Digital Commons Network^™

Gene Therapy Cm-Yapon Protects The Mouse Heart From Myocardial Infarction, Fansen Meng, Jeffrey D Steimle, Elizabeth Straight, Rich G Li, Yuka Morikawa, Zohaib Iqbal, Bing Xie, Jun Wang, Wyatt G Paltzer, Yi Zhao, Chang-Ru Tsai, Lin Liu, Maggie Lim, Rita A Schack, Daniel Ramirez, Katherine Carlson, Vaibhav Deshmukh, Jason M Karch, Robia G Pautler, Xiao Li, James F Martin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Myocardial infarction (MI) affects millions of people worldwide, causing irreversible injury to the heart and impairing cardiac function1. In both mouse and pig MI models, activating YAP in cardiomyocytes (CMs) stimulates regenerative repair2,3. Here we developed an adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-based therapy, termed CM-YAPon, which enables transient expression of an active YAP variant (YAP5SA) in CMs following exposure to the small molecule LMI070. A single LMI070 dose in mice triggers YAP5SA expression, CM cell cycle re-entry, and reprogramming of the cardiac microenvironment. YAP5SA induction after MI rapidly improves cardiac function while pre-MI induction confers …

Fibroblasts Are The Primary Contributors To A Disrupted Micro-Environment In End-Stage Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Hanna J Tadros, Diwakar Turaga, Yi Zhao, Chang-Ru Tsai, Iki A Adachi, Xiao Li, James F Martin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a relatively rare but debilitating diagnosis in the pediatric population, and patients with end-stage HCM require heart transplantation. Here, we have examined the transcriptome in ventricular tissue from this patient group to identify cell states and underlying cellular processes unique to pediatric HCM.

Methods: We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on explanted hearts at transplant in 3 pediatric patients with end-stage HCM and compared findings to pediatric control and adult HCM.

Results: We identified distinct underlying cellular processes in cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and myeloid cells compared with controls. Pediatric HCM was enriched in cardiomyocytes …

Insights From A Survey Of School Nurses: Assessing The Challenges Of Constipation In Schools, Andrew S Chu, Eric H Chiou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: School nurses are key responders to students with constipation, yet their experiences are underreported. This study surveyed their observations regarding constipation, identified barriers to student restroom access, and assessed educational needs.

Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional survey study, an anonymous online survey was distributed to school nurses participating in a virtual education series. The survey assessed nurse demographics, frequency of encounters with constipation and encopresis, school restroom policies, barriers to restroom use, accommodation requests, and training in constipation management.

Findings: Of 125 respondents, 95% encountered students with constipation at least monthly and 55% reported ≥ 6 encounters monthly. Commonly …

The Neonatal Gut Microbiome In Health And Disease, Geoffrey A Preidis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Promoting Professionalism In Medical Education: A Toolbox For Effective Feedback And Remediation, Matthew R Carroll, Gal Barak, Tracy Byrne, Huma Farid

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Differential Microrna Profiling Of Blood L1cam And Bulk Extracellular Vesicles In Bipolar Disorder, Gabriel R Fries, Salahudeen Mirza, Jun Wang, Camila N C Lima, Wei Zhang, Marcela Carbajal Tamez, Giselli Scaini, Jair C Soares, Joao Quevedo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: This preliminary study aimed to identify microRNA (miRNA) signatures associated with bipolar disorder (BD) by profiling blood-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) of both putative neuronal origin and from all sources.

Method: In two parallel studies of individuals with BD and controls (CON), we characterized miRNA expression profiles of blood EVs selected for L1CAM, a putative marker of neuronal origin (n = 20 BD/20 CON), as well as bulk EVs (n = 21 BD/20 CON). For each study, analyses identified miRNAs differentially expressed between groups, followed by functional interrogation and testing for associations with clinical features.

Results: Results of …

Plasma Metabolomic And Proteomic Signatures Of Blood Pressure Management After Bariatric Surgery Among Adolescents, Shudi Pan, Zhenjiang Li, Juan Pablo Lewinger, Jesse A Goodrich, Hongxu Wang, Sarah Rock, Carmen Chen, Todd M Jenkins, Stephanie Sisley, Stephen R Daniels, Douglas I Walker, Max T Aung, Erika Garcia, Rob Mcconnell, Sandrah P Eckel, Michele A La Merrill, Tanya L Alderete, Zhuanghua Chen, Frank D Gilliland, Thomas H Inge, David V Conti, Justin R Ryder, Lida Chatzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Emerging omics approaches, including metabolomics and proteomics, can be integrated into obesity treatment for better blood pressure management. We tested whether preoperative metabolomic and proteomic profiles predict long-term elevated blood pressure (EBP) changes better than known risk factors in adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery.

