Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Care Partner Burden At 1-Year Post-Injury And Associations With Emotional Awareness, Functioning, And Empathy After Tbi: A Tbi Model Systems Study, Daniel W Klyce, Kritzianel Merced, Alexander Erickson, Dawn M Neumann, Flora M Hammond, Angelle M Sander, Jennifer A Bogner, Tamara Bushnik, Joyce S Chung, Jacob A Finn

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: People with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lack awareness of their own emotions and often have problems with emotion dysregulation, affective disorders, and empathy deficits. These impairments are known to impact psychosocial behaviors and may contribute to the burden experienced by care partners of individuals with TBI.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of emotional awareness, emotional functioning, and empathy among participants with TBI with care partner burden.

METHOD: This multisite, cross-sectional, observational study used data from 90 dyads (participants with TBI and their care partner) 1-year post-injury. Participants with TBI completed the Difficulty with Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS; Awareness, …

Gene-Environment Interactions Underlying The Etiology Of Neural Tube Defects, Carlo Donato Caiaffa, Cristiane Sá Roriz Fonteles, Lei Yunping, Richard H Finnell

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Neural tube defects (NTDs) consist of severe structural malformations of the brain and spinal cord and are the second most common structural birth defect in humans, accounting for approximately 2700 affected pregnancies every year in the United States. These numbers are highly significant, considering that birth defects remain a leading cause of infant mortality in the United States, affecting approximately 120,000 babies born annually. Survivors of these congenital malformations face long-term disability and lifelong challenges imposed by severe physical burdens compromising the afflicted individual's overall quality of life. Clearly, birth defects, and especially NTDs remain a global public health challenge, …

Neuroinflammation And Amyloid Deposition In The Progression Of Mixed Alzheimer And Vascular Dementia, Chunwei Ying, Peter Kang, Michael M Binkley, Andria L Ford, Yasheng Chen, Jason Hassenstab, Qing Wang, Jeremy Strain, John C Morris, Jin-Moo Lee, Tammie L S Benzinger, Hongyu An

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) pathologies coexist in patients with cognitive impairment. Abnormal amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition is the hallmark pathologic biomarker for AD. Neuroinflammation may be a pathophysiological mechanism in both AD and VCID. In this study, we aimed to understand the role of neuroinflammation and Aβ deposition in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) progression and cognitive decline over a decade in patients with mixed AD and VCID pathologies.

METHODS: Twenty-four elderly participants (median [interquartile range] age 78 [64.8, 83] years old, 14 female) were recruited from the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research …

Supplementary Feeding And Infection Control In Pregnant Adolescents-A Secondary Analysis Of A Randomized Trial Among Malnourished Women In Sierra Leone, Aminata S Koroma, Mariama Ellie, Kadiatu Bangura, Per O Iversen, David T Hendrixson, Kevin Stephenson, Mark J Manary

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Undernutrition during pregnancy in adolescence confers a high risk of maternal morbidity and adverse birth outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings. In a secondary analysis, we hypothesized that younger undernourished pregnant adolescents (<18 years) would benefit more than undernourished pregnant adults (>20 years) from the intervention of supplementary food and anti-infective treatments. The original trial in Sierra Leone enrolled 236 younger adolescents (<18 years), 454 older adolescents (aged 18-19 years), and 741 adults (≥20 years), all with a mid-upper arm circumference ≤23 cm. Younger adolescents had lower final fundal height as well as smaller newborns (-0.3 kg; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.3, -0.2; p < 0.001) and shorter newborns (-1.1 cm; 95% CI, -1.5, -0.7; p < 0.001) than adults. The intervention's effect varied significantly between maternal age groups: adults benefited more than younger adolescents with respect to newborn birth weight (difference in difference, 166 g; 95% CI, 26, 306; interaction p = 0.02), birth length (difference in difference, 7.4 mm; 95% CI, 0.1, 14.8; interaction p = 0.047), and risk for low birth weight (<2.5 kg) (interaction p = 0.019). The differences in response persisted despite adjustments for maternal anthropometry, the number of prior pregnancies, and human immunodeficiency virus status. Older adolescents similarly benefited more than younger adolescents, though differences did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion, newborns born to younger adolescent mothers had worse outcomes than those born to adult mothers, and adults and their newborns benefited more from the intervention than younger adolescents.

