Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Correlation Between Scleral Spur Angle And Intraocular Lens Tilt, Dylan Mcbee, Karim Kozhaya, Li Wang, Douglas D Koch, Allison J Chen, Mitchell P Weikert

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between the preoperative vertex-scleral spur angle (Vtx-SSA) and postoperative horizontal intraocular lens (IOL) tilt after routine cataract surgery.

Setting: Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Design: Prospective case series.

Methods: This study enrolled patients who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification cataract extraction with IOL implantation. The Anterion and Eyestar 900 swept-source optical coherence tomographers (SS-OCTs) were used to determine Vtx-SSA and lens tilt (crystalline and IOL) measurements, respectively. Tilt vectors were decomposed into orthogonal, vertical, and horizontal components to explore preoperative correlations independently. The Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis were used to …

Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison Of Acoltremon Ophthalmic Solution 0.003% And Cyclosporine 0.05% Ophthalmic Emulsion For Increased Tear Production In Patients With Dry Eye Disease, Stephen Pflugfelder, Tony Okoro, Margaret Ainslie-Garcia, Anja Haltner, Emily K Prentiss, Elizabeth M Salvo-Halloran, Nikethana Srikanth, Michelle Senchyna, Esen K Akpek

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Barrett’S Esophagus-Associated Genetic Loci In African Americans: A Case-Control Study Using The All Of Us Research Program, Ashwin Rao, Jinyoung Byun, Aaron P Thrift, Hashem B El-Serag

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background and aims: Barrett's esophagus is the only known precursor lesion to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Barrett's esophagus and EAC are less common in African Americans than in non-Hispanic Whites. Studies in European populations have identified Barrett's esophagus-associated risk loci; however, none have examined loci in African Americans cohorts. We conducted a case-control targeted replication study to investigate previously identified Barrett's esophagus risk loci in an African Americans cohort in the All of Us (AoU) Research Program.

Methods: We abstracted phenomic and genomic data from 108 African Americans with Barrett's esophagus and 778 African Americans controls in the AoU database. We …

Whole Genome Sequencing Analysis Of Over 3500 Individuals Dementia-Free Over 85 Years Old, Gina M Peloso, Dongyu Wang, Sabrina M Abbruzzese, Joshua C Bis, Seung Hoan Choi, Alexa Beiser, Jan Bressler, Josée Dupuis, Alison E Fohner, Mohsen Ghanbari, Richard A Gibbs, Nancy Heard-Costa, M Arfan Ikram, Paul Lacaze, Quentin Le Grand, Oscar L Lopez, Thomas H Mosley, Moeen Riaz, Aïcha Soumaré, Amber Yaqub, Eric Boerwinkle, Bruce M Psaty, Myriam Fornage, Sudha Seshadri, Anita L Destefano

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND:

Identifying genetic variants conferring resilience to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) may hold promise for developing therapeutics.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine genetic associations with being dementia-free at age 85 (DF85).

METHODS:

We examined genetic associations, using whole genome sequencing data, with DF85 in three Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine cohorts and the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project Phenotype Harmonization Consortium. We tested common variants individually and aggregation of rare (MAF≤1%) coding and non-coding variants in DF85 participants (n=3,657) against individuals who were not DF85 (n=20,010). We verified associations using a stricter control set who developed dementia before age 85 (n=5,552).

RESULTS: …

Plasticity And Language In The Anaesthetized Human Hippocampus, Kalman A Katlowitz, Eric R Cole, Elizabeth A Mickiewicz, Shraddha Shah, Melissa Franch, Joshua A Adkinson, James L Belanger, Raissa K Mathura, Domokos Meszéna, Matthew Mcginley, William Muñoz, Garrett P Banks, Sydney S Cash, Chih-Wei Hsu, Angelique C Paulk, Nicole R Provenza, Andrew J Watrous, Ziv Williams, Alica M Goldman, Vaishnav Krishnan, Atul Maheshwari, Sarah R Heilbronner, Robert Kim, Nuttida Rungratsameetaweemana, Benjamin Y Hayden, Sameer A Sheth

