Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Revolutionizing Feature Selection: A Breakthrough Approach For Enhanced Accuracy And Reduced Dimensions, With Implications For Early Medical Diagnostics, Shabia Shabir Khan, Majid Shafi Kawoosa, Bonny Bannerjee, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Symposium

Background: The system's performance may be impacted by the high-dimensional feature dataset, attributed to redundant, non-informative, or irrelevant features, commonly referred to as noise. To mitigate inefficiency and suboptimal performance, our goal is to identify the optimal and minimal set of features capable of representing the entire dataset. Consequently, the Feature Selector (Fs) serves as an operator, transforming an m-dimensional feature set into an n-dimensional feature set. This process aims to generate a filtered dataset with reduced dimensions, enhancing the algorithm's efficiency.

Methods: This paper introduces an innovative feature selection approach utilizing a genetic algorithm with an ensemble crossover operation …

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

Research Symposium

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 KRASG12D and Gal-1 inhibition to effectively suppress PDAC growth and progression. For this we have delivered KRASG12D inhibiting siRNA (siKRASG12D) using a superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) and a galectin inhibitor.

Methods: SPION nano-formulation was used to deliver siKRASG12D and investigate …

Metagenomic Analysis Unveils The Microbial Landscape Of Pancreatic Tumors, Sheema Khan, Goutam Banerjee, Saini Setua, Daleniece Jones, Anupam Dhasmana, Bhavin Chauhan, Pratik Banerjee, Murali M. Yallapu, Stephen Behrman, Subhash Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: The composition of resident microbes in the human body is linked to various diseases and their treatment outcomes. Although studies have identified pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) associated bacterial communities in the oral and gut samples, herein we hypothesize the prevalence of microbiota in pancreatic tumor tissues is different as compared to their matched adjacent, histologically normal appearing tissues and these microbial molecular signatures can be highly useful for PDAC diagnosis/prognosis.

Methods: In this study, we performed comparative profiling of bacterial populations in pancreatic tumors and their respective adjacent normal tissues using 16S rRNA-based metagenomics analysis.

Results: This study …

Improving Health And Sustainability In Construction Through The Use Of Ai-Based Models For Prediction And Mitigation Of Environmental Cancer Risks, Sana Khan, Asif Shah

Research Symposium

Introduction: Sustainable construction practices face significant challenges in eliminating toxic building materials, driven by a lack of awareness among professionals and economic influences shaping regulatory decisions. This study proposes a solution to address these challenges through the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) models capable of analyzing vast datasets to predict material toxicity, with a particular focus on identifying carcinogenic materials. The objective is to provide real-time insights to architects and civil engineers, fostering environments free from harmful building materials and preventing potential health hazards, including cancer. The presence of carcinogenic materials in construction processes poses severe health risks. Asbestos, a …

Emotion Recognition As A Novel Indicator For Assessing Brain Health: A Machine Learning Approach, Nayarah Shabir, Parveen Lehana

Research Symposium

Background: Emotion is being referred to as a person’s mental state, since it relates to their ideas, feelings, and actions. There is a lot of evidence that health affects the emotion. Therefore, the nature of emotions ought to reveal the health of a person. The emotions are represented by facial expressions controlled by muscular motor actions. Brain health may affect the working of the muscles leading to the emotional changes extracted from the facial images.

Methods: A dataset of facial images annotated with matching emotion labels is the first step in using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for facial …

Emergency Total Proctocolectomy In An Uninsured Hispanic Man With Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Secondary To Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Barbara Malaga-Espinoza, Diana Othon, Yilen K. Ng-Wong, Vamsikalyan Borra, Aramide Tijani, Fatimah Bello

Research Symposium

Background: FAP is a rare genetic disorder classically inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which affects about 1 in 8 300 individuals (1). The Hispanic population has limited data regarding the spectrum of FAP mutation and clinical manifestation, although there is significant anecdotal evidence that the prevalence might be higher, with one only known Hispanic familial cancer registry in Puerto Rico (2).

