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Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - December 26, 2024, Lindsay Hughes

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the Thursday, December 26, 2024 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter -- Watercooler.

Contents include: 

• Medical students and staff highlight peer powered academic support program at national conference
• Medical student presents radiology research at international conference
• Sternberg inducted as president of the Medical Society of Mobile County
• Internal medicine journal club revamped for better learning experience

Weiser Law Firm P.C. V. Michael Hartleib

2024 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Mildred Isakson & The Country's Push For "Fairness" During The Great Depression, Aubrey Griedl

History Hawks: A North Dakota History Zine

The experiences of Mildred Isakson, the Superintendent of Nurses at the North Dakota State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, or San Haven, gives insight into the hardships that working women had to face during the Great Depression, specifically married working women.

Womens Labor Laws, Trinity Blair

History Hawks: A North Dakota History Zine

Women in the Progressive Era were often not protected by any laws. In 1919, North Dakota passed a law limiting women's work hours. Other states were enacting laws similar to the one in North Dakota.

Pathophysiological Features Of Remodeling In Vascular Diseases: Impact Of Inhibitor Of Dna-Binding/Differentiation-3 And Estrogenic Endocrine Disruptors, Muni Rubens, Venkataraghavan Ramamoorthy

All Publications

Vascular diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular, and peripheral arterial diseases, present major clinical and public health challenges, largely due to their common underlying process: vascular remodeling. This process involves structural alterations in blood vessels, driven by a variety of molecular mechanisms. The inhibitor of DNA-binding/differentiation-3 (ID3), a crucial member of ID family of transcriptional regulators, has been identified as a key player in vascular biology, significantly impacting the progression of these diseases. This review explores the role of ID3 in vascular remodeling, emphasizing its involvement in processes such as apoptosis, cell proliferation, and extracellular matrix regulation. Furthermore, …

Cochlear Mechanics Are Preserved After Inner Ear Delivery Of Gold Nanoparticles, Dorothy W Pan, Jinkyung Kim, Patricia M Quiñones, Anthony J Ricci, Brian E Applegate, John S Oghalai

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Novel therapeutic delivery systems and delivery methods to the inner ear are necessary to treat hearing loss and inner ear disorders. However, numerous barriers exist to therapeutic delivery into the bone-encased and immune-privileged environment of the inner ear and cochlea, which makes treating inner ear disorders challenging. Nanoparticles (NPs) are a type of therapeutic delivery system that can be engineered for multiple purposes, and posterior semicircular canal (PSCC) infusion is a method to directly deposit them into the cochlea. We sought to assess PSCC infusion of gold NPs into the cochlea, including the NPs' distribution and effect on cochlear mechanics. …

Prohibition And World War One In The Red River Valley, Hunter Eickhoff

History Hawks: A North Dakota History Zine

This zine discusses the varying attitudes towards prohibition during the World War One era. The zine focuses on a story about a brewery owner who was convicted of smuggling alcohol across the Red River into Grand Forks.

Improving Pediatric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Safety By Enhanced Non-Technical Skills And Team Collaboration, Masashi Uramatsu, Hidekuni Takahashi, Paul Barach, Yoshikazu Fujisawa, Megumi Takahashi, Shiro Mishima, Gaku Yamanaka

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Safe pediatric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ideally relies on non-sedative techniques, as avoiding risky sedation is inherently safer. However, in practice, sedation often becomes unavoidable, particularly for younger children or those with anxiety, to ensure motion-free, high-quality imaging. This narrative review explores the current practices and proposes strategies to enhance safety in pediatric MRI examinations.

METHODS: We identified and analyzed 247 studies addressing various aspects of pediatric MRI safety, including sedation protocols, patient monitoring, and team-based management approaches.