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Consciousness is a fundamental component of cognition1, but the degree to which higher-order pattern recognition relies on it remains disputed2,3. Here we demonstrate the persistence of oddball discrimination, semantic processing and online prediction in individuals under general-anaesthesia-induced loss of consciousness4,5. Using high-density Neuropixels microelectrodes6 to record both single-unit and local-field-potential neural activity in the human hippocampus while playing a series of tones to anaesthetized patients, we found that hippocampal neurons and local oscillations retained some detection of oddball tones. This effect size grew over the course of the experiment …

Generation And Characterization Of Twist1 Acetyl-Mimic And Acetyl-Deficient Mouse Models, Mary Elmeniawi, Xiaobin Yu, Samuel Wen, Gunjan A Bhatia, Lan Liao, Jianming Xu, Walid D Fakhouri

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

TWIST1 encodes a highly conserved basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor essential for embryonic development from Drosophila to humans. TWIST1 activity is regulated by post‐translational modifications, including phosphorylation during development and cancer metastasis. Recent cancer studies identified acetylation of lysines K73 and K76 as a novel regulatory modification that shifts TWIST1 from a repressive to an activating state during epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the developmental and in vivo functions of TWIST1 acetylation remain unknown. To investigate the physiological role, we generated the first acetyl‐deficient Twist1 K73,76R K73,76R and acetyl‐mimic Twist1 K73,76Q K73,76Q mouse models using CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated genome editing. Targeted sequencing confirmed substitutions, …

Systematic Identification Of Cell-Cell Interactions Associated With The Severity Of Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease, Zijian Zhang, Naail Chowdhury, Jing Dong, Lang Wu, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex, multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder involving dysfunction across multiple brain regions. While accumulating evidence has implicated the roles of diverse cell types, including neurons, glia, and vascular cells in AD pathogenesis, it is still poorly understood how cell type interactions drive or respond to the disease progression and severity.

Objective

This study aimed to systematically characterize cell-type–specific alterations and intercellular communication changes associated with AD progression.

Methods

We leveraged the transcriptome profiling and a previously established statistical framework to present a comprehensive mapping of the cellular interaction landscape in the human brain of AD.

Results …

A Trans-Omics Gene-Smoking Interaction Study Of Lung Cancer Based On Consortium Data, Ning Xie, Xiaowen Xu, Yanru Wang, Aoxuan Wang, Xiang Wang, Xuan Wang, Mengsheng Zhao, Jiacheng Zhou, Yongyue Wei, Manel Esteller, Zhibin Hu, Hongbing Shen, Rayjean J Hung, Christopher I Amos, Yi Li, David C Christiani, Feng Chen, Yang Zhao, Ruyang Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rationale: Genetically predicted molecular traits provide a cost-effective approach for identifying biomarkers and uncovering underlying biological mechanisms. We extended this framework to investigate gene-smoking interactions in lung cancer susceptibility.

Objectives: To identify trans-omics gene-smoking interactions affecting lung cancer risk and to assess how biomarkers modify effect of smoking.

Methods: We conducted the first trans-omics gene-smoking interaction study of lung cancer by integrating consortium-scale individual genotype data (27 737 cases vs 449 910 noncases) from the International Lung Cancer OncoArray Consortium (ILCCO-OncoArray), Transdisciplinary Research Into Cancer of the Lung (TRICL), Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO), and the …

Retinopathy Caused By A Primary Immune Regulatory Disorder - The Spectrum Of Aire-Associated Retinopathy: Case Series And Literature Review, Mohammad Anas, Andrew C Browning, Siying Lin, Omar A Mahroo, Andrew R Webster, Margaret Reynolds, Tatyana Milman, Ralph C Eagle Jr, Richard Vile, Marc Toso, Gregory S Hageman, Hossein Nazari, Erik J Van Kuijk, Jose S Pulido

