Digital Commons Network^™

Effective Thrombectomy For Biventricular Thrombosis With An Endoscope Via The Aortic And Tricuspid Heart Valves, Yuki Endo, Yoshiei Shimamura, Chizuo Kikuchi, Hiroshi Niinami

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

The simultaneous formation of thrombi in the left and right ventricles is extremely rare, and this condition's clinical characteristics and prognosis remain unknown. Therefore, treatment methods are still controversial. This case highlights the potential for endoscopic thrombectomy as a viable option for the treatment of giant floating biventricular thrombi in a patient with restricted cardiac function. This approach via the aortic and tricuspid heart valves allowed for effective and complete removal of the thrombi, thereby preventing further embolic complications.

The Mental Health Of Cardiology Fellows In Training, Juan Simon Rico-Mesa, Suman M Atluri, Maria Antonia Rico-Mesa

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Robot-Assisted Surgical Treatment Of Caseoma, Nancy Wang, Abdussalam Elsenousi, Kenneth K Liao

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

This report reviews 5 cases of mitral annular caseoma. Four patients presented with fatigue, stroke, or mitral stenosis. Robot-assisted resection of caseoma with or without mitral valve replacement was successfully performed in all patients with good outcomes. These cases demonstrate the safety and efficacy of robotic surgery in treating caseoma.

Digital Otoscopy With Computer-Aided Composite Image Generation: Impact On The Correct Diagnosis, Confidence, And Time, Seda Camalan, Carl D Langefeld, Amy Zinnia, Brigham Mckee, Matthew L Carlson, Nicholas L Deep, Michael S Harris, Taha A Jan, Vivian F Kaul, Nathan R Lindquist, Jameson K Mattingly, Jay Shah, Kevin Y Zhan, Metin N Gurcan, Aaron C Moberly

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: This study investigated the comparative performance of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physicians in correctly detecting ear abnormalities when reviewing digital otoscopy imaging using 3 different visualization methods, including computer-assisted composite images called "SelectStitch," single video frame "Still" images, and video clips. The study also explored clinicians' diagnostic confidence levels and the time to make a diagnosis.

Study design: Clinician diagnostic reader study.

Setting: Online diagnostic survey of ENT physicians.

Methods: Nine ENT physicians reviewed digital otoscopy examinations from 86 ears with various diagnoses (normal, perforation, retraction, middle ear effusion, tympanosclerosis). Otoscopy examinations used artificial-intelligence (AI)-based computer-aided composite image …

Mody Calculator And Clinical Features Routinely Used To Distinguish Mody From Type 2 Diabetes In Adults Perform Poorly For Youth Clinically Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes, Raymond J Kreienkamp, Beverley M Shields, Toni I Pollin, Amy S Shah, Angela D Liese, Anna Bellatorre, Catherine Pihoker, Mustafa Tosur, Jose C Florez, Shylaja Srinivasan, Andrew T Hattersley, Miriam S Udler, Maria J Redondo

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Drosophila Models Uncover Substrate Channeling Effects On Phospholipids And Sphingolipids In Peroxisomal Biogenesis Disorders, Michael F Wangler, Yu-Hsin Chao, Mary Roth, Ruth Welti, James A Mcnew

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Peroxisomal Biogenesis Disorders Zellweger Spectrum (PBD-ZSD) disorders are a group of autosomal recessive defects in peroxisome formation that produce a multi-systemic disease presenting at birth or in childhood. Well documented clinical biomarkers such as elevated very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) are key biochemical diagnostic findings in these conditions. Additional, secondary biochemical alterations such as elevated very long chain lysophosphatidylcholines are allowing newborn screening for peroxisomal disease. In addition, a more widespread impact on metabolism and lipids is increasingly being documented by metabolomic and lipidomic studies. Here we utilize Drosophila models of pex2 and pex16 as well as human plasma …

A Comprehensive Uhplc-Ms/Ms And Extraction Method Reveals Flavonoid Profile And Concentration Are Diverse In Spinach (Spinacia Oleracea L), Michael P Dzakovich, Elaine A Le, Alvin L Tak, Shaji K Chacko

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

INTRODUCTION: Spinach produces an array of unique flavonoids not commonly found in other fruits and vegetables. These molecules likely serve as defense agents against biotic and abiotic stress and may have health beneficial properties for humans. Current methods to analyze spinach flavonoids are incomplete and only capture a portion of this uncharacterized pathway. A comprehensive analysis method is needed to determine how genetics, environmental conditions, and other factors influence spinach flavonoid biosynthesis.