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

2020-Current year OA Pubs

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

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

Pregnancy-Induced Differential Expression Of Sars-Cov-2 And Influenza A Viral Entry Factors In The Lower Respiratory Tract, Tusar Giri, Santosh Panda, Arvind Palanisamy

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Despite differences in the clinical presentation of coronavirus disease-19 and pandemic influenza in pregnancy, fundamental mechanistic insights are currently lacking because of the difficulty in recruiting critically ill pregnant subjects for research studies. Therefore, to better understand host-pathogen interaction during pregnancy, we performed a series of foundational experiments in pregnant rats at term gestation to assess the expression of host entry factors for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza A virus (IAV) and genes associated with innate immune response in the lower respiratory tract. We report that pregnancy is characterized by a decrease in host factors mediating …

Leveraging Health Infrastructure To Optimize Hpv Vaccination For Adolescents In Zambia: Protocol For An Implementation Study, Sam Miti, Thembekile Shato, Comfort Asante, Ana Baumann, Gershom Chongwe, Patricia M. Bobo, Michelle I. Silver, Jean M. Hunleth

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Zambia, where HIV prevalence is also high (11.3%). HIV heightens the risk of developing and dying from cervical cancer. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can prevent 90% of cervical cancers, and in Zambia is recommended for adolescent girls ages 14-15 years, including those with HIV. Currently they mainly deliver HPV vaccination via school-based campaigns, which may exclude the most vulnerable adolescents-those out-of-school or who irregularly attend. Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) are more likely to have these vulnerabilities. Further, school-based campaigns are not tailored to the WHO-recommended HPV vaccination …

The Neurotoxin Dsp-4 Dysregulates The Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine System And Recapitulates Molecular And Behavioral Aspects Of Prodromal Neurodegenerative Disease, Alexa F. Iannitelli, Michael A. Kelberman, Daniel J. Lustberg, Anu Korukonda, Katharine E. Mccann, Bernard Mulvey, Arielle Segal, L Cameron Liles, Steven A. Sloan, Joseph D. Dougherty, David Weinshenker

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) is among the earliest sites of tau and α-synuclein pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), respectively. The onset of these pathologies coincides with loss of noradrenergic fibers in LC target regions and the emergence of prodromal symptoms including sleep disturbances and anxiety. Paradoxically, these prodromal symptoms are indicative of a noradrenergic hyperactivity phenotype, rather than the predicted loss of norepinephrine (NE) transmission following LC damage, suggesting the engagement of complex compensatory mechanisms. Because current therapeutic efforts are targeting early disease, interest in the LC has grown, and it is critical to identify …

Examining Decisional Needs And Contextual Factors Influencing Fertility Status Assessment Among Young Female Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Sequential Mixed Methods Study Protocol, Brooke Cherven, Nataliya V. Ivankova, Jessica B. Spencer, Anne M. Fitzpatrick, Karen C. Burns, Jenna Demedis, Holly R Hoefgen, Ann C. Mertens, James L. Klosky

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Female cancer survivors who received gonadotoxic cancer treatment are at risk for profound diminished ovarian reserve and/or primary ovarian insufficiency with resulting infertility, which can be associated with distress and decreased quality of life.. Despite prioritizing future parenthood, many survivors are unsure of the impact of their treatment on their future fertility, and little is known about the perceived reproductive health needs and factors associated with receipt of a fertility status assessment (FSA). There is a lack of developmentally appropriate reproductive health decisional support interventions available for emerging adult cancer survivors. This study will explore the perceived reproductive health …

Inhibition Of Mirna Associated With A Disease-Specific Signature And Secreted Via Extracellular Vesicles Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients Suppresses Target Organ Inflammation In A Humanized Mouse Model, Nicholas A Young, Emily Schwarz, Braden M Zeno, Shane Bruckner, Rosana A Mesa, Kyle Jablonski, Lai-Chu Wu, Elisha D O Roberson, Wael N Jarjour

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Distinct, disease-associated intracellular miRNA (miR) expression profiles have been observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) patients. Additionally, we have identified novel estrogenic responses in PBMCs from SLE patients and demonstrated that estrogen upregulates toll-like receptor (TLR)7 and TLR8 expression. TLR7 and TLR8 bind viral-derived single-stranded RNA to stimulate innate inflammatory responses, but recent studies have shown that miR-21, mir-29a, and miR-29b can also bind and activate these receptors when packaged and secreted in extracellular vesicles (EVs). The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of EV-encapsulated small RNA species in SLE …