Methods: We included 108 participants from the Teen-LABS (Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery). Plasma untargeted metabolomics (via liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry) and Olink proteomics were assessed pre surgery. An elastic net model with stability selection was used to identify features predictive of EBP reductions 5 years post surgery. Models including identified metabolites, proteins, and …

Where, How, And How Much? A Multicenter Cohort Study Of The Relationship Across Lupus Decision-Aid Modality, Place Of Administration, Interruption And Viewing Completeness, And Patient-Reported Outcomes, Jasvinder A Singh, Mark Beasley, Larry R Hearld

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: We assessed whether shared decision-making (SDM) and patient acceptability, feasibility, and overall satisfaction with a computerized patient decision aid (PtDA) for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differs by PtDA setting, modality, and the viewing experience.

Methods: Patients with SLE were invited to view a self-administered computerized SLE PtDA during regular clinic visits at 15 rheumatology clinics in an implementation trial. Patients completed a survey that included SDM measures including the decision conflict scale (DCS), Preparation for Decision Making (PDM) scale, and CollaboRATE scale, and we measured perceived patient acceptability, feasibility, and satisfaction. Patients viewed the SLE PtDA in …

Managing Conflict Case: The Difficult Consultant, Amrita Vempati, Suzanne Bentley, Anita Rohra, Daniela Ortiz, David Fernandez, Shagun Berry, Colleen Donovan, Nicole Novotny, Stephanie Cohen, Stephanie Stapleton, Tiffany Moadel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Audience: This communication case is intended for emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians and junior faculty preparing for the ABEM Certifying Exam.

Introduction: Conflict management is a common and significant challenge in the emergency department (ED), with potential negative impact on both physicians and patients. At the individual level, hospital-based conflicts can lead to emotional stress, impaired concentration, decreased trust among providers, and feelings of dehumanization.1 For patients, conflicts between physicians can compromise the quality of care and contribute to delays in treatment.1 In the ED, conflict often arises between emergency physicians (EPs) and various stakeholders, including patients, family members, nursing …

Patient-Centered Communication Case: Threatened Miscarriage, Anita Rohra, Daniela Ortiz, Shagun Berry, Colleen Donovan, Nicole Novotny, Stephanie Cohen, Charles Lei, Alaa Aldalati, Stephanie Stapleton, David Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Audience: This communication case is intended for EM residents of all levels.

Introduction: Patient-centered communication is a necessary skill in the practice of emergency medicine. This style of communication is crucial for promoting high-quality healthcare by prioritizing patient needs, perspectives, and values. This patient-centered communication case centers on miscarriage, a diagnosis where patient-centered communication is requisite. Approximately one in six or 17.1% of patients with a final diagnosis of miscarriage, also known as early pregnancy loss, present initially to the emergency department.1 Advising a patient of the diagnosis of miscarriage requires excellent communication skills including facile rapport building, empathy, nonverbal …

Decreasing Barriers To The Utilization Of Cryopreserved Sperm In Male Cancer Survivors: An Expert Review And Guide, Megan V Alexander, Hailie Ciomperlik, Anna Claire Reynolds, Allyson Nevins, Luwam Ghidei, Jordan Kassab, Kevin Campbell, John Sullivan, Michael D Jochum, Laura Detti, Terri L Woodard, Larry I Lipshultz, Laurie J Mckenzie

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Sperm cryopreservation offers male cancer patients a critical opportunity to preserve fertility prior to gonadotoxic therapy, yet utilization of banked sperm remains modest, typically under 10%. A structured understanding of barriers across the cancer survivorship continuum is needed to support patients in utilization of cryopreserved sperm in alignment with their reproductive goals.

Materials and methods: This expert review synthesizes current evidence and clinical experience to explore the multifaceted barriers to cryopreserved sperm use and propose specific solutions. Key intervention timepoints are examined, including the post-treatment fertility return visit, long-term cryopreservation while remote from family building, readiness for family building, …

Implications Of Cooccurring Adhd For The Cognitive Behavioural Treatment Of Anxiety In Autistic Children, Elise Ng-Cordell, Eric A Storch, Philip C Kendall, Jeffrey J Wood, Amori Yee Mikami, Connor M Kerns

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Childhood mental health conditions commonly cooccur, with potential treatment implications. Autistic children frequently experience anxiety and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated the implications of this cooccurrence for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a front-line treatment for anxiety in autistic children. We tested whether (1) ADHD predicts anxiety treatment response, (2) ADHD improves in response to anxiety treatment and (3) ADHD improvement is related to reductions in anxiety.

