Digital Commons Network^™

Building Boundary-Crossers In Clinical-Translational Research: An Exploratory Study Of A Novel Communication Intervention, Carrie Cameron, Irene Rull-Garcia, Laura G Meyer, Jose-Armando Fernandez-Guerrero, Erin K Dahlstrom, Christine Bell, Christine Pribbenow

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Integrating scientific research across multiple disciplines to advance breakthroughs is at the heart of clinical-translational science (CTS); among competencies that have been identified as essential for progress, skillful communication is critical. Few tools are available to address the social dynamics of the multidimensional diversity characteristics of CTS. We created the "Building a Diverse Biomedical Workforce Through Communication Across Difference (CAD)" workshop intervention. Based on principles of intercultural communication, CAD taught novel situationally-based communication skills to dyads of near-peer mentors and their undergraduate mentees. This study reports on the effectiveness of the operative mechanisms employed in CAD workshops for helping …

Cord Blood-Derived Ink T Cells As A Platform For Allogeneic Car T Cell Therapy, Maison Grefe, Abel Trujillo-Ocampo, Jelita Clinton, Hong He, Ling Yu, Dan Li, Qing Ma, Elizabeth J Shpall, Jeffrey J Molldrem, Jin S Im

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

CD1d-restricted invariant Natural Killer (iNK) T cells are a suitable candidate for allogeneic Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy as they do not cause graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) due to the monomorphic nature of CD1d proteins. However, the phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of iNK T cells from adult donors (AD) may lead to the inconstant CAR-iNK T cell products. Cord blood-derived (CB) iNK T cells, in contrast, exhibit inter-donor homogeneity in phenotype including uniform CD4 expression and are enriched in memory iNK T cell populations. Thus, we evaluated the preclinical therapeutic potential of iNK T cells derived from cord blood …

Electrical Characterization Of The Alleged Bio-Memristor Physarum Polycephalum, Markus Schmidt, Günter Seyfried, Uliana Reutina, Zeki Seskir, Eduardo R. Miranda

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This study investigates the potential of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to function as a bio-memristor. In contrast to earlier reports, our experimental results did not show a significant memristive behavior. Instead, all tested slime molds exhibited elliptical I-V characteristics, attributed to their inherent capacitance. To model this behavior, we developed replacement circuits consisting solely of resistors and capacitors, which accurately reproduced the observed results. While these circuits lack memristive properties, they demonstrate potential utility as sub-circuits in analog applications, such as filters, timing circuits, and phase shift networks. Despite it not being a memristor, P. polycephalum may hold promise …

Balancing Nature And Tradition: Ocean Governance In The Noosa World Surfing Reserve, Kizzy Beaumont, Kirra Molnar, Michael Court

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Executive summary This report captures insights from focus groups and interviews held in Noosa in September 2024 as part of ongoing research into Transformative Ocean Governance. Participants shared reflections on the successes and struggles of the Noosa World Surfing Reserve (WSR) and outlined visions for its future.The WSR was praised for its cultural importance, environmental values, and grassroots leadership, but concerns were raised about crowding, tourism pressure, outdated policies, and fragmented governance. Participants highlighted gaps in environmental and surf-amenity data, funding shortages, and limited capacity to engage diverse community voices. Governance overlaps between the WSR, Council, and Biosphere Reserve have …

Understanding The Evolution Of The Apical Organ In The Early Branching Metazoan, Nematostella Vectensis, Eleanor Gilbert

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The apical organ is a key sensory structure in marine invertebrate larvae that is involved in sensory processing and neural coordination, thereby influencing larval locomotion, settlement, and metamorphosis. This thesis explores the evolution, development, and function of the apical organ and wider apical domain in cnidarian larvae, with a particular focus on Nematostella vectensis. As an early-branching metazoan, N. vectensis is a unique model for studying evolution of the apical organ, and subsequently the origins of the nervous system. Through generating tissue-specific transcriptomes and integrating this data with an existing single-cell RNA sequencing dataset, this research identified a distinct neuronal …

Unveiling Raciolinguistic Ideologies: Pre-Service Teachers’ Insights On Refugee Integration In Schools, Tuba Yilmaz, Rosanna Ellis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates pre-service teachers' ideologies about refugee students' belonging and integration in Türkiye and examines how these ideologies shape their anticipated pedagogical practices. Using the framework of raciolinguistic ideologies, the study highlights how linguistic and cultural hierarchies influence educational practices, often perpetuating systemic exclusion. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 13 pre-service teachers from various educational programs, utilizing a qualitative, phenomenological design. The findings reveal a predominant reliance on deficit-based perspectives, with refugee students framed as linguistically deficient and culturally "othered." While participants expressed professional commitments to inclusivity, their approaches often emphasized assimilation into Turkish norms, reflecting cultural …

