Xuan, Jeffrey D Singer, Craig M Powell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder in which children display repetitive behavior, restricted range of interests, and atypical social interaction and communication. CUL3, coding for a Cullin family scaffold protein mediating assembly of ubiquitin ligase complexes through BTB domain substrate-recruiting adaptors, has been identified as a high-risk gene for autism. Although complete knockout of Cul3 results in embryonic lethality, Cul3 heterozygous mice have reduced CUL3 protein, demonstrate comparable body weight, and display minimal behavioral differences including decreased spatial object recognition memory. In measures of reciprocal social interaction, Cul3 heterozygous mice behaved similarly to their wild-type littermates. In area …

Editorial: Ovarian Cancer-Targeted Medication: Parp Inhibitors, Anti-Angiogenic Drugs, Immunotherapy, And More, Zhi-Bin Wang, Dan Liu, Guang Lei, Zhao-Qian Liu, Nayiyuan Wu, Jing Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Flecainide For Conversion And Maintenance Of Sinus Rhythm After Mitral Valve Replacement In Rheumatic Atrial Fibrillation, Umesh Tripathi, Aditya Kapoor, Surendra Kumar Agarwal, Prabhat Tewari, Shantanu Pande, Bipin Chandra, Ankit Sahu, Roopali Khanna, Sudeep Kumar, Naveen Garg, Satyendra Tewari

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite successful mitral valve replacement (MVR), many patients remain in AF. Flecainide can be useful in these patients but has not been used because of underlying structural heart disease.

METHODS: We assessed oral flecainide for conversion and maintenance of SR in 25 patients of chronic rheumatic AF following MVR (age 34.4 yrs, mean AF duration: 3.6 yrs). Non-converters underwent DC cardioversion at 24 h and 4 weeks. Patients received flecainide and bb/diltiazem at discharge.

RESULTS: Single oral dose of Flecainide achieved SR in 6/25 (24%) while 19/25 achieved SR after DCC; at24 h 21/25 (84%) were in SR. With …

Circadian Rhythms Of Risk Factors And Management In Atherosclerotic And Hypertensive Vascular Disease: Modern Chronobiological Perspectives Of An Ancient Disease, Yong-Jian Geng, Michael H Smolensky, Oliver Sum-Ping, Ramon Hermida, Richard J Castriotta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the arteries that appears to have been as prevalent in ancient as in modern civilizations, is predisposing to life-threatening and life-ending cardiac and vascular complications, such as myocardial and cerebral infarctions. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis involves intima plaque buildup caused by vascular endothelial dysfunction, cholesterol deposition, smooth muscle proliferation, inflammatory cell infiltration and connective tissue accumulation. Hypertension is an independent and controllable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Conversely, atherosclerosis hardens the arterial wall and raises arterial blood pressure. Many CVD patients experience both atherosclerosis and hypertension and are prescribed medications to concurrently …

Hras Mutations Define A Distinct Subgroup In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Niamh Coleman, Kathrina L Marcelo, Julia F Hopkins, Nusrat Israr Khan, Robyn Du, Lingzhi Hong, Edward Park, Binaifer Balsara, Mollie Leoni, Curtis Pickering, Jeffrey Myers, John Heymach, Lee A Albacker, David Hong, Maura Gillison, Xiuning Le

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), HRAS mutation is a new actionable oncogene driver. We aimed to evaluate HRAS mutational variants, comutation profile, and survival outcomes of this molecularly defined population.

Methods: We leveraged four deidentified patient data sets with HRAS-mutant HNSCC, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Kura Oncology, Inc trial, Foundation Medicine, and American Association for Cancer Research GENIE v.12. Patient demographic information and clinical courses were extracted, when available, in addition to HRAS mutation type and co-occurring mutations. Survival outcomes were analyzed (Kaplan-Meier method).

