Digital Commons Network^™

Author Correction: Foundation Model Of Neural Activity Predicts Response To New Stimulus Types, Eric Y Wang, Paul G Fahey, Zhuokun Ding, Stelios Papadopoulos, Kayla Ponder, Marissa A Weis, Andersen Chang, Taliah Muhammad, Saumil Patel, Zhiwei Ding, Dat Tran, Jiakun Fu, Casey M Schneider-Mizell, R Clay Reid, Forrest Collman, Nuno Maçarico Da Costa, Katrin Franke, Alexander S Ecker, Jacob Reimer, Xaq Pitkow, Fabian H Sinz, Andreas S Tolias

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This corrects the article "Foundation model of neural activity predicts response to new stimulus types" in volume 640 on page 470.

Functional Bipartite Invariance In Mouse Primary Visual Cortex Receptive Fields, Zhiwei Ding, Dat Tran, Kayla Ponder, Zhuokun Ding, Rachel Froebe, Lydia Ntanavara, Paul G Fahey, Erick Cobos, Luca Baroni, Maria Diamantaki, Eric Y Wang, Andersen Chang, Stelios Papadopoulos, Jiakun Fu, Taliah Muhammad, Christos Papadopoulos, Santiago A Cadena, Alexandros Evangelou, Konstantin Willeke, Fabio Anselmi, Sophia Sanborn, Jan Antolik, Emmanouil Froudarakis, Saumil Patel, Edgar Y Walker, Jacob Reimer, Fabian H Sinz, Alexander S Ecker, Katrin Franke, Xaq Pitkow, Andreas S Tolias

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Sensory systems support generalization by representing features that persist under input variation; however, identifying the neuronal basis of these invariances remains difficult due to high-dimensional and nonlinear neural computations. Here we leverage the inception loop paradigm, iterating between large-scale recordings, predictive models and in silico experiments with in vivo verification, to characterize neuronal invariances in mouse primary visual cortex (V1). We synthesize varied exciting inputs (VEIs), dissimilar images that drive target neurons. These VEIs revealed a new bipartite invariance: one subfield encodes a shift-tolerant high-frequency texture and the other encodes a fixed low-frequency pattern. This division aligns with object boundaries …

Ins-17 Acts As A Nutrient Deprivation Signal To Mediate Adult Iis-Regulated Associative Behaviors In C. Elegans, Emily J Leptich, Priyadharshini Vijayakumar, Edward W Pietryk, Meredith I Williams, Rachana Rajupalem, Rachel N Arey

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Insulin/Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling (IIS) is a pleiotropic signaling pathway that functions across tissues to coordinate phenotypic changes in response to nutrient status. Thus, the ubiquity of the IIS pathway hinders efforts to elucidate the mechanisms driving specific IIS-related phenotypes. Previous research in the nematode worm C. elegans has demonstrated that loss of function of the IIS transmembrane receptor (IR) ortholog, DAF-2, results in a doubled lifespan and enhanced learning and memory behaviors in young and aged animals. However, these findings are the result of reducing DAF-2 receptor function rather than modulating ligand-receptor interactions. In the current study, …

The Association Between Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, And Sleep With Risk Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Patients With Cirrhosis, Samuel Ma, Yossef Alsabawi, Fasiha Kanwal, Hao Duong, Laith Elserag, Amit G Singal, Nicole E Rich, Saira Khaderi, Sumeet K Asrani, Hashem B El-Serag, Aaron P Thrift

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The majority of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases arise in patients with cirrhosis, with known major risk factors of hepatitis B (HBV) or C (HCV) infection, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). However, the impact of additional risk factors that act independently or jointly on the pathogenesis of HCC in cirrhosis patients is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether sleep, sedentariness, or physical activity levels play a role in the progression of cirrhosis to HCC.

Methods: We systematically collected data on sleep, sedentary time, and physical activity from the ongoing prospective …

Rethinking "Very High-Risk" Ascvd: Most Patients Qualify, Few Are Distinct?, Michael D Shapiro, Yuzhi Xi, Tammy Jiang, Xiao Zhang, Lori D Bash, Swapnil Rajpathak, Laura Gellis, Robert Hilkert, Erin D Michos, Christie M Ballantyne

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Cardiovascular Outcomes With Icosapent Ethyl By Burden Of Standard Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Reduce-It, Rahul Aggarwal, Deepak L Bhatt, Michael Miller, Christie M Ballantyne, Eliot A Brinton, Terry A Jacobson, Steven B Ketchum, Jean-Claude Tardif, Matthew J Budoff, Gemma A Figtree, Ph Gabriel Steg