RESULTS: Safe sedation requires careful drug selection tailored to individual needs, continuous monitoring, and robust emergency preparedness. While efforts are underway …

Challenges And Opportunities In Implementing And Enforcing India’S Loose Cigarette Sales Ban: A Qualitative Stakeholder Analysis, Mayank Sakhuja, Daniela B. Friedman Ph.D., Mark M. Macauda Phd, Mph, James R. Hebert Scd, Mangesh S. Pednekar, Prakash C. Gupta, James F. Thrasher Ph.D., Ma, Ms

Faculty Publications

Introduction Several Indian states have banned the sale of loose cigarettes, and India is considering a national ban. This study examines the perceptions of policymakers, implementers, and law enforcement officials regarding the implementation and enforcement of this ban. Methods Between May–October 2022, we conducted in-depth interviews with 26 key stakeholders involved in tobacco control in two Indian cities, Delhi (where the ban was not implemented) and Mumbai (where the ban was in effect). Participants included representatives from various government departments such as police, municipal corporations, FDA, health, and civil society organizations / NGOs such as Vital Strategies, World Health Organization, …

Effect Of Improving Food Security On Parenting Practices And Caregiver–Adolescent Relationships: Qualitative Findings Of An Income-Generating Agricultural Intervention In Rural Kenya, Maricianah A. Onono, Lila Sheira, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Gladys Odhiambo, Pauline Wekesa, Amy Conroy, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, Craig R. Cohen, Sheri D. Weiser

Faculty Publications

Background

Despite the recognised links between food insecurity and parenting, few studies have evaluated the perceived impacts of livelihood or food security interventions on parental practices, intra-household functioning, adolescent behaviour and psychosocial outcomes in HIV-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa.

Aims

The study aimed to understand the perceived effects of food security on parenting practices and how this was experienced by both adolescent girls (aged 13–19 years) and their caregivers in rural Kenya.

Method

We conducted semi-structured, individual interviews with 62 caregiver–adolescent dyads who were participants in the adolescent Shamba Maisha (NCT03741634), a sub-study of adolescent girls and caregivers with a …

Effects Of Missing Data Imputation Methods On Univariate Blood Pressure Time Series Data Analysis And Forecasting With Arima And Lstm, Nicholas Niako, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Gladys E. Maestre, Kristina Vatcheva

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Missing observations within the univariate time series are common in real-life and cause analytical problems in the flow of the analysis. Imputation of missing values is an inevitable step in every incomplete univariate time series. Most of the existing studies focus on comparing the distributions of imputed data. There is a gap of knowledge on how different imputation methods for univariate time series affect the forecasting performance of time series models. We evaluated the prediction performance of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and long short-term memory (LSTM) network models on imputed time series data using ten different imputation techniques. …

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Associated Cutaneous Adverse Events: Mechanisms Of Occurrence, Abdulaziz M. Eshaq, Thomas W. Flanagan, Abdulqader A. Ba Abbad, Zain Alabden A. Makarem, Mohammed S. Bokir, Ahmed K. Alasheq, Sara A. Al Asheikh, Abdullah M. Almashhor, Faroq Binyamani, Waleed A. Al-Amoudi, Abdulaziz S. Bawzir, Youssef Haikel, Mossad Megahed, Mohamed Hassan

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Immunotherapy, particularly that based on blocking checkpoint proteins in many tumors, including melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast (TNB cancer), renal cancer, and gastrointestinal and endometrial neoplasms, is a therapeutic alternative to chemotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies have the potential to target different pathways leading to the destruction of cancer cells. Although ICIs are an effective treatment strategy for patients with highly immune-infiltrated cancers, the development of different adverse effects including cutaneous adverse effects during and after the treatment with ICIs is common. ICI-associated cutaneous adverse effects include mostly inflammatory and bullous dermatoses, as …

Weed Incursion Of Irrigated Forage–Forb Mixtures Under Mob Grazing Or Mowing In The Mountain West Usa, Jennifer Macadam, Jared Gibbons, Xin Dai

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Improving the quality of irrigated pastures can increase the profitability of ruminant production systems. Increasing pasture plant biodiversity is beneficial for ruminants, pollinators, and soil health, but it is challenging to manage weed incursion in seeded mixed-species pastures. This study assessed the weed incursion that resulted when forage legumes or grasses were seeded as binary mixtures with one of four non-legume forbs. Defoliation occurred at 6-week intervals as either mowing or mob grazing. Forbs were chicory, plantain, Lewis flax, or small burnet and forages were alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, creeping foxtail, intermediate wheatgrass, kura clover, meadow bromegrass, orchardgrass, perennial ryegrass, reed …

