Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Genetics Equity: Identifying Women Eligible For Genetic Care Services Using Mammography Clinics In Underserved Areas As Screening Hubs, Darya Kizub, Rachel Bluebond, Sierra Green, Jessica Duckworth, Sreejesh Shanker, Autumn Vara, Banu Arun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Fewer than 20% of underserved individuals undergo guideline-concordant hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) genetic testing (GT). Our study aimed to determine the proportion of women eligible for HBOC GT using a cancer genetics risk assessment (CGRA) tool at breast cancer (BC) screening clinics in underserved communities and to describe the program's impact.

METHODS: Participants were women who presented for BC screening at The Rose clinics, serving low-income underserved communities in southeast Texas, and completed the CGRA. High-risk individuals received bilingual educational materials and a saliva-based GT kit. Those with a pathogenic variant (PV) or a variant of uncertain …

Pan-Cancer Immune And Stromal Deconvolution Predicts Clinical Outcomes And Mutation Profiles, Bhavneet Bhinder, Verena Friedl, Sunantha Sethuraman, Davide Risso, Kami E Chiotti, R Jay Mashl, Kyle P Ellrott, Jordan A Lee, Christopher K Wong, Kofi Gyan, Aditya Deshpande, Marcin Imielinski, Rohan Bareja, Josh Stuart, Myron Peto, Katherine A Hoadley, Alexander J Lazar, Andrew D Cherniack, Jingchun Zhu, Shaolong Cao, Mark Rubin, Wenyi Wang, Oliver F Bathe, Nicolas Robine, Li Ding, Peter W Laird, Wanding Zhou, Hui Shen, Vésteinn Thorsson, Jen Jen Yeh, Matthew H Bailey, Daniel Cui Zhou, Xianlu L Peng, Mary Goldman, Yongsheng Li, Anil Korkut, Nidhi Sahni, D Neil Hayes, Michael K A Mensah, Ina Felau, Anab Kemal, Samantha Caesar-Johnson, John A Demchok, Liming Yang, Martin L Ferguson, Roy Tarnuzzer, Zhining Wang, Jean C Zenklusen, Paul Spellman, Olivier Elemento

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Traditional gene expression deconvolution methods assess a limited number of cell types, therefore do not capture the full complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we integrate nine deconvolution tools to assess 79 TME cell types in 10,592 tumors across 33 different cancer types, creating the most comprehensive analysis of the TME. In total, we found 41 patterns of immune infiltration and stroma profiles, identifying heterogeneous yet unique TME portraits for each cancer and several new findings. Our findings indicate that leukocytes play a major role in distinguishing various tumor types, and that a shared immune-rich TME cluster predicts better …

Supporting Patients With Advanced Cancer And Their Spouses In Parenting Minor Children: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Kathrin Milbury, Sujin Ann-Yi, Meagan S Whisenant, Morgan Jones, Yisheng Li, Victoria Necroto, Sania D Yousuf, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Larrisa Meyers, Eduardo Bruera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Patients with advanced cancer and their spousal caregivers who parent minor children report unmet parenting concerns and increased psychological distress. Seeking to address these important supportive care needs, this RCT examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial evidence for the efficacy of a novel psychosocial intervention.

Patients and methods: Patients with a metastatic solid malignancy and their spouses completed self-reported validated assessments of psychological symptoms and cancer-related parenting outcomes and were then randomized to the parent support intervention or a usual care (UC) group. Both groups were reassessed 6 and 12 weeks later. Dyads randomized to the counselor-led intervention attended …

Chaperone-Usher Pathway Pili Adhesin Conformations And Inhibitors In Urinary Tract Infections, Edward Lopatto

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly difficult-to-treat resulting in increased morbidity and mortality, especially for common infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs). Globally, UTIs afflict over 400 million people a year. Numerous different gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species cause UTIs, including uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Many of these bacterial species are listed as pathogens of urgent concern by the Center for Disease Control due to the dangerous rise and prevalence of antibiotic resistance necessitating development of new therapeutic measures. Bacteria utilize adhesin factors, such as chaperone-usher pathway (CUP) pili to gain a foothold in …

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Seeking Into Cell-Free Therapies For Bone-Affected Lysosomal Storage Disorders, Andrés Felipe Leal, Harry Pachajoa, Shunji Tomatsu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) constitute a group of monogenic systemic diseases resulting from deficiencies in specific lysosomal enzymes that cause the intralysosomal accumulation of non- or partially degraded substrates, leading to lysosomal dysfunction. In some cases of LSDs, the bone is more severely affected, thus producing skeletal manifestations in patients. Current therapies, such as enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and gene therapy (GT), show limited efficacy in correcting skeletal abnormalities. Increasing evidence suggests that microenvironmental disturbances also contribute significantly to disease pathogenesis. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting lysosomal dysfunction and microenvironmental dysregulation are needed. Mesenchymal stem-cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) are emerging as …