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Androgen Activity In The Male Embryonic Hindbrain Drives Lethal Pfa Ependymoma, Jiao Zhang, Winnie Ong, Alexandra Rasnitsyn, Ricardo Daniel Gonzalez, Rodrigo Lopez Gutierrez, Polina Balin, Amr Saadeldin, Xiaochong Wu, Maria C Vladoiu, Vicente Santa-Maria Lopez, Fernando Gonzalez-Salinas, Navneesh Yadav, Dinesh Mohanakrishnan, Kannan Boosi Narayana Rao, Raja Gopal Reddy Mooli, Hinda Najem, Sebastian Pacheco, Kaitlin Kharas, Cory Richman, David Przelicki, Evan Y Wang, Haipeng Su, Rachel Naomi Curry, Runze Yang, Michelle Masayo Kameda-Smith, Bryn Livingston, David Scott, Zaili Luo, Mingyang Xia, Namal Abeysundara, Anders W Erickson, Ncedile Mankahla, Lucas Zhongming Hu, Chu Pan, Raul Suarez, Ning Huang, Yihao Wu, Hao Wang, Tajana Douglas, Jonelle Pallota, Steven Hébert, Karen Ng, Krystin Mantione, Heather Whetstone, Hassaan Maan, Hussein Lakkis, Juyeun Lee, Sadeesh K Ramakrishnan, Yanxin Pei, Yujie Tang, Frank Y Lin, Guillermo Aldave, Marco Gallo, Robert M Friedlander, Faiyaz Notta, Laura K Donovan, Murali Chintagumpala, Bo Wang, Yun Li, Daniel D De Carvalho, Zhaolei Zhang, Ying Mao, Wei Hua, Charles Eberhart, Calixto-Hope G Lucas, Sriram Venneti, Poul H Sorensen, Alberto Delaidelli, Hao Li, Wenhao Zhou, Jason Kirk, Dean G Tang, Tao Jiang, Hailong Liu, Justin D Lathia, Hiromichi Suzuki, Jeremy N Rich, Lincoln D Stein, Nada Jabado, Vijay Ramaswamy, Q Richard Lu, Amy B Heimberger, Craig Daniels, Kulandaimanuvel Antony Michealraj, Claudia L Kleinman, Michael D Taylor

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Posterior fossa type A (PFA) ependymoma is an unusual infantile brain tumour with few known somatic mutations, thought to be driven by epigenetic mechanisms1. PFA ependymoma has a markedly higher incidence and worse prognosis in male children than in female children2. The mechanisms that underlie these sex differences are at present unknown. Here we show that the cellular hierarchy of PFA ependymoma is less differentiated in male individuals than it is in female individuals. In the normal developing mouse hindbrain, male gliogenic progenitors are less differentiated than matched female sibling controls. To further parse the effects …

Robotic Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery For The Management Of Endometriosis: First Experience Via The Da Vinci Sp Platform, Qiannan Yang, Daniel Y Lovell, Xiaoming Guan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility and mid-term outcomes of Robotic single-port single-incision laparoscopic surgery (RSP-SILS) for endometriosis management.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 50 adult women with endometriosis who underwent RSP-SILS via the da Vinci SP platform between November 2023 and July 2025.

Results: Median total operative time was 142 min, robot dock time was 3 min, and robot console time was 99 min. Median estimated blood loss was 25 mL. No conversion occurred. Reported mid-term outcomes included 1 case each of pelvic haematoma, Clostridioides difficile colitis, and umbilical surgical site infection, as well as 3 cases of …

Robotic-Assisted Transumbilical Single-Site And Transvaginal Notes Resection Of Abdominal Wall Cesarean Scar Endometriosis: Two Case Reports, Xiaoming Guan, Qiannan Yang, Victoria Zhang, Chunhua Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Da Vinci Single-Port Transvaginal Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (Vnotes) Sacrocolpopexy: A Case Report And Literature Review, Xiaoming Guan, Chunhua Zhang, Qiannan Yang, Shunjia Hong, Wai Ieng Fong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Pelvic organ prolapse remains a common condition requiring durable surgical correction, with sacrocolpopexy considered the gold standard. Transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) has emerged as a scarless minimally invasive approach, while the integration of robotic single-port technology may further enhance surgical precision and ergonomics. However, data on robotic-assisted single-port vNOTES (RSP-vNOTES) sacrocolpopexy remains limited. We report a case of a 58-year-old Asian woman with symptomatic apical pelvic organ prolapse. The pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) assessment demonstrated stage II uterine prolapse. She underwent robotic-assisted single-port vNOTES (RSP-vNOTES) sacrocolpopexy using the da Vinci single-port (SP) platform. The procedure was …

