Digital Commons Network^™

“Safe” Annuity Retirement Products And A Possible Us Retirement Crisis, Thomas E. Lambert, Christopher B. Tobe

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper examines a looming possible crisis in many Americans’ retirement plans due to the proliferation of annuity products in their retirement investment portfolios. As defined benefit pension plans have almost completely disappeared as a means of retirement savings and have been replaced by defined contribution retirement plans over the last 40 to 50 years, a great number of private and public sector defined contribution retirement plans have become laden with insurance contracts called annuities. Of the remaining solid defined benefit plans many, through a process called Pension Risk Transfer are being converted to high-risk single entity annuities. Such products …

Temperature Forecasts For The Continental United States: A Deep Learning Approach Using Multidimensional Features, Jahangir Ali, Linyin Cheng

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurate weather forecasts are critical for saving lives, emergency services, and future developments. Climate models such as numerical weather prediction models have made significant advancements in weather forecasts, but these models are computationally expensive and can be subject to inaccurate representations of complex natural interconnections. Alternatively, data-driven machine learning methods have provided new dimensions in assisting weather forecasts. In this study, we used convolutional neural networks (CNN) to assess how geopotential height at different levels of the troposphere may affect the predictability of extreme surface temperature (t2m) via two cases. Specifically, we analyzed temperature forecasts over the continental United States …

The Ideology Of Press Freedom, Hannah Bloch-Wehba

Faculty Scholarship

This Article offers a critical account of the law of press freedom. American law and political culture laud the press as an institution that plays a vital role in democracy: guarding against corruption, facilitating self-governance, and advocating for free expression. These democratic functions provide justification for the law of press freedom, which defends the media’s autonomy and shields the press from outside interference.

But the dominant accounts of the press’s democratic role are only partly accurate. The law of press freedom is grounded in large part in journalism’s professional commitments to objectivity, public service, and autonomy. These idealized characterizations, flawed …

Evolving Sovereignty Relationships Between Affiliated Jurisdictions: Lessons For Native American Jurisdictions, Vaughan Carter, Charlotte Ku, Andrew P. Morriss

Faculty Scholarship

Though sovereignty is principally associated with governance over a territory and freedom to act in the international arena, this article examines sovereignty as empowerment. The study tests the applicability to Native American jurisdictions of the experiences of fifteen case study jurisdictions presently associated with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France in shared sovereign relationships. The focus is on the evolution of those relationships and opportunities for development where jurisdictions do not attain full control over their affairs. The case studies examine the relationships from the perspectives of political, economic, and cultural sovereignty. The article further examines the relationships in …

Rico's Long Arm, Randy D. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

RICO has for over 50 years presented something of a parlor game for lawyers, mostly because its text leaves wide latitude in interpretation. And, as is often the case with RICO, resolution of one question begets more. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin proves no exception. Here, the Court brought some clarity to a question left open by RJR Nabisco: viz, what must one plead and prove to satisfy the “domestic injury” requirement necessary to invoke an extraterritorial application of RICO. The Court held that a foreign plaintiff can indeed, given the right facts and circumstances, establish …

The Role Of Artificial Intelligence For Providing Scientific Content For Laboratory Medicine, Alan H B Wu, Allan S Jaffe, William Franklin Peacock, Pete Kavsak, Dina Greene, Robert H Christenson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to become an important tool in the practice of laboratory medicine. AI programs are available online that can provide concise medical and laboratory information within seconds after a question is submitted.

Methods: We posed the following contemporary and relevant question for clinical chemists using an AI program: "Should labs eliminate CK-MB testing?" The results of this inquiry were critically reviewed by a cardiologist, emergency department physician, and clinical laboratorians for accuracy and appropriateness.

Results: An AI report answering this question was generated within 15 s. The experts felt that the information was inaccurate with the …

Widespread, Depth-Dependent Cortical Microstructure Alterations In Paediatric Focal Epilepsy, Chiara Casella, Katy Vecchiato, Daniel Cromb, Yourong Guo, Anderson M. Winkler, Emer Hughes, Louise Dillon, Elaine Green, Kathleen Colford, Alexia Egloff

School of Medicine Publications

Objective

Tissue abnormalities in focal epilepsy may extend beyond the presumed focus. The underlying pathophysiology of these broader changes is unclear, and it is not known whether they result from ongoing disease processes, treatment-related side-effects, or whether they emerge earlier. Few studies have focused on the period of onset for most focal epilepsies, childhood. Fewer still have utilised quantitative MRI, which may provide a more sensitive and interpretable measure of tissue microstructural change. Here, we aimed to determine common spatial modes of changes in cortical architecture in children with heterogeneous drug-resistant focal epilepsy and, secondarily, whether changes were related to …