Method: Autistic children with elevated anxiety (N = 167) enrolled in a multisite, randomised controlled trial comparing standard CBT, autism-adapted CBT and treatment as usual. ADHD symptoms and severity were assessed via …

How Well Can Commonly Used Anxiety Scales Detect Treatment Outcomes In The Context Of Autism?, Huilin Chen, Jeffrey J Wood, Connor M Kerns, Eric A Storch, Philip C Kendall, Gaia Scerif, Cathy Creswell

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health challenges in autistic children, yet there is limited evidence on effective tools to measure treatment outcomes. Previous research with non-autistic children has found that the Child Anxiety Impact Scale, Parent Version achieved good diagnostic accuracy when measuring treatment outcomes and performed better than a commonly used symptom measure. However, this has not been evaluated for autistic children. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Child Anxiety Impact Scale, Parent Version in autistic children and compared its utility against other anxiety symptom measures, to detect treatment outcomes as assessed by …

A Clinical Training Program For Auditory-Perceptual Rating Of Connected Speech In Aphasia., Marianne Casilio, Manaswita Dutta, Katherine Bryan, Kelly Crouch, Zachary Dewall, Ilana Feld, Jennifer Kile, Keely Mcmahan, Jacqueline Samora, Kiiya Shibata, Stacey Steel, Multiple Additional Authors

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although discourse analysis has been receiving growing interest among aphasia researchers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs), several key challenges, such as limited time, insufficient training, and a lack of accessible tools, preclude its practical application in clinical settings. To address these barriers, we developed and evaluated a clinical training program for Auditory-Perceptual Rating of Connected Speech in Aphasia (APROCSA; Casilio et al., 2019), a time-efficient and psychometrically robust transcriptionless system for quantifying a range of speech-language impairment features.

Functional Head Tremor: Contrasting Features With Other Tremor Etiologies, José Fidel Baizabal-Carvallo, Joseph Jankovic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Functional tremor (FT) is considered the most common phenomenology among patients with functional movement disorders (FMDs). Most patients have limb tremor, but they can also present with tremor involving the head and trunk.

Objectives and methods: We aimed to assess the clinical phenomenology of functional head tremor (FHT) and contrast it with features of HT observed in 125 patients with other tremor etiologies (OTE), including 71 patients with essential tremor (ET).

Results: There were 101 consecutive patients (68.3% females) with FT from which n = 36 (35.6%) had FHT. Yes-yes tremor was the most common directionality (47.2%). Functional trunk …

Feasibility Of Expiratory Muscle Strength Training In Individuals With Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Katya Villarreal-Cavazos, James C Borders, James A Curtis, Jordanna S Sevitz, Nora Vanegas-Arroyave, Michelle S Troche

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Dysphagia is common among individuals with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) is a treatment used to increase expiratory muscle force production for airway protection deficits. To our knowledge, no studies have tested EMST in this population. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of EMST in individuals with PSP.

Methods: Twenty-nine participants completed baseline measures of maximum expiratory pressure and underwent a trial session of EMST. EMST was considered feasible if participants were able to complete at least 10 repetitions at 30% of their maximum expiratory pressure. Qualitative analyses were also completed …

Ice Surface Change And Flow Dynamics Analysis Of Sít’ Tlein (Malaspina Glacier) Through Remote Sensing, Victor Devaux-Chupin

Geosciences

Sít’ Tlein, located in southeast Alaska, is the largest piedmont glacier in the world. Periglacial lake expansion, low-lying bed, and proximity to the Pacific Ocean put its glacier lobe at risk of rapid retreat. Its disappearance would equate to removing an area of land about half the size of Rhode Island. Sít’ Tlein exhibits complex ice flow responsible for its iconic folded moraines, and for its heterogeneous ice resupply in its lobe, which occasionally surges. This lobe is gradually mantled by debris and vegetation as the ice flow fades towards its margins, protecting it from melting. This the­ sis is …