A Comprehensive Review Of Tear Fluid Proteome Alterations In Dry Eye Disease: Insights Into Pathophysiology And Biomarker Potential, Saleh Ahmed, Steven Safille, Victoria Clifton, Shruti Sharma, Cintia S De Paiva, Ashok Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tear fluid is a highly specialized and dynamic biofluid composed of proteins, lipids, mucins, and electrolytes that is essential for maintaining ocular surface integrity, immune defense, and tear film stability. Growing evidence from tear proteomic studieshas revealed extensive alterations in protein composition in dry eye disease (DED), reflecting a complex interplay between local ocular surface pathology and systemic inflammatory influences. This review summarizes proteomic findings from 50 published studies to identify tear proteins that are consistently upregulated or downregulated in DED and to interpret their biological relevance in the context of ocular surface homeostasis. Across studies, proteins upregulated in DED …

Brokering Safety, Chinmayi Sharma, Thomas E. Kadri, Sam Adler

Articles

For victims of abuse, safety means hiding. Not just hiding themselves, but also their contact details, their address, their workplace, their roommates, and any other information that could enable their abuser to target them. Yet today, no number of name changes and relocations can prevent data brokers from sharing a victim's personal information online. Thanks to brokers, abusers can find what they need with a single search, a few clicks, and a few dollars. For many victims, then, the best hope for safety lies in obscurity-that is, making themselves and their information harder to find.

This Article exposes privacy law's …

Leadless Pacing And The Emerging Era Of Combined Procedures In Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Srikant Das, Brock A Karolcik, Taylor S Howard

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Scholary Program Notes For Graduate Horn Recital Featuring Works Of Eugene Bozza, Johannes Brahms, Gina Gillie, And Marin Marais, Isabella R. Redd

Research Papers

This paper examines the following musical works: “Le Basque” by Marin Marais, Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40 by Johannes Brahms, En Fôret by Eugene Bozza, and The Great Migration by Gina Gillie. The progression of horn, both its physical form and its use in music, is discussed through the lens of performance. The pieces span multiple centuries covering the Baroque, Romantic, Modern, and Contemporary periods. This paper explores the horn’s history and transformation through a consideration of the historical background, musical analysis, performance practice and select recordings of these musical works.

A Wind Conductor’S Analysis And Interpretation Guide: William Schuman’S Chester Overture For Band, Vincent Persichetti’S Psalm For Band, And Alex Shapiro’S Distanced, Karlena Tucker

Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to provide analytical details and interpretations of three wind band pieces that have been performed as part of the graduate recital for Karlena Tucker. Each piece has a dedicated chapter, and each chapter has five categories: composer background, piece background, piece analysis, rehearsal considerations, and recording comparisons. The analysis and interpretations stem from the perspective of the conductor. The repertoire to be explored is William Schuman’s Chester Overture for Band, Vincent Persichetti’s Psalm for Band, and Alex Shapiro’s DISTANCED.

Confessions In Cases Of Child Physical Abuse-A Capnet Study, Margaret R Russell, Antoinette L Laskey, Henry T Puls, Suzanne P Starling, Joanne N Wood, Daniel M Lindberg, Nancy S Harper, Caitlin R Mcnamara, Angela N Bachim, Farah W Brink, Lori D Frasier, James D Anderst, Porcia Vaughn, Kristine A Campbell

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Prior research on confessions of physical abuse (PA) has explored mechanisms of injury. Little is known about conditions supporting a confession of abuse or how confessions may influence case outcomes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of suspected PA in children aged < 10 years at 10 centers participating in CAPNET, a multicenter child PA research network, included children with in-person Child Abuse Pediatrics (CAP) consultations between February 2021 and December 2022 and excluded children without injury. Our focus was a confession of inflicted injury known to the CAP during clinical involvement. We compared child and clinical characteristics, out-of-home (OOH) placements, and arrests between cases with and without confessions. Multivariable models using generalized estimating equations (GEE) produced adjusted predicted probabilities (APP) clustering by CAPNET site.

