Digital Commons Network^™

Style Of Meal Service And Feeding Practices Among Mexican American Fathers And Mothers: An Analysis Of Video-Recorded Children’S Evening Mealtime At Home, Carlos Penilla, Jeanne M Tschann, Lauri A Pasch, Elena Flores, Julianna Deardorff, Suzanna M Martinez, Nancy F Butte, Louise C Greenspan

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The aim of this study was to examine video-recorded observations of evening family mealtime at home among Mexican American children to help elucidate style of meal service, fathers' and mothers' feeding practices and child's eating behavior. Consistent with guidelines for coding behaviors, we analyzed observational data of evening mealtimes of 71 Mexican American children aged eight to 10 years. Regarding style of meal service, in almost all cases (96%), parents plated the child's food, with more available on the table or counter in 40% of the observations. Mothers almost always served the child (94%). Regarding parental feeding practices, parents used …

Association Of State Social And Environmental Factors With Rates Of Self-Injury Mortality And Suicide In The United States, Ian R H Rockett, Haomiao Jia, Bina Ali, Aniruddha Banerjee, Hilary S. Connery, Kurt B. Nolte, Ted Miller, Franklin M M White, Bernard D. Digregorio, G Luke Larkin, Steven Stack, Kairi Kõlves, R Kathryn Mchugh, Vijay O. Lulla, Jeralynn Cossman, Diego De Leo, Brian Hendricks, Paul S. Nestadt, James H. Berry, Gail D'Onofrio, Eric D. Caine

Pathology Research and Scholarship

IMPORTANCE: Self-injury mortality (SIM) combines suicides and the preponderance of drug misuse-related overdose fatalities. Identifying social and environmental factors associated with SIM and suicide may inform etiologic understanding and intervention design.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with interstate SIM and suicide rate variation and to assess potential for differential suicide misclassification.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used a partial panel time series with underlying cause-of-death data from 50 US states and the District of Columbia for 1999-2000, 2007-2008, 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. Applying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SIM includes all suicides and the preponderance …

Is It Hyperfibrinolysis Or Fibrinolytic Shutdown In Severe Covid-19?, Nathan D. Nielsen, Marian A. Rollins-Raval, Jay S. Raval, Jecko Thachil

Pathology Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Blinded Review Of Hippocampal Neuropathology In Sudden Unexplained Death In Childhood Reveals Inconsistent Observations And Similarities To Explained Paediatric Deaths, Dominique F. Leitner, Declan Mcguone, Christopher William, Arline Faustin, Manor Askenazi, Matija Snuderl, Melissa Guzzetta, Heather S. Jarrell, Katherine Maloney, Ross Reichard, Colin Smith, Victor Weedn, Thomas Wisniewski, Laura Gould, Orrin Devinsky

Pathology Research and Scholarship

AIMS: Hippocampal findings are implicated in the pathogenesis of sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC), although some studies have identified similar findings in sudden explained death in childhood (SEDC) cases. We blindly reviewed hippocampal histology in SUDC and SEDC controls.

METHODS: Hippocampal haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides (n = 67; 36 SUDC, 31 controls) from clinical and forensic collaborators were evaluated by nine blinded reviewers: three board-certified forensic pathologists, three neuropathologists and three dual-certified neuropathologists/forensic pathologists.

RESULTS: Among nine reviewers, about 50% of hippocampal sections were rated as abnormal (52.5% SUDC, 53.0% controls), with no difference by cause of death …

Echocardiographic And Clinical Predictors Of Cardiac Amyloidosis: Limitations Of Apical Sparing, Douglas Kyrouac, Walter Schiffer, Brandon Lennep, Nicole Fergestrom, Kathleen W Zhang, John Gorcsan Iii, Daniel J Lenihan, Joshua D Mitchell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

AIMS: The accuracy of an apical-sparing strain pattern on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for predicting cardiac amyloidosis (CA) has varied in prior studies depending on the underlying cohort. We sought to evaluate the performance of apical sparing and other TTE strain findings to screen for CA in an unselected population and determine the frequency that patients with echocardiographic concern for CA undergo evaluation for amyloidosis in clinical practice.

