Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey On The Choice Of Spinal Cord Stimulation Parameters And Implantable Pulse Generators And On Reasons For Explantation, Jatinder S Gill, Lynn R Kohan, Jamal Hasoon, Ivan Urits, Omar Viswanath, Viet L Cai, Cyrus Yazdi, Musa M Aner, Alan D Kaye, Thomas T Simopoulos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is a vital treatment for chronic intractable pain. In the last few years, the field has undergone dramatic changes in new waveform and frequency introduction as well as device miniaturization. It is important to understand contemporary practice patterns regarding these parameters.

Methods: We surveyed the active membership of Spine Intervention Society (SIS), and American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) on their practices regarding various aspects of Spinal Cord Stimulation therapy. Here we report on SCS waveform usage, battery types, and causes of explant in this cohort of providers.

Results: There was similar degree of usage …

Interannual Variability And Seasonal Dynamics Of Evapotranspiration Of Arundo Donax L. And Populations Of Its Biological Control Agent (Tetramesa Romana), Alexis Racelis, Pradeep Wagle, Jose R. Escamilla Jr., John A. Goolsby, Prasanna Gowda

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.), a woody grass native to the Mediterranean, has become a cause of concern for national water security in its invaded range of the arid southwestern United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The main objective of this study was to provide the first, landscape-level estimates of water use by giant reed. The study utilized the eddy covariance method to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) throughout the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons along the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas. We monitored ET concurrently with the implementation of a biological control program targeting giant reed. …

Beth Levine's Legacy: From The Discovery Of Becn1 To Therapies A Mentees' Perspective, Zhenyi An, Wei-Chung Chiang, Álvaro F Fernández, Luis H Franco, Congcong He, Shu-Yi Huang, Eunmyong Lee, Yang Liu, Salwa Sebti, Sanae Shoji-Kawata, Shyam Sirasanagandla, Richard C Wang, Yongjie Wei, Yuting Zhao, Silvia Vega-Rubin-De-Celis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

With great sadness, the scientific community received the news of the loss of Beth Levine on 15 June 2020. Dr. Levine was a pioneer in the autophagy field and work in her lab led not only to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the pathway, but also its implications in multiple physiological and pathological conditions, including its role in development, host defense, tumorigenesis, aging or metabolism. This review does not aim to provide a comprehensive view of autophagy, but rather an outline of some of the discoveries made by the group of Beth Levine, from the perspective of …

Native And Non-Native Plant Species Differentially Affect Arthropod Community Dynamics With Consequences For Crop Production In Lower Rio Grande Valley, Kaitlynn Lavallee, Pushpa G. Soti, Alexis Racelis, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

In agricultural ecosystems, arthropods play critical roles- including biocontrol, pollination services, and as herbivores. While herbivory negatively affects crop production, the recent decline in beneficial insect numbers have created a global concern, and consequently have led into multiple lines of conservation strategies. Agroecological practices that can provide sustenance, nesting, and refuge for beneficial organisms are considered as some of them, except we lack a better understanding of how seasonal and crop specific variation can affect their community dynamics. In this study, we examined this by investigating how native and non-native plants, when incorporated into a vegetable agroecosystem in Lower Rio …

Highlights From The 7th Oncological Pathology Conference 'Pathological Anatomy In The Context Of The National Cancer Law: An Overview Of The Latin American Experience', 15, 22 And 23 July 2022, Trujillo, Peru, Caddie Laberiano-Fernández, Joan Moreno Luján, Bruno De Carvalho Dornelas, Magali Franco Benites, Patricia Gutiérrez Quispe, Valeria Aguilar Vásquez, Andric Guerrero Espinoza, Elsa Guerra Guerra, Gabriela Gil-Arroyo Álvarez, Juan Astigueta-Pérez, Maria Teresa Garcia De Dávila, Sandro Casavilca Zambrano, Tatiana Vidaurre Rojas, Alejandro Mariños, Emmanuel S González, Rossana Lazcano, Ricardo R Lastra, Isabel Alvarado-Cabrero, Henry Guerra Miller, Ricardo H Bardales, Milagros Abad-Licham