METHODS: We developed and validated a high-throughput extraction and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method to separate and quantify 39 spinach flavonoid species in 11.5 …

Talking About Suffering In The Intensive Care Unit, Brent M Kious, Judith B Vick, Peter A Ubel, Olivia Sutton, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Christopher E Cox, Deepshikha Ashana

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Some have hypothesized that talk about suffering can be used by clinicians to motivate difficult decisions, especially to argue for reducing treatment at the end of life. We examined how talk about suffering is related to decision-making for critically ill patients, by evaluating transcripts of conversations between clinicians and patients' families.

Methods: We conducted a secondary qualitative content analysis of audio-recorded family meetings from a multicenter trial conducted in the adult intensive care units of five hospitals from 2012-2017 to look at how the term "suffering" and its variants were used. A coding guide was developed by consensus-oriented discussion …

Investigative Genetic Genealogy Practices Warranting Policy Attention: Results Of A Modified Policy Delphi, Christi J Guerrini, Louiza Kalokairinou, Jill O Robinson, Whitney Bash Brooks, Stephanie M Fullerton, Sara Huston, Jacklyn Dahlquist, Diana Madden, Norah Crossnohere, Nicola Campoamor, John F P Bridges, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

A technique known as investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) was first introduced to criminal investigations in 2018, and it has since been used by U.S. law enforcement to help identify hundreds of criminal perpetrators and unidentified human remains. As expertise in IGG grows, policymakers have shown interest in regulating it. To help inform these efforts and to promote coherence in IGG governance as it expands, we recruited experts representing a spectrum of IGG-relevant professions and perspectives to identify and prioritize IGG practices for policy attention and to develop policy options for addressing them. In two rounds of a modified policy Delphi, …

Resort Enhances Reference-Based Cell Type Deconvolution For Spatial Transcriptomics Through Regional Information Integration, Linhua Wang, Ling Wu, Guantong Qi, Chaozhong Liu, Wanli Wang, Xiang H-F Zhang, Zhandong Liu

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Motivation: Spatial transcriptomics (ST) captures positional gene expression within tissues but lacks single-cell resolution. Reference-based cell type deconvolution methods were developed to understand cell type distributions for ST. However, batch/platform discrepancies between references and ST impact their accuracy.

Results: We present Region-based Cell Sorting (ReSort), which utilizes ST's region-level data to lessen reliance on reference data and alleviate these technical issues. In simulation studies, ReSort enhances reference-based deconvolution methods. Applying ReSort to a mouse breast cancer model highlights macrophages M0 and M2 enrichment in the epithelial clone, revealing insights into epithelial-mesenchymal transition and immune infiltration.

Availability and implementation: Source codes …

Survey And Improvement Strategies For Gene Prioritization With Large Language Models, Matthew B Neeley, Guantong Qi, Guanchu Wang, Ruixiang Tang, Dongxue Mao, Chaozhong Liu, Sasidhar Pasupuleti, Bo Yuan, Fan Xia, Pengfei Liu, Zhandong Liu, Xia Hu

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Motivation: Rare diseases remain difficult to diagnose due to limited patient data and genetic diversity, with many cases remaining undiagnosed despite advances in variant prioritization tools. While large language models have shown promise in medical applications, their optimal application for trustworthy and accurate gene prioritization downstream of modern prioritization tools has not been systematically evaluated.