Results: Two hundred forty-nine patients with HRAS-mutant HNSCC were identified …

Financial Toxicity In Cancer Patients And Subsequent Risk Of Repeat Acute Care Utilization, Julia J Shi, J Alberto Maldonado, Chi-Fang Wu, Susan K Peterson, Ying-Shiuan Chen, Kevin Diao, Robert J Volk, Sharon H Giordano, Ya-Chen T Shih, Kelsey Kaiser, Grace L Smith

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Acute care (AC) visits by cancer patients are costly sources of healthcare resources and can exert a financial burden of oncology care both for individuals with cancer and healthcare systems. We sought to identify whether cancer patients who reported more severe initial financial toxicity (FT) burdens shouldered excess risks for acute care utilization.

METHODS: In 225 adult patients who participated in the Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer (ENRICh) survey study of individuals receiving ambulatory cancer care between March and September 2019, we measured the baseline FT (a multidimensional score of 0-10 indicating the least to most severe global, …

Pilot Study Of A Spanish Language Measure Of Financial Toxicity In Underserved Hispanic Cancer Patients With Low English Proficiency, Julia J Shi, Gwendolyn J Mcginnis, Susan K Peterson, Nicolette Taku, Ying-Shiuan Chen, Robert K Yu, Chi-Fang Wu, Tito R Mendoza, Sanjay S Shete, Hilary Ma, Robert J Volk, Sharon H Giordano, Ya-Chen T Shih, Diem-Khanh Nguyen, Kelsey W Kaiser, Grace L Smith

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Financial toxicity (FT) reflects multi-dimensional personal economic hardships borne by cancer patients. It is unknown whether measures of FT-to date derived largely from English-speakers-adequately capture economic experiences and financial hardships of medically underserved low English proficiency US Hispanic cancer patients. We piloted a Spanish language FT instrument in this population.

METHODS: We piloted a Spanish version of the Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer (ENRICh) FT measure using qualitative cognitive interviews and surveys in un-/under-insured or medically underserved, low English proficiency, Spanish-speaking Hispanics (UN-Spanish,

RESULTS: UN-Spanish Hispanic participants reported high acceptability of the instrument (only 0% responded that the …

Fostering A High-Functioning Team In Cancer Care Using The 4r Oncology Model: Assessment In A Large Health System And A Blueprint For Other Institutions, Raymond Liu, Christine B Weldon, Elizabeth Linehan, Nancy Gordon, Thea Abbe, Marti Hennings, Henie James, Jed Katzel, Chun Ng, Megumi Tomita, Jeffrey B Velotta, Stephanie Ossowski, Lori C Sakoda, Sharon Likely Sprague, Anna Dowling, Kimberly Beringer, Arliene Ravelo, Elaine Yu, Julia R Trosman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Delivering cancer care by high-functioning multidisciplinary teams promises to address care fragmentation, which threatens care quality, affects patient outcomes, and strains the oncology workforce. We assessed whether the 4R Oncology model for team-based interdependent care delivery and patient self-management affected team functioning in a large community-based health system.

METHODS: 4R was deployed at four locations in breast and lung cancers and assessed along four characteristics of high-functioning teams: recognition as a team internally and externally; commitment to an explicit shared goal; enablement of interdependent work to achieve the goal; and engagement in regular reflection to adapt objectives and processes. …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Middle-Aged And Older Adult Vietnamese American Members Of A Northern California Health Plan, Donna B Haysbert, Joan C Lo, Nirmala D Ramalingam, Nancy P Gordon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing recognition that cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors vary by Asian subgroups. We examined CVD risk factor prevalence among Vietnamese adults in a northern California health plan.

METHODS: We used electronic health record data to examine smoking, overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥23.0 kg/m

RESULTS: Current smoking prevalence was 20.3% for middle-aged men, 7.0% for older men, and

CONCLUSIONS: Study results suggest that more research on health conditions, lifestyle, and social factors among Vietnamese American adults is needed to develop culturally competent interventions to reduce CVD risk in this growing ethnic group.