METHODS AND RESULTS: As strain is routinely performed at our institution on all clinical TTEs, we identified all TTEs performed from 2016 through 2019 with reported concern for CA or apical sparing. We …

Mental Health In The Uk Biobank: A Roadmap To Self-Report Measures And Neuroimaging Correlates, Rosie K Dutt, Kayla Hannon, Ty O Easley, Joseph C Griffis, Wei Zhang, Janine D Bijsterbosch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The UK Biobank (UKB) is a highly promising dataset for brain biomarker research into population mental health due to its unprecedented sample size and extensive phenotypic, imaging, and biological measurements. In this study, we aimed to provide a shared foundation for UKB neuroimaging research into mental health with a focus on anxiety and depression. We compared UKB self-report measures and revealed important timing effects between scan acquisition and separate online acquisition of some mental health measures. To overcome these timing effects, we introduced and validated the Recent Depressive Symptoms (RDS-4) score which we recommend for state-dependent and longitudinal research in …

Rpop: Robust Pet-Only Processing Of Community Acquired Heterogeneous Amyloid-Pet Data, Leonardo Iaccarino, Renaud La Joie, Robert Koeppe, Barry A Siegel, Bruce E Hillner, Constantine Gatsonis, Rachel A Whitmer, Maria C Carrillo, Charles Apgar, Monica R Camacho, Rachel Nosheny, Gil D Rabinovici, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The reference standard for amyloid-PET quantification requires structural MRI (sMRI) for preprocessing in both multi-site research studies and clinical trials. Here we describe rPOP (robust PET-Only Processing), a MATLAB-based MRI-free pipeline implementing non-linear warping and differential smoothing of amyloid-PET scans performed with any of the FDA-approved radiotracers (

Ces2 Sustains Hnf4Α Expression To Promote Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Progression Through An Epoxide Hydrolase-Dependent Regulatory Loop, Yihui Chen, Michela Capello, Mayrim V Rios Perez, Jody V Vykoukal, David Roife, Laura R Prakash, Ehsan Irajizad, Alia Fleury, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Dodge L Baluya, Jennifer B Dennison, Kim-Anh Do, Oliver Fiehn, Anirban Maitra, Huamin Wang, Paul J Chiao, Matthew H G Katz, Jason B Fleming, Samir M Hanash, Johannes F Fahrmann

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Intra-tumoral expression of the serine hydrolase carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) contributes to the activation of the pro-drug irinotecan in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Given other potential roles of CES2, we assessed its regulation, downstream effects, and contribution to tumor development in PDAC.

Methods: Association between the mRNA expression of CES2 in pancreatic tumors and overall survival was assessed using The Cancer Genome Atlas. Cell viability, clonogenic, and anchorage-independent growth assays as well as an orthotopic mouse model of PDAC were used to evaluate the biological relevance of CES2 in pancreatic cancer. CES2-driven metabolic changes were determined by untargeted and targeted …

Construction And Validation Of Prognostic Nomogram For Metaplastic Breast Cancer, Yongfeng Li, Daobao Chen, Haojun Xuan, Mihnea P Dragomir, George A Calin, Meng Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In this study we aimed to develop nomogram models for predicting the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with metaplastic breast cancer (MBC). Data of patients diagnosed with MBC from 1973 to 2015 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors for OS and CSS of MBC patients. The obtained prognostic variables were combined to construct nomogram models for predicting OS and CSS in patients with MBC. Model performance was evaluated using concordance index (C-index) and calibration plots. Data from 1125 patients …

Evaluation Of Programmed Death Ligand 1 Expression In Cytology To Determine Eligibility For Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy In Patients With Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Zhonghua Liu, Michelle Williams, John Stewart, Bonnie S Glisson, Clifton Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway have recently emerged as a frontline treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The evaluation of PD-L1 expression by immunohistochemistry in histologic samples is used to determine the eligibility of patients with HNSCC for immunotherapy. Patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC are frequently diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of lymph nodes with metastatic disease. However, the evaluation of PD-L1 expression with the proposed combined positive score (CPS) has not been well established in cytology specimens.