Evaluation Of Different Resin-Based Barriers In Reducing Microleakage In Restoratively Compromised Posterior Teeth During Rubber Dam Isolation: An Ex Vivo Study, Carolina Becerra, Albert F. Mcmullen Iii, Joon Koh, Thomas E. Lallier

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

Introduction: The rubber dam has been a standard in endodontic practice for over 140 years, providing critical isolation to prevent microbial contamination during root canal therapy. However, studies indicate that microleakage between the rubber dam and tooth structure may still occur, potentially leading to bacterial infiltration. Various resin-based barriers have been introduced to enhance isolation and minimize leakage. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of four resin-based barriers in reducing microleakage during endodontic procedures. Methods: Forty extracted human mandibular molars were selected, stored in distilled water, and standardized for experimental conditions. Standard endodontic access was created, and the mesiobuccal …

Vigorous Physical Activity As A Potential Environmental Risk Factor In Renal Medullary Carcinoma, Daniel D Shapiro, Sagar S Mukhida, Andrew W Hahn, Ayman Isahaku, Schyler M Turner, Jessica P Cheng, Pankaj K Chauhan, Susan S Thomas, Beei Chan, Zita D Lim, Nizar M Tannir, Maria Chang Swartz, Pavlos Msaouel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is a rare but aggressive kidney cancer affecting young individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies. Prior retrospective case-control and mouse modeling studies suggest a mechanism linking vigorous intensity physical activity to increased RMC risk in individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies. This study aimed to prospectively investigate the association between vigorous intensity exercise and RMC.

Materials and methods: This study used a validated questionnaire to prospectively assess reported physical activity in a large cohort of patients with RMC compared to the activity of individuals without RMC. Between 2022 and 2024, patients with RMC (N = 39) were prospectively surveyed …

Human Extravillous Trophoblasts Require Src-2 For Sustained Viability, Migration, And Invasion, Vineet K Maurya, Pooja Popli, Bryan C Nikolai, David M Lonard, Ramakrishna Kommagani, Bert W O'Malley, John P Lydon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Defective placentation is a recognized etiology for several gestational complications that include early pregnancy loss, preeclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction. Sustained viability, migration, and invasion are essential cellular properties for embryonic extravillous trophoblasts to execute their roles in placental development and function, while derailment of these cellular processes is linked to placental disorders. Although the cellular functions of extravillous trophoblasts are well recognized, our understanding of the pivotal molecular determinants of these functions is incomplete. Using the HTR-8/SVneo immortalized human extravillous trophoblast cell line, we report that steroid receptor coactivator-2 (SRC-2), a coregulator of transcription factor-mediated gene expression, is essential …

Mic: A Deep Learning Tool For Assigning Ions And Waters In Cryo-Em And Crystal Structures, Laura Shub, Wenjin Liu, Georgios Skiniotis, Michael J Keiser, Michael J Robertson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

At sufficiently high resolution, x-ray crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy are capable of resolving small spherical map features corresponding to either water or ions. Correct classification of these sites provides crucial insight for understanding structure and function as well as guiding downstream design tasks, including structure-based drug discovery and de novo biomolecule design. However, direct identification of these sites from experimental data can prove challenging, and existing empirical approaches leveraging the local environment can only characterize limited ion types. We present a representation of chemical environments using interaction fingerprints and develop a machine learning model to predict the identity of …

An Interview With Anthony Viola, Anthony Viola, John Van Kirk

Critical Humanities

Anthony Viola interviewed by John Van Kirk

The Human Catalyst And Extractivist Fiction: A Close Reading Of Siddhartha Sarma’S Year Of The Weeds And Pundalik N Naik’S The Upheaval, Elwin Susan John Dr

Critical Humanities

Literary narratives have been abetting the various global faces of climate crisis, ever since the disciplines of humanities and social sciences have become vocal about the Anthropocene. The discussions have been mostly centered around the discourses of capitalism, imperialism, rights and subalterity. By reading some of these foundational grips on ecological crisis, the present essay analyses literary narratives on mining and extraction in India from the standpoint of a human catalyst; which is defined as an entity that can cause a chain reaction, that may or may not result in the annihilation of the initial catalyst. The essay will begin …

The Extraction Unconscious: Solar-Powered Utopias In Catching The Sun (2015) And In The Name Of Lithium (2021), Isidora Cortés-Monroy

