Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Ms171: Interview With Dana Rooks, Dana Rooks, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Texas Medical Center - Women's History Project

An oral history interview with Dana Rooks, who served as Dean of Libraries at the University of Houston from 1997-2014. See more at Texas Medical Center-Women's History Project and its finding aid.

Explicit Time Deficit In Schizophrenia: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Indicate It Is Primary And Not Domain Specific, V Ciullo, G Spalletta, C Caltagirone, Re Jorge, F Piras

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although timing deficits are a robust finding in schizophrenia (SZ), the notion of a genuine time perception disorder in SZ is still being debated because distortions in timing might depend on neuropsychological deficits that are characteristics of the illness. Here we used meta-analytic methods to summarize the evidence of timing deficits in SZ and moderator analyses to determine whether defective timing in SZ arises from nontemporal sources or from defective time perception. PubMed Services, PsycNET, and Scopus were searched through March 2015, and all references in articles were investigated to find other relevant studies. Studies were selected if they included …

Ct-Based Structural Rigidity Analysis Is More Accurate Than Mirels Scoring For Fracture Prediction In Metastatic Femoral Lesions, Ta Damron, A Nazarian, V Entezari, C Brown, W Grant, N Calderon, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Controversy continues regarding the appropriate assessment of fracture risk in long bone lesions affected by disseminated malignancy. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The purpose of this ongoing Musculoskeletal Tumor Society-sponsored, multi-institutional prospective cross-sectional clinical study is to compare CT-based structural rigidity analysis (CTRA) with physician-derived Mirels scoring for predicting pathologic fracture in femoral bone lesions. We hypothesized CTRA would be superior to Mirels in predicting fracture risk within the first year based on (1) sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value; (2) receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis; and (3) fracture prediction after controlling for potential confounding variables such as age and …

Identification Of An Association Of Tnfaip3 Polymorphisms With Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression In Fibroblasts In An Integrative Study Of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Genetic And Environmental Factors*, Peng Wei, Yang Yang, Xinjian Guo, Nainan Hei, Syeling Lai, Shervin Assassi, Mengyuan Liu, Filemon Tan, Xiaodong Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a fibrotic disease attributed to both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. This study was undertaken to investigate the associations between SSc-associated genetic variants and the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes in human fibroblasts stimulated with silica particles in time-course and dose-response experiments.

METHODS: A total of 200 fibroblast strains were examined for ECM gene expression after stimulation with silica particles. The fibroblasts were genetically profiled using Immunochip assays and then subjected to whole-genome genotype imputation. Associations of genotypes and gene expression were first analyzed in a Caucasian cohort and then validated in a meta-analysis …

Is Whole-Exome Sequencing An Ethically Disruptive Technology? Perspectives Of Pediatric Oncologists And Parents Of Pediatric Patients With Solid Tumors, Laurence B Mccullough, Melody J Slashinski, Amy L Mcguire, Richard L Street, Christine M Eng, Richard A Gibbs, D William Parsons, Sharon E Plon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: It has been anticipated that physician and parents will be ill prepared or unprepared for the clinical introduction of genome sequencing, making it ethically disruptive.

PROCEDURE: As a part of the Baylor Advancing Sequencing in Childhood Cancer Care study, we conducted semistructured interviews with 16 pediatric oncologists and 40 parents of pediatric patients with cancer prior to the return of sequencing results. We elicited expectations and attitudes concerning the impact of sequencing on clinical decision making, clinical utility, and treatment expectations from both groups. Using accepted methods of qualitative research to analyze interview transcripts, we completed a thematic analysis …

Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Children And Its Relationship With Parental Allergies: Texas Children's Hospital Experience, G Hiremath, D Byramji, A Pacheco, G Constantine, C Davis, R Shulman, A Olive

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergen-mediated, clinicopathological condition affecting all ages. The characteristics of children with EoE in the southwestern USA have not been fully described. Furthermore, very little is known about the relationship between parental allergies and risk of EoE in their offspring in this patient population. AIMS: To characterize children with EoE and to examine the relationship between prevalence of parental allergies and occurrence of EoE in their offspring at a single referral pediatric center in the southwestern USA. METHODS: Demographic and clinical information of 126 children (=18 years of age) with EoE was abstracted in a …

Alternative Surgical Approach To Repairing A Giant Sinus Of Valsalva Aneurysm, Vincenzo Giambruno, Cristina Cucchietti, Calogera Pisano, Jonathan Hyde

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We report our method of surgically repairing an unruptured giant aneurysm of the right coronary sinus of Valsalva, a lesion that caused moderate aortic regurgitation but no symptoms in a 61-year-old woman. We excised the aneurysm, reconstructed the right sinus of Valsalva with use of a patch, performed mechanical aortic valve replacement directly through the excised aneurysm's cavity, and constructed a single bypass graft to the right coronary artery. The patient was discharged from the hospital after 5 days. Twelve months postoperatively, her clinical and echocardiographic results were normal, and she was doing well. To our knowledge, our surgical approach …