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Retinal involvement in autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS1), a rare monogenic autoimmune disorder caused by mutations in the AIRE gene, is increasingly recognised but remains poorly defined. Prior reports suggest a variable phenotype, ranging from mild changes to severe vision loss, often presumed untreatable. We explored the range of retinal phenotypes associated with AIRE gene deficiency in a multicentre case series of patients with APS1.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective case note review of patients with molecularly confirmed APS1 from tertiary ophthalmic centres. Clinical history, multimodal retinal imaging, electrophysiology, genetic data, and treatment regimens were analysed. Histopathology was …

Role Of Households With Children In Community Spread Of Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacterales, St. Louis, Missouri, Usa, Barrett Breeze, Ahmed Babiker, Sreenivas Konda, Alaina L Robinson, Stefan J Green, Catherine C Babbs, Federico Cunha, Katherine Y Shen, India Shepherd Hammond, Stephanie A Fritz, Latania K Logan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Community-acquired multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacterales bacteria are an increasing public health concern, yet whether households play a role in community spread remains unclear. We investigated 150 households with children in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, for MDR Enterobacterales. We cultured swab specimens from household members and environmental surfaces for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We also performed whole-genome sequencing in the 53 (35%) households where >1 MDR Enterobacterales species were recovered. Enterobacter hormaechei predominated, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pantoea species. Whole-genome sequencing revealed closely related strains shared between persons and environmental surfaces, suggesting potential intra-household transmission. We identified >1 horizontal gene …

Quantitative Assessment Of Cardiac Phosphocreatine Metabolism Under Physiological And Pharmacological Stress Using Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Qi Huang, Caleb Berberet, Ryan Wahidi, Todd Pavek, Cihat Eldeniz, Liya Dai, Rong Guo, Yang Yang, Scott Bugenhagen, Linda R Peterson, Thomas H Schindler, Pamela K Woodard, Jie Zheng

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Phosphocreatine (PCr) exhibits a distinct chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) resonance at ∼2.5 ppm with slower exchange kinetics and lower pH sensitivity than creatine. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of quantifying myocardial PCr-dominated concentration ([PCr]

METHODS: Phantoms with varied concentrations of PCr and Cr were scanned to characterize PCr CEST signals under physiological conditions. Experiments were conducted at both room temperature and 37 °C with full Z-spectra acquisition. For the study in vivo, CEST imaging was performed in normal canines (n = 13), at rest and after regadenoson vasodilation, and during dobutamine stress (n = 5). In addition, …

Early Neurodevelopmental Outcomes In Children With Congenital Heart Disease, Mike Seed, Cynthia Ortinau, Caroline Lee, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Neurodevelopmental impairments are common in children with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVES: To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes by cardiac diagnosis and identify associations between medical and social factors and early neurodevelopmental outcomes among children with congenital heart disease.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional analysis used neurodevelopmental follow-up data obtained between May 1, 2019, and June 30, 2022, and entered into the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative (CNOC) registry, with linkage to the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium registry. Children younger than 30 months from 25 CNOC sites were studied. Data analysis was performed between January 2023 and December 2024.

EXPOSURES: Patients …

Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Operative And Nonoperative Management Of A3 Versus A4 Thoracolumbar Burst Fractures, Barry T. S. Kweh, Charlotte Dandurand, Alex R. Vaccaro, Klaus J. Schnake, Mohammad El-Sharkawi, Richard J J. Bransford, Andrei Fernandes Joaquim, Harvinder Singh Chhabra, Ulrich J. A. Spiegl, Dimitri Hauri, F. Cumhur Öner, Gregory D. Schroeder, Jin Wee Tee

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare patient-report outcome measures in patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures managed either operatively or nonoperatively.