Methods: This study retrospectively identified 21 …

Body Region-Specific 3d Age-Scaling Functions For Scaling Whole-Body Computed Tomography Anatomy For Pediatric Late Effects Studies, Aashish C Gupta, Constance A Owens, Suman Shrestha, Choonsik Lee, Susan A Smith, Tucker Netherton, Stephen F Kry, David S Followill, Keith T Griffin, James P Long, Gregory T Armstrong, Rebecca M Howell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose:

Radiation epidemiology studies of childhood cancer survivors treated in the pre-computed tomography (CT) era reconstruct the patients’ treatment fields on computational phantoms. For such studies, the phantoms are commonly scaled to age at the time of radiotherapy treatment because age is the generally available anthropometric parameter. Several reference size phantoms are used in such studies, but reference size phantoms are only available at discrete ages (e.g.: newborn, 1, 5, 10, 15, and Adult). When such phantoms are used for RT dose reconstructions, the nearest discrete-aged phantom is selected to represent a survivor of a specific age. In this work, …

Breast Radiation Therapy-Related Treatment Outcomes In Patients With Or Without Germline Mutations On Multigene Panel Testing, Bhavana V Chapman, Diane Liu, Yu Shen, Oluwafikayo O Olamigoke, David S Lakomy, Shane R Stecklein, Scott J Bright, Isabelle Bedrosian, Jennifer K Litton, Benjamin D Smith, Wendy A Woodward, George H Perkins, Karen E Hoffman, Michael C Stauder, Eric A Strom, Banu K Arun, Simona F Shaitelman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Multigene panel testing has increased the detection of germline mutations in patients with breast cancer. The implications of using radiation therapy (RT) to treat patients with pathogenic variant (PV) mutations are not well understood and have been studied mostly in women with only BRCA1 or BRCA2 PVs. We analyzed oncologic outcomes and toxicity after adjuvant RT in a contemporary, diverse cohort of patients with breast cancer who underwent genetic panel testing.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 286 women with clinical stage I-III breast cancer diagnosed from 1995 to 2017 who underwent surgery, breast or chest …

Combined Il-2, Agonistic Cd3 And 4–1bb Stimulation Preserve Clonotype Hierarchy In Propagated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes, Parin Shah, Marie-Andrée Forget, Meredith L Frank, Peixin Jiang, Donastas Sakellariou-Thompson, Roohussaba Khairullah, Ignacio Wistuba, Chi-Wan B Chow, Yan Long, Junya Fujimoto, Shiaw-Yih Lin, Anirban Maitra, Marcelo V Negrao, Kyle Gregory Mitchell, Annikka Weissferdt, Ara A Vaporciyan, Tina Cascone, Jack A Roth, Jianjun Zhang, Boris Sepesi, Don L Gibbons, John V Heymach, Cara L Haymaker, Daniel J Mcgrail, Alexandre Reuben, Chantale Bernatchez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) yielded clinical benefit in patients with checkpoint blockade immunotherapy-refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prompting a renewed interest in TIL-ACT. This preclinical study explores the feasibility of producing a NSCLC TIL product with sufficient numbers and enhanced attributes using an improved culture method.

Methods: TIL from resected NSCLC tumors were initially cultured using (1) the traditional method using interleukin (IL)-2 alone in 24-well plates (TIL 1.0) or (2) IL-2 in combination with agonistic antibodies against CD3 and 4-1BB (Urelumab) in a G-Rex flask (TIL 3.0). TIL subsequently underwent a rapid expansion …

Examining Rural-Urban Differences In Fatalism And Information Overload: Data From 12 Nci-Designated Cancer Centers, Jakob D Jensen, Jackilen Shannon, Ronaldo Iachan, Yangyang Deng, Sunny Jung Kim, Babalola Faseru, Jinxiang Hu, Robin C Vanderpool, Deann Lazovich, Jason A Mendoza, Sanjay Shete, Linda B Robertson, Rajesh Balkrishnan, Katherine J Briant, Benjamin Haaland, David A Haggstrom, Bernard F Fuemmeler, Rural Workgroup Of The Population Health Assessment In Cancer Center Catchment Areas Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Rural populations experience a disproportionate cancer burden relative to urban populations. One possibility is that rural populations are more likely to hold counterproductive cancer beliefs such as fatalism and information overload that undermine prevention and screening behaviors.