Analysis Of Pre-Service Teachers’ Personal Metaphors About Foreign Language Teaching, Juan Luis De La Montaña Conchiña, Guadalupe De La Maya Retamar, Magdalena López-Pérez

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study analyses the characterisation and evolution of the personal metaphors of a sample of 34 trainee foreign language teachers, through a questionnaire of open-ended questions that included asking the participants to make drawings representing the roles of the teacher. Four categories of metaphors were considered for the analysis: behaviourist/transmissive, cognitivist/constructivist, situated, and self-referential. The results indicate that most participants were able to conceptualise their image of the teacher in the form of metaphors. The pre-service teachers’ metaphors represented are mainly cognitivist/constructivist and behaviourist/transmissive. When comparing them before and after the internship in the primary schools, most of them did …

Raising Information Literacy Of Biology Pre-Service Teachers: Study On Three Problem Solving Methods, Muhammad Saefi, Hadi Suwono, Rifka Fachrunnisa, Widi Cahya Adi, Herawati Susilo, Ahmad Kamal Sudrajat

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Integrating information literacy teaching methods with subject-content curricula to develop prospective biology teacher students' abilities is still problematic. This quasi-experimental research, with a nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group design, intends to compare the influences of challenge-based learning (CBL), problem-based learning (PBL), and problem-solving through classroom discussion (PCD) – as the control- in improving information literacy. This study involved 183 students from three classes of freshmen and three sophomores in the biology education program. The results showed that CBL significantly improved students' information literacy compared to PBL and PCD across five indicators: 1) identifying the required information, 2) attaining the required information …

Women’S Pathways Into Prison: Cycles Of Harm, Hilde Tubex, Natalie Gately

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Women are a minority of the prison population, however their number is increasing at a faster rate than is the case for men. Interviews with 80 incarcerated women in Western Australian prisons revealed similar pathways commencing with adverse childhood experiences and subsequent areas of deprivation, which reverberated throughout their lives, leading to criminal behavior and imprisonment. Describing these cycles of harm, we argue that, in addressing the increase of women in prison, there is a need to move away from the individual “offender-focused” approach and look at the broader systemic context that lets women down and contributes to their criminalization.

Deep Learning For Precise Mri Segmentation Of Lower-Grade Gliomas, Wusat Ullah, Hamza Naveed, Saalam Ali

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

Brain tumors represent a significant public health issue worldwide, affecting individuals across all age groups and leading to severe neurological and cognitive deficits. Lower-grade gliomas (LGGs), classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as grade II or III, are characterized by more diffuse infiltration into brain tissue compared to high-grade gliomas but exhibit a slower growth rate. Precise evaluation of tumor resection and detection of residual tumor cells are critical, as incomplete resection is associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence. This study reviews an automated, deep learning-based approach for brain tumor segmentation in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using …

Advanced Fruit Quality Assessment Using Deep Learning And Transfer Learning Technique, Walid Abdullah

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

Ensuring the quality of fruits is essential for consumer satisfaction and food industry standards. Accurately identifying and classifying high-quality fruits is essential for maintaining good health and nutrition. The subjective and labor-intensive nature of traditional techniques of evaluating quality highlights the need for automated solutions. This study utilized transfer learning with Four pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) models—MobileNetV2, ResNet50, VGG16, and EfficientNetB0 —to detect the quality of five fruits: apple, banana, strawberry, orange, and mango. All models were trained and tested with a public labeled fruit images dataset, and their performance was evaluated in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and …

A Decolonial And Liberation Lens To Social Justice Research: Upholding Promises For Diverse, Inclusive, And Equitable Psychological Science, Luz M. Garcini, Aldo Barrita, German Cadenas, Melanie M. Domenech Rodriguez, Thania Galvan, Alfonso Mercado, Oswaldo Moreno, Manuel Paris, Oscar F. Rojas Perez, Michelle Silva, Amanda Venta

