Digital Commons Network^™

Sequencing-Based Detection Of Avian Influenza A(H5n1) Virus In Wastewater In Ten Cities, Li Wang, Katelyn Payne, Matthew C Ross, Kristina D Mena, Anna Gitter, Sara J Javornik Cregeen, Juwan Cormier, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Austen Terwilliger, John Balliew, Fuqing Wu, Janelle Rios, Jennifer Deegan, Pedro A Piedra, Joseph F Petrosino, Eric Boerwinkle, Anthony W Maresso

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Unresolved Complication Or Ancient History?, Bruce R Blazar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is associated with morbidity, mortality, impaired quality of life, prolonged immunosuppressive therapy, and infection risk after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Major strides have occurred in the understanding of cGVHD biology; National Institutes of Health Consensus meetings have refined rigorous approaches to diagnosis, staging, and response criteria; major interventional trials have established standard benchmarks for treatment outcome; and 3 agents to date have been US Food and Drug Administration approved for treating corticosteroid-refractory cGVHD. Promising results from several recent trials have led some, but not others, to conclude that the risk of developing cGVHD is sufficiently …

Early Results Of An Innovative Scalable Digital Treatment For Diabetes Distress In Families Of School-Age Children With Type 1 Diabetes., Susana R. Patton, Jessica S. Pierce, Nicole Kahhan, Matthew Benson, Mark A. Clements, Larry A. Fox

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on the initial outcomes of a new mHealth intervention to reduce diabetes distress (DD) in families of school-age children living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) entitled, 'Remedy to Diabetes Distress' (R2D2).

METHODS: We randomized 34 families (mean child age = 10 ± 1.4 years; 53% male, 85% White, mean HbA1c = 7.24 ± 0.71%) to one of three delivery arms differing only by number of telehealth visits over a 10-week period: zero visits = self-guided (SG), three visits = enhanced self-guided (ESG), or eight visits = video visits (VV). All families had 24 × 7 access …

Treatment Outcomes Among Patients With A Positive Candida Culture Close To Randomization Receiving Rezafungin Or Caspofungin In The Restore Study, Alex Soriano, Marin Kollef, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Rezafungin, a novel, once-weekly echinocandin for the treatment of candidemia and/or invasive candidiasis (IC) was noninferior to caspofungin for day 30 all-cause mortality (ACM) and day 14 global cure in the phase 3 ReSTORE trial (NCT03667690). We conducted preplanned subgroup analyses for patients with a positive culture close to randomization in ReSTORE.

METHODS: ReSTORE was a multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized trial in patients aged ≥18 years with candidemia and/or IC treated with once-weekly intravenous rezafungin (400 mg/200 mg) or once-daily intravenous caspofungin (70 mg/50 mg). This analysis comprised patients with a positive blood culture drawn between 12 hours before …

A Meta-Analysis Comparing Surgical Site Wound Infection Following Single-Incision Versus Multiple-Incision Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Lobectomy For Patients With Lung Cancer, Zainab Ayad

Al-Mustaqbal Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences

Background

A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of single-incision (SI) versus multiple-incision (MI) video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy on surgical site wound length (SSWL) and surgical site wound infection (SSWI) in lung cancer (LC) patients.

Methods

Inclusive literature research till March 2023 was done and 598 interconnected researches were revised. The 8 picked researches, enclosed 1542 LC persons were in the utilized researches' starting point, 310 of them were utilizing SI, and 232 were utilizing MI. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to appraise the effect of SI compared to MI VATS lobectomy for …

Effect Of Antibiotic Prophylaxis On Surgical Site Wound Infection In Third Molar Surgery: A Meta-Analysis, Mohamed Atif Elkholy, Sayed Rashed Fashkal

Al-Mustaqbal Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences

The objective of this meta-analysis is to assess the impact of antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) on surgical site wound infection (SSWI) throughout third molar surgery (TMS).

A meta-analysis was conducted using examinations that compared AP to placebo for TMS from different languages that satisfied the inclusion criteria. Applying dichotomous random or fixed effect models, the findings of these studies were analysed, and the Odd Ratio (OR) was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

A total of 18 studies conducted between 2001 and 2023 were included in the present analysis. These studies initially included 4063 individuals with TMS.