Female Athlete Health Domains: A Supplement To The International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement On Methods For Recording And Reporting Epidemiological Data On Injury And Illness In Sport, Isabel S. Moore, Kay M. Crossley, Kari Bo, Margo Mountjoy, Kathryn E. Ackerman, Juliana D. S. Antero, Jorunn S. Borgen, Wendy J. Brown, Caroline S. Bolling, Benjamin Clarsen, Wayne Derman, Paul Dijkstra, Amber Donaldson, Kirsty J. Elliott-Sale, Carolyn A. Emery, Lene Haakstad, Astrid Junge, Nonhlanhla S. Mkumbuzi, Sophia Nimphius, Debbie Palmer, Mireille Van Poppel, Jane S. Thornton, Rita Tomás, Phathokuhle C. Zondi, Evert Verhagen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The IOC made recommendations for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injuries and illness in sports in 2020, but with little, if any, focus on female athletes. Therefore, the aims of this supplement to the IOC consensus statement are to (i) propose a taxonomy for categorisation of female athlete health problems across the lifespan; (ii) make recommendations for data capture to inform consistent recording and reporting of symptoms, injuries, illnesses and other health outcomes in sports injury epidemiology and (iii) make recommendations for specifications when applying the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Sport Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS) …

Lesbian, Anorexic, Disabled, And Big: Other Ways Of Being A Female Physical Education Teacher, Gustavo González-Calvo, Valeria Varea

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Research has shown that Physical Education (PE) is a white, male, and able body-dominated profession, particularly in Spain. When some female pre-service PE teachers, who had a difficult relationship with their bodies and sports abilities, enrol in such a degree, some of these problematic relations come to light. Participants for this study were four female pre-service teachers who self-identified as lesbian, anorexic, visually impaired, and big respectively. Data were collected through participant-produced texts, graphical representations, and interviews. The authors then reconstructed the participants’ stories which are presented in the form of narratives. The conceptual tool of embodying norm-criticality helped us …

Sex-Related Differences In Premature Cardiovascular Disease In Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Anandita Agarwala, Elena Deych, Laney K Jones, Amy C Sturm, Karen Aspry, Zahid Ahmad, Christie M Ballantyne, Anne C Goldberg

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is associated with an increased prevalence of premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), however, little is known about sex-specific differences in premature ASCVD and its risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: The present study seeks to assess the burden and risk factors for premature ASCVD among men and women with FH.

METHODS: In this study we retrospectively examined sex-specific differences in ASCVD prevalence, risk factor burdens, and lipid treatment outcomes in 782 individuals with clinically or genetically confirmed FH treated in 5 U.S. lipid and genetics clinics. A generalized linear model using Binomial distribution with random study site effect and …

Transferrin Receptor In Primary And Metastatic Breast Cancer: Evaluation Of Expression And Experimental Modulation To Improve Molecular Targeting, Francesca Fontana, Alison K. Esser, Christopher Egbulefu, Partha Karmakar, Xinming Su, John S. Allen, Yalin Xu, Jennifer L. Davis, Ariel Gabay, Jingyu Xiang, Kristin A. Kwakwa, Brad Manion, Suzanne Bakewell, Shunqiang Li, Haeseong Park, Gregory M. Lanza, Samuel Achilefu, Katherine N. Weilbaecher

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Conjugation of transferrin (Tf) to imaging or nanotherapeutic agents is a promising strategy to target breast cancer. Since the efficacy of these biomaterials often depends on the overexpression of the targeted receptor, we set out to survey expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) in primary and metastatic breast cancer samples, including metastases and relapse, and investigate its modulation in experimental models.

METHODS: Gene expression was investigated by datamining in twelve publicly-available datasets. Dedicated Tissue microarrays (TMAs) were generated to evaluate matched primary and bone metastases as well as and pre and post chemotherapy tumors from the same patient. TMA were …

Cognition And Education Benefits Of Increased Hemoglobin And Blood Oxygenation In Children With Sickle Cell Disease, Joanna P. Macewan, Allison A. King, Andy Nguyen, Anuj Mubayi, Irene Agodoa, Kim Smith-Whitley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), decreased hemoglobin is associated with lower oxygen saturation (SpO2) and increased risk of stroke, both of which are associated with lower intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Thus, increasing hemoglobin and SpO2 in individuals with SCD may increase IQ and educational attainment.