Critical Humanities

By comparing the depictions of future energy regimes in the two ecodocumentaries, Catching the Sun (2015) and In the Name of Lithium (2021), this article explores representations of post-carbon futures from the US and Argentina. Read closely alongside Frederic Jameson’s notions of utopias, the article delineates the extent to which a solar powered future challenges and reiterates current neocolonial extractivist structures. Basing myself on Patricia Yaeger’s concept of an “energy unconscious,” I argue that these solar utopias maintain an “extraction unconscious” that continues to produce sacrifice zones where primary commodities needed for the energy transition can be found. By analysing …

Towards An Indigenous Climate Epistemology: Bringing The Newa Literary Tradition Of The Swasthani Vrata Katha In Conversation With The Festival Tradition Of The Macchindra Nath Jatra, Shangrila Joshi Dr.

Critical Humanities

This paper brings into conversation two Newa cultural traditions to articulate notions of climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, to illustrate how ways of knowing, ways of being, and ways of governing are inherently linked. These articulations offer a framework for developing what the author calls an Indigenous Climate Epistemology. The two cultural traditions reviewed include: a 17^th century Newa literary tradition that advocates for keeping oil in the ground, and that instructs ordinary people to engage in ritual acts seemingly designed to develop personal and community resilience; and a 1700 year old annual community festival designed to avert catastrophes …

On The Edge Of The Abyss: Cultural Responses To Extractivism In The Andes, Jack Martinez Arias

Critical Humanities

This work examines the contemporary cultural productions of Cerro de Pasco, a city in constant destruction due to an ever-expanding open pit mine that has grown to over a mile wide since the 1950s. Drawing on Latin American environmental humanities and discursive analysis, I conduct a close reading of poems, stories, performances, and audiovisual works by local artists responding to this largely overlooked apocalyptic scenario. By analyzing narrative strategies such as repetition and irony, I identify recurring themes and establish common concerns related to extractivism, urban extinction, illness, and death. This study seeks to understand how these cultural productions envision …

Imposter Syndrome And Degree Completion Among Marginalized Graduate Students, Ryan A. Finner

2025 Symposium

Imposter Syndrome is a mindset that troubles many graduate students across various countries, degree programs, ethnicities, sexualities and genders. The term Imposter Syndrome refers to the feeling of being a fraud, despite achieving success and the persistent fear of being exposed as unqualified or undeserving. While this phenomenon affects many, it can appear much worse in marginalized populations, this is due to the lack of resources, support and representation of minorities in professional and higher education environments. This research focuses on marginalized graduate students and aims to figure out what key factors are leading to incomplete or delayed degree completion. …

Blood Flow Occlusion Superimposed On Low-Volume, Low-Intensity Knee Extensions Does Not Evoke Hypoalgesia: A Pilot Study, Sophie-Jayne Morgan, Jenny Zhang, Neil Lemay, Neda Khaledi, Saied J. Aboodarda

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 6: Issue 1, Article 9, 2025. Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is a transient decrease in pain perception that can be observed following various tasks, including low-intensity and high-intensity exercise. The application of blood flow occlusion (BFO) can help enhance exercise adaptations while being able to exercise at a low intensity, which has important implications for clinical and rehabilitative settings. Through descending inhibitory pathways, BFO-induced pain can potentially alleviate exercise-induced pain. This study aimed to assess whether the superimposition of BFO – and its associated augmented perceived responses – during low-intensity, low-volume resistance exercise could …

A Comparison Of Measured Versus Estimated Metabolic Equivalents (Mets) During The Farmer's Carry And Sled Push Exercises On A Commercially Available Step Mill, Colin Miller, Ethan Remotigue, Shane Hammer, J. Jay Dawes, Taylor K. Dinyer-Mcneely

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 6: Issue 1, Article 8, 2025. The Stairmaster 10G ergometer allows users to perform non-traditional movements such as the sled push and farmer’s carry, which involve substantial upper and lower body contributions. Standard MET calculations for stair stepping do not account for this increase upper-body workload, so there is potential for error when aiming to determine exercise intensity based exclusively on estimated METs. The primary purpose of this study is to compare the metabolic and physiological effects of two training modes on the Stairmaster 10G ergometer, specifically evaluating the accuracy of MET values …

José Mariano Mociño (1757-1820): Heroic Botanist/Physician Of New And Old Spain, Thomas Milan Janota Wasik

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

José Mariano Mociño traveled extensively in New Spain and helped to collect and classify thousands of plants according to modern scientific protocols. In addition, Mociño made significant contributions to science in geology, ethnology, epidemiology, ornithology and horticulture. He was in the vanguard of the study of native Mexican medicinal plants and played a crucial role in the control of infectious disease in the colony and the mother country. Although a contemporary of Alexander von Humboldt, the two never met. Nonetheless, the Prussian traveler was well aware of the accomplishments of Mociño. In his Ensayo politico sobre el Reino de la …