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The seventh session of the Oncological Pathology Conference (JoPaO) entitled 'Pathological Anatomy in the context of the National Cancer Law: An overview of the Latin American experience', was held virtually on July 15, 22 and 23. Peru was the headquarters for this event, where 17 national and international professors of high academic standing participated. They interacted in a multidisciplinary context through talks with national panellists and the general public. The recent promulgation of the 'National Cancer Law' fosters the development of discussion forums to analyse the national realities and uphold continuous learning about experiences in other Latin American countries with …

Autologous Cellular Therapy For Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Crossover Trial, Charles S Cox, Jenifer Juranek, Steven Kosmach, Claudia Pedroza, Nivedita Thakur, Allison Dempsey, Kimberly Rennie, Michael C Scott, Margaret Jackson, Akshita Kumar, Benjamin Aertker, Henry Caplan, Fabio Triolo, Sean I Savitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We examined an autologous mononuclear-cell-therapy-based approach to treat cerebral palsy using autologous umbilical cord blood or bone-marrow-derived mononuclear cells. The primary objective was to determine if autologous cells are safe to administer in children with cerebral palsy. The secondary objectives were to determine if there was improvement in motor function of patients 12 months after infusion using the Gross Motor Function Measure and to evaluate impact of treatment on corticospinal tract microstructure as determined by radial diffusivity measurement. This Phase 1/2a trial was a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study in children aged 2–10 years of age with cerebral palsy enrolled …

Contemporary Evidence On Colorectal Liver Metastases Ablation: Toward A Paradigm Shift In Locoregional Treatment, Yuan-Mao Lin, Reto Bale, Kristy K Brock, Bruno C Odisio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Image-guided percutaneous ablation techniques represent an attractive local therapy for the treatment of colorectal liver metastases (CLM) given its low risk of severe complications, which allows for early initiation of adjuvant therapies and spare functional liver parenchyma, allowing repeated treatments at the time of recurrence. However, ablation does not consistently achieve similar oncological outcomes to surgery, with the latter being currently considered the first-line local treatment modality in international guidelines. Recent application of computer-assisted ablation planning, guidance, and intra-procedural response assessment has improved percutaneous ablation outcomes. In addition, the evolving understanding of tumor molecular profiling has brought to light several …

Serglycin Is Involved In Tgf-Β Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition And Is Highly Expressed By Immune Cells In Breast Cancer Tissue, Marta Tellez-Gabriel, Xavier Tekpli, Trine M Reine, Beate Hegge, Stephanie R Nielsen, Meng Chen, Line Moi, Lisa Svartdal Normann, Lill-Tove R Busund, George A Calin, Gunhild M Mælandsmo, Maria Perander, Achilleas D Theocharis, Svein O Kolset, Erik Knutsen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Serglycin is a proteoglycan highly expressed by immune cells, in which its functions are linked to storage, secretion, transport, and protection of chemokines, proteases, histamine, growth factors, and other bioactive molecules. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that serglycin is also expressed by several other cell types, such as endothelial cells, muscle cells, and multiple types of cancer cells. Here, we show that serglycin expression is upregulated in transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Functional studies provide evidence that serglycin plays an important role in the regulation of the transition between the epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes, …

Pathogenic Tau Accelerates Aging-Associated Activation Of Transposable Elements In The Mouse Central Nervous System, Paulino Ramirez, Gabrielle Zuniga, Wenyan Sun, Adrian Beckmann, Elizabeth Ochoa, Sarah L Devos, Bradley Hyman, Gabriel Chiu, Ethan R Roy, Wei Cao, Miranda Orr, Virginie Buggia-Prevot, William J Ray, Bess Frost