A substantial reduction in …

D -∝- Tpgs/ Poloxamer 188 Mixed Micelles For The Oral Delivery Of Azelnidipine: Preparation And In Vitro Evaluation, Ali Kathem Ala Allah, Shaimaa Nazar Abd Alhammid

Al-Mustaqbal Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences

Azelnidipine is a calcium channel blocker with low water solubility and high lipophilicity and is intended for treating angina pectoris and hypertension. This study aimed to increase and enhances the solubility of azelnidipine through its incorporation in D - - tocopheryl polyethylene glycol/polyxamer188 (TPGS/P188) micelles for oral administration and substantially increasing the extent of drug absorption.

Nine formulations (A₁-A₉) were prepared by direct dissolution method using a combination of D- - TPGS 1000 succinate and Poloxamer 188. The size of the particle, polydispersity index (PDI), surface charge, and entrapment capacity were measured. The optimum formula …

Evaluation Of Nursing Care Documentation And Administration At Emergency Unite: Comparative Study, Ali Refak Lazem, Huda Baker Hassan

Al-Mustaqbal Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences

Objectives: to evaluate of nursing care documentation and administration at emergency unite, and find the relationship between Nursing care documentation and administration and demographic characteristic of nurses.

Method: An Observational design study was conducted from the 25 December 2023 to 30 April 2024. The study setting was conducted at the emergency department in AI-Hussein Teaching Hospital, Al-shatra General Hospital in Dhi-Qar governorate/Iraq. Study Sample A convenient sample (non-probability) involving (103 nurses:60 in Al-Hussien Hospital and 43 in Al-Shatra Hospital). The practices were evaluated by using the self-report questionner and observational checklist. The data analysis through descriptive and interferential statistics …

Occurrence And Diversity Of Staphylococcus From Women With Breast Abscess And Mastitis, Rana Adnan M. Al-Wataify, Maysaa S.M. Al-Shukri, Mohend A.N Al-Shalah

Al-Mustaqbal Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences

Mastitis is inflammatory that can effect women at every time , it is predominant occur in women during breastfeeding. Staphylococcus are the most common pathogens causative agents of mastitis.The clincal samples were collection from women with different age group from patients who admitted to Al-Hilla General teaching hospital (breast cancer consultation and outpatient clinics) for the period from August2023 to Januray2024.This study included 80 patient suffered from breast infection or mastitis, this result show that 45(56%) from total samples having breast abscesses and 35(44%) having mastitis.The isolating bacterial causes according of total samples that having S.aureus 20(25%), S.epidermides 10 (12.5%),other …

A Multimodal System And Method For Dynamic Simplification Of Complex Content, Peter Hraška, Marek Šuppa, Andrej Baran, Peter Komorník, Daniela Jašš

Defensive Publications Series

A multimodal system and method that facilitates the dynamic simplification of complex content is presented herein. The system and method may enable an individual to understand complex information by simplifying the information, in an optimized and personalized manner, so that the amount of knowledge that can be extracted from the information may be maximized for the individual.

Method And System For Seamless Payment Card Transaction Continuity Using Backup Payment Card Retry Mechanism, Alok Roy

Defensive Publications Series

One embodiment includes a method performed by a payment network processor. The method includes identifying a failed transaction. For example, the customer initiates a transaction process which may be rejected by the issuer resulting in a failed transaction. The method includes payment network processor detecting a failed transaction in real time and identifying the reason for a failed transaction. Additionally, if the identified reason for a failed transaction is one of the valid retry reasons, the payment network processor initiates a retry mechanism by retrieving the backup payment card details stored in the database of the payment network processor 106, …

Context-Based, Dynamic User Interface For A Navigation App, Tom Spigland, Ziv Tzur

Defensive Publications Series

The user interface of digital map and navigation apps can be cluttered with information and alerts and is not personalized to the user. This disclosure describes techniques that dynamically adjust the presentation of various alerts within the user interface of a digital map/navigation application based on the user context and preferences (obtained with user permission) and on the alert type, e.g., point-based alert or segment-based alert. Dynamic adjustment of the presentation of alerts enables the app to tailor the provision of insights and contextually relevant information to the context, effectively reducing distractions and helping drivers make better decisions. Alerts are …

