Digital Commons Network^™

Malaria Parasites Require A Divergent Heme Oxygenase For Apicoplast Gene Expression And Biogenesis, Amanda Mixon Blackwell, Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi, Armiyaw S Nasamu, Shota Kudo, Akinobu Senoo, Celine Slam, Kouhei Tsumoto, James A Wohlschlegel, Jose Manuel Martinez Caaveiro, Daniel E Goldberg, Paul A Sigala

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Malaria parasites have evolved unusual metabolic adaptations that specialize them for growth within heme-rich human erythrocytes. During blood-stage infection,

Effect Of School Hpv Vaccination Requirements On Pediatricians' Recommendations, Ashley Hedrick Mckenzie, Lara S Savas, Ross Shegog, Dale S Mantey, Erica L Frost, Paul Gerardo Yeh, C Mary Healy, Stanley Spinner, L Aubree Shay, Sharice M Preston, Sally W Vernon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Pediatrician recommendations are highly influential in parents’ decisions to vaccinate their children against HPV. Unqualified, presumptive, and bundled recommendations (UPBRs) are associated with increased HPV vaccine uptake and are considered best practice. This study analyzes pediatricians’ self-reported data to assess changes in UPBR use and the psychosocial determinants of UPBR use as a result of the implementation of a multi-level intervention, the Adolescent Vaccination Program (AVP).

Methods: We surveyed pediatricians across 51 clinics in the Houston area. Baseline surveys (n = 137) were distributed in 2015, and follow-ups (n = 120) in 2019.

Results: Pediatrician UPBR use …

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Trends In E. Coli Causing Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections In The United States, Simren Mahajan, Neena Kanwar, Gina M. Morgan, Rodrigo E. Mendes, Brian R. Lee, Dithi Banerjee, Rangaraj Selvarangan

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common pediatric infections. This study evaluated the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 3511 uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolated from pediatric patients in the United States from 2014 to 2023. The database from the SENTRY antimicrobial surveillance program from 89 medical centers was utilized as a data source. The antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using the microbroth dilution technique against 24 antimicrobial agents. MICs were determined using the CLSI/EUCAST/FDA breakpoint criteria. All the antimicrobials reported susceptibility rates above 80% except for tetracycline (76.2%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (69.7%), and ampicillin-sulbactam (55.7%). During the study period, the susceptibility rates …

Spatial Dynamics Of Culex Quinquefasciatus Abundance: Geostatistical Insights From Harris County, Texas, Morgan Jibowu, Melissa S Nolan, Ryan Ramphul, Heather T Essigmann, Abiodun O Oluyomi, Eric L Brown, Maximea Vigilant, Sarah M Gunter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant public health threat, prompting the need to pinpoint high-risk areas for targeted interventions and environmental control measures. Culex quinquefasciatus is the primary vector for several mosquito-borne pathogens, including West Nile virus. Using spatial analysis and modeling techniques, we investigated the geospatial distribution of Culex quinquefasciatus abundance in the large metropolis of Harris County, Texas, from 2020 to 2022. Our geospatial analysis revealed clusters of high mosquito abundance, predominantly located in central Houston and the north-northwestern regions of Harris County, with lower mosquito abundance observed in the western and southeastern areas. We identified persistent high mosquito …

Reflections From The Pandemic: Is Connectivism The Panacea For Clinicians?, Jennifer Benjamin, Tyson Pillow, Heather Macneill, Ken Masters, Anoop Agrawal, Neil Mehta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increased interest in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) highlight the need for interprofessional communities' collaboration to find solutions to complex problems. A personal narrative experience of one of the authors compels us to reflect on current approaches to learning and knowledge acquisition and use solutions to the challenges posed by GenAI through social learning contexts using connectivism. We recognize the need for constructivism and experiential learning for knowledge acquisition to establish foundational understanding. We explore how connectivist approaches can enhance traditional constructivist paradigms amid rapidly changing learning environments and online communities. Learning in connectivism includes …