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

In the face of harmful disparities and inequities, it is crucial for researchers to critically reflect on methodologies and research practices that can dismantle systems of oppression, accommodate pluralistic realities, and facilitate opportunities for all communities to thrive. Historically, knowledge production for the sciences has followed a colonial and colonizing approach that continues to silence and decontextualize the lived experiences of people of color. This article acknowledges the harm to people of color communities in the name of research and draws from decolonial and liberation frameworks to advance research practices and psychological science toward equity and social justice. In this …

An Hplc-Ms/Ms Method For The Quantification Of Heat Stress-Related Milk Metabolites In Milk From Holstein-Friesian Cross-Bred Cows In Tanzania, Vincent Habimana, A.S Nguluma, Z.C Nziku, C.C Ekine-Dzivenu, G Morota, R Mrode, S.W Chenyambuga

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

The main objective of this study was to develop and validate a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination and quantification of three metabolites in raw milk samples: creatinine, citrate, and β-hydroxybutyrate (3-BHB). The effect of the temperature-humidity index (THI) on the concentrations of these metabolites was also investigated. The study used 29 Holstein-Friesian × Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu cross-bred cows of two genotypes from the Tanzania Livestock Research Institute in Tanga, Tanzania. The cows were in their second or third parity and their second or third month of lactation. Chromatographic separation of the three metabolites was performed …

Climate-Driven Shifts In The Geographic Distribution Of Fodder Trees In West AfricaʼS Grazing Landscapes, Idrissa Sawadogo, Philippe Bayen, Larba Hubert Balima, Charles Lamoussa Sanou, Faustine Akossoua Kouassi, Omonlola Nadine Worou

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

West African pastures host several valuable fodder tree species which are essential for livestock rearing. Among these, Cordyla pinnata and Boscia senegalensis play a particularly significant role in the region’s landscape, providing both food products and high-quality fodder for livestock. However, these species face an increase anthropogenic threat, which compromises their long-term availability. Despite their importance, little is known about their spatial distribution under changing climatic conditions in West Africa. This study, we assessed the impact of climate change on the geographic distribution of Cordyla pinnata and Boscia senegalensis in Burkina Faso. Presence data comprising 306 records of C. pinnata …

Estimation Of Genetic Parameters For Physiological And Milk Production Traits Of Holstein Friesian Crossbreds Reared In Tanzania, Vincent Habimana, Chinyere Charlotte Ekine-Dzivenu, Athumani Shabani Nguluma, Zabron Cuthibert Nziku, Gota Morota, Sebastian Wilson Chenyambuga, Raphael Mrode

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

The main objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters for physiological traits, milk yield, and milk composition in Holstein Friesian crossbred cattle raised at the Tanzania Livestock Research Institute’s (TALIRI) Tanga dairy farm. A total of 29 lactating Holstein Friesian × Zebu crossbred cows with 50% (HF50) and 75% (HF75) Holstein Friesian gene levels in their second and third months of lactation were included. Breed composition was determined based on the animal recording system at TALIRI, Tanga. A series of univariate and bivariate repeatability (r) test-day models was used to estimate genetic parameters, genetic (rg) and phenotypic …

Food Finding Ability Does Not Predict Annual Survival In Winter Resident Birds, Aidan Hand

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Small non-migratory birds in temperate locations face many challenges to survive the winter. They must be able to find enough food, which is in decreased supply, to fuel the energetic demands of staying warm. Prior work has demonstrated that birds show individual variation in their foraging behaviors that could contribute to the discovery of new foraging patches, such as novel environment exploration. A better ability to discover new food sources could increase a bird’s chance of surviving the winter by increasing its access to new food patches. To test this hypothesis, we used radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled bird feeders to …

Artificial Intelligence And The Hipaa Privacy Rule: A Primer, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Ecosystem Sustainability And Climate Resilience Through Integrative Nature-Based Solutions In Bontioli Natural Reserve, West African Drylands, Issaka Abdou Razakou Kiribou, Kangbéni Dimobe, Sintayehu W. Dejene

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Natural reserves in the West African drylands play a critical role in sustaining livelihoods and preserving ecological integrity. However, these ecosystems face growing threats from climate variability and anthropogenic pressure. This study assesses the potential of Nature- based Solutions (NbSs) to enhance climate resilience and mitigate human-induced degra- dation in Bontioli Natural Reserve (BNR), one of the region’s key biodiversity hotspots. We employed an integrated approach combining ecological assessments, climate and anthro- pogenic pressures analysis, and participatory governance framework. Generalized additive modeling (GAM) is applied to assess the long-term vegetation response to climate stressors. A conceptual framework that integrates climate …

