Digital Commons Network^™

Current Understanding Of The Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Microbiome And Therapeutic Strategies, Dong-Oh Seo, David M Holtzman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease. Despite tremendous research efforts to understand this complex disease, the exact pathophysiology of the disease is not completely clear. Recently, anti-Aβ antibodies have been shown to remove amyloid from the brain and slow the clinical progression of mild dementia by ~30%. However, exploring alternative strategies is crucial to understanding and developing more effective therapeutic interventions. In recent years, the microbiota-gut-brain axis has received significant attention in the AD field. Numerous studies have suggested that alterations in the gut microbiota composition are associated with the progression of AD, and several underlying mechanisms …

The Impact Of Patterns In Linkage Disequilibrium And Sequencing Quality On The Imprint Of Balancing Selection, Tristan J Hayeck, Yang Li, Timothy L Mosbruger, Jonathan P Bradfield, Adam G Gleason, George Damianos, Grace Tzun-Wen Shaw, Jamie L Duke, Laura K Conlin, Tychele N Turner, Marcelo A Fernández-Viña, Mahdi Sarmady, Dimitri S Monos

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Regions under balancing selection are characterized by dense polymorphisms and multiple persistent haplotypes, along with other sequence complexities. Successful identification of these patterns depends on both the statistical approach and the quality of sequencing. To address this challenge, at first, a new statistical method called LD-ABF was developed, employing efficient Bayesian techniques to effectively test for balancing selection. LD-ABF demonstrated the most robust detection of selection in a variety of simulation scenarios, compared against a range of existing tests/tools (Tajima's D, HKA, Dng, BetaScan, and BalLerMix). Furthermore, the impact of the quality of sequencing on detection of balancing selection was …

Feasibility Of Interleukin-6 Receptor Blockade In Cardiac Antibody-Mediated Rejection, April A Pottebaum, Spenser E. January, Chang Liu, Steven Lavine, Joel D. Schilling, Kory J. Lavine

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) remains a significant cause of heart transplant mortality with few effective therapies.

METHODS: This study aimed to describe initial experience of using interleukin-6 receptor blockade with tocilizumab in the treatment of acute cardiac AMR at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University Transplant Center from July 2017 to May 2021 (n = 7). Clinical, echocardiographic, and serum alloantibody data were analyzed before and after treatment.

RESULTS: All participants demonstrated marked improvement in functional status. Echocardiographic data following 4-6 mo of tocilizumab revealed significant improvements in biventricular systolic function for all participants. Consistent reductions in donor-specific HLA or angiotensin type I …

Structural Biases In Disordered Proteins Are Prevalent In The Cell, David Moses, Karina Guadalupe, Feng Yu, Eduardo Flores, Anthony R Perez, Ralph Mcanelly, Nora M Shamoon, Gagandeep Kaur, Estefania Cuevas-Zepeda, Andrea D Merg, Erik W Martin, Alex S Holehouse, Shahar Sukenik

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Intrinsically disordered proteins and protein regions (IDPs) are prevalent in all proteomes and are essential to cellular function. Unlike folded proteins, IDPs exist in an ensemble of dissimilar conformations. Despite this structural plasticity, intramolecular interactions create sequence-specific structural biases that determine an IDP ensemble's three-dimensional shape. Such structural biases can be key to IDP function and are often measured in vitro, but whether those biases are preserved inside the cell is unclear. Here we show that structural biases in IDP ensembles found in vitro are recapitulated inside human-derived cells. We further reveal that structural biases can change in a sequence-dependent …

Calorie Restriction Reduces Biomarkers Of Cellular Senescence In Humans, Zaira Aversa, Susan B Racette, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Calorie restriction (CR) with adequate nutrient intake is a potential geroprotective intervention. To advance this concept in humans, we tested the hypothesis that moderate CR in healthy young-to-middle-aged individuals would reduce circulating biomarkers of cellular senescence, a fundamental mechanism of aging and aging-related conditions. Using plasma specimens from the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE™) phase 2 study, we found that CR significantly reduced the concentrations of several senescence biomarkers at 12 and 24 months compared to an ad libitum diet. Using machine learning, changes in biomarker concentrations emerged as important predictors of the change …