Geothermal Reinjection Apparatus And Method, Baker Hughes Company

Defensive Publications Series

A geothermal reinjection apparatus, including a first string, a second string, a side pocket mandrel connected to the first string and connected to the second string, and a recombination valve in the side pocket mandrel to control injection of gasses from the second string into the first string. A method for reinjecting geothermal waste products including pumping water through a first string, pumping gasses through a second string, and combining the gasses and the water by injecting the gasses into the water in a side pocket mandrel connected to both the first string and the second string. A geothermal well, …

Ai Assistant-Supported Calls, Gajen Agrawal, Ramprasad S, Ajay Prasad, Saurabh Drolia

Defensive Publications Series

This publication describes a system and techniques for artificial intelligence (AI)-enhancement of phone calls by determining a context of the call (e.g., a potential purpose of the incoming call, that one or more events are associated with an incoming call or call member, a request for identity verification, a request for payment information, potential for conversational enhancements, etc.) and providing relevant information that is based on the context to a user prior to and during the phone calls. Described techniques may enable the use of an AI assistant to identify and provide relevant conversational components to a user. Aspects of …

Ankle Stability And Single-Leg Balance Control In Collegiate Female Soccer Players Versus Non-Soccer Players, Jesus Aguilar, Courtnie Cano, Matthew Cunningham, You-Jou Hung

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 17(6): 1406-1415, 2024. Ankle sprains are common in female soccer players. Ankle injuries have the potential to impact balance control, which can further contribute to recurrent injuries. This study aimed to examine if female collegiate soccer players exhibited worse ankle stability and single-leg balance than female non-soccer players, and whether there was a correlation between ankle stability and single-leg balance. Eighteen female collegiate soccer players and 22 female non-soccer players participated in the study. The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) was used to evaluate ankle stability. The Athletic Single Leg Stability Test (ASLST) of the …

Economic Factors Affecting Patients Who Use Safety Net Clinics And Food Insecurity In Rio Grande Valley, Michael Machiorlatti, Cliff Clark, Deepu George

Research Colloquium

Food insecurity (FI) is a pervasive problem. It is linked to education and parental SES. The burden is not distributed equally. Younger and older groups are at greater risk along with those who identify with marginalized groups. The purpose of this study was examine how self-reported social determinants are associated with FI in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The study was conducted at safety net clinics (14) in the RGV from April 1, 2021, to Dec 1, 2021. A common instrument was developed used across the clinics. Goals were to identify what social determinants of health are clients of each …

Autologous Biovesicles Targeted Against Tumor’S Fibrotic Milieu For Management Of Pdac Patients, Sheema Khan

Research Colloquium

Background: One of the major challenges in pancreatic cancer treatment is the management of PDAC following tumor relapse. Relapse may be locoregional and/or metastatic and is highly resistant and impermeable due to a fibrotic stromal tumor microenvironment. Due to highly complex histo-architecture and suboptimal drug accumulation, pancreatic tumors do not respond well to the conventional therapeutic modalities. The application of extracellular vehicles (Evs) is increasing in the field of medicine due to their inherent characteristics as biological cargo vehicles. Therefore, this study investigates the utilization of autologous EVs derived from stromal cells of patient’s matched adjacent normal tissues (NAF-EVs) for …

Interprofessional Learners Lead A Public Health Campaign Addressing Covid-19 Disparities In A Hispanic Community: Lessons Learned And Recommendations, Sabrina R. Orta, Chelsea Chang, Daniela Santos Cantu, Luis R. Torres-Hostos, Giuiseppe Allan Fonseca

Research Colloquium

Purpose:Addressing health disparities through community-engagement and interdisciplinary partnerships is increasingly critical. We designed a learner-led, interdisciplinary, public health campaign for a largely Hispanic community, with the goals of building interdisciplinary leadership skills, engaging learners to address COVID-19 inequities, and disseminating insights learned.