METHODS: A cohort simulation model was built to determine academic performance and educational attainment based on cognitive function (measured by IQ) of a pediatric SCD cohort randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The model contained two key stages: childhood (<10 years) and adolescence (≥10 years). In stage 1, increased hemoglobin and increased SpO2 (assigned to the treatment group) were determinants of higher IQ, prevention of IQ deterioration over time. Increased hemoglobin was also a determinant of decreased stroke risk. In stage 2, improvement in adolescent IQ as a result of treatment was a determinant of academic performance.

RESULTS: In a simulated cohort of 2000 children and adolescents with …

A Pregnant Patient Presents With Leakage Of Vaginal Fluid In The Second Trimester, Alison N Goulding, Jennifer R Mckinney, Diana Crabtree Sokol, Anitra D Beasley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Morning Report is a time-honored tradition where physicians-in-training present cases to their colleagues and clinical experts to collaboratively examine an interesting patient presentation. The Morning Report section seeks to carry on this tradition by presenting a patient’s chief concern and story, inviting the reader to develop a differential diagnosis and discover the diagnosis alongside the authors of the case.

This report examines the story of a 43-year-old (gravida 3, para 2) woman who sought evaluation for leakage of vaginal fluid at 15 weeks of gestation. Using questions, physical examination, and testing, an illness script for the presentation emerges. As her …

Vaccine-Linked Chemotherapy Improves Cardiac Structure And Function In A Mouse Model Of Chronic Chagas Disease, Kathryn M Jones, Elise N Mangin, Corey L Reynolds, Liliana E Villanueva, Julio Vladimir Cruz, Leroy Versteeg, Brian Keegan, April Kendricks, Jeroen Pollet, Fabian Gusovsky, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease, caused by chronic infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 6-7 million people worldwide. The major clinical manifestation of Chagas disease is chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC), which encompasses a spectrum of symptoms including arrhythmias, hypertrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and sudden death. Current treatment is limited to two antiparasitic drugs, benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, but both have limited efficacy to halt the progression of CCC. We developed a vaccine-linked chemotherapy strategy using our vaccine consisting of recombinant Tc24-C4 protein and a TLR-4 agonist adjuvant in a stable squalene emulsion, in combination with low dose benznidazole treatment. …

Changes In Distribution Of Severe Neurologic Involvement In Us Pediatric Inpatients With Covid-19 Or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children In 2021 Vs 2020, Kerri L Larovere, Amanda R Kolmar, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, neurologic involvement was common in children and adolescents hospitalized in the United States for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related complications.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an update on the spectrum of SARS-CoV-2-related neurologic involvement among children and adolescents in 2021.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case series investigation of patients reported to public health surveillance hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2-related illness between December 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021, in 55 US hospitals in 31 states with follow-up at hospital discharge. A total of 2253 patients were enrolled during the investigation period. Patients suspected of having …

A Novel Biosignature Identifies Patients With Dcis With High Risk Of Local Recurrence After Breast Conserving Surgery And Radiation Therapy, Frank A Vicini, G Bruce Mann, Chirag Shah, Sheila Weinmann, Michael C Leo, Pat Whitworth, Rachel Rabinovitch, Mylin A Torres, Julie A Margenthaler, David Dabbs, Jess Savala, Steven C Shivers, Karuna Mittal, Fredrik Wärnberg, Troy Bremer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: There is an unmet need to identify women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with a low risk of in-breast recurrence (IBR) after breast conserving surgery (BCS), which could omit radiation therapy (RT), and also to identify those with elevated IBR risk remaining after BCS plus RT. We evaluated a novel biosignature for a residual risk subtype (RRt) to help identify patients with elevated IBR risk after BCS plus RT.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Women with DCIS treated with BCS with or without RT at centers in the US, Australia, and Sweden (n = 926) were evaluated. Patients were …

Impact Of Covid-19 In Patients Hospitalized With Stress Cardiomyopathy: A Nationwide Analysis, Adrija Hajra, Aaqib Malik, Dhrubajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Akshay Goel, Ameesh Isath, Rahul Gupta, Suraj Krishnan, Devesh Rai, Chayakrit Krittanawong, Salim S Virani, Gregg C Fonarow, Carl J Lavie

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Stress cardiomyopathy was noted to occur at a higher incidence during coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This database analysis has been done to compare the in-hospital outcomes in patients with stress cardiomyopathy and concurrent COVID-19 infection with those without COVID-19 infection. The National Inpatient Sample database for the year 2020 was queried to identify all admissions diagnosed with stress cardiomyopathy. These patients were then stratified based on whether they had concomitant COVID-19 infection or not. A 1:1 propensity score matching was performed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to identify predictors of mortality. We identified 41,290 hospitalizations for stress …

Exploring Barriers And Promoters Of Crc Screening Use Among Agricultural Operators: A Pilot Study Of An Application Of Concept Mapping, Cheryl Beseler, Jungyoon Kim, Roma Subramanian, Susan Harris, Karen Funkenbusch, Aaron Yoder, Tamara Robinson, Jason M. Foster, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study was to identify barriers and facilitators of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening use among agricultural operators in Nebraska, US.