Results: We benchmarked various language models for gene prioritization using multi-agent and Human Phenotype Ontology classification approaches to categorize patient cases by phenotype-based solvability levels. To address language model limitations in ranking large gene sets, we implemented a divide-and-conquer strategy with mini-batching and token limiting …

Glutamatergic Lateral Habenula Neurons Modulate Consolidation Of Associative Memories, Snigdha Srivastava, I-Ching Wang, Mikhail Y Kochukov, Jessica L Swanson, Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

INTRODUCTION: Despite the rise in psychiatric disorders worldwide, the underlying brain circuits responsible for these devastating conditions remain elusive. The lateral habenula (LHb) has emerged as a key brain structure in depression studies due to its hyperactive state in both patients and animal models. While this aligns with known roles in driving aversive states and regulating serotonin release, it is still unclear how acute and transient activity changes in the LHb can influence higher order cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and behavioral adaptation. Given the importance of these processes to psychiatric conditions, understanding how LHb activity impacts cognitive function …

Small Molecule-Based Regulation Of Gene Expression In Human Astrocytes Switching On And Off The G-Quadruplex Control Systems, Vijay Kumar M J, Jérémie Mitteaux, Zi Wang, Ellery Wheeler, Nitin Tandon, Sung Yun Jung, Robert H E Hudson, David Monchaud, Andrey S Tsvetkov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A great deal of attention is being paid to strategies seeking to uncover the biology of the four-stranded nucleic acid structure G-quadruplex (G4) via their stabilization in cells with G4-specific ligands. The conventional definition of chemical biology implies that a complete assessment of G4 biology can only be achieved by implementing a complementary approach involving the destabilization of cellular G4s by ad hoc molecular effectors. We report here on an unprecedented comparison of the cellular consequences of G4 chemical stabilization by pyridostatin (PDS) and destabilization by phenylpyrrolocytosine (PhpC) at both transcriptome- and proteome-wide scales in patient-derived primary human astrocytes. Our …

Adolescent And Caregiver Preparation For Legal Changes At Age 18, Blanca Sanchez-Fournier, Jordyn Babla, Mary Majumder, Beth H Garland, Constance M Wiemann, Albert C Hergenroeder

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Most adolescents with special healthcare needs (ASHCN) will assume legal responsibility for making decisions about their medical treatment at age 18. Simultaneously, parents or other legal representatives (Caregivers) will lose ASHCN medical record access. This study examined ASHCN and Caregiver knowledge of, satisfaction with, and suggestions for improvement in preparing for these changes.

Methods: Eighty-three dyads (18-year-old ASHCN and Caregivers) completed an assessment to evaluate their knowledge about changes in responsibility for decision making with a focus on consent, satisfaction with the preparation received, and recommendations for improved preparation. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used. Responses to open-ended …

Examining Treatment Options In Youth With Major Depressive Disorder: Observations From The Tx-Ydsrn Registry Study, Emine Rabia Ayvaci, Karabi Nandy, Ryan Becker, Laura Stone, Abu Minhajuddin, Holli Slater, Lynnel C Goodman, Sarah M Wakefield, Eric A Storch, Joseph C Blader, Cesar A Soutullo, Graham J Emslie, Madhukar H Trivedi

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: Treatment decisions for depression are a complex process, influenced by factors such as clinical characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and patient/caregiver preferences. This study examines the characteristics of treatment options during the first month of enrollment among depressed youth.

Methods: Data for 646 depressed youth were extracted from the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network study. Participants' treatments during the first month were categorized as no treatment (NT), psychotherapy only (THER), pharmacotherapy only (MED), or a combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy (COMB). Sociodemographic and clinical features were compared across these treatment types.

Results: 7% were on NT, 5% on THER, …

A Hybrid Cloud Data Lake Architecture Supporting The Integration Of Clinical And Genomics Data, Apollo Mcowiti, Heidi Dowst, Fei Zheng, Susan Hilsenbeck, Christopher Amos

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: Cancer centers must quickly integrate clinical genomics data from different vendors for oncology operations and research. Clinical data warehouse architectures are costly to construct and brittle, and they are not readily amenable to the rapid changes in oncology research. We introduce a cost-effective hybrid cloud Data Lake architecture for storing clinical genomic data from different vendors, aiding both clinical and research workflows.