Description: Faculty and students from University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Schools of Medicine and Social Work partnered with RGV community leaders to pilot an interprofessional education program. A 12-member learner team composed of medical students, resident physicians, and social work students was selected from an applicant pool. Learners embarked in interactive didactic sessions to improve their …

Dementia And Stroke Risk Associated With Brain Artery Luminal Diameters, Jesus D. Melgarejo

Research Colloquium

Importance: It is unclear whether brain artery diameters measured on conventional T2-weighted brain MRI images relate to dementia and stroke outcomes across distinct populations.

We aimed this study to evaluate the association of T2-weighted brain artery luminal diameters with dementia and stroke in three distinct population‑based studies.

Methods: Three longitudinal population-based studies with 8420 adults >40 years old (Northern Manhattan Study [NOMAS] from the United States, and the Rotterdam Study [RS], from the Netherlands, and Three-City, from France) with brain MRI scans obtained between 1999 and 2015. The median follow-up time for clinical events ranged between 7 and 12.5 years. …

Gathering And Using Demographic Data For The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer Cahn, Aniella N. Perez

Research Colloquium

Background: “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.” Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Statistics, as the quote above suggests, often seem very removed from the lived experience of individuals, particularly in regard to their health concerns. Yet used well, demographic statistics can paint a clear, objective picture of the population being studied, significantly strengthening the validity of research as well as justifying requests for resources such as grant funding.

Method: As a tool for UTRGV researchers, research administrative staff in the School of Medicine have created a demographic table of key data on basic population characteristics including economics, education and …

Adri Devries Part 2 - Holocaust Rescuers Interviews, Sam And Pearl Oliner

Holocaust Rescuers Interviews

No abstract provided.

Two Roads: A Case Study Comparing Project-Based Learning To Traditional Program With Student Choice, Gregory D. Warsen, Rick Vandermolen

School Leadership Review

Do the advantages of increased student engagement in a project-based learning environment sustain during a pandemic when compared to a traditional program? Researchers were able to meet with students in both programs in a midwestern school district that gave them a choice between both project-based and traditional approaches. Semi structured interviews with randomly selected students in focus groups allowed researchers to make useful comparisons to themes based on engagement using Schlecty’s (2011) model. An ability to maintain task focus using Duckworth’s GRIT scale (2007) was also captured longitudinally via a survey in students’ freshman and senior years. Qualitative analysis of …

Novel Strategy To Make Kras Targeted Therapies More Effective For Pdac Treatment, Ana Martinez Bulnes, Melissa Elizondo, Juan Tueme, Aisha Sharif, Orlando Garcia, Poornima Devi Shaji, Swathi Holla, Nirnoy Dan, Anupam Dhasmana, Shabnam Malik, Murali M. Yallapu, Stephen W. Behrman, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients exhibit extremely poor prognosis. KRAS mutation on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and it drives PDAC growth and progression. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is present in both PDAC and stromal cells, being involved in tumor microenvironment, immune cell activation and metastasis. Therefore, this study discusses the efficiency of combined inhibition of mutated KRAS^G12D and Gal-1 inhibition to effectively suppress PDAC growth and progression. For this we have delivered KRAS^G12D inhibiting siRNA (siKRAS^G12D) using a superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) and a galectin inhibitor.

Methods: SPION nano-formulation was used to …

Patient Navigation Services In The Rio Grande Valley: Impacts On Clinicians, Students, And Patients, Sabrina R. Orta, Saba Suleman, Samuel Alvarez, Miguel Garza, Ruayda Bouls, John Ronnau, Shawn P. Saladin, Aracely Ramirez

Research Colloquium

Purpose: Health professions students of the UTRGV AHEC Scholars Program sought to improve coordination of care and reduce barriers to care recommendations for patients of the UTHealthRGV AHEC clinics. We enacted a student-run multidisciplinary health care system navigation intervention, to address health disparities experienced by residents of colonias in the RGV.

Description: Health professions students voluntarily signed up to become “health care system navigators” (HCSNs) as part of a community-engagement activity sponsored by the AHEC Scholars Program. Students received informal training from AHEC staff in the use of the clinic EMR related to identifying patient contact information, documenting …

Pain Control, Cost Efficacy, And Patient Satisfaction Associated With Outpatient Total Ankle Arthroplasty, Myung-Jin Cha, Jennifer Adams

Research Colloquium

Introduction: There has been a drastic increase in the number of total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) procedures within the past twenty years. The trend for outpatient surgery is growing in the field of orthopaedics, and protocols now are well established for hip or knee arthroplasty. In this paper we review the recent developments in anesthesia for total ankle arthroplasty.