Improving Inpatient Hyperglycaemia In Non-Critically Ill Adults In Resident Wards Through Audit And Feedback, Chelsea H. Chang, Alcibiades Fleires, Alfarooq Alshaikhli, Hector Arredondo, Diana Gavilanes, Francisco J. Cabral-Amador, Jonathon Cantu, Daniela Bazan, Kathryn Oliveira Oliveira, Rene Verduzco, Lina Pedraza Sanchez

School of Medicine Publications

Inpatient hyperglycaemia is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality, number of rehospitalisations and length of hospitalisation. Although the advantages of proper glycaemic control in hospitalised patients with diabetes are well established, a variety of barriers limit accomplishment of blood glucose targets. Our primary aim was to decrease the number of glucose values above 180 mg/dL in non-critical care hospitalised patients using an audit and feedback intervention with pharmacy and internal medicine residents. A resident-led multidisciplinary team implemented the quality improvement (QI) project including conception, literature review, educating residents, iterative development of audit and feedback tools and data analysis. …

Contemplating On The End Of Integrated Care-Part Ii: Living The Questions To Foster Adaptability, Deepu George, Parinda Khatri

School of Medicine Publications

This article extends the use of the ecocycle planning framework to describe challenges ahead for the integrated care and Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA). The authors make the case that to remain agile and adaptable, there are contextual, ecological, and moral challenges that integrated care and CFHA should keep in the forefront as they navigate the future of an inequitable health care system that is morphing at a rapid pace. These influences include but are not limited to challenges of social determinants of health, artificial intelligence, generational differences in technology among older and younger populations, the moral issue of poverty, …

Postsynaptic Β1 Spectrin Maintains Na+ Channels At The Neuromuscular Junction, Ozlem Sert, Xiaoyun Ding, Chuansheng Zhang, Ruifa Mi, Ahmet Hoke, Matthew N Rasband

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Spectrins function together with actin as obligatory subunits of the submembranous cytoskeleton. Spectrins maintain cell shape, resist mechanical forces, and stabilize ion channel and transporter protein complexes through binding to scaffolding proteins. Recently, pathogenic variants of SPTBN4 (β4 spectrin) were reported to cause both neuropathy and myopathy. Although β4 spectrin's role in neurons is mostly understood, its function in skeletal muscle, another excitable tissue subject to large forces, is unknown. Here, using a muscle specific β4 spectrin conditional knockout mouse, we show that β4 spectrin does not contribute to muscle function. In addition, we show β4 spectrin is not present …

The Pug Flap: Conjoined Profunda Artery Perforator And Upper Gracilis Flap For Breast Reconstruction, Isra Abdulwadood, Lacey R Pflibsen, Nicholas R Jarvis, Sebastian Winocour, Alanna M Rebecca, William J Casey, Edward M Reece

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Abdominal-based free flaps are the mainstay of autologous breast reconstruction; however, the region may not be ideal for patients with inadequate soft tissue or history of abdominal surgery. This case describes the use of a novel conjoined flap based on the profunda artery perforator and upper gracilis pedicles, named the perforator and upper gracilis (PUG) flap. This flap design aims to maximize medial thigh flap volume while ensuring robust tissue perforation. Here, we present our experience with the PUG flap in a breast cancer patient undergoing autologous reconstruction. The patient was a 41-year-old woman seeking nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate autologous …

Environmental Justice: A Missing Core Tenet Of Global Health, Redeat Workneh, Merhawit Abadi, Krystle Perez, Sharla Rent, Elliott Mark Weiss, Stephanie Kukora, Olivia Brandon, Gal Barbut, Sahar Rahiem, Shaphil Wallie, Joseph Mhango, Benjamin C Shayo, Friday Saidi, Gesit Metaferia, Mahlet Abayneh, Gregory C Valentine

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Cognitive, Emotional, And Other Non-Motor Symptoms Of Spinocerebellar Ataxias, Chi-Ying R Lin, Sheng-Han Kuo, Puneet Opal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose of review: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are autosomal dominant degenerative syndromes that present with ataxia and brain stem abnormalities. This review describes the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of SCAs in the context of recent knowledge of the role of the cerebellum in higher intellectual function.