The Mosaic Mitral Valve Bioprosthesis: A Long-Term Clinical And Hemodynamic Follow-Up, Michele Celiento, Stefania Blasi, Andrea De Martino, Stefano Pratali, Aldo D Milano, Uberto Bortolotti

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We reviewed the cases of 100 patients (mean age, 73 ± 10 yr; 64 men) who had mitral valve replacement with a Medtronic Mosaic porcine bioprosthesis from 1995 through 2011. The mean New York Heart Association (NYHA) class was 3 ± 0.7, and 52 patients were in atrial fibrillation. Prosthetic sizes were chiefly 27 mm (50 patients) and 29 mm (40 patients). Follow-up ended in December 2012 and is 97% complete, with a cumulative duration of 611 patient-years (mean duration, 6 ± 4.6 yr; maximum, 17.7 yr). The early mortality rate was 10% (6% in elective patients); late deaths occurred …

Durability Of The Starr-Edwards Heart Valve: Early Decisions Led To Successful Results, Albert Starr, Gary L Grunkemeier

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Cutting The Cost Of Health Care: The Physician's Role, Herbert L Fred

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Aortic Dissection Caused By Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: 2 New Case Reports And Detailed Analysis Of 86 Previous Cases, Priyank Shah, Sharad Bajaj, Fayez Shamoon

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Aortic dissection, a rare sequela of percutaneous coronary intervention, can be fatal when it is not recognized and treated promptly. Treatment varies from conservative management to invasive aortic repair and revascularization. We report the cases of 2 patients whose aortic dissection was caused by percutaneous coronary intervention. In addition, we present detailed analyses of 86 previously reported cases. Aortic dissection was most often seen during intervention to the right coronary artery (in 76.7% of instances). The 2 most frequently reported causes were catheter trauma (in 54% of cases) and balloon inflation (in 23.8%). The overall mortality rate was 7.1%. We …

Endosteal Biologic Augmentation For Surgical Fixation Of Displaced Femoral Neck Fractures, Lionel E Lazaro, Jacqueline F Birnbaum, Nadja A Farshad-Amacker, David L Helfet, Hollis G Potter, Dean G Lorich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To report outcomes of a cohort with displaced femoral neck fractures (FNFs) treated with a length/angle-stable construct augmented with an endosteal fibular allograft serving as a biologic dowel.

DESIGN: Prospective.

SETTING: Level I Trauma Center.

PATIENTS: The study group consists of 27 patients with isolated FNF surgically treated by a single surgeon.

INTERVENTION: Open reduction of the femoral neck, fixed with a length- and angle-stable construct of 2 fully threaded cannulated screws augmented with an endosteal fibular allograft serving as a biologic dowel.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Clinical and radiographic outcomes of the fixation construct and the viability of both …

Binomial Regression With A Misclassified Covariate And Outcome, Sheng Luo, Wenyaw Chan, Michelle A Detry, Paul J Massman, R S. Doody

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Misclassification occurring in either outcome variables or categorical covariates or both is a common issue in medical science. It leads to biased results and distorted disease-exposure relationships. Moreover, it is often of clinical interest to obtain the estimates of sensitivity and specificity of some diagnostic methods even when neither gold standard nor prior knowledge about the parameters exists. We present a novel Bayesian approach in binomial regression when both the outcome variable and one binary covariate are subject to misclassification. Extensive simulation results under various scenarios and a real clinical example are given to illustrate the proposed approach. This approach …

Efficacy Of Psychosocial Interventions In Inducing And Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence In Patients With Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review, A Khan, A Tansel, Dl White, Wt Kayani, Wt Bano, J Lindsay, Hb El-Serag, F Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles that were published from January 1983 through November 2014 that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. RESULTS: We identified 13 eligible studies that comprised 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), …

Glial Contributions To Neural Function And Disease, Mn Rasband

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The nervous system consists of neurons and glial cells. Neurons generate and propagate electrical and chemical signals, whereas glia function mainly to modulate neuron function and signaling. Just as there are many different kinds of neurons with different roles, there are also many types of glia that perform diverse functions. For example, glia make myelin; modulate synapse formation, function, and elimination; regulate blood flow and metabolism; and maintain ionic and water homeostasis to name only a few. Although proteomic approaches have been used extensively to understand neurons, the same cannot be said for glia. Importantly, like neurons, glial cells have …

Early Rescue Of Interneuron Disease Trajectory In Developmental Epilepsies, Ms Siehr, Jl Noebels