METHODS: A prospective multicenter observational study was conducted of neurologically intact patients who sustained traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures managed operatively or nonoperatively. Outcome measures included scores on the EQ-5D index, EQ-5D visual analog scale (VAS), pain numerical rating scale (NRS), and AO Spine Patient Reported Outcome Spine Trauma (PROST) tool and patient satisfaction with follow-up up to 2 years. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Cochran-Armitage test were used to evaluate differences between continuous and ordinal variables, respectively. …

Smaller Right Ventricle Results In Poorer Exercise Performance In Young Patients With Repaired Tetralogy Of Fallot, Christiane Mhanna, Katerina Kourpas, Takeshi Tsuda

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Severe right ventricular (RV) dilatation and exercise intolerance are considered indications for pulmonary valve replacement in surgically repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF).

METHODS AND RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) were performed in rTOF patients with pulmonary insufficiency (PI). Oxygen pulse (OP), calculated as oxygen consumption (V̇O

CONCLUSIONS: A smaller RV was associated with worse exercise performance, indicating exercise intolerance is independent of RV dilatation in young rTOF with PI and represents a unique pathological entity responsible for reduced exercise performance.

Education Journey: A Phenomenological Investigation Of The Lived College Experiences For Black Women Ages 20–39, Marsha Natalie Tucker-Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study focused on the lived college experiences of Black female students aged 20-39 in the New York Metropolitan area, drawing on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to examine how cultural context, social interaction, and community expectations shaped their academic engagement and development. Using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and journal prompts with ten participants from local communities and churches, the study found that race and social expectations exerted a more profound influence on participants’ academic journeys than gender or age. Their narratives affirmed the value of hermeneutic phenomenology and intersectionality in understanding Black women’s experiences in higher education, particularly as they …

Association Of Polygenic Risk Scores With Aortic Valve Calcium: The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Seamus P Whelton, Jie Yao, Clary Clish, Alexis C Wood, Kent D Taylor, Michael J Blaha, Matthew Budoff, Natalie Marrero, George Thanassoulis, Wendy S Post, Xiuqing Guo, Jerome I Rotter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is the primary process leading to aortic stenosis. We examined whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) are associated with AVC beyond traditional atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Methods: We included 6812 participants in MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) with computed tomography-measured AVC at Visit 1. Using previously published PRS we calculated weighted PRS, standardized within each ancestry group. The cross-sectional association per 1 SD higher PRS with AVC >0 was examined using multivariable logistic regression modeling with Bonferroni correction. The mean age was 62 years old, 53% were female, and 913 (13.4%) had AVC >0 at …

Deep-Learning Endomicroscope With Large Field-Of-View And Depth-Of-Field For Real-Time In Vivo Imaging Of Epithelial Cancer Hallmarks, Huayu Hou, Jimin Wu, Jinyun Liu, Vivek Boominathan, Argaja Shende, Karthik Goli, Jennifer Carns, Richard A Schwarz, Ann M Gillenwater, Preetha Ramalingam, Mila P Salcedo, Kathleen M Schmeler, Tomasz S Tkaczyk, Jacob T Robinson, Ashok Veeraraghavan, Rebecca R Richards-Kortum

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In vivo microscopy (IVM) has shown great promise to improve early detection of epithelial precancer, but it suffers from fundamental trade-offs that limit the resolution, field-of-view (FOV) and depth-of-field (DOF). Here, we present PrecisionView, a compact, deep learning-enabled endomicroscope that breaks these constraints and achieves 20 mm2 FOV and 500 µm DOF with 4 µm resolution, representing approximately 5× increase in FOV and 8× larger DOF compared to conventional IVM with similar resolution. PrecisionView integrates a deep learning-optimized phase mask and real-time reconstruction, enabling rapid in vivo assessment of two key hallmarks of cancer: epithelial cell nuclear morphology and subsurface …

Pneumomlpred: Innovating Pneumonia Management With Guideline Adherence Review And Explainable Machine Learning-Based Mortality Prediction - A Single-Centre Retrospective Study, Kamel A. Samara, Hiba Jawdat Barqawi, Saryia Adra, Batool Aldaher, Drishti D. Kampani, Enad Haddad, Hebah Soudan, Islam Ibrahim Anwar, Mohamad Besher Adi, Omar Hamadi, Yumna Almour, Mohamed Nassef, Zaher Al Aghbari, Eman Abu-Gharbieh

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the leading causes of death globally. Changing antibiotic resistance profiles, paucity of reliable CAP mortality prediction models, and ageing populations will increase its burden. This study aims to evaluate adherence to CAP management guidelines as well as develop an ML-based mortality prediction model.