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Transposable elements comprise almost half of the mammalian genome. A growing body of evidence suggests that transposable element dysregulation accompanies brain aging and neurodegenerative disorders, and that transposable element activation is neurotoxic. Recent studies have identified links between pathogenic forms of tau, a protein that accumulates in Alzheimer's disease and related "tauopathies," and transposable element-induced neurotoxicity. Starting with transcriptomic analyses, we find that age- and tau-induced transposable element activation occurs in the mouse brain. Among transposable elements that are activated at the RNA level in the context of brain aging and tauopathy, we find that the endogenous retrovirus (ERV) class …

Transcriptomic-Assisted Immune And Neoantigen Profiling In Premalignancy, Kyle Chang, Florencia Mcallister, Eduardo Vilar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immune-based cancer therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) and vaccines have been increasingly studied across different cancer types. Response to such therapies depends on a number of factors such as mutational burden, neoantigen load, presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, among others. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are particularly attractive to interrogate the immune response compared to traditional assays such as qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) because they enable the discovery of neoantigens and simultaneous profiling of immune infiltration using gene expression on a large scale. Current approaches in immune profiling utilizes whole-exome sequencing (WES) for human leukocyte allele (HLA) typing and neoantigen …

Genetic Studies On Mammalian Dna Methyltransferases, Jiameng Dan, Taiping Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cytosine methylation at the C5-position-generating 5-methylcytosine (5mC)-is a DNA modification found in many eukaryotic organisms, including fungi, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, albeit its levels vary greatly in different organisms. In mammals, cytosine methylation occurs predominantly in the context of CpG dinucleotides, with the majority (60-80%) of CpG sites in their genomes being methylated. DNA methylation plays crucial roles in the regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression and is essential for mammalian development. Aberrant changes in DNA methylation and genetic alterations in enzymes and regulators involved in DNA methylation are associated with various human diseases, including cancer and developmental disorders. …

Novel Oppositional Defiant Disorder 6 Months After Traumatic Brain Injury In Children And Adolescents, Daniel S Lowet, Anish Kolan, Florin Vaida, John R Hesselink, Harvey S Levin, Linda Ewing-Cobbs, Russell J Schachar, Sandra B Chapman, Erin D Bigler, Elisabeth A Wilde, Ann E Saunders, Tony T Yang, Olga Tymofiyeva, Hattan Arif, Jeffrey E Max

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The investigators aimed to assess predictive factors of novel oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) among children and adolescents in the first 6 months following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODS: Children ages 5-14 years who experienced a TBI were recruited from consecutive admissions to five hospitals. Testing of a biopsychosocial model that may elucidate the development of novel ODD included assessment soon after injury (baseline) of preinjury characteristics, including psychiatric disorders, adaptive function, family function, psychosocial adversity, family psychiatric history, socioeconomic status, injury severity, and postinjury processing speed (which may be a proxy for brain injury). MRI analyses were also conducted …

Incfv Plasmid Ped208: Sequence Analysis And Evidence For Translocation Of Maintenance/Leading Region Proteins Through Diverse Type Iv Secretion Systems, Abu Amar M Al Mamun, Kimberly Kissoon, Kouhei Kishida, William C Shropshire, Blake Hanson, Peter J Christie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Two phylogenetically distantly-related IncF plasmids, F and pED208, serve as important models for mechanistic and structural studies of F-like type IV secretion systems (T4SSFs) and F pili. Here, we present the pED208 sequence and compare it to F and pUMNF18, the closest match to pED208 in the NCBI database. As expected, gene content of the three cargo regions varies extensively, although the maintenance/leading regions (MLRs) and transfer (Tra) regions also carry novel genes or motifs with predicted modulatory effects on plasmid stability, dissemination and host range. By use of a Cre recombinase assay for translocation (CRAfT), we recently reported that …