Disease Characteristics, Treatments, And Outcomes Of Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Treated With Selexipag In Real-World Settings From The Sphere Registry (Selexipag: The Users Drug Registry), Vallerie Mclaughlin, Harrison W Farber, Kristin B Highland, Anna R Hemnes, Murali M Chakinala, Kelly M Chin, Michelle Han, Michelle Cho, Tobore Tobore, Mohammad Rahman, Nick H Kim

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Selexipag is an oral prostacyclin receptor agonist, indicated for pulmonary arterial hypertension to delay disease progression and reduce the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension-related hospitalization. SelexiPag: tHe usErs dRug rEgistry (NCT03278002) was a US-based, prospective, real-world registry of selexipag-treated patients.

METHODS: Adults with pulmonary hypertension (enrolled 2016-2020) prescribed selexipag were followed for ≤18 months, with data collected at routine clinic visits. Patients were defined as newly or previously initiated if they had started selexipag ≤60 days or >60 days, respectively, before enrollment.

RESULTS: The registry included 829 patients (430 newly initiated, 399 previously initiated; 759 with pulmonary arterial hypertension), …

Covid-19 Vaccine Perspective From Adolescents' Lens In The Us, Meher Garg, Arnav A. Nagrecha, Ruchi Gupta, Makeba Williams

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented global health issue. The World Health Organization estimates 773 million confirmed cases and 7 million deaths. Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and has demonstrated safety and efficacy in all age groups. Though a lot of studies have looked at COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and hesitancy in adults, there is scarce research addressing adolescent vaccination readiness. COVID-19 infection in this age group may result in lost school days, school and community transmission, and loss of productivity for parents. Aim This study aims to determine COVID-19 vaccination rates and …

Outcomes Of Ceftriaxone Compared With Cefazolin Or Nafcillin/Oxacillin For Outpatient Therapy For Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infections: Results From A Large United States Claims Database, Yasir Hamad, Katelin B Nickel, Margaret A Olsen, Ige A George

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Ceftriaxone is a convenient option for methicillin-sensitive

METHODS: In this retrospective cohort, a large insurance claims database was queried from 2010 to 2018 for adults with MSSA bloodstream infection (BSI). Patients discharged on OPAT on cefazolin or oxacillin/nafcillin were compared with ceftriaxone with respect to 90-day hospital readmission with the same infection category and 90-day all-cause readmission using logistic regression models.

RESULTS: Of 1895 patients with MSSA BSI, 1435 (75.7%) patients received cefazolin, oxacillin, or nafcillin and 460 (24.3%) ceftriaxone. Readmission due to the same infection category occurred in 366 (19.3%), and all-cause readmission occurred in 535 (28.3%) within …

Pycallingcards: An Integrated Environment For Visualizing, Analyzing, And Interpreting Calling Cards Data, Juanru Guo, Wenjin Zhang, Xuhua Chen, Allen Yen, Lucy Chen, Christian A Shively, Daofeng Li, Ting Wang, Joseph D Dougherty, Robi D Mitra

2020-Current year OA Pubs

MOTIVATION: Unraveling the transcriptional programs that control how cells divide, differentiate, and respond to their environments requires a precise understanding of transcription factors' (TFs) DNA-binding activities. Calling cards (CC) technology uses transposons to capture transient TF binding events at one instant in time and then read them out at a later time. This methodology can also be used to simultaneously measure TF binding and mRNA expression from single-cell CC and to record and integrate TF binding events across time in any cell type of interest without the need for purification. Despite these advantages, there has been a lack of dedicated …

Concurrent Administration Of Serotonergic Antidepressants And Ozanimod In Participants With Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis From The Open-Label Extension Daybreak Trial, Robert T Naismith, Jeffrey A Cohen, Amit Bar-Or, Giancarlo Comi, Krzysztof W Selmaj, Hans-Peter Hartung, James K Sheffield, Anthony Krakovich, Daniel Tatosian, Chun-Yen Cheng, Jennifer Reardon, Vadim Khaychuk, Jon V Riolo, Diego Silva, Bruce Ac Cree

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors can interact with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). There is clinical interest surrounding use of ozanimod with SSRIs/SNRIs because the major metabolites of ozanimod are weak inhibitors of MAO-B in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) potentially related to serotonin accumulation (SA) during concomitant ozanimod and SSRI/SNRI use by performing analyses of data from an open-label, oral ozanimod 0.92 mg trial (DAYBREAK; NCT02576717).