METHODS: Between 2016 and 2020, 12 U.S. cancer centers surveyed adults in their service areas using online and in-person survey instruments. Participants (

RESULTS: Compared with urban residents, rural residents were more likely to believe that (i) everything causes cancer (OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.17-1.43); (ii) prevention is not possible (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.19-1.51); and (iii) there are too …

A Mechanistic Modeling Framework Reveals The Key Principles Underlying Tumor Metabolism, Shubham Tripathi, Jun Hyoung Park, Shivanand Pudakalakatti, Pratip K Bhattacharya, Benny Abraham Kaipparettu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

While aerobic glycolysis, or the Warburg effect, has for a long time been considered a hallmark of tumor metabolism, recent studies have revealed a far more complex picture. Tumor cells exhibit widespread metabolic heterogeneity, not only in their presentation of the Warburg effect but also in the nutrients and the metabolic pathways they are dependent on. Moreover, tumor cells can switch between different metabolic phenotypes in response to environmental cues and therapeutic interventions. A framework to analyze the observed metabolic heterogeneity and plasticity is, however, lacking. Using a mechanistic model that includes the key metabolic pathways active in tumor cells, …

Effects Of Placebo Administration On Immune Mechanisms And Relationships With Central Endogenous Opioid Neurotransmission, Alan Prossin, Alisa Koch, Phillip Campbell, Geoffroy Laumet, Christian S Stohler, Jon-Kar Zubieta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Behavioral conditioning and expectation can have profound impact on animal and human physiology. Placebo, administered under positive expectation in clinical trials, can have potent effects on disease pathology, obscuring active medications. Emerging evidence suggests placebo-responsive neurotransmitter systems (e.g., endogenous opioid) regulate immune function by manipulating inflammatory proteins including IL-18, a potent pro-inflammatory, nociceptive cytokine implicated in pathophysiology of various diseases. Validation that neuroimmune interactions involving brain μ-opioid receptor (MOR) activity and plasma IL-18 underlie placebo analgesic expectation could have widespread clinical applications. Unfortunately, current lack of mechanistic clarity obfuscates clinical translation. To elucidate neuroimmune interactions underlying placebo analgesia, we exposed …

Final Results Of The Choroid Plexus Tumor Study Cpt-Siop-2000, Johannes E Wolff, Stefaan W Van Gool, Tezer Kutluk, Blanca Diez, Rejin Kebudi, Miklos Garami, Gregory N Fuller, Brigitte Bison, Uwe R Kordes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Standards for chemotherapy against choroid plexus tumors (CPT) have not yet been established.

METHODS: CPT-SIOP-2000 (NCT00500890) was an international registry for all CPT nesting a chemotherapy randomization for high-risk CPT with Carboplatin/Etoposide/Vincristine (CarbEV) versus Cyclophosphamide/Etoposide/Vincristine (CycEV). Patients older than three years were recommended to receive irradiation: focal fields for non-metastatic CPC, incompletely resected atypical choroid plexus papilloma (APP) or metastatic choroid plexus papilloma (CPP); craniospinal fields for metastatic CPC/APP and non-responsive CPC. High risk was defined as choroid plexus carcinoma (CPC), incompletely resected APP, and all metastatic CPT. From 2000 until 2010, 158 CPT patients from 23 countries were …