Methods: We created a Data Lake architecture based on the zone architecture, with four layers: ingestion, storage, transformation, and interaction. The layers are implemented with a hybrid cloud architecture. Rich metadata created from patient and genomic data …

A Landscape Analysis Of Psychedelic Retreat Organizations Advertising Online, Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Caroline S Beit, Jill Oliver Robinson, Nikita Singh, Srijith Kambala, Rishi Ramesh, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Research into psychedelics' clinical potential has corresponded to a growth in public interest and adult use. One common pathway to accessing psychedelics is through psychedelic retreats. While individual retreats have been characterized in the anthropological literature, no systematic evaluation of the psychedelic retreat industry exists. Assessing the characteristics of the psychedelic retreat industry is critical to understanding the associated ethical, legal, and social implications and ensuring consumer safety. To this end, we conducted a landscape analysis of online, publicly available information to capture and characterize a broad range of organizations offering psychedelic retreats and marketing to English-speaking consumers. From July …

Characterizing Fermentable Carbohydrate Foods In The Diets Of Children With Abdominal Pain-Related Disorders Of Gut-Brain Interaction And Healthy Children, Vishnu Narayana, Jocelyn Chang, Ann R Mcmeans, Tasha Murphy, Rona L Levy, Robert J Shulman, Bruno P Chumpitazi

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objectives: Restricting dietary fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) can alleviate symptoms in children with disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). Due to the restrictions of a low FODMAP diet (LFD), a less restrictive FODMAP Gentle diet (FGD) has been suggested. However, the types and amounts of high FODMAP foods and carbohydrates commonly consumed by children have not been studied. We aimed to identify the high FODMAP foods and proportions of FODMAP carbohydrates consumed by children with DGBI and healthy children (HC) and to determine which usually ingested FODMAPs would be restricted on the FGD.

Methods: Three-day diet records from …

Clinician Perspectives On Incorporating Physical Activity And Sleep Prescriptions Using Ehealth For Youth With Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders: Qualitative Focus Group Study, Alyssa M. Button, James Slavet, Amanda E. Staiano, April Bowling

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Physical activity and sleep prescriptions are indicated for the treatment of psychiatric disorders among youth. However, there is limited clinical adoption of these practices. Exergaming (ie, games that require physical activity) is a feasible intervention to promote physical activity and sleep hygiene and is appealing to youth given their interest in video gaming. Integrating exergaming prescriptions into clinical mental health practices may offer an opportunity to expand access to these interventions, yet pragmatic considerations for adopting these programs are poorly understood.

Objective: This study aimed to gain feedback from practicing clinicians on adopting GamerFit, an app-based intervention that incorporates …

Healthaide: Developing An Audit Framework For Ai-Generated Online Health Information, Tahir Hameed

Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ultrabaroque Grandeur: Examining The Churrigueresque In Spanish Architecture From The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries, Sarah Staeben

Capstone Showcase

Following the Protestant Reformation, Spain was in a unique position compared to the rest of Europe. The importance of Catholicism was intrinsic to Spanish society by this point, as it was under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, aptly dubbed the Catholic Monarchs, that the Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula in 1492, after an eight century rule by Arab-Muslims. In the centuries that followed, Spanish architecture reached new levels of grandeur in the wake of reformed Catholic doctrine. Following the motto “docere, delectare, movere”(to teach, to delight, to move), architects were urged to convey the Church’s power and garner new supporters. …

Myrtillin As A Promising Immunomodulator: Molecular Modeling And Pharmacokinetic Evaluation, Adolat Manakbayeva, Timur Kerimov, I D. Ershov, E. I. Anarkulova, Pavel Alexyuk, Y Moldakhanov, Ahdrey P. Bogoyavlenskiy, Vyacheslav Dushenkov

Publications and Research

Myrtillin, an anthocyanin found in blueberry fruits, is known for its antioxidant and potentially immunomodulatory properties. In this study, molecular docking was used to evaluate its interactions with a wide panel of immune-related proteins, including pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17), antiinflammatory mediators (IL-4, IL-10), and signaling pathway proteins (1NFK, p52/RelB). The in silico results were supported by interaction analysis, and an ADMET analysis was conducted to assess the pharmacokinetic and toxicological profile. The findings confirm the promise of Myrtillin as a natural modulator of inflammatory responses.