METHODS: SA narrow (serotonin syndrome, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and hyperthermia malignant) and broad (terms potentially associated with SA) MedDRA v24.0 searches were performed using …

Epidemiology And Preventability Of Hospital-Onset Bacteremia And Fungemia In 2 Hospitals In India, Sumanth Gandra, Dorothy Sinclair, Dustin Stwalley, Jacaranda Van Rheenen, David K Warren, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: Studies evaluating the incidence, source, and preventability of hospital-onset bacteremia and fungemia (HOB), defined as any positive blood culture obtained after 3 calendar days of hospital admission, are lacking in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: All consecutive blood cultures performed for 6 months during 2020-2021 in 2 hospitals in India were reviewed to assess HOB and National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) reportable central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) events. Medical records of a convenience sample of 300 consecutive HOB events were retrospectively reviewed to determine source and preventability. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to …

High-Dimensional Quantile Mediation Analysis With Application To A Birth Cohort Study Of Mother-Newborn Pairs, Haixiang Zhang, Xiumei Hong, Yinan Zheng, Lifang Hou, Cheng Zheng, Xiaobin Wang, Lei Liu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

MOTIVATION: There has been substantial recent interest in developing methodology for high-dimensional mediation analysis. Yet, the majority of mediation statistical methods lean heavily on mean regression, which limits their ability to fully capture the complex mediating effects across the outcome distribution. To bridge this gap, we propose a novel approach for selecting and testing mediators throughout the full range of the outcome distribution spectrum.

RESULTS: The proposed high-dimensional quantile mediation model provides a comprehensive insight into how potential mediators impact outcomes via their mediation pathways. This method's efficacy is demonstrated through extensive simulations. The study presents a real-world data application …

Mucosal Boosting Enhances Vaccine Protection Against Sars-Cov-2 In Macaques, Katherine Mcmahan, Adrianus C M Boon, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

A limitation of current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is that they provide minimal protection against infection with current Omicron subvariants

Aapm Medical Physics Practice Guideline 14.A: Yttrium-90 Microsphere Radioembolization, Nathan C Busse, Nichole M Maughan, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Radioembolization using Yttrium-90 (

The Potential Epidemiologic, Clinical, And Economic Value Of A Universal Coronavirus Vaccine: A Modelling Study, Sarah M Bartsch, Kelly J O'Shea, Danielle C John, Ulrich Strych, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Marie F Martinez, Allan Ciciriello, Kevin L Chin, Colleen Weatherwax, Kavya Velmurugan, Jessie Heneghan, Sheryl A Scannell, Peter J Hotez, Bruce Y Lee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: With efforts underway to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine, otherwise known as a pan-coronavirus vaccine, this is the time to offer potential funders, researchers, and manufacturers guidance on the potential value of such a vaccine and how this value may change with differing vaccine and vaccination characteristics.

METHODS: Using a computational model representing the United States (U.S.) population, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the various clinical and economic outcomes of COVID-19 such as hospitalisations, deaths, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, productivity losses, direct medical costs, and total societal costs, we explored the impact of a universal vaccine under different …

Quality Assurance For Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy For Gynecologic Malignancies, Samuel N Andersen, Mark D Bonnen, Michelle S Ludwig, Shraddha M Dalwadi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is not well studied or reported in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies, despite its success in the definitive management of other cancer sites. This report describes a rigorous quality assurance process for patients to undergo dose escalation to the pelvis via stereotactic photon beam irradiation. Patients who receive SBRT must be ineligible for conventional brachytherapy boost and undergo comprehensive informed consent. Fiducial placement, bowel prep, Foley catheter placement with standardized bladder filling, computerized tomography (CT) simulation with whole-body immobilization, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-assisted target delineation, planning aims based on the established brachytherapy …

Social Determinants Of Health Framework To Identify And Reduce Barriers To Imaging In Marginalized Communities, Mohab M Elmohr, Zulqarnain Javed, Prachi Dubey, John E Jordan, Lubdha Shah, Khurram Nasir, Eric M Rohren, Christie M Lincoln