Estimated Vaccine Effectiveness For Pediatric Patients With Severe Influenza, 2015-2020., Kelsey M. Sumner, Leila C. Sahni, Julie A. Boom, Natasha B. Halasa, Laura S. Stewart, Janet A. Englund, Eileen J. Klein, Mary A. Staat, Elizabeth P. Schlaudecker, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Christopher J. Harrison, Geoffrey A. Weinberg, Peter G. Szilagyi, Monica N. Singer, Parvin H. Azimi, Benjamin R. Clopper, Heidi L. Moline, Emma K. Noble, John V. Williams, Marian G. Michaels, Samantha M. Olson, New Vaccine Surveillance Network Collaborators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

IMPORTANCE: Increasing the understanding of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against levels of severe influenza in children could help increase uptake of influenza vaccination and strengthen vaccine policies globally.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate VE in children by severity of influenza illness.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This case-control study with a test-negative design used data from 8 participating medical centers located in geographically different US states in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network from November 6, 2015, through April 8, 2020. Participants included children 6 months through 17 years of age who were hospitalized or presented to an emergency department (ED) with acute respiratory illness. …

Comparative Analysis Of Indices For Social Determinants Of Health In Pediatric Surgical Populations, Caroline Q Stephens, Ava Yap, Lan Vu, Jacqueline M Saito, Dwight Barry, Amy M Shui, Hannah Cockrell, Sarah Cairo, Derek Wakeman, Loren Berman, Sarah Greenberg, Allison F Linden, Jonathan Kohler, Kuojen Tsao, Nicole A Wilson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Conclusions vary substantially among studies examining associations between area-based social determinants of health (SDOH) and pediatric health disparities based on the selected patient population and SDOH index. Most national studies use zip codes, which encompass a wide distribution of communities, limiting the generalizability of findings.

Objectives: To characterize the distributions of composite SDOH indices for pediatric surgical patients within a national sample of academic children's hospitals and to assess SDOH index precision in classifying patients at similar levels of disadvantage.

Design, setting, and participants: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included patients younger than 18 years who underwent surgery from …

Excess Mortality In Persons With Concurrent Hiv And Cancer Diagnoses: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Kamaria L Lee, Varada Sarovar, Jennifer O Lam, Wendy A Leyden, Stacey E Alexeeff, Alexandra N Lea, Rulin C Hechter, Haihong Hu, Julia L Marcus, Qing Yuan, Jennifer R Kramer, Lilie L Lin, Elizabeth Y Chiao, William J Towner, Michael A Horberg, Michael J Silverberg

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: With extended lifespans for people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH), there is a corresponding increased burden of chronic illnesses, including cancer. Our objective was to estimate the excess mortality among PWH with cancer compared with people without HIV (PWoH), accounting for the higher background mortality in the general PWH population.

Methods: We identified 39,000 PWH and 387,767 demographically matched PWoH in three integrated healthcare systems from 2000 to 2016. We estimated excess mortality among PWH with cancer, computed as the cancer mortality rate difference-in-difference comparing PWH and PWoH. We evaluated five cancer groups: any cancer; virus-, human papillomavirus-, and …

Heterozygous Btnl8 Variants In Individuals With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children (Mis-C), Evangelos Bellos, Erica G Schmitt, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare condition following SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with intestinal manifestations. Genetic predisposition, including inborn errors of the OAS-RNAseL pathway, has been reported. We sequenced 154 MIS-C patients and utilized a novel statistical framework of gene burden analysis, "burdenMC," which identified an enrichment for rare predicted-deleterious variants in BTNL8 (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 3.5-5.3, P < 10-6). BTNL8 encodes an intestinal epithelial regulator of Vγ4+γδ T cells implicated in regulating gut homeostasis. Enrichment was exclusive to MIS-C, being absent in patients with COVID-19 or bacterial disease. Using an available functional test for BTNL8, rare variants from a larger cohort of MIS-C patients (n = 835) were tested which identified eight variants in 18 patients (2.2%) with impaired engagement of Vγ4+γδ T cells. Most of these variants were in the B30.2 domain of BTNL8 implicated in sensing epithelial cell status. These findings were associated with altered intestinal permeability, suggesting a possible link between disrupted gut homeostasis and MIS-C-associated enteropathy triggered by SARS-CoV-2.