Voting Under Contradictory News, Arnab Mitra, Quazi Shahriar

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

How much do opposing news sources distort private information and how do voters use distorted contradictory information regarding candidate quality? In a two candidate voting game, we derive and experimentally test an “average-opinion” hypothesis, where two opposingly biased sources, capable of forming an unbiased estimate of candidate quality as well as a distorted estimate within a bound, symmetrically distort their reported estimates in opposite directions, and voters split the estimate difference to decipher the unbiased estimate. Data support the hypothesis and show that voters benefit from sources’ competition, compared to a control treatment without competition. When sources are allowed to …

Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated Activation Mediates Transforming Growth Factor Beta Signaling In Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury In Mice, Matthew Mcmillin, Christopher S Chu, Elaina Williams, Juliet Venter, Kiersten Bell, Anca D Petrescu, Patrick Mireles, Sharon Demorrow

Faculty and Staff Publications

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is associated with increased transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) signaling and elevated oxidative stress, which exacerbate DNA damage. TGFβ1 has been shown to regulate ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) signaling and DNA repair in other cell types. This study investigates the DNA damage response (DDR) during APAP-induced liver injury, focusing on ATM-mediated regulation of TGFβ1 signaling. APAP administration in vitro and in vivo resulted in DNA damage, increased ATM signaling, accumulation of γH2AX, and activation of phosphorylated ataxia telangiectasia mutated (pATM) and phosphorylated checkpoint kinase 2 (pChk2). Pretreatment with an ATM inhibitor, KU55933, attenuated APAP-induced hepatocyte damage and …

A Narrative Review Of Dual Loyalty Conflicts In Custodial Settings And Implications For Community Practice, Michelle Suh, Marc David Robinson, Holland Kaplan

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Dual loyalty dilemmas are conflicts between health care professionals' obligations toward their patients and third-party interests. These conflicts are more common and starker in custodial settings, such as jails and prisons, military detention facilities, immigration detention centers, and involuntary psychiatric institutions. Despite encountering patients in custody, health care professionals (HCPs) in community settings have limited knowledge and training. In this narrative review, we examined dual loyalty conflicts faced by HCPs working in custodial settings and then applied the identified themes to community-based hospitals where HCPs care for patients in custody. We searched databases for original papers relating to patients in …

“‘What Is One Takeaway You've Gotten From This Learning Experience?’ Analyzing Student Reflections On Introductory Information Literacy Instruction”, Amanda Nichols Hess, Emily Ruth Benoit, Rebecca M. Krystyniak, Stephanie Williams

Communications in Information Literacy

Reflection is a useful pedagogical tool for both learners in instructional settings and educators seeking to offer meaningful experiences; in this article, a group of academic librarians use the former to engage with the latter. We analyzed more than 830 first-year students’ responses to a reflection question posed at the conclusion of library instruction over the course of the 2023–2024 academic year with a specific eye to the concepts that were and were not resonant, as well as whether there were common areas of confusion. We used a grounded theory approach to make sense of the data and allow ideas …

The Library Instructor As Learner: A Survey Of Reflective Teaching Practices In Us Academic Libraries, Alicia G. Vaandering, Amanda Crego-Emley

Communications in Information Literacy

Reflective practice provides library workers with a critical opportunity to examine professional experiences, question assumptions and approaches, explore new perspectives, and develop innovative solutions to existing problems. When applied to instruction as reflective teaching, this practice better situates library instructors to meet the evolving needs of twenty-first-century library users. This research study explores how library workers engage with reflective teaching in academic libraries across the United States. A survey was distributed to academic library communities, and a total of 153 responses were collected. While 92% of respondents reported participating in reflective teaching practice in a variety of instructional contexts, results …

Teaching Research As An Interdependent Practice: Bringing Alternate Models Into The Scholarly Conversation, Natalia Kapacinskas, Veronica Arellano Douglas

Communications in Information Literacy

The customs and practices of research in academia are often mischaracterized as individualistic pursuits, ignoring the reality that research requires a great deal of collaboration. As teaching librarians, our research instruction often reinforces individualism as a scholarly virtue, even as we simultaneously engage with themes of connection between researchers and their ideas. We propose an approach to teaching research and information literacy grounded in the concept, intention, and practice of interdependence rather than individualism. In doing so, we will call in models of interdependence from critical disability studies, relational-cultural theory, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and the Cite Black Women movement. …

Searching For Change: Exploring Historical Silences And Counterstorytelling Through Youth-Led Social Justice Movements, Ariana Varela