Efficacy And Safety Of Covid-19 Convalescent Plasma In Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Johanna P Daily, Gia F Cobb, Gillian Baptiste, Mary O'Keeffe, Marilou O Corpuz, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Amee Amin, Ioannis M Zacharioudakis, Dushyantha T Jayaweera, Yanyun Wu, Julie V Philley, Megan S Devine, Mahalia S Desruisseaux, Alessandro D Santin, Shweta Anjan, Reeba Mathew, Bela Patel, Masayuki Nigo, Rabi Upadhyay, Tania Kupferman, Andrew N Dentino, Rahul Nanchal, Christian A Merlo, David N Hager, Kartik Chandran, Jonathan R Lai, Johanna Rivera, Chowdhury R Bikash, Gorka Lasso, Timothy P Hilbert, Monika Paroder, Andrea A Asencio, Mengling Liu, Eva Petkova, Alexander Bragat, Reza Shaker, David D Mcpherson, Ralph L Sacco, Marla J Keller, Corita R Grudzen, Judith S Hochman, Liise-Anne Pirofski, Lalitha Parameswaran, Anthony T Corcoran, Abhinav Rohatgi, Marta W Wronska, Xinyuan Wu, Ranjini Srinivasan, Fang-Ming Deng, Thomas D Filardo, Jay Pendse, Simone B Blaser, Olga Whyte, Jacqueline M Gallagher, Ololade E Thomas, Danibel Ramos, Caroline L Sturm-Reganato, Charlotte C Fong, Ivy M Daus, Arianne Gisselle Payoen, Joseph T Chiofolo, Mark T Friedman, Ding Wen Wu, Jessica L Jacobson, Jeffrey G Schneider, Uzma N Sarwar, Henry E Wang, Ryan M Huebinger, Goutham Dronavalli, Yu Bai, Carolyn Z Grimes, Karen W Eldin, Virginia E Umana, Jessica G Martin, Timothy R Heath, Fatimah O Bello, Daru Lane Ransford, Maudry Laurent-Rolle, Sheela V Shenoi, Oscar Bate Akide-Ndunge, Bipin Thapa, Jennifer L Peterson, Kelly Knauf, Shivani U Patel, Laura L Cheney, Christopher A Tormey, Jeanne E Hendrickson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: There is clinical equipoise for COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) use in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and efficacy of CCP compared with placebo in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receiving noninvasive supplemental oxygen.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: CONTAIN COVID-19, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of CCP in hospitalized adults with COVID-19, was conducted at 21 US hospitals from April 17, 2020, to March 15, 2021. The trial enrolled 941 participants who were hospitalized for 3 or less days or presented 7 or less days after symptom onset and required noninvasive oxygen supplementation.

INTERVENTIONS: A unit of …

Comparison Of Sexually Transmitted Infections And Adverse Perinatal Outcomes In Underserved Pregnant Patients Before Vs During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Texas, Baha M Sibai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This cohort study assesses the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and associated adverse perinatal outcomes among underserved pregnant patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in a public health system in Southeastern Texas.

Review Of Gene Therapies For Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Christina Y Weng, Carl J Danzig, Glenn Yiu, Szilárd Kiss, Nadia K Waheed, Peter K Kaiser

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Gene therapies aim to deliver a therapeutic payload to specified tissues with underlying protein deficiency. Since the 1990s, gene therapies have been explored as potential treatments for chronic conditions requiring lifetime care and medical management. Ocular gene therapies target a range of ocular disorders, but retinal diseases are of particular importance due to the prevalence of retinal disease and the current treatment burden of such diseases on affected patients, as well as the challenge of properly delivering these therapies to the target tissue. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the most current data available for …

Clinical And Molecular Characterization Of Pole Mutations As Predictive Biomarkers Of Response To Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors In Advanced Cancers, Benjamin Garmezy, Jinesh Gheeya, Heather Y Lin, Yuefan Huang, Taebeom Kim, Kyaw Z Thein, Fadl Zeineddine, Wanlin Wang, Kenna R Shaw, Jordi Rodon, John Paul Shen, Ying Yuan, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Ken Chen, Timothy A Yap

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: DNA polymerase epsilon is critical to DNA proofreading and replication. Mutations in POLE have been associated with hypermutated tumors and antitumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. We present a clinicopathologic analysis of patients with advanced cancers harboring POLE mutations, the pattern of co-occurring mutations, and their response to ICI therapy within the context of mutation pathogenicity.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of next-generation sequencing data at MD Anderson Cancer Center to identify patient tumors with POLE mutations and their co-occurring mutations. The pathogenicity of each mutation was annotated using InterVar and ClinVar. Differences in therapeutic response …