The Mutant Mouse Resource And Research Center (Mmrrc) Consortium: The Us-Based Public Mouse Repository System., Yuksel Agca, James Amos-Landgraf, Renee Araiza, Jennifer Brennan, Charisse Carlson, Dominic Ciavatta, Dave Clary, Craig Franklin, Ian Korf, Cathleen Lutz, Terry Magnuson, Fernando Pardo-Manuel De Villena, Oleg Mirochnitchenko, Samit Patel, Dan Port, Laura G Reinholdt, K C Kent Lloyd

Faculty Research 2024

Now in its 25th year, the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC) consortium continues to serve the United States and international biomedical scientific community as a public repository and distribution archive of laboratory mouse models of human disease for research. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the MMRRC consists of 4 regionally distributed and dedicated vivaria, offices, and specialized laboratory facilities and an Informatics Coordination and Service Center (ICSC). The overarching purpose of the MMRRC is to facilitate groundbreaking biomedical research by offering an extensive repertoire of mutant mice that are essential for advancing the understanding of …

Citation Bias, Diversity, And Ethics, Keisha S Ray, Perry Zurn, Jordan D Dworkin, Dani S Bassett, David B Resnik

Faculty and Staff Publications

How often a researcher is cited usually plays a decisive role in that person's career advancement, because academic institutions often use citation metrics, either explicitly or implicitly, to estimate research impact and productivity. Research has shown, however, that citation patterns and practices are affected by various biases, including the prestige of the authors being cited and their gender, race, and nationality, whether self-attested or perceived. Some commentators have proposed that researchers can address biases related to social identity or position by including a Citation Diversity Statement in a manuscript submitted for publication. A Citation Diversity Statement is a paragraph placed …

Responding To The Workforce Crisis: Consensus Recommendations From The Second Workforce Summit Of The American Society Of Pediatric Nephrology., Danielle E. Soranno, Sandra Amaral, Isa Ashoor, Meredith A. Atkinson, Gina-Marie Barletta, Michael C. Braun, Joann Carlson, Caitlin Carter, Annabelle Chua, Vikas R. Dharnidharka, Keri Drake, Elif Erkan, Dan Feig, Stuart L. Goldstein, David Hains, Lyndsay A. Harshman, Elizabeth Ingulli, Alexander J. Kula, Mary Leonard, Sudha Mannemuddhu, Shina Menon, Zubin J. Modi, Marva Moxey-Mims, Arwa Nada, Victoria Norwood, Michelle C. Starr, Priya S. Verghese, Darcy K. Weidemann, Adam Weinstein, Jodi Smith

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

IMPORTANCE: Pediatric patients with complex medical problems benefit from pediatric sub-specialty care; however, a significant proportion of children live greater than 80 mi. away from pediatric sub-specialty care.

OBJECTIVE: To identify current knowledge gaps and outline concrete next steps to make progress on issues that have persistently challenged the pediatric nephrology workforce.

EVIDENCE REVIEW: Workforce Summit 2.0 employed the round table format and methodology for consensus building using adapted Delphi principles. Content domains were identified via input from the ASPN Workforce Committee, the ASPN's 2023 Strategic Plan survey, the ASPN's Pediatric Nephrology Division Directors survey, and ongoing feedback from ASPN …

Navigating Physical Activity Promotion And Policy In The Post-Covid-19-Pandemic Era, Justin Richards, Katja Siefken, Michael Pratt, Adrian Bauman, Juliana Mejía-Grueso, Catherine B Woods, Wanda Wendel-Vos, Erica Hinckson, Deborah Salvo, Pedro C Hallal, Andrea Ramírez Varela

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is limited evidence on the priorities and opportunities associated with promoting population physical activity (PA) participation for the post-COVID-19-pandemic future.

Purpose: This study assessed government-led PA promotion efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with post-COVID-19-pandemic priorities and recommendations.

Methods: Two separate cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2023. Survey 1 was targeted at the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) Country Contacts. Survey 2 also included key international informants representing influential stakeholders in PA policy implementation.

Results: There were 68 respondents to Survey 1, collectively representing 61 countries. An additional 37 people, including representatives from 14 key international …

Covid-19 Risk Assessment Among Vulnerable Small Business Owners In El Paso County, Texas, Sadie H Conway, Denise Vasquez, Kristina D Mena, Louis D Brown, Soyoung Kwon, Janelle Rios

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Our objective was to deliver actionable, worksite-specific COVID-19 risk assessments and mitigation strategies tailored to vulnerable workers in one of the highest-risk areas in the US.