Methods: This retrospective, chart review included all CAP cases between 2016 and 2021. Variables collected included patients' demographics, comorbidities, vitals, laboratory, imaging, and culture findings, as well as initial and targeted antibiotic regimens. Data was pre-processed and analysed in python-3. Adherence to the American thoracic society/infectious diseases society of America …

Urobiome Composition Varies With Vesicoureteral Reflux Grade And History Of Febrile Urinary Tract Infection, Theresa C. Barrett, Kelvin Li, Adam Fitch, Asha Patel, Bhanu Sharma, Jacqueline Holden, Kermina Abdelsayed, Nina N. Kowalewski, Sridhar Narla, Daniel Bushnell, Barbara A. Methé, Catherine S. Forster

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a risk factor for urinary tract infection (UTI). However, data describing the urobiome in children with VUR are limited. Here, we characterized the urobiome in children with and without VUR to better understand its potential role in VUR pathogenesis. Catheterized urine samples were obtained from children who presented for voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) between 12/1/2020 and 10/3/2023. Children were excluded if they had any surgical procedures of the genitourinary tract in the 30 days prior to VCUG or were on treatment antibiotics at the time of VCUG. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and taxonomical classification identified the urobiome. …

Longitudinal Changes In Cognition And Brain Imaging In Persons With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, James Kennedy, Sarah A Cooley, June Roman Fox, Kalen J Petersen, Elizabeth Westerhaus, Pat Reid, Linet Lopez, Beau M Ances

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: As persons with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) live longer, interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), aging, and structural brain integrity become increasingly vital for understanding cognitive disorders. This study analyzed the effects of aging, HIV serostatus, and viral load on cognition and brain volumes in a large cohort of persons without HIV (PWOH), PWH with undetectable virus (PWHU) (HIV RNA ≤50 copies/mL), and PWH with detectable virus (PHWD) (HIV RNA >50 copies/mL). Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were included.

METHODS: Cognitive composites (NPZ4) and brain volumes were obtained from 259 PWOH, 264 PWHU, and 84 PWHD with a total of …

Multi-Grader Validation Of The Telemedicine Retinopathy Of Prematurity Severity Score, Harrison W. Pratt, Sarthak V. Shah, Cindy S. Zhao, Arthur R. Brant, Caroline R. Baumal, Cagri G. Besirli, Audina M. Berrocal, Kimberley A. Drenser, Anna L. Ells, Clio Armitage Harper, G. Baker Hubbard, Eric D. Nudleman, Polly Quiram, Irena Tsui, Edward Wood, Yoshihiro Yonekawa, Tatiana Rosenblatt, Jochen Kumm, Darius M. Moshfeghi

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

We aimed to statefully validate Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) grading by evaluating intergrader variability over age-matched simulated exams. In a prospective retinal photographic grading cohort study, both eyes of twenty patients with five images per eye per visit were graded by twelve expert graders across six weekly visits. For each eye visit, ROP experts graded the Zone, Stage, and Plus, from which the Telemedicine ROP Severity Score (tROP-SS) was calculated. Graders retained knowledge of prior assessments for a given eye and followed International Classification of ROP rules. Intergrader coefficient of variation (CoV) for Zone, Stage, Plus, and tROP-SS remained below …