Methods: A comprehensive review of the current literature on the use of anesthesia in the context of outpatient total ankle arthroplasty was conducted. Search terms for PubMed included: Total ankle replacement surgery, TAA anesthesia, outpatient TAA, inpatient TAA.

Results: Preliminary results included …

A Case Of Lead-Induced Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation And Right-Sided Heart Failure, Elizabeth Akpan-Smart, Shyama Appareddy, Duc Khiem Ng, Michaela Q. Iglesia, Ayman Khaddam, Henry Kwang, Eduardo Flores

Research Colloquium

Background: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a complication that can occur during defibrillator implantation procedures, particularly when the leads are placed in the right ventricle. TR is caused when the tricuspid valve does not close properly, causing blood to backflow to the right atrium during systole resulting in heart failure. The exact causes of TR after lead placement are not completely understood, but it is thought to be related to entrapment, impingement, perforation and adhesion of pacemaker leads. TR that develops from lead implantation has been associated with increased hospitalizations and decreased long-term survival. Our patient’s TR was multifactorial and …

It Is Not Pcp; It Is Cyclophosphamide Induced Toxicity, Mery Bartl, Yilen Karen Ng-Wong, Blesset Alexander, Josenny L. Rodriguez-Paez, Jose G. Gomez Casanovas, Christine Loftis, Andres Suarez Parraga

Research Colloquium

Background: Cyclophosphamide (CYC) is an immunosuppressive medication used to treat life threatening complications of various rheumatic diseases like vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. 1% of patients on this medication develop pneumonitis. When considering CYC induced lung toxicity, other etiologies such as opportunistic infections and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage should be ruled out.

Case presentation: The patient is an 83-year-old woman with a past medical history of microscopic polyangiitis, and hypothyroidism who presented with progressive dyspnea at rest, exacerbated on exertion, associated with orthopnea. The patient was admitted due to acute on chronic hypoxemic respiratory failure with multifactorial etiology and heart failure …

Surgical Technique For Glenoid Bone Defect In Revision Shoulder Arthroplasty: Distal Clavicle Excision And Grafting For 1-Stage Reverse Total Shoulder Prosthesis, Ryan Bialaszewski, Ross Chapel, Frank Gerold

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has expanded its indications and use in North America since the early 1990s. Because of this, the prevalence of revision reverse total shoulder arthroplasty cases has continued to rise. On occasion, the need for revision of RSA can be due to and is complicated by glenoid bone loss defects, making this one of the most challenging cases for arthroplasty surgeons to perform. Historically, iliac crest or tibial grafts are most commonly used for these defects, although this comes with the disadvantage of requiring two surgical sites to be prepped and draped. The purpose of this …

A Case Of A Thick Heart: Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, Johanne Chaglasian, Pooja Patel

Research Colloquium

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disorder characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy unexplained by secondary causes and a nondilated left ventricle with preserved or increased ejection fraction. Prevalence has been estimated at 0.16% to 0.29% in the general adult population. In the United States alone, there are fewer than 100 deaths per year due to HOCM at a rate of 1:220,000 athletes. We report newly diagnosed Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.

Case Presentation: 40-year-old gentleman with past medical history of CVA with residual left sided weakness, polysubstance abuse presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of shortness of breath and …

A Boneless Chicken At Eg Junction., Mery Bartl, Blesset Alexander, Jose G. Gomez Casanovas, Alcibiades Fleires, Roque Mifuji

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Esophageal food impaction (EFI) is the third most common non-biliary emergency in gastroenterology with an annual incidence rate of 13 episodes per 100,000 person-years and 1,500 deaths per year. An underlying esophageal cause is commonly found, with structural abnormalities being the most common, and dysmotility disorders and malignancy less frequently. When a patient presents with EFI, removal of the food bolus within 24 hours is indicated, however more urgent removal if acute symptoms are present. The following is a patient that presented for acute food impaction at EG Junction.

Case presentation: A 64-year-old gentleman with past medical history of …