Case Presentation: We are reporting the case of a 25-year-old Hispanic gentleman with a strong family history of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) and Colorectal Cancer (CRC) who presented for evaluation of abdominal pain, recurrent bloody stools, and profound …

Development Of Solitary Keratoacanthoma From A Cutaneous Wart, Joshua M. Ninan, Veronica Salazar

Research Symposium

Background: Common cutaneous warts, referred to in medicine as verrucae vulgaris, are proliferative lesions caused by human papillomavirus. These lesions are mostly benign and usually resolve without incident, except in the case of the patient mentioned in this report. Our patient developed a solitary keratoacanthoma, currently accepted as a clinical variant of squamous cell carcinoma, as a result of several risk factors and traumatic exposure. The current literature does not have an established association of HPV with solitary keratoacanthomas. This case report explores the presentation and pathogenesis of solitary keratoacanthomas within the setting of HPV.

Case Presentation: 48-year-old Caucasian female …

Case Of Rosai Dorfman Disease In A Patient With Newly Diagnosed Hodgkin Lymphoma, Liza Salloum, Jennifer Rojas Huen, Ricardo Serna, Alisha Valdez

Research Symposium

Background: Rosai Dorfman Disease (RDD, also known as sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis, classified into nodal (classic) and extranodal disease. Most patients present with non-tender cervical lymphadenopathy, although other sites including the inguinal and axillary regions have been reported. Extranodal disease (~43% of cases) can involve any organ system. RDD is more common in children, but cases have been reported in patients in their 70s. The prognosis of nodal RDD can correlate with the number of nodal groups involved. Many cases can be managed only with observation, although surgery, chemotherapy, corticosteroids, and immunomodulators have …

Antibody Mediated Targeted Drug Delivery Approach For Pancreatic Tumors, Nirnoy Dan, Saini Setua, Murali Yallapu, Stephen Behrman, Subhash Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Symposium

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, originating from the epithelial cell lining of ducts, account for approximately 95% of tumors in this category, showcasing a survival rate of less than 5-7%. Unfortunately, little progress has been seen in the outcomes of patients with PDAC as tumor develops high desmoplasia and chemo-resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, such as gemcitabine (Gem). The therapies are unable to penetrate to the fibrotic tumors leading to insufficient availability of the therapeutic drugs at the tumor site. We and others have shown that MUC13 is aberrantly expressed in pancreatic tumors but not in normal pancreas, which makes MUC13 as …

The Dual Delivery Of Y15 And Metformin In A Plga Scaffold For The Treatment Of Platinum Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Emily M. Jordan, Hannah Obregon, Arkene Levy, Sue Anne Chew

Research Symposium

Background: Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the US. High mortality is linked to resistance to platinum compounds. Currently there is no treatment for platinum resistant ovarian cancer (OCpt). Platinum resistance shows increased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Y15 is a FAK inhibitor and increases OCpt sensitivity to chemotherapy. Metformin induces apoptosis, has no increased cytotoxicity, and works synergistically with Y15 in OCpt cells. Biomaterial scaffolds deliver drugs locally, maximizing drug concentration and bioavailability while minimizing systemic toxicity. PLGA copolymer has excellent biocompatibility, versatility, and a tailorable degradation rate. The objective of …

Malignant Colorectal Cancer In The Rio Grande Valley: A Demographical Study, Kevin M. Camstra, Vijian Dhevan

Research Symposium

Background: There is abundant demographical data available that provides an excellent general statistical overview of colorectal cancer (CRC) within the Hispanic population in South Texas. Much is known about the overarching trends regarding incidence, prevalence, mortality and screening rates among this specific population as compared to other racial and ethnic groups at the state and national levels. Despite our understanding of these broad trends, few studies have taken a step inward to provide a closer demographical analysis of a CRC population here in the Rio Grande Valley. In this study, we narrow the scope and take a closer look …

Characterization Of Prostate Cancer In Transgender Women, Simita Gaglani, Rajveer Purohit, Ashutosh Tewari, Dara Lundon, Natasha Kyprianou

Research Symposium

Background: The risk of developing prostate cancer (PC) in transgender women is unknown. Many patients are unaware that the prostate is not removed during male-to-female surgical transition. It is unclear what the exposure of estrogens and androgen blockers in these transgender patients has on the prostate. Our aim was to examine and characterize the different presentations of PC in published cases and augment this with an additional case series from one institute.

Methods: A retrospective review of prospectively maintained medical records was performed identifying features of PC diagnoses in transgender women. These included age, duration of feminizing hormone therapy, PSA …