Recent findings: Recent studies suggest that patients with spinocerebellar ataxia can display cognitive deficits even early in the disease. These have been given the term cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). CCAS can be tracked using newly developed rating scales. In addition, patients with spinocerebellar ataxia also display impulsive and compulsive behavior, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and …

Identification Of Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) For Sucrose And Protein Content In Soybean Seed, Daniel R. Jamison, Pengyin Chen, Navam Hettiarachchy, David M. Miller, Ehsanollah Shakiba

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Protein and sugar content are important seed quality traits in soybean because they improve the value and sustainability of soy food and feed products. Thus, identifying Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for soybean seed protein and sugar content can benefit plant breeders and the soybean market by accelerating the breeding process via marker-assisted selection. For this study, a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed from a cross between R08-3221 (high protein and low sucrose) and R07-2000 (high sucrose and low protein). Phenotypic data for protein content were taken from the F2:4 and F2:5 generations. The DA7250 NIR analyzer and …

Bosutinib In Resistant And Intolerant Pediatric Patients With Chronic Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Results From The Phase I Part Of Study Itcc054/Cog Aaml1921, Erica Brivio, Edoardo Pennesi, Marieke E Willemse, Alwin D R Huitema, Yilin Jiang, Harm D R Van Tinteren, Vincent H J Van Der Velden, Berna H Beverloo, Monique L Den Boer, Lukas A J Rammeloo, Chad Hudson, Nyla Heerema, Karey Kowalski, Huadong Zhao, Luke Kuttschreuter, Francisco J Bautista Sirvent, Andrew Bukowinski, Carmelo Rizzari, Jessica Pollard, Laura Murillo-Sanjuán, Matthew Kutny, Sara Zarnegar-Lumley, Michele Redell, Stacy Cooper, Yves Bertrand, Arnaud Petit, Julie Krystal, Markus Metzler, Donna Lancaster, Jean-Pierre Bourquin, Jayashree Motwani, Inge M Van Der Sluis, Franco Locatelli, Michael E Roth, Nobuko Hijiya, Christian M Zwaan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Bosutinib is approved for adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML): 400 mg once daily in newly diagnosed (ND); 500 mg once daily in resistant/intolerant (R/I) patients. Bosutinib has a different tolerability profile than other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and potentially less impact on growth (preclinical data). The primary objective of this first-in-child trial was to determine the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) for pediatric R/I and ND patients.

Patients and methods: In the phase I part of this international, open-label trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04258943), children age 1-18 years with R/I (per European LeukemiaNet 2013) Ph+ CML were enrolled …

Tuberculosis In People Of Ukrainian Origin In The European Union And The European Economic Area, 2019 To 2022, Krista Stoycheva, Veronica Cristea, Csaba Ködmön, Senia Rosales-Klintz, Dominik Zenner, Anca Vasiliu, Marieke Van Der Werf, Christoph Lange

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Approximately five million Ukrainians were displaced to the EU/EEA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While tuberculosis (TB) notification rates per 100,000 Ukrainians in the EU/EEA remained stable, the number of notified TB cases in Ukrainians increased almost fourfold (mean 2019-2021: 201; 2022: 780). In 2022, 71% cases were notified in three countries, and almost 20% of drug-resistant TB cases were of Ukrainian origin. Targeted healthcare services for Ukrainians are vital for early diagnosis and treatment, and preventing transmission.

Novel 4th-Generation Phytase Improves Broiler Growth Performance And Reduces Woody Breast Severity Through Modulation Of Muscle Glucose Uptake And Metabolism, Carrie L. Walk, Garrett J. Mullenix, Craig W. Maynard, Elizabeth S. Greene, Clay Maynard, Nelson Ward, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of a novel (4th generation) phytase supplementation as well as its mode of action on growth, meat quality, and incidence of muscle myopathies. One-day old male broilers (n = 720) were weighed and randomly allocated to 30 floor pens (24 birds/pen) with 10 replicate pens per treatment. Three diets were fed from hatch to 56- days-old: a 3-phase corn-soy based diet as a positive control (PC); a negative control (NC) formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous to the PC and with a reduction in Ca and available P, …

A Phenomenological Study Of School Psychologists: The Influence Of Implicit Bias On The Disproportionate Identification Rates Of African American Students Evaluated For Emotional Disturbance, Sonya Coe-Milo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As advocates, school psychologists remain ethically responsible and uniquely positioned to identify social injustices and promote nondiscriminatory practices in prekindergarten through grade 12 public education institutions. Implicit bias and its influence on African American students is one such practice. In public education, implicit bias contributes to discipline disproportionality, differentiated teacher support, pedagogical practices, and adult perceptions and expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These factors directly correlate to the disproportionate identification rates of African American students for special education and related services. Therefore, this phenomenological qualitative study examined the personal, lived experiences and perceptions of school psychologists regarding implicit bias …

Community-Engaged Pedagogy For Equitable Hsi Teacher Preparation: Bridging Community, School, And University Cultures, Pauli Badenhorst, Sandra I. Musanti, Veronica L. Estrada, Patricia Robles, Amy Montoya