A T-Cell Engaging Bispecific Antibody With A Tumor-Selective Bivalent Folate Receptor Alpha Binding Arm For The Treatment Of Ovarian Cancer, Brian C Avanzino, Kirthana Prabhakar, Pranjali Dalvi, Sharon Hartstein, Hannes Kehm, Aarti Balasubramani, Andrew A Boudreau, Ben Buelow, Karen Chang, Laura M Davison, Suhasini Iyer, Vidyut Kalwit, Kristin Lewis Wilson, Harbani K Malik-Chaudhry, Will Pierson, Geovanni Pineda, Udaya S Rangaswamy, Sowmya Saiganesh, Ute Schellenberger, Harshad S Ugamraj, Rodolfovan D Yabut, Roland Buelow, Jocelyn Chapman, Nathan D Trinklein, Katherine E Harris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The use of T-cell engagers (TCEs) to treat solid tumors is challenging, and several have been limited by narrow therapeutic windows due to substantial on-target, off-tumor toxicities due to the expression of low levels of target antigens on healthy tissues. Here, we describe TNB-928B, a fully human TCE that has a bivalent binding arm for folate receptor alpha (FRα) to selectively target FRα overexpressing tumor cells while avoiding the lysis of cells with low levels of FRα expression. The bivalent design of the FRα binding arm confers tumor selectivity due to low-affinity but high-avidity binding to high FRα antigen density …

A Hybrid Unsupervised And Supervised Learning Approach For Postictal Generalized Eeg Suppression Detection, Xiaojin Li, Yan Huang, Samden D Lhatoo, Shiqiang Tao, Laura Vilella Bertran, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Licong Cui

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sudden unexpected death of epilepsy (SUDEP) is a catastrophic and fatal complication of epilepsy and is the primary cause of mortality in those who have uncontrolled seizures. While several multifactorial processes have been implicated including cardiac, respiratory, autonomic dysfunction leading to arrhythmia, hypoxia, and cessation of cerebral and brainstem function, the mechanisms underlying SUDEP are not completely understood. Postictal generalized electroencephalogram (EEG) suppression (PGES) is a potential risk marker for SUDEP, as studies have shown that prolonged PGES was significantly associated with a higher risk of SUDEP. Automated PGES detection techniques have been developed to efficiently obtain PGES durations for …

Endovascular Treatment And Outcomes For Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis: Insights From The Xlpad Registry, Michael H Vu, Glaiza-Mae Sande-Docor, Yulun Liu, Shirling Tsai, Mitul Patel, Chris Metzger, Mehdi H Shishehbor, Emmanouil S Brilakis, Nicolas W Shammas, Peter Monteleone, Subhash Banerjee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: There is limited "real-world" evidence examining treatment modalities and outcomes in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease undergoing endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal (FP) in-stent restenosis (ISR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared outcomes in 2,895 patients from the XLPAD registry (NCT01904851) between 2006 and 2019 treated for FP ISR (

RESULTS: ISR patients were more frequently on antiplatelet (94.5% vs 89.4%,

CONCLUSION: Atherectomy and DCB are more frequently used to treat FP ISR lesions. Patients with FP ISR have more intraprocedural distal embolization, higher repeat revascularization procedures, and lower freedom from MALE at 1 year.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Related Gastrointestinal Toxicity In Patients With Malignancy Involving The Luminal Gastrointestinal Tract And Its Impact On Cancer Outcomes, Kevin Yu, Antony Mathew, Fiyinfoluwa Abraham, Rajan Amin, Miho Kono, Michael Overman, Dan Zhao, Anam Khan, Muhammad A Khan, Anusha S Thomas, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are known to cause immune-related adverse events (irAE) with the gastrointestinal (GI) tract among the most affected. Our knowledge of GI irAE in patients with luminal GI malignancies is poor. We aimed to characterize the incidence, clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of these GI irAEs.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with malignancies involving the luminal GI tract and GI irAEs at MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 2010 to June 2020. Clinical data were collected and analyzed.