METHODS: The concept mapping approach was used to engage participants and enhance the generation of ideas and opinions regarding CRC screening. Two focus groups (seven women and seven men) were conducted.

RESULTS: Among women, the cost domain was most agreed upon as important, followed by experiencing symptoms, awareness, and family. Among men, the important concepts related to CRC screening were family and friend support, feeling too young to get CRC, family or personal history of CRC, …

Impact Of The Covid Pandemic On Mental Health And Training Opportunities Of Public Health Residents From 4 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study, Giovanna Failla, Marta Caminiti, José Chen-Xu, Giuseppina Lo Moro, Nausicaa Berselli, Madalena Cabral Ferreira, Filipa Malcata, David Peyre-Costa, Roberto Croci, Giorgia Soldà, Angelo Capodici, Caterina Morcavallo, Francesco Traglia, Fabrizio Cedrone, Ilaria Storti, Alfonso Alonso Jaquete, Martina Antinozzi, Anca Vasiliu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: There is little evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Public Health Residents' (PHR) mental health (MH). This study aims at assessing prevalence and risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress in European PHR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: Between March and April 2021, an online survey was administered to PHR from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The survey assessed COVID-19 related changes in working conditions, training opportunities and evaluated MH outcomes using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify risk factors.

RESULTS: Among the 443 respondents, many showed symptoms of depression …

Milder Loss Of Insulin-Containing Islets In Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes And Type 2 Diabetes-Associated Tcf7l2 Genetic Variants, Maria J Redondo, Sarah J Richardson, Daniel Perry, Charles G Minard, Alice L J Carr, Todd Brusko, Irina Kusmartseva, Alberto Pugliese, Mark A Atkinson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: TCF7L2 variants are the strongest genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes. In individuals with type 1 diabetes, these variants are associated with a higher C-peptide AUC, a lower glucose AUC during an OGTT, single autoantibody positivity near diagnosis, particularly in individuals older than 12 years of age, and a lower frequency of type 1 diabetes-associated HLA genotypes. Based on initial observations from clinical cohorts, we tested the hypothesis that type 2 diabetes-predisposing TCF7L2 genetic variants are associated with a higher percentage of residual insulin-containing cells (ICI%) in pancreases of donors with type 1 diabetes, by examining genomic data …

Chronic Liver Disease-Related Mortality In Diabetes Before And During The Covid-19 In The United States, Donghee Kim, Omar Alshuwaykh, Brittany B Dennis, George Cholankeril, Joshua W Knowles, Aijaz Ahmed

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Global pandemic of COVID-19 represents an unprecedented challenge. COVID-19 has predominantly targeted vulnerable populations with pre-existing chronic medical diseases, such as diabetes and chronic liver disease.

AIMS: We estimated chronic liver disease-related mortality trends among individuals with diabetes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: Utilizing the US national mortality database and Census, we determined the quarterly age-standardized chronic liver disease-related mortality and quarterly percentage change (QPC) among individuals with diabetes.

RESULTS: The quarterly age-standardized mortality for chronic liver disease and/or cirrhosis among individuals with diabetes remained stable before the COVID-19 pandemic and sharply increased during the COIVD-19 pandemic …

Transcriptomic Analyses Of Ovarian Clear-Cell Carcinoma With Concurrent Endometriosis, Kaitlyn E Collins, Xiyin Wang, Yuliya Klymenko, Noah B Davis, Maria C Martinez, Chi Zhang, Kaman So, Aaron Buechlein, Douglas B Rusch, Chad J Creighton, Shannon M Hawkins

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis, a benign inflammatory disease whereby endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus, is a risk factor for endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers. In particular, ovarian endometriomas, cystic lesions of deeply invasive endometriosis, are considered the precursor lesion for ovarian clear-cell carcinoma (OCCC).