Methods: Four trained, bilingual (English/Spanish) community health workers (CHWs) recruited small businesses (ie, ≤20 employees) across various industries and executed novel on-site infectious disease risk assessment surveys of at least one employer and one employee.

Results: Of 102 participating businesses (95% Hispanic-owned), 96% were characterized as "high risk" or "very high risk" for disease transmission. All businesses reported implementing at least one practice to reduce disease transmission; however, almost half of businesses lacked …

Pathogenicity And Virulence Of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Multifunctional Nonstructural Proteins Ns1 And Ns2, Trudy N Merritt, Jingjing Pei, Daisy W Leung

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised. Despite its discovery over 60 years ago and the global impact on human health, limited effective prophylactic or therapeutic options have been available for hRSV infections. This has largely been attributed to the legacy of vaccine failure in the 1960s using a formalin-inactivated RSV , which led to enhancement of disease post exposure to hRSV infection and hampered subsequent development of vaccine candidates. Recent FDA approval of vaccines for older adults and pregnant individuals are major advancements but leaves …

Immunopeptidomic Mhc-I Profiling And Immunogenicity Testing Identifies Tcj2 As A New Chagas Disease Mrna Vaccine Candidate, Leroy Versteeg, Rakesh Adhikari, Gonteria Robinson, Jungsoon Lee, Junfei Wei, Nelufa Islam, Brian Keegan, William K Russell, Cristina Poveda, Maria Jose Villar, Kathryn Jones, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter Hotez, Edwin Tijhaar, Jeroen Pollet

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease. Globally 6 to 7 million people are infected by this parasite of which 20-30% will progress to develop Chronic Chagasic Cardiomyopathy (CCC). Despite its high disease burden, no clinically approved vaccine exists for the prevention or treatment of CCC. Developing vaccines that can stimulate T. cruzi-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and eliminate infected cells requires targeting parasitic antigens presented on major histocompatibility complex-I (MHC-I) molecules. We utilized mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics to investigate which parasitic peptides are displayed on MHC-I of T. cruzi infected cells. Through duplicate experiments, we identified an …

Increasing Access To Behavioral Health Care: Examples Of Task Shifting In Two Us Government Health Care Systems, Kathryn E Kanzler, Mark E Kunik, Chase A Aycock

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Addressing U.S. health disparities in behavioral health care requires innovative solutions to expand access beyond the traditional specialty behavioral health (BH) service model. One evidence-based strategy to increase access is task shifting, whereby tasks usually reserved for licensed clinicians are delegated to less specialized but uniquely capable health workers. Health care systems in the United States have been slow to adopt this approach, despite the widespread success of task shifting in other countries. However, two large government health care systems have employed unique task-shifting models for decades, integrating nonclinician health workers into BH settings: the Defense Health Agency (behavioral …

Strategies To Enhance Diagnostic Capabilities For The New Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Dr-Tb) Drugs, Antonia Morita Iswari Saktiawati, Anca Vasiliu, Francesca Saluzzo, Onno W Akkerman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The global burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continues to challenge healthcare systems worldwide. There is a critical need to tackle DR-TB by enhancing diagnostics and drug susceptibility testing (DST) capabilities, particularly for emerging DR-TB drugs. This endeavor is crucial to optimize the efficacy of new therapeutic regimens and prevent the resistance and overuse of these invaluable weapons. Despite this urgency, there remains a lack of comprehensive review of public health measures aimed at improving the diagnostics and DST capabilities. In this review, we outline strategies to enhance the capabilities, especially tailored to address the challenges posed by resistance to new …

Clinical Effects Of Dexamethasone Among Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Hospitalized With Covid-19: Outcomes From A Single Academic Health System, William M. Garneau, Matthew J. Lankiewicz, Catherine R. Lesko, Ashley P. Lauriello, Kelly A. Gebo, Sophie M. Lanzkron