Results: Eighteen patients with luminal GI tract malignancies treated with ICIs had evidence of GI …

Decontamination Of Geobacillus Stearothermophilus Using The Arca Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination System, Loren Benjamin Mead, Tanner Mathison, Garry Osborne, Anne Marie Richards

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: In response to the limited supply of personal protective equipment during the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, recent studies demonstrate that gaseous H2O2 is an effective decontaminant of N95 filtering facepiece respirators to enable reuse of these items in a clinical setting. This paper evaluates the efficacy of the Arca Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination System (Arca), a novel aerosolized H2O2 decontamination system, using biologic indicator testing.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Arca produces and circulates H2O2 aerosol inside of a sealed stainless steel chamber. The Arca's decontamination efficacy was evaluated in 8 decontamination trials with 2 H2O2 concentrations (3% and 12%) …

Somatic And Cognitive Domains Of Depression In An Underserved Region Of Ecuador: Some Cultural Considerations, Gang Wu, Iraida Sharina, Emil Martin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are gaseous molecules that play important roles in the physiology and pathophysiology of eukaryotes. Tissue concentrations of these physiologically relevant gases vary remarkable from nM range for NO to high μM range of O2. Various hemoproteins play a significant role in sensing and transducing cellular signals encoded by gaseous molecules or in transporting them. Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is a hemoprotein that plays vital roles in a wide range of physiological functions and combines the functions of gaseous sensor and signal transducer. sGC uniquely evolved to sense low non-toxic …

Alternative Adenosine Receptor Activation: The Netrin-Adora2b Link, Xiaoyi Yuan, Tingting Mills, Marie-Francoise Doursout, Scott E Evans, Marcos F Vidal Melo, Holger K Eltzschig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

During hypoxia or inflammation, extracellular adenosine levels are elevated. Studies using pharmacologic approaches or genetic animal models pertinent to extracellular adenosine signaling implicate this pathway in attenuating hypoxia-associated inflammation. There are four distinct adenosine receptors. Of these, it is not surprising that the Adora2b adenosine receptor functions as an endogenous feedback loop to control hypoxia-associated inflammation. First, Adora2b activation requires higher adenosine concentrations compared to other adenosine receptors, similar to those achieved during hypoxic inflammation. Second, Adora2b is transcriptionally induced during hypoxia or inflammation by hypoxia-inducible transcription factor HIF1A. Studies seeking an alternative adenosine receptor activation mechanism have linked netrin-1 …

Myeloid Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Hif1a Provides Cardio-Protection During Ischemia And Reperfusion, Ka Lin Heck-Swain, Jiwen Li, Wei Ruan, Xiaoyi Yuan, Yanyu Wang, Michael Koeppen, Holger K Eltzschig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor HIF1A induces cardioprotection from ischemia and reperfusion injury. Here, we investigate tissue-specific pathways that are critical for HIF1A-elicited tissue protection. Initial studies showed that mice with induced global Hif1a deletion (Hif1aloxP/loxP UbiquitinCre+) have exaggerated myocardial injury during in situ ischemia and reperfusion. Surprisingly, this phenotype was mirrored only in mice with myeloid-specific Hif1a deletion (Hif1aloxP/loxP LysM Cre+). In contrast, mice with myocardial specific (Hif1aloxP/loxP Myosin Cre+), or vascular Hif1a deletion (Hif1aloxP/loxP VEcadherin Cre+) experienced similar levels of injury as controls. Subsequent studies using adoptive transfer of Hif1a-deficient polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) …

Exploiting Induced Vulnerability To Overcome Parpi Resistance And Clonal Heterogeneity In Brca Mutant Triple-Negative Inflammatory Breast Cancer, David J H Shih, Mei-Kuang Chen, Jun Yin, Daniel J Mcgrail, Hui Dai, Rongbin Wei, Jing Zhang, Wenjin Jim Zheng, Kim-Anh Do, Liuqing Yang, Mien-Chie Hung, Shiaw-Yih Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acquired resistance and clonal heterogeneity are critical challenges in cancer treatment, and the lack of effective computational tools hampers the discovery of new treatments to overcome resistance. Using high-throughput transcriptomic databases of compound perturbation profiles, we have developed a bioinformatic strategy for identifying candidate drugs to overcome resistance with combinatorial therapy. We devised this strategy during an investigation into the acquired resistance against PARP inhibitors (PARPi) in a triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer cell line. In this study, we derived multiple PARPi-resistant clones and characterized their transcriptomic adaptations compared to the parental clone. The transcriptomes of the resistant clones showed substantial …