Results: Confessions were known to CAPs in 115/4297 (2.7%) cases, with significant site variability. In a multivariable GEE model, confessions were more likely in cases with injuries with high specificity for abuse (APP 6.0% vs 1.6%, P < .001), near-fatality (APP 5.6% vs 2.3%, P < .001), and older children (APP 4.8% vs 2.5%, P = .025). OOH placements and arrests were more common in cases with confessions. CAP awareness of confessions, OOH placements, and arrests did not follow racial or ethnic patterns seen in the US child welfare system. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with OOH placements and arrests but not with CAP awareness of confessions.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight differences in case characteristics and outcomes where a confession is known to the CAP and raise questions about …

Methodological Progress Note: Logic Models, Molly J Horstman, Kyler M Godwin

Faculty and Staff Publications

Logic models are an accessible tool to organize the planning, management, and evaluation of programs across healthcare disciplines. This methodological progress note describes the five standard components of a logic model (Inputs, Activities, Outputs, Outcomes, and Impact) and provides guidance for developing a logic model. Logic models offer a visual representation of the work and theory of a program and should be created with input from all interested parties. Logic models are living tools that need to be revised as programs evolve and new information becomes available.

Kidney Disease And Heart Failure: Recent Advances And Current Challenges: Conclusions From A Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (Kdigo) Controversies Conference, Carolyn S P Lam, Biykem Bozkurt, David Z I Cherney, Justin A Ezekowitz, Meg J Jardine, Sadiya S Khan, Magdalena Madero, Mark J Sarnak, Jozine M Ter Maaten, Michael Cheung, Jennifer M King, Morgan E Grams, Michel Jadoul, Nisha Bansal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently coexist, which elevates the risks of hospitalization, disease progression, and death. Despite advances in treating each condition independently, many challenges remain in diagnosing and managing them in combination. In March 2024, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) held the Controversies Conference on Kidney Disease and Heart Failure: Recent Advances and Current Challenges. Discussions highlighted the complex, bidirectional relationship between HF and CKD, including shared risk factors and overlapping pathophysiology as well as nuances in interpreting biomarkers such as natriuretic peptides and serum creatinine. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, and emerging …

Advanced Artificial Intelligence Vs Simpler Models For 1-Year Death Prediction Among Patients Receiving Hemodialysis, Karthikeyan K, Jennifer E Flythe, Patrick H Pun, Wolfgang C Winkelmayer, David Carlson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: We evaluated the data requirement for modern AI tools to outperform simpler models in predicting short-term mortality in over 500 000 patients with hemodialysis-dependent kidney failure.

Materials and methods: We compared logistic regression, boosting, and transformers using increasingly complex feature sets (from last-visit data to full trajectories). Performance was measured using the area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC) and the Precision-Recall curve (AUC-PR) across training data sizes ranging from 500 to 490 197 samples.

Results: Using features with temporal information is beneficial across all models. On the full dataset, Transformers (AUC-ROC = 0.8568) and boosting (AUC-ROC = 0.8598) perform …

Comprehensive Profiling Of The Human Tear Fluid Mirnome Using Small Rna Sequencing, Garrett Jones, Drew Mayernik, Saleh Ahmed, Eliza Williams, Jeremy Altman, Tae Jin Lee, Amy Estes, Cintia S De Paiva, Pamela Martin, Shruti Sharma, Ashok Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: To generate a comprehensive profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) present in human tear fluid using next-generation sequencing (NGS), establish a reference miRNome for healthy human tear fluid, and investigate whether miRNA expression varies by sex, race, or age.

Methods: Tear samples were collected from 32 adults using Schirmer strips. RNA was isolated using the miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Kit, and cDNA libraries were prepared using the QIAseq miRNA Library Kit. Barcoded libraries were sequenced on the NovaSeq 6000 platform. Bioinformatic analyses included adapter trimming, alignment to miRBase, normalization with DESeq2, and functional annotation using multiMiR and clusterProfiler. Differential expression analysis was performed …

Rexinoid Net-3ib Promotes Resident Macrophage Gene Expression And Mitigates Desiccation-Induced Ocular Surface Disease, Jehan Alam, Yangluowa Qu, Jianming Shao, Ebru Yaman, Karen Zheng, Hiroki Kakuta, Stephen C Pflugfelder

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of rexinoid NEt-3IB on desiccating stress-induced dry eye, as well as monocyte/macrophage gene expression and cellular trajectory.