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Drawing on interview data collected as part of a qualitative study among thirty-two local educators and community advocates in the borderlands context of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV), we inquire about the fundamental characteristics of being a community-engaged teacher for sustainable and equitable Latinx student teaching and learning. The ultimate purpose is to collectively develop a model of community-engaged pedagogy that will bridge school and university cultures. Based on our findings, a community-engaged teacher preparation approach should prioritize that teacher candidates can establish rapport and relationship with students and their families; grapple with the contradictions entrenched in a prevalent …

Multimodality Imaging Of A Rare Intracardiac Bronchogenic Cyst, Juan Batlle, Christopher Maroules, Ricardo Cury, Constantino Pena, Manuel Menes, Karl Sayegh

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Metagenomic Analysis Unravels Novel Taxonomic Differences In The Uterine Microbiome Between Healthy Mares And Mares With Endometritis, Aeknath Virendra, Sarita U Gulavane, Zulfikar A Ahmed, Ravi Reddy, Ravindra J Chaudhari, Sandeep M Gaikwad, Raju R Shelar, Shailesh D Ingole, Varsha D Thorat, Afroza Khanam, Firdous A Khan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The application of high throughput technologies has enabled unravelling of unique differences between healthy mares and mares with endometritis at transcriptomic and proteomic levels. However, differences in the uterine microbiome are yet to be investigated.

OBJECTIVES: The present study was aimed at evaluating the differences in uterine microbiome between healthy mares and mares with endometritis.

METHODS: Low-volume lavage (LVL) samples were collected from the uterus of 30 mares classified into healthy (n = 15) and endometritis (n = 15) based on their reproductive history, intrauterine fluid accumulation, gross appearance of LVL samples, endometrial cytology and bacterial culture. The samples …

Rosiglitazone Improves Insulin Resistance But Does Not Improve Exercise Capacity In Individuals With Impaired Glucose Tolerance: A Randomized Clinical Study, Layla A Abushamat, Irene E Schauer, Cecilia C Low Wang, Stacey Mitchell, Leah Herlache, Mark Bridenstine, Roy Durbin, Janet K Snell-Bergeon, Judith G Regensteiner, Jane Eb Reusch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Dysmetabolic states, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), characterized by insulin resistance (IR), are associated with fatty liver, increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and decreased functional exercise capacity (FEC). Rosiglitazone (RO) improves exercise capacity and IR in T2D. However, the effects of RO on FEC and other markers of CVD risk in prediabetes are unknown. We hypothesized that insulin sensitization with RO would improve exercise capacity and markers of CVD risk in participants with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Exercise performance (peak oxygen consumption and oxygen uptake kinetics), IR (homeostasis model assessment of IR and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index), and …

Incongruity Between T Cell Receptor Recognition Of Breast Cancer Hotspot Mutations Esr1 Y537s And D538g Following Exogenous Peptide Loading Versus Endogenous Antigen Processing, Paul Shafer, Wingchi K Leung, Mae Woods, Jong Min Choi, Carlos M Rodriguez-Plata, Arushana Maknojia, Andres Mosquera, Lauren K Somes, Jarrett Joubert, Anthony Manliguez, Rashi Ranjan, Bryan Burt, Hyun-Sung Lee, Bing Zhang, Suzanne Fuqua, Cliona Rooney, Ann M Leen, Valentina Hoyos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

T cell receptor engineered T cell (TCR T) therapies have shown recent efficacy against certain types of solid metastatic cancers. However, to extend TCR T therapies to treat more patients across additional cancer types, new TCRs recognizing cancer-specific antigen targets are needed. Driver mutations in AKT1, ESR1, PIK3CA, and TP53 are common in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and if immunogenic could serve as ideal tumor-specific targets for TCR T therapy to treat this disease. Through IFN-γ ELISpot screening of in vitro expanded neopeptide-stimulated T cell lines from healthy donors and MBC patients, we identified reactivity towards 11 of …

Nadph Oxidase Overexpression And Mitochondrial Oxphos Impairment Are More Profound In Human Hearts Donated After Circulatory Death Than Brain Death, Nandan K Mondal, Shiyi Li, Abdussalam E Elsenousi, Aladdein Mattar, Katherine V Nordick, Harveen K Lamba, Camila Hochman-Mendez, Todd K Rosengart, Kenneth K Liao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This study investigated cardiac stress and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) in human donation after circulatory death (DCD) hearts regarding warm ischemic time (WIT) and subsequent cold storage and compared them with that of human brain death donor (DBD) hearts. A total of 24 human hearts were procured for the research study-6 in the DBD group and 18 in the DCD group. DCD group was divided into three groups (n = 6) based on different WITs (20, 40, and 60 min). All hearts received del Nido cardioplegia before being placed in normal saline cold storage for 6 h. Left ventricular …