The Impact Of Age And Sex On Aortic Dissection Outcomes: A True Controversy Or Lack Of Standardization?, Alea Delmastro, Alex Baranski, William Graf, Rashmi Kumar, Marc Bosse, Christine Camacho Fullaway, Pratista K Ramdial, Erna Forgó, Vladimir Jojic, David Van Valen, Smriti Mehra, Shabaana A Khader, Sean C Bendall, Matt Van De Rijn, Daniel Kalman, Deepak Kaushal, Robert L Hunter, Niaz Banaei, Adrie J C Steyn, Purvesh Khatri, Michael Angelo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is characterized by formation of immune-rich granulomas in infected tissues, the architecture and composition of which are thought to affect disease outcome. However, our understanding of the spatial relationships that control human granulomas is limited. Here, we used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF) to image 37 proteins in tissues from patients with active TB. We constructed a comprehensive atlas that maps 19 cell subsets across 8 spatial microenvironments. This atlas shows an IFN-γ-depleted microenvironment enriched for TGF-β, regulatory T cells and IDO1

Artificial Intelligence In Clinical And Translational Science: Successes, Challenges And Opportunities, Xiaoqian Jiang, Shyam Visweswaran, Ye Ye, Heath Goodrum, Yaobin Ling, Seemran Barapatre, Michael J Becich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming many domains, including finance, agriculture, defense, and biomedicine. In this paper, we focus on the role of AI in clinical and translational research (CTR), including preclinical research (T1), clinical research (T2), clinical implementation (T3), and public (or population) health (T4). Given the rapid evolution of AI in CTR, we present three complementary perspectives: (1) scoping literature review, (2) survey, and (3) analysis of federally funded projects. For each CTR phase, we addressed challenges, successes, failures, and opportunities for AI. We surveyed Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs regarding AI projects at their institutions. Nineteen …

Δnp63 Regulates A Common Landscape Of Enhancer Associated Genes In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Hussein A Abbas, Kyubum Lee, Rahul Checker, Shilpa Dhar, Kimal Rajapakshe, Aik Choon Tan, Min Gyu Lee, Cristian Coarfa, Elsa R Flores

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Distinct lung stem cells give rise to lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). ΔNp63, the p53 family member and p63 isoform, guides the maturation of these stem cells through the regulation of their self-renewal and terminal differentiation; however, the underlying mechanistic role regulated by ∆Np63 in lung cancer development has remained elusive. By utilizing a ΔNp63-specific conditional knockout mouse model and xenograft models of LUAD and LUSC, we found that ∆Np63 promotes non-small cell lung cancer by maintaining the lung stem cells necessary for lung cancer cell initiation and progression in quiescence. ChIP-seq analysis of lung basal cells, …

Incidence Of Emergency Department Visits For Electric Rental Scooters Using Detailed Ridership Data, Chelsea Williams, Cindy C Bitter, Steven Lorber, Caleb R Overfelt, Holly Zehfus, Andrea Spangler, Valerie Lew, Lawrence M Lewis, Rosanne S Naunheim

Open Access Publications

INTRODUCTION: Electric scooter (e-scooter) rental usage has increased exponentially around the country, expanding to more than 120 cities by the end of 2018. Early attempts to capture the safety effects of widespread adoption of this technology have been hampered by lack of accurate ridership data. Here we describe a 17-month evolution of ridership characteristics in St. Louis, Missouri, and the frequency of e-scooter rental-related injuries serious enough to require an emergency department (ED) visit over this time frame; we also provide estimates of incidence rates of injuries based on company ridership data.

METHODS: We performed a combination retrospective chart review …

Racial And Ethnic Minorities Have A Lower Prevalence Of Airflow Obstruction Than Non-Hispanic Whites, Akshay Sood, Hans Petersen, Congjian Liu, Orrin Myers, Xin Wang Shore, Bobbi A Gore, Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet, Linda S Cook, Paula Meek, Yohannes Tesfaigzi