Update On Strategies To Reduce Early Brain Injury After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Bosco Seong Kyu Yang, Aaron M Gusdon, Xuefang Sophie Ren, Han-Gil Jeong, Chang-Hun Lee, Spiros Blackburn, Huimahn Alex Choi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose of review: Early brain injury (EBI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is the most influential clinical determinant of outcomes. Despite significant advances in understanding of the pathophysiology of EBI, currently no treatments to target EBI have been developed. This review summarizes recent advances in EBI research over the past five years with a focus on potential therapeutic targets.

Recent findings: Mechanism-specific translational studies are converging on several pathophysiologic pathways: improved antioxidant delivery and the Sirt1/Nrf2 pathway for reactive oxygen species; NLRP3 inflammasome and microglial polarization for inflammation; and the PI3K/Akt pathway for apoptosis. Recently identified mechanistic components, such as …

Stem Cell Activity-Coupled Suppression Of Endogenous Retrovirus Governs Adult Tissue Regeneration, Ying Lyu, Soo Jin Kim, Ericka S Humphrey, Richa Nayak, Yinglu Guan, Qingnan Liang, Kun Hee Kim, Yukun Tan, Jinzhuang Dou, Huandong Sun, Xingzhi Song, Priyadharsini Nagarajan, Kamryn N Gerner-Mauro, Kevin Jin, Virginia Liu, Rehman H Hassan, Miranda L Johnson, Lisa P Deliu, Yun You, Anurag Sharma, H Amalia Pasolli, Yue Lu, Jianhua Zhang, Vakul Mohanty, Ken Chen, Youn Joo Yang, Taiping Chen, Yejing Ge

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mammalian retrotransposons constitute 40% of the genome. During tissue regeneration, adult stem cells coordinately repress retrotransposons and activate lineage genes, but how this coordination is controlled is poorly understood. Here, we observed that dynamic expression of histone methyltransferase SETDB1 (a retrotransposon repressor) closely mirrors stem cell activities in murine skin. SETDB1 ablation leads to the reactivation of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs, a type of retrotransposon) and the assembly of viral-like particles, resulting in hair loss and stem cell exhaustion that is reversible by antiviral drugs. Mechanistically, at least two molecularly and spatially distinct pathways are responsible: antiviral defense mediated by hair …

Derivation And Validation Of The Simplified Bleedingaudit Triage Trauma (Sbatt) Score: A Simplified Trauma Score For Major Trauma Patients Injured In Motor Vehicle Collisions, Tim Nutbeam, Willem Stassen, Emily Foote, Francois-Xavier Ageron

School of Health Professions

Objectives To develop and validate a simplified Bleeding Audit Triage Trauma (sBATT) score for use by lay persons, or in areas and environments where physiological monitoring equipment may be unavailable or inappropriate.Design The sBATT was derived from the original BATT, which included prehospital systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), age and trauma mechanism. Variables suitable for lay interpretation without monitoring equipment were included (age, level of consciousness, absence of radial pulse, tachycardia and trapped status). The sBATT was validated using data from the UK Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) registry.Setting Data sourced from prehospital …

Multisociety Endorsement Of The 2024 European Guideline Recommendations On Coronary Revascularization, Victor Dayan, Joseph F Sabik, Minoru Ono, Marc Ruel, Song Wan, Lars G Svensson, Leonard N Girardi, Y Joseph Woo, Vinay Badhwar, Marc R Moon, Wilson Y Szeto, Vinod H Thourani, Rui M S Almeida, Zhe Zheng, Walter J Gomes, Dawn S Hui, Rosemary F Kelly, Miguel Sousa Uva, Joanna Chikwe, Faisal G Bakaeen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Investigating Changes In Connected Speech In Nonfluent/Agrammatic Primary Progressive Aphasia Following Script Training, Stephanie M. Grasso, Karinne Berstis, Kristin Schaffer Mendez, Willa R. Keegan-Rodewald, Lisa D. Wauters, Eduardo Europa, H. Isabel Hubbard, Heather R. Dial, J. Gregory Hixon, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, Adam Vogel, Maya L. Henry