The Cbp One App: A Virtual Manifestation Of The American Government's Failure To Uphold Its Moral And Legal Obligations To Asylum Seekers, Joseph Choe

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

2025 Commencement Program, Seattle University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

More Than Miscommunication: Rethinking Interpretation At The Asylum Office, Pooja R. Dadhania, Hillary Mellinger

Faculty Scholarship

The United States requires asylum applicants to provide their own interpreters for their interviews at the Asylum Office, barring exceptional circumstances. Applicants can face significant hurdles in finding suitable interpreters, who play a critical role in giving them a voice in the asylum process. Inaccurate interpretation can have serious ramifications such as denial of an applicant’s asylum claim. Despite the critical need for meaningful language access in the asylum process, interpretation at the Asylum Office remains understudied. This article represents a first attempt at bringing the scholarly and practitioner communities together to rethink interpretation at the Asylum Office, with the …

Sound, Touch, And Place: An Exploratory Study Of The Potential For Emotive Cognitive Mapping Through The Use Of Audio Description And Tactile Objects At A National Memorial, Amy Parker, Haruka Hopper, Kira Swearingen, Leah Neumann Samson, Brett Oppegaard, Hazelle Magaoay-Baniaga, Mary-Clare Cable

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

Audio description, tactile objects, and memorial sites are often studied separately for their communicative and emotive potential without consideration of potential multimodal connections existing among people, technologies, and solemn public places. This study’s novel mixed-methods approach uses site tours, surveys, think-aloud protocol, semi-structured interviews, and observations to develop rich and holistic understandings of such complex multimodal site visits at Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawai‘i by people who are DeafBlind, blind, or with low vision. Several themes emerged in the grounded empirical data gathered during the tour, afterward, and during an interview one month later, including findings that bridged emotions, …

Athens, Jerusalem, And Places In Between: Secular Learning And Christian Faith In Historical Perspective, Arlin C. Migliazzo

History Faculty Scholarship

Author's preface:

This novella-length essay began life as an introductory chapter in the draft version of a text on pedagogical practices in church-related higher education. The project was made possible by a $25,000 grant received by the author in 1996 from what was then known as the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts (now the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities). Fordham University Press expressed interest in publishing the book but required that the opening chapter be shortened considerably. Consequently, what eventually became Teaching as an Act of Faith: Theory and Practice in Church-Related Higher Education (New …

Yo Soy Boricua, Pa’ Que Tu Los Sepas: How Heirs’ Property Endangers The Future Of Puerto Rico

Florida A & M University Law Review

This article analyzes the problem of heirs’ property in Puerto Rico in three sections. Section I commences with the complexities related to Puerto Rico’s civil law system. Section I then bifurcates into Subsections A and B. Subsection A delves into colonial ties that continue to influence the political reality of Puerto Rico. Subsection B then identifies the main barriers to avoiding heirs’ property as informal land transfers, forced heirship, and conjugal partnerships.

Section II depicts how the current economic and housing crisis exposes the island to foreign threats. Section II also bifurcates into Subsections A and B. Subsection A unravels …

A Happy Medium?: Using Image Generators To Explore Solution-Focused Art Therapy’S Miracle Question, Daniel A. Hernried

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This mixed methods, randomized, single-session study tested whether integrating text-to-image generations into Solution-Focused Brief Art Therapy alters therapeutic rapport and short-term outcomes relative to traditional artmaking materials. Participants were assigned by coin flip to create using either a text-to-image generator or convention media (23 per group), completing immediate and three-day follow-ups. Alliance was measured using DREAM (Dimensions of Regard, Empathy, and Authenticity Metric), and problems were rated pre/post; groups did not differ significantly on DREAM total or facets, and both modalities produced reliable pre-to-post reductions in problem severity. At the same time, process differences were pronounced: the AI condition showed …

Interview With Clint Brown And Cheryl Mclean, Bailie Jansons

Gordon and Dorothy Carlson Commemoration

No abstract provided.