Assessment Of Bio-Security Knowledge, Attitude And Hygienic Practices Among Smallholder Chicken Farmers In Southern Mozambique, Noémia André Mugabe, Jamal Kussaga, Abdulsudi Issa-Zacharia

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

The production of broiler chickens in intensive systems struggles to maintain hygiene in production, despite contributing to combating malnutrition, generating employment, and increasing family income, especially in developing countries. Using a structured questionnaire survey, a cross-sectional study was carried out among 395 smallholder farmers to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to farm biosecurity in urban and peri-urban areas of Mozambique and determine the factors affecting KAP (knowledge, attitude, and practice) levels. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) (IBM version 27). The findings indicate that education level and training significantly influence (p < 0.001) food safety in terms of biosecurity knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Smallholders who attended food safety training exhibited positive attitudes (95.5%, mean score of 89.71 ± 10.1) in contrast to those who did not participate in training (74.8%, mean score of 79.91 ± 9.68). Additionally, washing hands with soap before and after using the toilet and wearing protective clothing during chicken husbandry were significantly associated with education level (χ² = 15.345, P = 0.018); those with informal education were 34% less likely to have a negative attitude toward food safety compared to those with high education. A significant correlation (p < 0.01) was observed between residence area, training, and biosecurity knowledge, attitude, and practice. Because smallholders lack training, hygiene expertise, and biosecurity practices on their farms, this study concluded that they pose a risk to public health and food safety. To maintain consumer health and guarantee food safety, farmers should properly dispose of waste, including dead chickens, and receive continuous training in excellent biosecurity measures on the farm

Clinical Application Of Chambo Tilapia Fish Skin Xenograft For Skin Tissue Regeneration: A Case Report In A Partial-Thickness Burns Pediatric Patient, Bhahat Lawlley Zimba, Dennis Mtunduwatha, David Hara, Mukondwedi Mchazime, Aaron Stima, Mwemezi Rwiza, Elingarami Sauli

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

WHO reports that burns account for more than 180,000 deaths annually with the majority of cases coming from low and middle-income countries due to limited resources in the management of burns. Currently, burns are being treated using silver sulphadiazine and gauze dressings, but this method has demonstrated to have some shortfalls. Alternative methods are being researched to find a better treatment modality with a faster healing duration. This case report describes the novel application of Chambo tilapia (Oreochromis lidole) fish skin xenograft in the treatment of partial thickness burns in a patient. The research was conducted on a 5-year-old female …

Advancing Sustainable Practices: Integrated Pedological Characterization And Suitability Assessment For Enhanced Irish Potato Production In Tsangano And Angónia Districts Of Tete Province, Mozambique., Tamara Jose Sande, Balthazar Michael Msanya, Hamisi Juma Tindwa, Alessandra Mayumi Tokura Alovisi, Johnson M. Semoka, Mawazo Shitindi

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a critical crop for food security and economic growth in Tsangano and Angónia Districts, Central Mozambique. Challenges like inconsistent yields and variable quality are often linked to suboptimal soil conditions, which limit production. This study aimed to classify and evaluate the suitability of soils for potato cultivation in Tete Province, where detailed soil assessments remain limited. Four pedons—TSA-P01 and TSA-P02 in Tsangano and ANGO-P01 and ANGO-P02 in Angónia—were examined for bulk density, texture, pH, organic carbon, and nutrient content using a combination of pedological methods and laboratory soil analysis. To determine each site’s potential for …

Fermentation, Handling And Claimed Therapeutic Effects Of Dhanaan: An Ethiopian Fermented Camel Milk, Tiruha Habte Karssa, Jamal B. Kussaga, Teresa Lemsaddek Lemsaddek, Jovin K. Mugula

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Dhanaan is a spontaneously fermented camel milk that is popular in the Somali regional state of Ethiopia and plays a sig- nificant role in the livelihoods of pastoral communities. This study aimed to investigate traditional fermentation methods of dhanaan in these communities. Four districts, namely, Gursum, Shabelle, Degehabur, and Birqot, were purposively selected on the basis of camel rearing, camel milk production, and consumption. A cross-sectional survey of traditional fermentation methods, handling, utilization, and the claimed therapeutic effects of dhanaan was conducted using both open- and closed- ended questions in the districts. The traditional preparation of dhanaan involves spontaneous fermentation …

Associations Of Vegetable And Potato Intakes With Markers Of Type 2 Diabetes Risk In The Ausdiab Cohort, Pratik Pokharel, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Catherine P. Bondonno, Kevin Murray, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini, Dianna J. Magliano, Robin M. Daly, Jonathan E. Shaw, Joshua Lewis, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Nicola P. Bondonno

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Context: The associations of vegetable and potato intakes with type 2 diabetes (T2D) appear to be nuanced, depending on vegetable types and preparation method, respectively.