Pld1 Promotes Reactive Oxygen Species Production In Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells And Injury-Induced Neointima Formation, Ming Cai, Ziqing Wang, Thi Thu Trang Luu, Dakai Zhang, Brian Finke, Jingquan He, Li Wei Rachel Tay, Gilbert Di Paolo, Guangwei Du

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Phospholipase D (PLD) generates the signaling lipid phosphatidic acid (PA) and has been known to mediate proliferation signal in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, it remains unclear how PLD contributes to vascular diseases. VSMC proliferation directly contributes to the development and progression of cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty. Using the mouse carotid artery ligation model, we find that deletion of Pld1 gene inhibits neointima formation of the injuried blood vessels. PLD1 deficiency reduces the proliferation of VSMCs in both injured artery and primary cultures through the inhibition of ERK1/2 and AKT signals. Immunohistochemical staining of …

Granuloma Annulare: An Updated Review Of Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, And Treatment Options, Tejas P Joshi, Madeleine Duvic

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Granuloma annulare (GA) is an inflammatory granulomatous skin disease that can be localized (localized GA) or disseminated (generalized GA), with patch, perforating, and subcutaneous subtypes being less common variants of this benign condition. Recently, new research has emerged that further elucidates GA epidemiology and etiopathogenesis; importantly, new therapeutic options for GA have also been described, although there remains a paucity of randomized controlled studies. In this review, we summarize recent updates on GA epidemiology and etiopathogenesis and offer an updated review of the therapeutic options for GA currently reported in the literature. We hope that the current review galvanizes randomized …

High-Resolution Metabolomics Of Exposure To Tobacco Smoke During Pregnancy And Adverse Birth Outcomes In The Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort, Youran Tan, Dana Boyd Barr, P Barry Ryan, Veronika Fedirko, Jeremy A Sarnat, Audrey J Gaskins, Che-Jung Chang, Ziyin Tang, Carmen J Marsit, Elizabeth J Corwin, Dean P Jones, Anne L Dunlop, Donghai Liang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy has been associated with a series of adverse reproductive outcomes; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well-established. We conducted an untargeted metabolome-wide association study to identify the metabolic perturbations and molecular mechanisms underlying the association between cotinine, a widely used biomarker of tobacco exposure, and adverse birth outcomes. We collected early and late pregnancy urine samples for cotinine measurement and serum samples for high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) profiling from 105 pregnant women from the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child cohort (2014-2016). Maternal metabolome perturbations mediating prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and adverse birth outcomes were assessed …

Establishment And Validation Of Pre-Therapy Cervical Vertebrae Muscle Quantification As A Prognostic Marker Of Sarcopenia In Patients With Head And Neck Cancer, Brennan Olson, Jared Edwards, Catherine Degnin, Nicole Santucci, Michelle Buncke, Jeffrey Hu, Yiyi Chen, Clifton D Fuller, Mathew Geltzeiler, Aaron J Grossberg, Daniel Clayburgh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Sarcopenia is prognostic for survival in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). However, identification of this high-risk feature remains challenging without computed tomography (CT) imaging of the abdomen or thorax. Herein, we establish sarcopenia thresholds at the C3 level and determine if C3 sarcopenia is associated with survival in patients with HNC.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in consecutive patients with a squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with cross-sectional abdominal or neck imaging within 60 days prior to treatment. Measurement of cross-sectional muscle area at L3 and C3 levels was performed from CT …

Next-Generation Sequencing Of Minimal Residual Disease For Predicting Relapse After Tisagenlecleucel In Children And Young Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia., Michael A. Pulsipher, Xia Han, Shannon L. Maude, Theodore W. Laetsch, Muna Qayed, Susana Rives, Michael W. Boyer, Hidefumi Hiramatsu, Gregory A. Yanik, Tim Driscoll, Douglas Myers, Peter Bader, Andre Baruchel, Jochen Buechner, Heather E. Stefanski, Creton Kalfoglou, Kevin Nguyen, Edward R. Waldron, Karen Thudium Mueller, Harald J. Maier, Gabor Kari, Stephan A. Grupp