Psychosocial Moderators Of Polygenic Risk Scores Of Inflammatory Biomarkers In Relation To Grimage, Amanda J F Tamman, Dora Koller, Sheila Nagamatsu, Brenda Cabrera-Mendoza, Chadi Abdallah, John H Krystal, Joel Gelernter, Janitza L Montalvo-Ortiz, Renato Polimanti, Robert H Pietrzak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

GrimAge acceleration has previously predicted age-related morbidities and mortality. In the current study, we sought to examine how GrimAge is associated with genetic predisposition for systemic inflammation and whether psychosocial factors moderate this association. Military veterans from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of European American male veterans, provided saliva samples for genotyping (N = 1135). We derived polygenic risk scores (PRS) from the UK Biobank as markers of genetic predisposition to inflammation. Results revealed that PRS for three inflammatory PRS markers—HDL (lower), apolipoprotein B (lower), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (higher)—were associated …

Performance Characteristics Of Sepsis Screening Tools During Antepartum And Postpartum Admissions, Melissa E Bauer, Matt Fuller, Vesela Kovacheva, Rania Elkhateb, Kristen Azar, Morgan Caldwell, Vanna Chiem, Mindy Foster, Ronald Gibbs, Brenna L Hughes, Rebecca Johnson, Nobin Kottukapally, Melissa G Rosenstein, Magdalena Sanz Cortes, Laurence E Shields, Sylvia Sudat, Caitlin D Sutton, Paloma Toledo, Austin Traylor, Kurt Wharton, Elliott Main

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To evaluate the performance characteristics of existing screening tools for the prediction of sepsis during antepartum and postpartum readmissions.

Methods: This was a case-control study using electronic health record data obtained between 2016 and 2021 from 67 hospitals for antepartum sepsis admissions and 71 hospitals for postpartum readmissions up to 42 days. Patients in the sepsis case group were matched in a 1:4 ratio to a comparison cohort of patients without sepsis admitted antepartum or postpartum. The following screening criteria were evaluated: the CMQCC (California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative) initial sepsis screen, the non-pregnancy-adjusted SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome), …

Performance Characteristics Of Sepsis Screening Tools During Delivery Admissions, Elliott K Main, Matt Fuller, Vesela P Kovacheva, Rania Elkhateb, Kristen Azar, Morgan Caldwell, Vanna Chiem, Mindy Foster, Ronald Gibbs, Brenna L Hughes, Rebecca Johnson, Nobin Kottukapally, Magdalena Sanz Cortes, Melissa G Rosenstein, Laurence E Shields, Sylvia Sudat, Caitlin D Sutton, Paloma Toledo, Austin Traylor, Kurt Wharton, Melissa E Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To evaluate the screening performance characteristics of existing tools for the diagnosis of sepsis during delivery admissions.

Methods: This was a case-control study using electronic health record data, including vital signs and laboratory results, for all delivery admissions of patients with sepsis from 59 nationally distributed hospitals. Patients with sepsis were matched by gestational age at delivery in a 1:4 ratio with patients without sepsis to create a comparison group. Patients with chorioamnionitis and sepsis were compared with a complete cohort of patients with chorioamnionitis without sepsis. Multiple screening criteria for sepsis were evaluated: the CMQCC (California Maternal Quality …

Reply: Efficacy Of Segmented Axial Length And Artificial Intelligence Approaches To Intraocular Lens Power Calculation In Short Eyes, Karim Kozhaya, Peter I Kenny, Li Wang, Mitchell P Weikert, Douglas D Koch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Fine-Needle Aspiration Of Amyloidoma: A Critical Analysis, Nisha S Ramani, Bhuvaneswari Krishnan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Amyloid, presenting as a mass, is termed amyloidoma. Among the reported cases, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of amyloid is often misinterpreted as acellular nondiagnostic material.

Methods: A computer search of all FNAs was performed and cases diagnosed as amyloidoma were identified.

Results: Among 11,956 cases and 20,634 FNAs, there were six cases and 12 FNAs of amyloidoma. One case with mucin/myxoid matrix was misinterpreted as amyloid, which on our review was Congo red negative. All five other cases of amyloidoma were adequate for evaluation. The smears showed most of the aspirated contents in the middle of the slide and it …

Case Of Nocturnal Emesis, Weight Loss, And Aspiration Pneumonia, Roman Babayev, Sharonda Taylor, Elizabeth V Franklin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.