Smart Pediatric Oncology Tracker Of Symptoms (Spots), A Web-Based Interface For The Pediatric Pro-Ctcae: Development And Usability Study, Stacey Crane, Deevakar Rogith, Melody Hellsten, Andrew D Miller, Jacqueline Castillo, Brandy Boeger, Susan Vidaurre, Stefanie Pieper, Cecile Nguyen, Duc Anh Thanh Huynh, Jessica Wooden, Amy Franklin, Karen Moody, Wenyaw Chan, Pamela S Hinds, Constance Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Children undergoing cancer treatment experience a range of treatment-related toxicities that significantly affect quality of life and adherence to therapy. Current methods for symptom reporting rely heavily on clinician interpretation of caregiver or child verbal reports, which can result in incomplete or inaccurate records. The Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (Pediatric PRO-CTCAE; National Cancer Institute) provides a validated mechanism for direct symptom reporting by children and caregivers, yet its traditional administration and preselection of questions limit the breadth of symptom capture.

Objective: This research aimed to co-design and conduct formative usability testing …

Simultaneous Multielectrode Recordings Along The Human Scala Tympani: Evidence For Level-Dependent Place Coding, Amit Walia, Matthew A Shew, Shannon M Lefler, Amanda J Ortmann, Patrick Ioerger, Jordan Varghese, Jacques A Herzog, Craig A Buchman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The cochlea systematically encodes sound frequency and intensity via a precisely organized tonotopic map, in which traveling waves peak at specific cochlear locations. A fundamental but incompletely understood aspect of auditory coding involves how stimulus intensity shapes this tonotopic organization. In animal models, increasing intensity shifts the cochlear traveling wave peak basally; however, physiological evidence for such intensity-dependent shifts in human cochlear processing is limited. Here, we performed simultaneous multielectrode electrocochleography recordings along the human scala tympani to characterize how cochlear place coding varies as a function of stimulus intensity. In subjects with preserved cochlear mechanics, including individuals with auditory …

The Hidden Crisis: A Rare Case Of Thyrotoxicosis In A Young Female, Mimicking Neuromuscular Disease, Ali Haider Awan, Seerat Riaz, Hafiz Muhammad Hashim Butt, Sajeela Riaz, Fnu Sameeha, Hilana Soliman Omar, Shafia Naeem, Abida Perveen, Jahanzeb Malik

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a rare but life-threatening cause of acute flaccid paralysis associated with hypokalemia. Although more common in males and individuals of Asian descent, it may present atypically in young females and be easily misdiagnosed. We report a case of a 30-year-old female who presented with acute quadriparesis. Extensive neuromuscular evaluation initially pointed toward Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), but subsequent investigations revealed profound hypokalemia. Further workup confirmed thyrotoxicosis as the underlying cause. Prompt potassium replacement and initiation of antithyroid therapy led to complete clinical recovery. This case highlights the importance of considering both endocrine disorders and electrolyte disturbances, …

Inflammatory Markers In The Emergency Department And Ptsd Symptoms In The Aurora Study: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, Kristen Nishimi, Sarah Linnstaedt, Thomas Neylan, Lauren Mckibben, Liz Marie Albertorio-Sáez, Ying Zhao, Stacey House, Francesca Beaudoin, Xinming An, Jennifer Stevens, Gari Clifford, Tanja Jovanovic, Laura Germine, Scott Rauch, John Haran, Alan Storrow, Paul Musey, Phyllis Hendry, Sophia Sheikh, Brittany Punches, Robert Swor, Jose Pascual, Mark Seamon, Elizabeth M Datner, Claire Pearson, David Peak, Roland Merchant, Robert Domeier, Niels Rathlev, Brian O'Neil, Paulina Sergot, Leon Sanchez, Steven Bruce, Steven Harte, Ronald Kessler, Karestan Koenen, Kerry Ressler, Samuel Mclean, Aoife O'Donovan

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Systemic inflammation is hypothesized to contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) vulnerability. Few studies have examined inflammation shortly after trauma as a predictor of later PTSD symptoms. We examined whether inflammation from the emergency department (ED) post-trauma is associated with PTSD symptom severity over the following 6 months.