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Dexamethasone is a steroid used in the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. However, the effect of dexamethasone in patients with SCD remains unclear given that steroids may precipitate vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in patients with SCD.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with SCD who were hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Health System between June 1, 2020 and June 26, 2022. We reviewed individual charts to assess severity of illness and eligibility for dexamethasone treatment. The exposure of interest was treatment with dexamethasone. Outcomes of interest included incident VTE, length of hospital stay, ICU admission, …

Modulation Of Monocyte Effector Functions And Gene Expression By Human Cytomegalovirus Infection, Matthew Planchon, Jay Fishman, Joseph El Khoury

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Monocytes are crucial players in innate immunity. The human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has significant impacts on monocyte effector functions and gene expression. CMV, a β-herpesvirus, disrupts key monocyte roles, including phagocytosis, antigen presentation, cytokine production, and migration, impairing their ability to combat pathogens and activate adaptive immune responses. CMV modulates monocyte gene expression, decreasing their capacity for antigen presentation and phagocytosis while increasing pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which can contribute to tissue damage and chronic inflammation. CMV also alters monocyte migration to sites of infection while promoting trans-endothelial migration, thus aiding viral dissemination. Additionally, the virus affects reactive oxygen species (ROS) …

Insights Into Human Norovirus Cultivation In Human Intestinal Enteroids, Khalil Ettayebi, Gurpreet Kaur, Ketki Patil, Janam Dave, B Vijayalakshmi Ayyar, Victoria R Tenge, Frederick H Neill, Xi-Lei Zeng, Allison L Speer, Sara C Di Rienzi, Robert A Britton, Sarah E Blutt, Sue E Crawford, Sasirekha Ramani, Robert L Atmar, Mary K Estes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are a significant cause of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis worldwide. The lack of a reproducible culture system hindered the study of HuNoV replication and pathogenesis for almost a half-century. This barrier was overcome with our successful cultivation of multiple HuNoV strains in human intestinal enteroids (HIEs), which has significantly advanced HuNoV research. We optimized culture media conditions and generated genetically modified HIE cultures to enhance HuNoV replication in HIEs. Building upon these achievements, we now present new insights into this culture system, which involve testing different media, unique HIE lines, and additional virus strains. HuNoV infectivity …

Discovery Of Highly Potent And Alk2/Alk1 Selective Kinase Inhibitors Using Dna-Encoded Chemistry Technology, Ravikumar Jimmidi, Diana Monsivais, Hai Minh Ta, Kiran L Sharma, Kurt M Bohren, Srinivas Chamakuri, Zian Liao, Feng Li, John M Hakenjos, Jian-Yuan Li, Yuji Mishina, Haichun Pan, Xuan Qin, Matthew B Robers, Banumathi Sankaran, Zhi Tan, Suni Tang, Yasmin M Vasquez, Jennifer Wilkinson, Damian W Young, Stephen S Palmer, Kevin R Mackenzie, Choel Kim, Martin M Matzuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Activin receptor type 1 (ACVR1; ALK2) and activin receptor like type 1 (ACVRL1; ALK1) are transforming growth factor beta family receptors that integrate extracellular signals of bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) and activins into Mothers Against Decapentaplegic homolog 1/5 (SMAD1/SMAD5) signaling complexes. Several activating mutations in ALK2 are implicated in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, and ependymomas. The ALK2 R206H mutation is also present in a subset of endometrial tumors, melanomas, non–small lung cancers, and colorectal cancers, and ALK2 expression is elevated in pancreatic cancer. Using DNA-encoded chemistry technology, we screened 3.94 billion unique compounds from our diverse …

Discovery Of Highly Potent And Alk2/Alk1 Selective Kinase Inhibitors Using Dna-Encoded Chemistry Technology, Ravikumar Jimmidi, Diana Monsivais, Hai Minh Ta, Kiran L Sharma, Kurt M Bohren, Srinivas Chamakuri, Zian Liao, Feng Li, John M Hakenjos, Jian-Yuan Li, Yuji Mishina, Haichun Pan, Xuan Qin, Matthew B Robers, Banumathi Sankaran, Zhi Tan, Suni Tang, Yasmin M Vasquez, Jennifer Wilkinson, Damian W Young, Stephen S Palmer, Kevin R Mackenzie, Choel Kim, Martin M Matzuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Activin receptor type 1 (ACVR1; ALK2) and activin receptor like type 1 (ACVRL1; ALK1) are transforming growth factor beta family receptors that integrate extracellular signals of bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) and activins into Mothers Against Decapentaplegic homolog 1/5 (SMAD1/SMAD5) signaling complexes. Several activating mutations in ALK2 are implicated in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, and ependymomas. The ALK2 R206H mutation is also present in a subset of endometrial tumors, melanomas, non-small lung cancers, and colorectal cancers, and ALK2 expression is elevated in pancreatic cancer. Using DNA-encoded chemistry technology, we screened 3.94 billion unique compounds from our diverse …