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The discovery of over 150 monogenic epilepsies and advances in early genetic diagnoses have launched a search for molecular strategies and developmental timetables to reverse or even prevent the course of these debilitating brain disorders. Orthologous rodent models of key disease genes are providing important examples of the range of targets, and serve as valuable test systems for perinatal therapeutic approaches. While gene-specific analyses of single rare 'orphan' diseases are each narrow in scope, they illuminate downstream pathways converging onto interneurons, and treatments that strengthen inhibition during cortical maturation may provide broad protection against these seemingly disparate gene errors. Several …

Caring Minds, University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston School Of Nursing

Caring Minds

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Two-Year Caloric Restriction On Bone Metabolism And Bone Mineral Density In Non-Obese Younger Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Dt Villareal, L Fontana, Sk Das, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although caloric restriction (CR) could delay biologic aging in humans, it is unclear if this would occur at the cost of significant bone loss. We evaluated the effect of prolonged CR on bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy younger adults. Two-hundred eighteen non-obese (body mass index [BMI] 25.1?±?1.7?kg/m(2) ), younger (age 37.9?±?7.2 years) adults were randomly assigned to 25% CR (CR group, n?=?143) or ad libitum (AL group, n?=?75) for 2 years. Main outcomes were BMD and markers of bone turnover. Other outcomes included body composition, bone-active hormones, nutrient intake, and physical activity. Body weight (-7.5?±?0.4 versus …

Nutritional Status And Tuberculosis Risk In Adult And Pediatric Household Contacts, Omowunmi Aibana, Xeno Acharya, Chuan-Chin Huang, Mercedes C Becerra, Jerome T Galea, Silvia S Chiang, Carmen Contreras, Roger Calderon, Rosa Yataco, Gustavo E Velásquez, Karen Tintaya, Judith Jimenez, Leonid Lecca, Megan B Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Studies show obesity decreases risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease. There is limited evidence on whether high body mass index also protects against TB infection; how very high body mass indices influence TB risk; or whether nutritional status predicts this risk in children. We assessed the impact of body mass index on incident TB infection and disease among adults and children.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a prospective cohort study among household contacts of pulmonary TB cases in Lima, Peru. We determined body mass index at baseline and followed participants for one year for TB infection and disease. We used …

Cme/Cne Article: A Framework Of Care In Multiple Sclerosis, Part 1, Scott D Newsome, Philip J Aliotta, Jacquelyn Bainbridge, Susan E Bennett, Gary Cutter, Kaylan Fenton, Fred Lublin, Dorothy Northrop, David Rintell, Bryan D Walker, Megan Weigel, Kathleen Zackowski, David E Jones

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Activity Available Online: To access the article, post-test, and evaluation online, go to http://www.cmscscholar.org.

TARGET AUDIENCE: The target audience for this activity is physicians, physician assistants, nursing professionals, and other health-care providers involved in the management of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Apply new information about MS to a comprehensive individualized treatment plan for patients with MSIntegrate the team approach into long-term planning in order to optimize rehabilitation care of patients with MSAccreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) …

Activation Of Signal Transduction Pathways During Hepatic Oncogenesis, W Chung, M Kim, S De La Monte, L Longato, R Carlson, B L. Slagle, X Dong, J R. Wands

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Understanding the molecular pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is essential to identify therapeutic targets. A hepatitis B virus (HBV) related double transgenic murine model was developed. METHODS: Liver specific expression of HBV X protein (HBx) and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) was achieved and transgenic mice were followed from birth to age 21 months. Liver and tumor tissue were assessed for histologic changes as well as activation of signal transduction pathways by qRT-PCR and multiplex ELISA protein assays. RESULTS: Overexpression of HBx and IRS1 stimulates liver cell proliferation in the double transgenic mice. Only the male mice …

Geospatial Analysis Of Food Environment Demonstrates Associations With Gestational Diabetes, Mk Kahr, Ma Suter, J Ballas, Sm Monga, W Lee, M Hu, Cd Shope, A Chesnokova, L Krannich, En Griffin, J Mastrobattista, Ga Dildy, Sl Strehlow, R Ramphul, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of most common complications of pregnancy, with incidence rates varying by maternal age, race/ethnicity, obesity, parity, and family history. Given its increasing prevalence in recent decades, covariant environmental and sociodemographic factors may be additional determinants of GDM occurrence. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that environmental risk factors, in particular measures of the food environment, may be a diabetes contributor. We employed geospatial modeling in a populous US county to characterize the association of the relative availability of fast food restaurants and supermarkets to GDM. STUDY DESIGN: Utilizing a perinatal database with >4900 encoded antenatal and …