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are conditions influencing individuals' health based on their environment of birth, living, working, and aging. Addressing SDOH is crucial for promoting health equity and reducing health outcome disparities. For conditions such as stroke and cancer screening where imaging is central to diagnosis and management, access to high-quality medical imaging is necessary. This article applies a previously described structural framework characterizing the impact of SDOH on patients who require imaging for their clinical indications. SDOH factors can be broadly categorized into five sectors: economic stability, education access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community …

Intramuscular But Not Nebulized Administration Of A Mrna Vaccine Against Rhodococcus Equi Stimulated Humoral Immune Responses In Neonatal Foals, Rebecca M Legere, Cristina Poveda, Jeannine A Ott, Jocelyne M Bray, Emma G Villafone, Bibiana Petri Da Silveira, Susanne K Kahn, Cameron L Martin, Chiara Mancino, Francesca Taraballi, Michael F Criscitiello, Luc Berghman, Angela I Bordin, Jeroen Pollet, Noah D Cohen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Design and evaluate immune responses of neonatal foals to a mRNA vaccine expressing the virulence-associated protein A (VapA) of Rhodococcus equi.

Animals: Cultured primary equine respiratory tract cells; Serum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 30 healthy Quarter Horse foals.

Methods: VapA expression was evaluated by western immunoblot in cultured equine bronchial cells transfected with 4 mRNA constructs encoding VapA. The mRNA construct with greatest expression was used to immunize foals at ages 2 and 21 days in 5 groups: (1) 300 μg nebulized mRNA (n = 6); (2) 600 μg nebulized mRNA (n …

Comprehensive Evaluation Of Smoking Exposures And Their Interactions On Dna Methylation, Thanh T Hoang, Yunsung Lee, Daniel L Mccartney, Elin T G Kersten, Christian M Page, Paige M Hulls, Mikyeong Lee, Rosie M Walker, Charles E Breeze, Brian D Bennett, Adam B Burkholder, James Ward, Anne Lise Brantsæter, Ida H Caspersen, Alison A Motsinger-Reif, Marie Richards, Julie D White, Shanshan Zhao, Rebecca C Richmond, Maria C Magnus, Bios Consortium, Gerard H Koppelman, Kathryn L Evans, Riccardo E Marioni, Siri E Håberg, Stephanie J London

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Smoking impacts DNA methylation, but data are lacking on smoking-related differential methylation by sex or dietary intake, recent smoking cessation (< 1 year), persistence of differential methylation from in utero smoking exposure, and effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Methods: We meta-analysed data from up to 15,014 adults across 5 cohorts with DNA methylation measured in blood using Illumina's EPIC array for current smoking (2560 exposed), quit < 1 year (500 exposed), in utero (286 exposed), and ETS exposure (676 exposed). We also evaluated the interaction of current smoking with sex or diet (fibre, folate, and vitamin C).

Findings: Using false discovery rate (FDR < 0.05), 65,857 CpGs were differentially methylated in relation to current smoking, 4025 with recent quitting, 594 with in utero exposure, and 6 with ETS. Most current smoking CpGs attenuated within a year of quitting. CpGs related to in utero exposure in adults were enriched for those previously observed in newborns. Differential methylation by current smoking at 4-71 CpGs may be modified by sex or dietary intake. Nearly half (35-50%) of differentially methylated CpGs on the 450 K array were associated with blood gene expression. Current smoking and in utero smoking CpGs implicated 3049 and 1067 druggable targets, including chemotherapy drugs.

Interpretation: Many smoking-related methylation sites were identified with Illumina's EPIC array. Most signals revert to levels observed in never smokers within a year of cessation. Many in utero smoking CpGs persist into adulthood. Smoking-related druggable targets may provide insights into cancer treatment response and …

Advancing Occupational Health In Mining: Investigating Low-Cost Sensors Suitability For Improved Coal Dust Exposure Monitoring, Mirza Muhammad Zaid, Nana Amoah, Ashish Kakoria, Yang Wang, Guang Xu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Exposure to coal dust in underground coal mines poses significant health risks to workers, including the development of diseases such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis and silicosis. Current available methods for monitoring coal dust exposure are expensive and time-consuming, necessitating the exploration of alternative approaches. Low-cost light scattering particulate matter sensors offer a promising solution, and its development in recent years has demonstrated some success in air quality monitoring However, its application in sensing coal particles is limited partially due to that the operating condition in a mine is different than the atmosphere. Thus, the objective of this paper is to …