Association Of Binge Alcohol Use With Functional Outcomes Among Individuals With Covid-19 Infection, Sebastian T. Tong, Michael Gottlieb, Imtiaz Ebna Mannan, Zihan Zheng, Manisha Sinha, Michelle Santangelo, Kristyn Gatling, Efrat Kean, Phillip Watts, Ralph Wang, Juan Carlos Montoy, Ahamed Idris, Samuel Macdonald, Ryan Huebinger, Mandy Hill, Kelli N O'Laughlin, Nicole L. Gentile, Jocelyn Dorney, Caitlin Malicki, Joann G. Elmore, Kate Diaz Roldan, Gary Chan, Zhenqiu Lin, Robert A. Weinstein, Kari A. Stephens

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

AIMS: Alcohol consumption along with negative sequelae from excess alcohol intake increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the association between binge alcohol use and long-term functional outcomes among COVID-19-positive individuals.

METHODS: Using a prospective, longitudinal, multisite cohort study design, we evaluated the association between binge alcohol use and mental and physical functional outcomes using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-29 scores three and six months postinfection. Eligible patients were those who presented with COVID-19-like symptoms, tested positive for COVID-19, and completed a three-month survey. Binge drinking was identified at the time of infection using the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medication …

Identifying Barriers To Hepatitis B And Delta Screening, Prevention, And Linkage To Care Among People Who Use Drugs In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Usa, Beatrice Zovich, Catherine Freeland, Holly Moore, Kara Sapp, Anousha Qureshi, Amy Jessop, Rachel Holbert, Fiona Borondy-Jenkins, Quinn Plunkett, Chari Cohen

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: People who use drugs (PWUD) are at increased risk for blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis B (HBV) and delta (HDV). Despite the public health threats both viruses present, awareness remains low among at-risk communities and providers who serve them. This study assessed barriers to HBV and HDV prevention, diagnosis, and linkage to care, evaluated existing levels of knowledge, and identified educational needs and preferences among both PWUD and service providers.

METHODS: For this mixed-methods study, data were collected through an anonymous online provider-focused survey, and interviews with PWUD, non-medical staff, and healthcare providers at a harm reduction organization in Philadelphia, …

The Impact Of Diabetes Mellitus On Hiv Virologic Control: Results Of The Macs/Wihs Combined Cohort Study, Sarah C Mann, Weiqun Tong, Alison G Abraham, Frank Palella, Anjali Sharma, Phyllis C Tien, Margaret A Fischl, Samy I Mcfarlane, Cecile D Lahiri, Susan Koletar, Daniel Merenstein, Michelle Floris-Moore, Jordan E Lake, Elizabeth Daubert, Aubri Hickman, Todd T Brown, Jose Castillo-Mancilla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with lower antiretroviral (ART) drug exposure among persons with HIV (PWH) compared to PWH without DM. The association between DM and virologic control in PWH, however, remains unknown.

Methods: We included participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study/Women's Interagency HIV Study Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) who had initiated ART between 1999 and 2020 and had a suppressed HIV viral load (≤200 copies/ml) within 1 year of ART initiation. We compared the frequency of incident HIV viremia (HIV-1 RNA >200 copies/ml) between adult PWH with and without DM. Poisson regression was used to examine the …