METHODS: Our sample included 742 AURORA participants, a longitudinal cohort of patients in 29 EDs across the United States after a traumatic stressor, followed up to 6 months. Plasma cytokines were assessed from a study blood draw in the ED: an inflammatory index (standardized sum of generally pro-inflammatory markers interleukin [IL]-6, …

Inflammatory Markers In The Emergency Department And Ptsd Symptoms In The Aurora Study: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, Kristen Nishimi, Stacey L House, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Systemic inflammation is hypothesized to contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) vulnerability. Few studies have examined inflammation shortly after trauma as a predictor of later PTSD symptoms. We examined whether inflammation from the emergency department (ED) post-trauma is associated with PTSD symptom severity over the following 6 months.

METHODS: Our sample included 742 AURORA participants, a longitudinal cohort of patients in 29 EDs across the United States after a traumatic stressor, followed up to 6 months. Plasma cytokines were assessed from a study blood draw in the ED: an inflammatory index (standardized sum of generally pro-inflammatory markers interleukin [IL]-6, …

+Cd49a+Cd103+ Cytotoxic Tissue-Resident Natural Killer Cells Infiltrate And Control Solid Epithelial Tumor Growth In Mice, Nina B Horowitz, Jennifer A Foltz, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Human tissue-resident natural killer (NK) cells (trNK cells), broadly defined by markers of tissue residency, such as CD49a [

Spoti-Find: A Novel, Open-Source Void Spot Assay Image Analysis Tool., Cara M. Statz, Susan Sheehan, Seamus Mawe, Nick Sebasco, Will Ricke, J Matthew Mahoney, Ron Korstanje

Faculty Research 2026

The void spot assay (VSA) is a widely used, noninvasive method for evaluating urinary behavior in rodents, but existing analysis tools are limited in scope, throughput, or accessibility. We developed Spoti-find, a stand-alone, open-source VSA image analysis application that introduces novel, biologically meaningful metrics including void circularity, distance to paper edge, and volume-based binning into primary, micro-, and nanovoids. Designed with usability in mind, Spoti-find features a graphical interface that enables manual or semiautomated spot identification, adjustable thresholds, and streamlined data export without the need for coding expertise. We validated Spoti-find across diverse datasets, showing strong interuser consistency, sensitivity to …

Functional Heterogeneity In Trophoblast Stem Cells Derived From Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Products Of Conception., Qi Fu, Keisuke Kozai, Xingrao Ke, Joe Varberg, Sheng Xia, Ashley S. Howard, Michael Lydic, Kristin Holoch, Courtney Marsh, Elin Grundberg, Kaela Varberg

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), defined as two or more consecutive miscarriages, affects 1-5% of couples attempting to conceive and most frequently occurs between 6 and 8 weeks of gestation, coinciding with critical stages of placental development. Despite this temporal association, placental contributions to RPL pathogenesis remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that trophoblast lineage development, including extravillous trophoblast (EVT) and syncytiotrophoblast (STB) differentiation, are disrupted in RPL. To test this hypothesis, we established and functionally characterized human trophoblast stem (TS) cell lines derived from products of conception (POC) obtained from consenting idiopathic RPL cases. Four TS cell lines were successfully derived …

Maternal Low-Sodium Diet Impairs Hippocampal Neurogenesis And Cognition In Adult Mouse Offspring., Xingrao Ke, Connie C. Grobe, Justin L. Grobe, Wei Yu, John J. Reho, Kaela Varberg, Robert H. Lane, Jeffrey L. Segar

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Sodium (Na) homeostasis is critical for organ and cell function. Although low maternal Na intake during gestation is associated with low offspring survival rates and birth weights, the long-term impact on neurocognitive function is not known. Identifying a relationship between perinatal Na dysregulation and adult behavioral and cognitive outcomes may be important given the prevalence of both dysnatremias and neurocognitive impairment in preterm infants. This study aimed to determine the association between maternal low Na intake (LSI) and hippocampal-dependent behaviors in mice. C57BL/6J dams were fed a standard (0.30%) or low (0.04%) Na diet from postnatal day 0 until postnatal …