Clinicopathologic Features Of Antibrush Border Antibody Disease, Joel D Murphy, Nidia Messias, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Antibrush border antibody disease (ABBA) is an autoimmune tubulointerstitial kidney disease that primarily affects older individuals and results in progressive kidney failure. It is rare with only 20 reported cases. Here, we describe a case series to further define the clinicopathologic spectrum and natural history, and to inform management.

METHODS: We identified 67 patients with ABBA who underwent kidney biopsy, including 65 native and 2 transplants. Demographics, clinical findings, and laboratory data were obtained. Histopathologic data included light microscopy, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy and immunostaining for LRP2, CUBN, and AMN. Follow-up data, including treatment(s), laboratory values, and outcomes, were available …

Parental Age Effects And Rett Syndrome, Xiaolan Fang, Lauren M Baggett, Raymond C Caylor, Alan K Percy, Jeffrey L Neul, Jane B Lane, Daniel G Glaze, Tim A Benke, Eric D Marsh, Kathleen J Motil, Judy O Barrish, Fran E Annese, Steven A Skinner

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, and pathogenic Methyl-CpG-binding Protein 2 (MECP2) variants are identified in >95% of individuals with typical RTT. Most of RTT-causing variants in MECP2 are de novo and usually on the paternally inherited X chromosome. While paternal age has been reported to be associated with increased risk of genetic disorders, it is unknown whether parental age contributes to the risk of the development of RTT. Clinical data including parental age, RTT diagnostic status, and clinical severity are collected from 1226 participants with RTT and confirmed MECP2 variants. Statistical analyses are performed using Student t-test, …

Serological Assays For Differentiating Natural Covid-19 Infection From Vaccine Induced Immunity, Samuel M S Cheng, Gaya K Amarasinghe, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Natural SARS-CoV-2 infection may elicit antibodies to a range of viral proteins including non-structural protein ORF8. RNA, adenovirus vectored and sub-unit vaccines expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike would be only expected to elicit S-antibodies and antibodies to distinct domains of nucleocapsid (N) protein may reliably differentiate infection from vaccine-elicited antibody. However, inactivated whole virus vaccines may potentially elicit antibody to wider range of viral proteins, including N protein. We hypothesized that antibody to ORF8 protein will discriminate natural infection from vaccination irrespective of vaccine type.

METHODS: We optimized and validated the anti-ORF8 and anti-N C-terminal domain (NCTD) ELISA assays using sera …

Stem Cell Modeling Of Nervous System Tumors, Frank B Furnari, Corina Anastasaki, Shan Bian, Howard A Fine, Tomoyuki Koga, Lu Q Le, Fausto J Rodriguez, David H Gutmann

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Nervous system tumors, particularly brain tumors, represent the most common tumors in children and one of the most lethal tumors in adults. Despite decades of research, there are few effective therapies for these cancers. Although human nervous system tumor cells and genetically engineered mouse models have served as excellent platforms for drug discovery and preclinical testing, they have limitations with respect to accurately recapitulating important aspects of the pathobiology of spontaneously arising human tumors. For this reason, attention has turned to the deployment of human stem cell engineering involving human embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells, in which genetic alterations …

Associations Between Early Trajectories Of Amygdala Development And Later School-Age Anxiety In Two Longitudinal Samples, Catherine A Burrows, Kelly N Botteron, John R Pruett Jr, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Amygdala function is implicated in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety. We investigated associations between early trajectories of amygdala growth and anxiety and ASD outcomes at school age in two longitudinal studies: high- and low-familial likelihood for ASD, Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS, n = 257) and typically developing (TD) community sample, Early Brain Development Study (EBDS, n = 158). Infants underwent MRI scanning at up to 3 timepoints from neonate to 24 months. Anxiety was assessed at 6-12 years. Linear multilevel modeling tested whether amygdala volume growth was associated with anxiety symptoms at school age. In …