Identification Of A Novel Gene On 10q221 Causing Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (Adrp), Stephen P Daiger, Lori S Sullivan, Sara J Bowne, Daniel C Koboldt, Susan H Blanton, Dianna K Wheaton, Cheryl E Avery, Elizabeth D Cadena, Robert K Koenekoop, Robert S Fulton, Richard K Wilson, George M Weinstock, Richard A Lewis, David G Birch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Whole-genome linkage mapping identified a region on chromosome 10q21.3-q22.1 with a maximum LOD score of 3.0 at 0 % recombination in a six-generation family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). All known adRP genes and X-linked RP genes were excluded in the family by a combination of methods. Whole-exome next-generation sequencing revealed a missense mutation in hexokinase 1, HK1 c.2539G > A, p.Glu847Lys, tracking with disease in all affected family members. One severely-affected male is homozygous for this region by linkage analysis and has two copies of the mutation. No other potential mutations were detected in the linkage region nor were …

Local Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (Crh) Signals To Its Receptor Crhr1 During Postnatal Development Of The Mouse Olfactory Bulb, Isabella Garcia, Paramjit K Bhullar, Burak Tepe, Joshua Ortiz-Guzman, Longwen Huang, Alexander M Herman, Lesley Chaboub, Benjamin Deneen, Nicholas J Justice, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Neuropeptides play important physiological functions during distinct behaviors such as arousal, learning, memory, and reproduction. However, the role of local, extrahypothalamic neuropeptide signaling in shaping synapse formation and neuronal plasticity in the brain is not well understood. Here, we characterize the spatiotemporal expression profile of the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and its receptor CRHR1 in the mouse OB throughout development. We found that CRH-expressing interneurons are present in the external plexiform layer, that its cognate receptor is expressed by granule cells, and show that both CRH and CRHR1 expression enriches in the postnatal period when olfaction becomes important towards olfactory-related …

Process Mining Of Medication Revisions In Electronic Health Records, Deevakar Rogith

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Objective: The objective of this work is to develop process mining techniques for analysing Electronic Health Record (EHR) events in order to uncover factors contributing to the event, and understanding deviations in the process. We have outlined a method for combining data mining with expert review to model the EHR process and develop automated algorithms that can be used to detect potential deviations for a defined process.

Introduction: To analyse EHR events meaningfully, process mining can be applied to distil structured process description from a set of real executions. Process mining can be applied for 1) Discovery, 2) Conformance, and …

Community-Based Participatory Research To Improve Early Detection And Treatment Of Hypertension In A Suburban Community In Thailand, Chuncharaporn Sinsiri

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Communities have a significant role in working with health personnel to detect new and previously diagnosed cases of high blood pressure during community BP screening programs. In Thailand there are many people with elevated BP who do not access care. The purpose of this Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) was to build a community partnership following the CBPR approach to develop a health program to improve early detection and treatment of hypertension. Three specific aims were: Aim 1. Using CBPR principles, describe the process of building a community partnership to develop a community health program to improve early detection and treatment …

Trim28 Interacts With Ezh2 To Regulate Its Activity, Jing Li, Jing Li

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In this dissertation, I discovered that TRIM28 interacts with EZH2 and regulates its activity in breast cancer cells. EZH2, the major H3K27 tri-methyltransferase, is over expressed in multiple subtypes of breast cancer; however, whether EZH2 plays an active role in breast cancer progression or treatment resistance is unknown. Here, we determined EZH2-interacting proteins in MCF7 cells by immunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry and detected TRIM28 with a high confidence score. TRIM28 is a transcription co-regulator with an N-terminal tri-partite RING finger, B-boxes and a coiled-coil domain (RBCC) and a C-terminal PHD/Bromo domain. Domain mapping revealed that the RBCC domain of TRIM28 interacts with …

Targeting Oncogenic Mirnas With Small Molecules For Breast Cancer Therapy, Paloma Del C. Monroig

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The crucial role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer pathobiology has driven the introduction of new drug development approaches such as miRNA inhibition. In order to advance miRNA-therapeutics, there is a need to develop screening strategies that can target tumors in a specific way. Small molecule inhibitors represent an attractive approach to pursue this. However, the absence of molecular structures for most of the miRNAs makes it very difficult to predict which inhibitors can bind to them. Herein we designed a strategy to screen for small molecules by assesing whether they could directly bind/ interact with miR-10b/miR-21. As part of our …

Investigation Of Quatitative Image Features From Pretreatment Ct And Fdg-Pet Scans In Stage Iii Nsclc Patients Undergoing Defintive Radiation Therapy, David Fried

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The purpose of this work was to determine if quantitative image features (QIFs) extracted from computed tomography (CT) and flourodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) could provide prognostic information to improve outcome models. Our goal for this work was to determine if it may one day be feasible to incorporate QIFs into personalized cancer care. QIFs were used to quantitatively characterize patient disease as seen on imaging. A leave-one-out cross-validation procedure was used to assess the prognostic ability of QIFs extracted from CT and PET in addition to conventional prognostic factors (CPFs). QIFs were found to improve model fit for …

Banning The Handshake From Healthcare Settings Is Not The Solution To Poor Hand Hygiene, Herbert L Fred

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.