Open Access Publications

Racial and ethnic disparities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not well-studied. Our objective was to examine differences in limited COPD-related outcomes between three minority groups-African Americans (AAs), Hispanics, and American Indians (AIs) versus non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), as the referent group, in separate cohorts. Separate cross-sectional evaluations were performed of three US-based cohorts of subjects at risk for COPD: COPDGene Study with 6,884 NHW and 3,416 AA smokers; Lovelace Smokers' Cohort with 1,598 NHW and 378 Hispanic smokers; and Mining Dust Exposure in the United States Cohort with 2,115 NHW, 2,682 Hispanic, and 2,467 AI miners. Prebronchodilator spirometry tests …

Gene-Gene Interaction Of Ahrwith And Within The Wntcascade Affects Susceptibility To Lung Cancer, Albert Rosenberger, Nils Muttray, Rayjean J Hung, David C Christiani, Neil E Caporaso, Stig E Bojesen, Demetrios Albanes, Melinda C Aldrich, Adonina Tardon, Guillermo Fernández-Tardón, Gad Rennert, John K Field, Michael P A Davies, Triantafillos Liloglou, Lambertus A Kiemeney, Philip Lazarus, Bernadette Wendel, Aage Haugen, Shanbeh Zienolddiny, Stephen Lam, Matthew B Schabath, Angeline S Andrew, Eric J Duell, Susanne M Arnold, Gary E Goodman, Chu Chen, Jennifer A Doherty, Fiona Taylor, Angela Cox, Penella J Woll, Angela Risch, Thomas R Muley, Mikael Johansson, Paul Brennan, Maria Teresa Landi, Sanjay S Shete, Christopher I Amos, Heike Bickeböller, Integral-Ilcco Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Aberrant Wnt signalling, regulating cell development and stemness, influences the development of many cancer types. The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) mediates tumorigenesis of environmental pollutants. Complex interaction patterns of genes assigned to AhR/Wnt-signalling were recently associated with lung cancer susceptibility.

Aim: To assess the association and predictive ability of AhR/Wnt-genes with lung cancer in cases and controls of European descent.

Methods: Odds ratios (OR) were estimated for genomic variants assigned to the Wnt agonist and the antagonistic genes DKK2, DKK3, DKK4, FRZB, SFRP4 and Axin2. Logistic regression models with variable selection were trained, validated and tested to predict lung …

(#Womeninddw) Persistent Speaker Gender Gap At The Premier Digestive Disease Event, Srinivas Ramireddy, Nirav Thosani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Over the last few decades, advances have been made regarding gender equality starting from medical students to trainees, to leadership in academics. The female representation in specialty academic conferences not only reflects the existing gender disparities in that specialty but also can influence young female trainees to join that field. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the premier digestive disease event. We aimed to calculate the proportion of female representation among speakers and moderators at the DDW meetings held from 2018 to 2020.

METHODS: The data for DDW 2018-2020 were collected via the online web-based planner. The gender of speakers …

Gene Expression Predicts Dormant Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell Phenotype, Qihao Ren, Weng Hua Khoo, Alexander P Corr, Tri Giang Phan, Peter I Croucher, Sheila A Stewart

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer can recur months to decades after an initial diagnosis and treatment. The mechanisms that control tumor cell dormancy remain poorly understood, making it difficult to predict which patients will recur and thus benefit from more rigorous screening and treatments. Unfortunately, the extreme rarity of dormant DTCs has been a major obstacle to their study.

METHODS: To overcome this challenge, we developed an efficient system to isolate and study rare dormant breast cancer cells from metastatic organs including bones, which represent a major site of metastasis. After isolation of cells from the long bones, we used single cell …

Burnout: Exploring The Differences Between U.S. And International Medical Graduates., Joan E St Onge, Heidi Allespach, Yvonne Diaz, Alexandria Poitier, Leonardo Tamariz, Charles Paidas, Ana Palacio

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Background: International medical graduates (IMGs) have less burnout than U. S. medical school graduates (USMGs) during residency training. This study evaluates possible correlates of differences in burnout rates between USMGs and IMGs.

Methods: We surveyed 375 first-year residents at orientation in June/July 2017. We assessed burnout using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and used validated scales to measure stress, quality of life (QoL), mastery, and spirituality. We collected data on gender, place of graduation, language fluency, and specialty. We compared CBI scores between USMGs and IMGs, performed a multivariate linear regression analysis of relationships between covariates and CBI subscales, and …