Underutilization Of Influenza Antiviral Treatment Among Children And Adolescents At Higher Risk For Influenza-Associated Complications - United States, 2023-2024., Aaron M. Frutos, Haris M. Ahmad, Dawud Ujamaa, Alissa C. O'Halloran, Janet A. Englund, Eileen J. Klein, Danielle M. Zerr, Melanie Crossland, Holly Staten, Julie A. Boom, Leila C. Sahni, Natasha B. Halasa, Laura S. Stewart, Olla Hamdan, Tess Stopczynski, William Schaffner, H Keipp Talbot, Marian G. Michaels, John V. Williams, Melissa Sutton, M Andraya Hendrick, Mary A. Staat, Elizabeth P. Schlaudecker, Brenda L. Tesini, Christina B. Felsen, Geoffrey A. Weinberg, Peter G. Szilagyi, Bridget J. Anderson, Jemma V. Rowlands, Murtada Khalifa, Marc Martinez, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Jennifer E. Schuster, Ruth Lynfield, Melissa Mcmahon, Sue Kim, Val Tellez Nunez, Patricia A. Ryan, Maya L. Monroe, Yun F. Wang, Kyle P. Openo, James Meek, Kimberly Yousey-Hindes, Nisha B. Alden, Isaac Armistead, Suchitra Rao, Shua J. Chai, Pam Daily Kirley, Ariana P. Toepfer, Fatimah S. Dawood, Heidi L. Moline, Timothy M. Uyeki, Sascha Ellington, Shikha Garg, Catherine H. Bozio, Samantha M. Olson

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Annually, tens of thousands of U.S. children and adolescents are hospitalized with seasonal influenza virus infection. Both influenza vaccination and early initiation of antiviral treatment can reduce complications of influenza. Using data from two U.S. influenza surveillance networks for children and adolescents agedattended, laboratory-confirmed influenza for whom antiviral treatment is recommended, the percentage who received treatment was calculated. Trends in antiviral treatment of children and adolescents hospitalized with influenza from the 2017-18 to the 2023-2024 influenza seasons were also examined. Since 2017-18, when 70%-86% of hospitalized children and adolescents with influenza received antiviral treatment, the proportion receiving treatment notably declined. …

Systematic Review Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Related Gastrointestinal, Hepatobiliary, And Pancreatic Adverse Events, Malek Shatila, Hao Chi Zhang, Anusha Shirwaikar Thomas, Antonio Pizuorno Machado, Sidra Naz, Nitish Mittal, Christine Catinis, Krishnavathana Varatharajalu, Carolina Colli Cruz, Eric Lu, Deanna Wu, Julie R Brahmer, Franck Carbonnel, Stephen B Hanauer, Bret Lashner, Bryan Schneider, John A Thompson, Michel Obeid, David P Farris, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gastrointestinal immune-related adverse events (GI irAEs) are common manifestations of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) toxicity. We present a comprehensive systematic review of the incidence, management, and clinical course of irAEs across the entire GI system, including the luminal GI tract, liver, and pancreas. MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, and Cochrane Library were used to conduct this review. All studies pertaining to GI irAEs were included. Both abstracts and full manuscripts were eligible if they included human subjects and were written in the English language. Articles not available in English, animal studies, or research not specific to GI toxicity …

Associations Between Dietary Patterns And Quality Of Life In A Longitudinal Cohort Of Colorectal Cancer Survivors, Kristen S Smith, Adetunji T Toriola, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: To characterize dietary patterns and examine associations with cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in quality of life (QOL) over approximately one year after colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis.

METHODS: The ColoCare Study is an international, multi-center, prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed CRC survivors of any stage. A subset of participants with CRC in the United States completed patient-reported outcome measures at 6- and 12-months post-enrollment, including the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Dietary patterns at 6 months (around the time of treatment completion) were identified …

Estimating The Number Of Polygenic Diseases Among Six Mutually Exclusive Entities Of Non-Tumors And Cancer, C I Edvard Smith, Jan A Burger, Rula Zain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the era of precision medicine with increasing amounts of sequenced cancer and non-cancer genomes of different ancestries, we here enumerate the resulting polygenic disease entities. Based on the cell number status, we first identified six fundamental types of polygenic illnesses, five of which are non-cancerous. Like complex, non-tumor disorders, neoplasms normally carry alterations in multiple genes, including in 'Drivers' and 'Passengers'. However, tumors also lack certain genetic alterations/epigenetic changes, recently named 'Goners', which are toxic for the neoplasm and potentially constitute therapeutic targets. Drivers are considered essential for malignant transformation, whereas environmental influences vary considerably among both types of …