Methods: Eyes were topically treated with rexinoid NEt-3IB (5 µM) or vehicle three times a day for 5 days of desiccating stress-induced dry eye. Single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) profiled gene expression in conjunctival immune cells. RNA-seq was also used to evaluate gene expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated, dexamethasone-treated (Dex, 1 µM), or NEt-3IB-treated (1-1000 nM) cultured monocytes. Cellular state trajectory and latent time were inferred with scVelo, and latent-time-associated genes were identified using Monocle 3. Permeability to Oregon Green-labeled …

Ethical Controversies In Organ Procurement: A National Survey On Public Perceptions Of Thoracoabdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion, Trevor M Bibler, Jill Oliver Robinson, Adam Omelianchuk, Tariq Nisar, Savitri Fedson, Ariel N Levchenko, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) would likely expand the quantity and quality of organs procured after controlled circulatory death donation in the United States, yet its ethical permissibility remains contested. We surveyed a representative sample of US adults (n = 975) with the goal of assessing their perspectives on the ethical permissibility of TA-NRP. After reading a neutral description of TA-NRP, participants judged its permissibility, reviewed 5 critic and 5 supporter arguments (in random order), and chose which argument they found most convincing. Multivariable logistic regression examined predictors of agreeing with critics. Before exposure to the arguments, 51.5% stated that …

Implementation And Costs Of A Food Insecurity Resource Navigation Program For Primary Care Patients With Diabetes And Hypertension In South Carolina, Deeksha Gupta, Darin Thomas, Stella Coker Watson Self Ph.D., Ms, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Alain H. Litwin, Joseph A. Ewing, Lynnette Ramos-Gonzalez, Lynnette Ramos-Gonzalez

Faculty Publications

Objective

To examine food insecurity resource navigation program costs and how navigation intensity relates to clinical outcomes, healthcare costs, and quality of life (QOL) for diabetes and/or hypertension patients.

Methods

This retrospective study included patients receiving resource navigation (July 12, 2021-December 31, 2022 with twelve-month follow-up) across three primary care practices in South Carolina's largest health system. Participants were 18+ years old (from electronic medical records/Epic), had food insecurity (from Hunger Vital Sign™), and diabetes and/or hypertension (from Epic registries). Matched controls came from food insecurity screening-only practices. Patients in each group (n= 219) had diabetes (9.13%), hypertension …

Improving Documentation Efficiency Through Implementation Of Emr Note Templates In A Multidisciplinary Stroke Clinic, Mirriam Hijazi

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to increase documentation efficiency in a multidisciplinary stroke clinic through implementation of standardized neurological note templates within the electronic medical record (EMR) system.

Background: EMR documentation is essential for safe and coordinated patient care, but can be time-consuming for healthcare providers. Neurological documentation requires detailed clinical information, contributing to increased documentation burden. At the multidisciplinary stroke clinic, providers reported spending significant time on documentation, with some notes finalized up to 48 hours after patient encounters.

Methodology: Standardized neurological note templates were developed with provider input. Documentation efficiency metrics included note completion time, proportion of …

Improving Bedside Nurse Central Line Policy Compliance And Combating Clabsis, Keyshawna N. Chambers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are a problem, both globally and locally at this 20-bed pediatric cardiovascular ICU in Houston, TX. Bedside nursing staff had gaps in knowledge of central line policies and were often unaware of when dressings needed to be changed. This posed a significant concern, as this nosocomial infection is among the most life-threatening and costly complications in healthcare. Leadership attempted to correct this issue with weekly multidisciplinary rounds, but with high turnover, this was not a long-term fix. This quality improvement project aimed to increase central line policy compliance among bedside nursing staff to 93%, from …

The Use Of A Safety Screening Tool To Improve Sedation Holiday Compliance And Nurse Confidence, Shelby Marchisio

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose

This project sought to evaluate the impact of a safety screening tool on sedation holiday compliance and nurse confidence.

Background

This project was conducted within a 42-bed intensive care unit at a large academic hospital in Houston, Texas. Despite having a nurse-led sedation holiday protocol, compliance averages varied from 50-85%. In alignment with evidence-based practice, it was determined that integrating a safety screening tool into the sedation holiday process may improve compliance.

Methodology

The FADE Model for Quality Improvement guided project development. An anonymous survey was conducted using Likert-scale ratings to assess nursing perceptions and confidence related to sedation …

Front Matter, Journal Editors

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Irma And The Grand Finale, Dustin M. Hoffmann

Yalobusha Review

Winner of the 2026 Barry Hannah Prize in Fiction

Truth Or Consequences, Jack Galati

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Journal Editors

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.