Objective: We investigated the associations of total vegetable, vegetable subgroup, and potato intakes with (1) markers of T2D at baseline and (2) incident T2D cumulative over a 12-year follow-up period in Australian adults.

Methods: Using data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, intakes of vegetables and potatoes were assessed via a food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Associations between vegetable intake and (1) fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postload plasma glucose (PLG), updated homeostasis …

Ganglioside Gd2 Contributes To A Stem-Like Phenotype In Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma, Antonella Mannini, Mirella Pastore, Alessia Giachi, Margherita Correnti, Elena Spínola Lasso, Tiziano Lottini, Benedetta Piombanti, Ignazia Tusa, Elisabetta Rovida, Cédric Coulouarn, Jesper B Andersen, Monika Lewinska, Claudia Campani, V Lokesh Battula, Bin Yuan, Massimo Aureli, Emma V Carsana, Caterina Peraldo Neia, Paola Ostano, Alessia Tani, Daniele Nosi, Anna Vanni, Laura Maggi, Luca Di Tommaso, Giuseppina Comito, Stefania Madiai, Annarosa Arcangeli, Fabio Marra, Chiara Raggi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: GD2, a member of the ganglioside (GS) family (sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids), is a potential biomarker of cancer stem cells (CSC) in several tumours. However, the possible role of GD2 and its biosynthetic enzyme, GD3 synthase (GD3S), in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) has not been explored.

METHODS: The stem-like subset of two iCCA cell lines was enriched by sphere culture (SPH) and compared to monolayer parental cells (MON). GS profiles were evaluated by chromatography, after feeding with radioactive sphingosine. Membrane GD2 expression was evaluated by FACS, and the expression of enzymes of GS biosynthesis was analysed by RT-qPCR. The …

Development And Validation Of Natural Language Processing Algorithms In The National Enact Network, Yanshan Wang, Jordan Hilsman, Chenyu Li, Michele Morris, Paul M Heider, Sunyang Fu, Min Ji Kwak, Andrew Wen, Joseph R Applegate, Liwei Wang, Elmer Bernstam, Hongfang Liu, Jack Chang, Daniel R Harris, Alexandria Corbeau, Darren Henderson, John Osborne, Richard E Kennedy, Nelly-Estefanie Garduno-Rapp, Justin F Rousseau, Chao Yan, You Chen, Mayur B Patel, Tyler J Murphy, Bradley A Malin, Chan Mi Park, Jungwei W Fan, Sunghwan Sohn, Sandeep Pagali, Yifan Peng, Aman Pathak, Yonghui Wu, Zongqi Xia, Salvatore Loguercio, Steven E Reis, Shyam Visweswaran

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Electronic Health Record (EHR) data are critical for advancing translational research and AI technologies. The ENACT network offers access to structured EHR data across 57 CTSA hubs. However, substantial information is contained in clinical narratives, requiring natural language processing (NLP) for research. The ENACT NLP Working Group was formed to make NLP-derived clinical information accessible and queryable across the network.

Methods: We established the ENACT NLP Working Group with 13 sites selected based on criteria including clinical notes access, IT infrastructure, NLP expertise, and institutional support. We divided sites into five focus groups targeting clinical tasks within disease contexts. …

Epidemiology Of Patient Record Duplication, Onur Sahin, Audrey Zhao, Reuben Joseph Applegate, Todd R Johnson, Elmer V Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Duplicate patient records can increase costs and medical errors. We assessed the association between demographic factors, comorbidities, health care usage, and duplicate electronic health records.

Methods: We analyzed the association between duplicate patient records and multiple demographic variables (race, Hispanic ethnicity, sex, and age) as well as the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), number of diagnoses, and number of health care encounters. The study population included 3,018,413 patients seen at a large urban academic medical center with at least one recorded diagnosis. Duplication of patient medical records was determined by using a previously validated enterprise Master Person Index.