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Script training is a speech-language intervention designed to promote fluent connected speech via repeated rehearsal of functional content. This type of treatment has proven beneficial for individuals with aphasia and apraxia of speech caused by stroke and, more recently, for individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). In the largest study to-date evaluating the efficacy of script training in individuals with nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA; Henry et al., 2018), robust treatment effects were observed, with maintenance of gains up to one year post-treatment. However, outcomes were constrained to measures of script accuracy, intelligibility, and grammaticality, providing a limited view of …

Stereotactic Cardiac Radiotherapy For Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia In Structural Heart Disease Patients: A Systematic Review, Amulya Gupta, Zeeshan Sattar, Nourhan Chaaban, Sagar Ranka, Cameron Carlson, Farhad Sami, Clifford G Robinson, Phillip S Cuculich, Seth H Sheldon, Madhu Reddy, David Akhavan, Amit Noheria

2020-Current year OA Pubs

AIMS: Among patients with structural heart disease with ventricular tachycardia (VT) refractory to medical therapy and catheter ablation, cardiac stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a paradigm-changing treatment option. This study aims to assess the efficacy of cardiac SBRT in refractory VT by comparing the rates of VT episodes, anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) therapies, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks post-SBRT with pre-SBRT.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a comprehensive literature search and included all clinical studies reporting outcomes on cardiac SBRT for VT. Treatment efficacy was evaluated as random-effects pooled rate-ratios of VT episodes, ATP therapies and ICD shocks post-SBRT (after 6-week …

A Conceptual Framework To Assess The Health, Socioeconomic And Environmental Burden Of Chronic Kidney Disease, Charlotte Johnston-Webber, Isaac Bencomo-Bermudez, George Wharton, Robin Van Kessel, Salvatore Barone, Francisco Brotons Muntó, Steven Chadban, Juan Jose Garcia Sanchez, Janwillem Kocks, Kyra Obolensky, Petra Sandow, Neil Skolnik, Ming-Hui Zhao, Alexei Volaco, David Wheeler, Alistair Mcguire, Elias Mossialos

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health challenge that affects patients, caregivers, healthcare systems, the environment and national economies. Despite its far-reaching impact, there is no framework to systematically evaluate national CKD prevention and management programmes or evaluate the societal burden of disease. This paper has two objectives: first, to introduce a comprehensive framework to assess national programmes, which recognises gaps and weaknesses and identifies feasible policy interventions to reduce overall CKD burden; second, to present some key challenges and success stories in delivering CKD services delivered in eight different country settings. A literature review informed an initial version …

Auditing The Future: Ensuring Ethical And Secure Ai And Quantum Computing Itgc And Business Controls, Ramkumar Bharathan

Defensive Publications Series

Artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing are rapidly transforming the business landscape, demanding a parallel evolution in auditing frameworks to ensure their ethical, secure, and reliable deployment. This paper presents a comprehensive auditing approach tailored to the unique challenges posed by these technologies, aligning with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). It addresses key control areas, including access controls, change management, data integrity, model validation, and incident management, providing detailed audit steps with walkthroughs and testing examples. The framework incorporates EU guidance on algorithms and AI governance, emphasizing algorithmic bias mitigation, data privacy, …

Retrospective Analysis Of Senecavirus A Emergence In Diagnostic Samples From 2010-2021 In Thailand, Parin Watcharavongtip, Patumporn Jermsutjarit, Angkana Tantituvanont, Dachrit Nilubol

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

This study investigates Senecavirus A (SVA) in Thai swine using 932 clinical samples, comprising 185 serum samples and 747 vesicular fluid and lesion tissue samples. These samples were collected from suspected cases between 2010 to 2021 at pig farms in the northern, western, and central regions of Thailand by the Swine Viral Evolution and Vaccine Development Research Unit (SVEVR) at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. SVA was first detected in Thailand in 2016 and has been widespread since then, with PCR-based molecular detection showing an average prevalence of 16.3% for SVA, 30.7% for foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), and 7.5% …