Harnessing Environmentally Healthy Approaches For Plastic Degradation: A Review And Future Perspectives, Marc Chojnacki

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

In the face of escalating plastic pollution, innovative degradation strategies, such as enzymatic degradation, smokeless incineration technology, and biodegradable plastics, are gaining traction. This paper collates comprehensive research on these methods, assessing their environmental impact and operational feasibility. A special focus is placed on the role of technology and its capacity to spark advancements in these degradation strategies as well as to draw on specific research to understand the economic implications of these methods. At the core of this study is the exploration of potential new, inventive degradation methodologies. Through examining methods of green plastic degradation, the study aims to …

Concentration Of Media Ownership

Communication Research Trends

Multi-channel cable, direct broadcast satellite and immediate access to computer data banks promise an immense variety ofinformation at our finger tips. But many are questioning whether this will mean real diversity of public access or simply many more channels in the hands of fewer and fewer industrial giants. Tne rapid introduction of new communication technologies is bringing to the fore all of the old policy dilemmas regarding concentration of economic power in the mass media. In the background are the perennial concerns to guarantee the right to communicate and to encourage diversity of opinion in the debate of public decisions. …

Secrecy, Privacy And The Right To Information

Communication Research Trends

George Orwell's 1984 is the vision of the ultimate totalitarian state. The citizens ruled by Big Brother surrender all control over their lives, their personal privacy is abolished, and government surveillance is ubiquitous and inescapable. Meanwhile, impenetrable secrecy protects and enhances the power of the rulers and their agents.

Many people find disturbing echoes of Orwell's nightmare in present-day democratic societies. They point to growing control of all aspects of everyday life by governments and large corporations, to the storage of more and more sensitive personal information in ever larger data banks, and to continuing 'Watergate type' revelations of abuse …

We Have Lost The Fluoride Battle..., Richard A. Mufson

SFDDA Newsletter

Editorial feature from lead editor, Dr. Richard Mufson

A Call To Arms: Community Water Fluoridation Is Under Attack In Florida And Elsewhere In The Us, Richard A. Mufson

SFDDA Newsletter

Editorial feature from lead editor, Dr. Richard Mufson

Sfdda Newsletter Winter 2025

SFDDA Newsletter

SFDDA Newsletter includes regular columns with regional news impacting the South Florida District membership including: columns from the President and editor, feature articles relating to the field of dentistry, association events and upcoming activities, component news, continuing education opportunities, and classifieds.

President's Message

SFDDA Newsletter

Monthly update from Dr. Alejandra Zambrano, DDS with details of recent events, upcoming activities and news from the association.

Extension For Insurance And Patient Conflict Prevention, Richard Sherman

SFDDA Newsletter

In 1891, G.V. Black presented the idea of “Extension for Prevention.” The concept was to complete a restoration so that the margins and occlusal grooves were treated in such a way as to “prevent” further carious involvement. Hopefully his technique prevented millions of teeth from needing retreatment. However, dealing with humans and sometimes their “lack” of proper oral hygiene habits, new carious lesions do appear on the same teeth in the same or different areas, This article examines the conflict occurring between insurance coverage and the patient when experiencing a new caries on a previously restored tooth.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Dentists: Habit 7 "Sharpen The Saw", Mark Limonsani

SFDDA Newsletter

Series based on Steven Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" seeks to inspire and guide readers on their journey to personal and professional excellence. This article focuses on the seventh habit of ongoing self-renewal.

Newsbytes From The Editor's Desk: Good News? Bad News? You Decide, Richard A. Mufson

SFDDA Newsletter

Editorial feature from lead editor, Dr. Richard Mufson

President's Message

SFDDA Newsletter

Monthly update from Dr. Tim Franklin, DDS with details of recent events, upcoming activities and news from the association.

Full Issue: Volume 3, Issue 1 - June 2025

Bone Bulletin

i - Editors’ Note

ii - Foreword by Dr. Alan Hilibrand

7 - Challenges and Concerns of Artificial Intelligence in Shoulder and Elbow by Claude J. Regis

10 - Exploring Robotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty by Sahil Shah

13 - The Future of Robot-Assisted Surgery in Foot and Ankle Procedures by Sam Duggan

16 - Revolutionizing Spine Surgery: The Potential Role of AI in Enhancing Surgical Workflow and Patient Outcomes by Samuel Ezeonu

21 - Management of Periprosthetic Humeral Fractures Following Shoulder Arthroplasty by Akshay Khanna

24 - Patient Specific Implants in Total Shoulder Arthroplasty by Alexander Zavitsanos

26 - Posterior …