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

We assessed minimal residual disease (MRD) detection and B-cell aplasia after tisagenlecleucel therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to define biomarkers predictive of relapse (N = 143). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) MRD detection >0 in bone marrow (BM) was highly associated with relapse. B-cell recovery [signifying loss of functional chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells] within the first year of treatment was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) for relapse of 4.5 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.03-9.97; P < 0.001]. Multivariate analysis at day 28 showed independent associations of BMNGS-MRD >0 (HR = 4.87; 95% CI, 2.18-10.8; P < 0.001) and B-cell recovery (HR = 3.33; 95% CI, 1.44-7.69; P = 0.005) with relapse. By 3 months, the BMNGS-MRD HR increased to 12 …

Qtc Interval On 24-Hour Holter Monitor: To Trust Or Not To Trust?, Mhd Khalil Tamr Agha, Ghina Fakhri, Mohamed Ahmed, Omar El Sedawy, Bernard Abi Saleh, Fadi Bitar, Mariam Arabi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

INTRODUCTION: QT interval represents the ventricular depolarization and repolarization. Its accurate measurement is critical since prolonged QT can lead to sudden cardiac death. QT is affected by heart rate and is corrected to QTc via several formulae. QTc is commonly calculated on the ECG and not the 24-h Holter.

METHODS: 100 patients presenting to our institution were evaluated by an ECG followed by a 24-h Holter. QTc measurement on both platforms using Bazett and Fridericia formulae was recorded and compared.

RESULTS: Mean age was 14.09 years, with the majority being males. Mean heart rate was 125.87. In the ECG, the …

Clinical Characteristics And Outcomes Of Castleman Disease: A Multicenter Consortium Study Of 428 Patients With 15-Year Follow-Up, Wanying Liu, Qingqing Cai, Tiantian Yu, Paolo Strati, Frederick B Hagemeister, Qiongli Zhai, Mingzhi Zhang, Ling Li, Xiaosheng Fang, Jianyong Li, Ruifang Sun, Shanxiang Zhang, Hanjin Yang, Zhaoming Wang, Wenbian Qian, Noriko Iwaki, Yasuharu Sato, Eric Oksenhendler, Zijun Y Xu-Monette, Ken H Young, Li Yu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Castleman disease (CD) has been reported as a group of poorly understood lymphoproliferative disorders, including unicentric CD (UCD) and idiopathic multicentric CD (iMCD) which are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative and human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) negative. The clinical and independent prognostic factors of CD remain poorly elucidated. We retrospectively collected the clinical information of 428 patients with HIV and HHV-8 negative CD from 12 large medical centers with 15-year follow-up. We analyzed the clinicopathologic features of 428 patients (248 with UCD and 180 with iMCD) with a median age of 41 years. The histology subtypes were hyaline-vascular (HV) histopathology …

Targetable Vulnerability Of Deregulated Foxm1/Plk1 Signaling Axis In Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, Fang Yu, Hua He, Loretta J Nastoupil, Zijun Y Xu-Monette, Ky Pham, Yong Liang, Guang Chen, Nathan H Fowler, C Cameron Yin, Dongfeng Tan, Yaling Yang, Shimin Hu, Ken H Young, Lan V Pham, M James You

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

FOXM1 is a transcription factor that controls cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Overexpression of FOXM1 has been implicated in various cancer types. However, the activation status and functional significance of FOXM1 in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have not been well investigated. Using proteomic approaches, we discovered that the protein expression levels of FOXM1 and PLK1 were positively correlated in DLBCL cell lines and primary DLBCL. Expression levels of FOXM1 and PLK1 mRNAs were also significantly higher in DLBCL than in normal human B cells and could predict poor prognosis of DLBCL, particularly in patients with germinal …