Results: Unknown …

High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma Not Otherwise Specified, With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Gene Expression Signatures: Genomic Analysis And Potential Therapeutics, Waseem Lone, Alyssa Bouska, Tyler A Herek, Catalina Amador, Joo Song, Alexander M Xu, Dylan Jochum, Issa Ismail Issa, Dennis D Weisenburger, Xuan Zhang, Sharath Kumar Bhagavathi, Tayla B Heavican-Foral, Sunandini Sharma, Ab Rauf Shah, Abdul Rouf Mir, Aisha Ahmad Alkhinji, Dalia El-Gamal, Bhavana J Dave, Keenan Hartert, Jiayu Yu, Mallick Saumyaranjan, Timothy C Greiner, Julie Vose, Timothy W Mckeithan, Kai Fu, Michael Green, Chengfeng Bi, Akil Merchant, Wing C Chan, Javeed Iqbal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

High-grade B-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (HGBCL, NOS) has overlapping morphological and genetic features with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL), leading to uncertainty in its diagnosis and clinical management. Using functional genomic approaches, we previously characterized HGBCL and NOS, that demonstrate gene expression profiling (GEP), and genetic signatures similar to BL. Herein, we characterize distinct HGBCL, NOS, cohort (n = 55) in adults (n = 45) and in children (n = 10), and compared the GEP, genomic DNA copy number (CN), and mutational spectrum with de novo DLBCL (n = 85) and BL (n = 52). …

Plasma Dna Methylation-Based Biomarkers For Mpnst Detection In Patients With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Katarzyna Tomczak, Manishkumar S Patel, Angela D Bhalla, Christine B Peterson, Sharon M Landers, S Carson Callahan, Di Zhang, Justin Wong, Jace P Landry, Alexander J Lazar, J Andrew Livingston, B Ashleigh Guadagnolo, Heather G Lyu, Heather Lillemoe, Christina L Roland, Emily Z Keung, Christopher P Scally, Kelly K Hunt, Ian E Mccutcheon, John M Slopis, Jian Gu, Paul Scheet, Liang Wang, Kunal Rai, Keila E Torres

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) development is characterized by an altered DNA methylation landscape, which presents a promising area for developing MPNST-specific biomarkers for screening patients with NF1. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of a cohort of 13 patients with MPNST (29 samples of tumor and adjacent neurofibroma tissues) and of NF1-MPNST cell lines was performed to identify and validate candidate MPNST-specific CpG sites (CpGs). A logistic regression prediction model was constructed to select MPNST-specific CpGs distinct from adjacent neurofibromas and normal tissues. To test if hypermethylation at selected CpGs can also be detected in plasma from patients with MPNST, …

Approach To Determining Etiology Of Hypophosphatemia In A Patient With Coexisting Phosphaturic Mesenchymal Tumor And Fibrous Dysplasia, Madhuri D Patil, Sintawat Wangsiricharoen, Alexander J Lazar, Bryan Moon, John E Madewell, Michael T Collins, Theresa A Guise

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Dysregulated FGF23 production is a demonstrated cause of hypophosphatemia and osteomalacia. Diseases associated with these conditions include phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT) causing tumor induced osteomalacia, various forms of rickets, and fibrous dysplasia (FD). Coexistence of 2 conditions that can increase FGF23 concentrations is rare. We report a case of a 79-yr-old man who presented with rib and right flank pain. Imaging revealed bone lesions in the right iliac wing, left supra-acetabular area, and L4 vertebral body. Biopsies showed a right iliac PMT and left supra-acetabular FD. Cryoablation of both lesions resolved the phosphaturia with normalization of phosphorus level. Coexistence of …

Intelligent Biology And Medicine: Accelerating Innovative Computational Approaches, Fuhai Li, Li Liu, Kai Wang, Xiaoming Liu, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In this editorial, we summarize the 2023 International Conference on Intelligent Biology and Medicine (ICIBM 2023) conference which was held on July 16-19, 2023 in Tampa, Florida, USA. We then briefly describe the nine research articles included in this special issue. ICIBM 2023 scientific program included four tutorials and workshops, four keynote lectures, four eminent scholars' presentations, 11 concurrent scientific sessions, and a poster session. We had total of 88 scientific oral presentations, including 62 regular oral presentations and 26 flash talks, as well as 46 poster presentations. The topics of these presentations covered artificial intelligence (AI), data sciences, bioinformatics, …