Living With Quadriplegia: A Journey Of Personal And Professional Development, James Arkwright

Heroism Science

In this article, I provide an autoethnographic account of the discursive and narrative changes I have experienced and the agency I have found, following an accident thirty-seven years ago that resulted in permanent spinal cord injury. Initially losing my career and identity as a farmer, my hope and survival depended on adopting new frameworks of understanding – both in terms of the physical realities of living with incomplete quadriplegia and in becoming subjectively positioned quite differently than I was as an able-bodied male with farming knowledge and skills. In more recent years, as my spinal health and mobility have deteriorated, …

Letter To "Early Do-Not-Attempt Resuscitation Orders And Neurological Outcomes In Older Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patient: A Multicenter Observational Study", Benjamin Tangkamolsuk, Quang La, David F Lo

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

We enjoyed reading the article by Kohri et al., titled “Early do‐not‐attempt resuscitation orders and neurological outcomes in older out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest patients: A multicenter observational study” and would like to offer additional commentary on the article. We hope these perspectives may provide insight into areas that may require further research and improvement.

The Nature Of Grace: An Introduction, Shann Ray Ferch, Jiying Song

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, a humble refraction of the nations of the world, is a staging ground for the most ultimate notions of human love and loss. That a scholarly journal, touched by art, is a proving ground for the question of love in the context of the human and the divine is still a surprising and serendipitous gift to us personally. The binary between art and science has been brought to greater oneness and now social scientists and artists can ask together: Why does love exist? What is the nature of such love, and how might it help …

A Journey In Servant-Leadership, Larry C. Spears

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Welcome to our 2024 edition of The International Journal of Servant-Leadership. I would like to offer my special thanks to all of our contributing authors and readers of this journal. Each edition of IJSL contains a wonderful array of articles and papers, poetry and research, film reviews and reflections from around the world that demonstrate many remarkable journeys in servant-leadership

Interview With Executive President Fr. Peter Balleis, Sj, Shann Ray Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Fr. Peter Balleis, SJ, a leading advocate of refugee and forcibly displaced persons’ rights, has been fighting for human rights and social justice for more than 20 years. As executive president of Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL), Fr. Peter works toward a more peaceful world using the power of education.

Devoted To Healing The Heart Of The World, Shann Ray Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

In receiving the following narratives of the work of Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) from around the globe, I noticed a deep sense of hunger for the health and well-being of all humanity. This hunger, a seeking and restorative sense of hope and gladness at the heart of people, was pervasive, elegant, incisive, and beautiful in each interview. By setting out to listen to the lives of those working on the front lines of refugee, poverty-ridden, and displaced populations globally, the gift they gave to me personally, to the world of ideas, and the more important world of action is both …

Serendipity In Non-Profit Founding And The Healing Response Of Two Servant-Leaders To Crises Of Migration, Michael T. Von Behren

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

This article explores the intersection of non-profit founding with elements of servant-leadership. Drawing upon current research in social entrepreneurship and non-profit founding, the article reflects on these in light of the stories of two selfless individuals, Varian Fry and Enrique Morones, whose lives of servanthood spawned the founding of two influential organizations: the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) and the Border Angels. While sharing the stories of these organizations, and of their founding, this article highlights issues of immigration offering a healing perspective through five themes of servant-leadership articulated by Robert K. Greenleaf revealed in the lives of these non-profit founders. …

Colloquium Servant-Leadership Interviews, Shann Ray Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) Colloquium is a group of PhD candidates and others united in providing equitable high quality tertiary learning to people and communities at the margins of societies. These margins, indicated by poverty, location, lack of opportunity, conflict, or forced displacement, define the nature of our shared sense of sisterhood and brotherhood worldwide. The JWL mission and works of mission, enacted daily throughout the world, fulfill Greenleaf’s best test of servant-leadership, bringing greater wisdom, health, autonomy, freedom and service to others, and helps bring about Greenleaf’s notion that the least privileged of society are benefitted and not …