Functional Network Disorganization And Cognitive Decline Following Fractionated Whole-Brain Radiation In Mice, Benjamin A. Seitzman, Francisco J. Reynoso, Timothy J. Mitchell, Annie R. Bice, Anmol Jarang, Xiaodan Wang, Cedric Mpoy, Lori Strong, Buck E. Rogers, Carla M. Yuede, Joshua B. Rubin, Stephanie M. Perkins, Adam Q. Bauer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cognitive dysfunction following radiotherapy (RT) is one of the most common complications associated with RT delivered to the brain, but the precise mechanisms behind this dysfunction are not well understood, and to date, there are no preventative measures or effective treatments. To improve patient outcomes, a better understanding of the effects of radiation on the brain's functional systems is required. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown promise in this regard, however, compared to neural activity, hemodynamic measures of brain function are slow and indirect. Understanding how RT acutely and chronically affects functional brain organization requires more direct examination of …

A Deep Learning Approach To Remove Contrast From Contrast-Enhanced Ct For Proton Dose Calculation, Xu Wang, Yao Hao, Ye Duan, Deshan Yang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Non-Contrast Enhanced CT (NCECT) is normally required for proton dose calculation while Contrast Enhanced CT (CECT) is often scanned for tumor and organ delineation. Possible tissue motion between these two CTs raises dosimetry uncertainties, especially for moving tumors in the thorax and abdomen. Here we report a deep-learning approach to generate NCECT directly from CECT. This method could be useful to avoid the NCECT scan, reduce CT simulation time and imaging dose, and decrease the uncertainties caused by tissue motion between otherwise two different CT scans.

METHODS: A deep network was developed to convert CECT to NCECT. The network …

Influences Of Specialty Identity When Implementing A New Emergency Department In Denmark: A Qualitative Study, Jeanette Wassar Kirk, Mette Bendtz Lindstroem, Nina Thórný Stefánsdóttir, Ove Andersen, Byron J Powell, Per Nilsen, Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The Danish Health Authority recommended the implementation of new types of emergency departments. Organizational changes in the hospital sector challenged the role, identity, and autonomy of medical specialists. They tend to identify with their specialty, which can challenge successful implementation of change. However, investigations on specialty identity are rare in implementation science, and how the co-existence of different specialty identities influences the implementation of new emergency departments needs to be explored for the development of tailored implementation strategies. The aim of this study was to examine how medical specialty identity influences collaboration between physicians when implementing a new emergency …

Quantification Of Enteric Dysfunction In Cystic Fibrosis: Inter- And Intraindividual Variability, Laura A Duckworth, Kimberly A Sutton, Nurmohammad Shaikh, Jinli Wang, Carla Hall-Moore, Lori R Holtz, Phillip I Tarr, Ronald C Rubenstein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVES: To test the utility of various biomarkers as indicators of gut dysfunction in cystic fibrosis (CF) and determine whether intraindividual variations in these measures are repeatable over short intervals and whether interindividual variations correlate with clinical outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional, limited longitudinal study of children with CF aged 1-21 years who provided blood and stool samples at 2 or 3 visits, 2 weeks and 3 months apart, which were assayed for markers of intestinal inflammation (fecal calprotectin [fCal], lipocalin-2 [fLcn2], neopterin), and permeability (plasma lipopolysaccharide [LPS] antibodies, LPS-binding protein) by enzyme immunoassays. Control specimens were obtained …

Semaglutide Improves Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis: A 10-Year Retrospective Study, Parth Shah, Megan White, Alex Sievert, Alexander Conway, Adam Kneepkens, Gregory Sayuk, Mauricio Lisker-Melman, Jill Elwing

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Semaglutide has been studied in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) due to potential benefit from weight loss on liver inflammation. However, preclinical studies suggest that MASH improvement may be independent of weight loss. We aim to assess the impact of semaglutide on MASH in relation to weight loss.

METHODS: This retrospective study included 420 patients with diabetes on semaglutide for at least 12 months between 2011 and 2022. Exclusion criteria were liver disease other than MASH, decompensated cirrhosis, malignancy, and bariatric surgery. Primary endpoints were clinically significant improvements in AST or ALT (mean difference > 6.3 U/L …