METHODS: To explore this transcriptomic landscape, OCCC from women with pathology-proven concurrent endometriosis (n = 4) were compared to benign endometriomas (n = 4) by bulk RNA and small-RNA sequencing.

RESULTS: Analysis of protein-coding genes identified 2449 upregulated and 3131 downregulated protein-coding genes (DESeq2, P< 0.05, log2 fold-change > |1|) in OCCC with concurrent endometriosis compared to endometriomas. Gene set enrichment …

Gene Expression Profiles In Cancers And Their Therapeutic Implications, Chad J Creighton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The vast amount of gene expression profiling data of bulk tumors and cell lines available in the public domain represents a tremendous resource. For any major cancer type, expression data can identify molecular subtypes, predict patient outcome, identify markers of therapeutic response, determine the functional consequences of somatic mutation, and elucidate the biology of metastatic and advanced cancers. This review provides a broad overview of gene expression profiling in cancer (which may include transcriptome and proteome levels) and the types of findings made using these data. This review also provides specific examples of accessing public cancer gene expression data sets …

Factors Associated With Nonsyndromic Anotia And Microtia, Texas, 1999–2014, Jeremy M Schraw, J P Woodhouse, Renata H Benjamin, Charles J Shumate, Joanne Nguyen, Mark A Canfield, A J Agopian, Philip J Lupo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Few risk factors have been identified for nonsyndromic anotia/microtia (A/M).

METHODS: We obtained data on cases and a reference population of all livebirths in Texas for 1999-2014 from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) and Texas vital records. We estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for A/M (any, isolated, nonisolated, unilateral, and bilateral) using Poisson regression. We evaluated trends in prevalence rates using Joinpoint regression.

RESULTS: We identified 1,322 cases, of whom 982 (74.3%) had isolated and 1,175 (88.9%) had unilateral A/M. Prevalence was increased among males (PR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2-1.4), offspring of women with …

Oocyte-Specific Wee1-Like Protein Kinase 2 Is Dispensable For Fertility In Mice, Kaori Nozawa, Zian Liao, Yuhkoh Satouh, Ting Geng, Masahito Ikawa, Diana Monsivais, Martin M Matzuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Wee1-like protein kinase 2 (WEE2) is an oocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase involved in the regulation of oocyte meiotic arrest in humans. As such, it has been proposed as a candidate for non-hormonal female contraception although pre-clinical models have not been reported. Therefore, we developed two novel knockout mouse models using CRISPR/Cas9 to test loss-of-function of Wee2 on female fertility. A frameshift mutation at the Wee2 translation start codon in exon 2 had no effect on litter size, litter production, or the ability of oocytes to maintain prophase I arrest. Because of the lack of a reproductive phenotype, we additionally generated …

Cannabis Use Disorder, Suicide Attempts, And Self-Harm Among Adolescents: A National Inpatient Study Across The United States, Adeolu Funso Oladunjoye, Elijah Li, Kammarauche Aneni, Edore Onigu-Otite

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Suicide is among the top three causes of adolescent mortality. There is a scarcity of research examining cannabis use and suicidal behavior in adolescents.

Objectives: To determine the association between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and suicide attempt/self-harm in a hospitalized sample of adolescents.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observation study using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample collected over four years from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2019. We included adolescents aged 10-19 hospitalized during the above period (N = 807,105). The primary outcome was suicide attempt/self-harm and the main predictor was CUD. The International Classification of Diseases …

Versican Provides The Provisional Matrix For Uterine Spiral Artery Dilation And Fetal Growth, Yusuke Sagae, Akihito Horie, Akihiro Yanai, Tsutomu Ohara, Baku Nakakita, Yoshimi Kitawaki, Asuka Okunomiya, Hirohiko Tani, Ken Yamaguchi, Junzo Hamanishi, John P Lydon, Takiko Daikoku, Hideto Watanabe, Masaki Mandai

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The extracellular matrix (ECM) in the endometrium plays a crucial role in mammalian pregnancy. We have shown that versican secreted from the endometrial epithelium promotes embryo implantation. Versican is a proteoglycan, a major player in the provisional matrix, and versikine, its N-terminal fragment cleaved by ADAMTS proteinases, serves as a bioactive molecule. Here, since versican expression in the placenta was dynamically altered in humans and mice, we investigated the role of versican in pregnancy using uterine-specific Vcan deletion mice (uKO mice) and ADAMTS-resistant versican expressing mice (V1R mice). uKO mice exhibited insufficient spiral artery dilation, followed by fetal growth restriction …