Communications in Information Literacy

During a first-year engagement program, a librarian and a cohort of students worked towards a shared understanding of dominant narratives, historical silences, and creating counterstories through research to center marginalized stories and complicate existing narratives. As information literacy professionals, we should design interactive lessons that demonstrate critical search and evaluation skills through topics that are relevant to students and encourage them to work with issues that impact their communities. Incorporating critical information literacy, feminist pedagogy, and critical race theory, this two-day micro-seminar introduced first-year students to the legacy of youth community activism in the neighborhoods around their university. They practiced …

Difficult Conversation Case: Death Notification, Charles Lei, Tiffany Moadel, Suzanne Bentley, Amrita Vempati, David Fernandez, Daniela Ortiz, Anita Rohra, Stephanie Stapleton, Hillary Moss

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Audience: This case is meant for senior emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians as a preparatory tool for the American Board of Emergency Medicine Certifying Exam. However, it is applicable for EM residents at all levels of training.

Introduction: Difficult conversations are an integral part of the practice of emergency medicine. Competent EM physicians routinely engage in challenging conversations with patients and their families (eg, delivering bad news, disclosing medical errors, providing death notifications).1 Despite their importance, communication skills are often not formally taught in residency training.2 Instead, learners frequently rely on role modeling to develop the skills necessary to navigate …

Changing Lives, Transforming Communities: How Young Feminist Organizations Create Change In Mexico And Kenya—Slide Deck, Population Council Kenya

Adolescents and Young People

No abstract provided.

Love Will Get You Further: Allan Leslie Combs And The Legacy Of Radiance, Julia C. Gardner

Journal of Conscious Evolution

In this reflective tribute, I draw on a November 2025 remembrance gathering for Allan Leslie Combs to explore how his scholarship on consciousness lived through his presence, pedagogy, and relationships. The article weaves reflections from students, colleagues, friends, and family to show how Leslie treated consciousness as a living, radiant field and knowledge as participatory. Speakers describe a mentor who walked beside their work, welcoming spiritual, creative, and embodied ways of knowing, while trusting love, humor, and trickster-mischief as legitimate modes of inquiry.

I then turn to my own dissertation research on play consciousness (PlayCS) as a tangible extension of …

Automated Design Of Scaffold-Free Dna Wireframe Nanostructures, Wen Wang, Abdulmelik Mohammed, Rong Chen, Antti Elonen, Silian Chen, Mengfan Tian, Junhao Yang, Ye Xiang, Pekka Orponen, Bryan Wei

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Computer-aided design has become common practice in DNA nanotechnology, and many programs are available that make the sophisticated design processes accessible to both the core research community and curious scientists in other fields. However, most of the design tools are committed to the scaffolded DNA origami method. Here we present an automated design pipeline for creating DNA wireframe nanostructures based on a scaffold-free molecular self-assembly approach. Unlike in the DNA origami method, scaffold-free designs are not built around a global backbone strand but are constituted entirely of short, locally intertwined oligonucleotides. This overcomes many limitations inherent in scaffolded nanostructure designs, …

Experiences Of U.S. Frontline Physicians During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study, Robin L. Whitney, Melissa Gosdin, Sabrina F. Loureiro, Marykate Miller, Joy Melnikow, Richard L. Kravitz

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound and rapid changes in patient care and healthcare system organization. There is a compelling need for insight into the challenges that confronted physicians during the early phase of the pandemic to identify successful adaptations and strategies that minimize disruption to patient care and protect clinician wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to understand physicians’ lived experiences of providing patient care during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative, descriptive study used a thematic analysis approach. The sample included 17 physicians from five specialties with direct care experience of COVID-19 patients (infectious disease, primary …

Increased Melt From Greenland’S Most Active Glacier Fuels Enhanced Coastal Productivity, Michael Wood, Dustin Carroll, Ian Fenty, Clément Bertin, Basil Darby, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Mark Hopwood, Ala Khazendar, Lorenz Meire, Hilde Oliver, Tara Parker, Josh Willis

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Seasonal phytoplankton blooms in Greenland’s coastal waters form the base of marine food webs and contribute to oceanic carbon uptake. In Qeqertarsuup Tunua, West Greenland, a secondary summertime bloom follows the Arctic spring bloom, enhancing annual primary productivity. Emerging evidence links this summer bloom to subglacial discharge from Sermeq Kujalleq, the most active glacier on the Greenland Ice Sheet. This discharge drives localized upwelling that may alleviate nutrient limitation in surface waters, yet this mechanism remains poorly quantified. Here, we employ a high-resolution biogeochemical model nested within a global state estimate to assess how discharge-driven upwelling influences primary productivity and …