Pyrolyzed Deketene Curcumin Controls Regulatory T Cell Generation And Gastric Cancer Metabolism Cooperate With 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose, Takashi Maruyama, Hirofumi Miyazaki, Yun-Ji Lim, Jian Gu, Masaki Ishikawa, Taichi Yoshida, Wanjun Chen, Yuji Owada, Hiroyuki Shibata

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pyrolyzed deketene curcumin GO-Y022 prevents carcinogenesis in a gastric cancer mouse model. However, it is still less clear if GO-Y022 affects tumor-induced immune suppression. In this study, we found that GO-Y022 inhibited Treg generation in the presence of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β). However, GO-Y022 showed less impact on Foxp3+ Tregs in the gastric tumor microenvironment. Gastric tumor cells produce a large amount of L-lactate in the presence of GO-Y022 and diminish the inhibitory role of GO-Y022 against Treg generation in response to TGF-β. Therefore, naïve CD4+ T cells co-cultured with GO-Y022 treated gastric tumor cells increased Treg generation. …

Cytosolic Dna Sensing Protein Pathway Is Activated In Human Hearts With Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Leila Rouhi, Sirisha M Cheedipudi, Benjamin Cathcart, Priyatansh Gurha, Ali J Marian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: The genome is constantly exposed to numerous stressors, which induce DNA lesions, including double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs). DSBs are the most dangerous, as they induce genomic instability. In response to DNA damage, the cell activates nuclear DNA damage response (DDR) and the cytosolic DNA sensing protein (CDSP) pathways, the latter upon release of the DSBs to the cytosol. The CDSP pathway activates NFκB and IRF3, which induce the expression of the pro-inflammatory genes. There is scant data on the activation of the CDSP pathway in human hearts with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

AIM: We aimed to determine expression levels of …

Disruption Of Fos Causes Craniofacial Anomalies In Developing Zebrafish, Lorena Maili, Bhavna Tandon, Qiuping Yuan, Simone Menezes, Frankie Chiu, S Shahrukh Hashmi, Ariadne Letra, George T Eisenhoffer, Jacqueline T Hecht

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Craniofacial development is a complex and tightly regulated process and disruptions can lead to structural birth defects, the most common being nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP). Previously, we identified FOS as a candidate regulator of NSCLP through family-based association studies, yet its specific contributions to oral and palatal formation are poorly understood. This study investigated the role of fos during zebrafish craniofacial development through genetic disruption and knockdown approaches. Fos was expressed in the periderm, olfactory epithelium and other cell populations in the head. Genetic perturbation of fos produced an abnormal craniofacial phenotype with a hypoplastic oral cavity that …

A Student-Designed Multimodal Sex- And Gender-Based Women's Health Elective Program: Advocacy Curriculum For Medical Students, Lauren M Conroy, Danna Ghafir, Maitreyi Narayan, Hunter Mcspedden, Samuel Neher, S Shahrukh Hashmi, Rebecca Lunstroth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this article is to describe the design and implementation of a multimodal, student-driven, sex- and gender-based women's health (SGBWH) elective with a curricular focus on patient and legislative advocacy. In this single arm, pre/post design, interventional study, we detail and evaluate the use of social media, newsletters, and round-table discussions in conjunction with a traditional lecture-based educational format to engage medical students in a virtual learning environment.

METHODS: We developed a 22-week SGBWH curriculum for pre-clinical and clinical medical students, which included a series of lectures on multi-specialty and gender-inclusive topics related to SGBWH, small group …

Spatial Modelling Of The Tumor Microenvironment From Multiplex Immunofluorescence Images: Methods And Applications, Gayatri Kumar, Renganayaki Krishna Pandurengan, Edwin Roger Parra, Kasthuri Kannan, Cara Haymaker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Spatial modelling methods have gained prominence with developments in high throughput imaging platforms. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) provides the scope to examine interactions between tumor and immune compartment at single cell resolution using a panel of antibodies that can be chosen based on the cancer type or the clinical interest of the study. The markers can be used to identify the phenotypes and to examine cellular interactions at global and local scales. Several translational studies rely on key understanding of the tumor microenvironment (TME) to identify drivers of immune response in immunotherapy based clinical trials. To improve the success of ongoing …