Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Deep Generative Model For Deciphering Cellular Dynamics And In Silico Drug Discovery In Complex Diseases, Yumin Zheng, Jonas C Schupp, Taylor Adams, Geremy Clair, Aurelien Justet, Farida Ahangari, Xiting Yan, Paul Hansen, Marianne Carlon, Emanuela Cortesi, Marie Vermant, Robin Vos, Laurens J De Sadeleer, Ivan O Rosas, Ricardo Pineda, John Sembrat, Melanie Königshoff, John E Mcdonough, Bart M Vanaudenaerde, Wim A Wuyts, Naftali Kaminski, Jun Ding

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human diseases are characterized by intricate cellular dynamics. Single-cell transcriptomics provides critical insights, yet a persistent gap remains in computational tools for detailed disease progression analysis and targeted in silico drug interventions. Here we introduce UNAGI, a deep generative neural network tailored to analyse time-series single-cell transcriptomic data. This tool captures the complex cellular dynamics underlying disease progression, enhancing drug perturbation modelling and screening. When applied to a dataset from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, UNAGI learns disease-informed cell embeddings that sharpen our understanding of disease progression, leading to the identification of potential therapeutic drug candidates. Validation using proteomics reveals …

Group Concept Mapping To Develop A Salon-Based Hpv Self-Collection Intervention, Kelly N B Palmer, Namoonga M Mantina, Adebola Adegboyega, Itunu O Sokale, Kathleen Pryor, Azaria Suero-Davis, Trevon Brooks, Jennifer Hatcher

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Black women in the US face higher cervical cancer mortality rates due to delayed diagnoses linked to lower screening rates. Contributing factors include provider bias, costs, and limited access, particularly affecting women aged 40-64. While innovative approaches like clinical and home-based HPV self-collection exist, equitable dissemination remains challenging. Distributing HPV self-collection kits in unconventional sites like hair salons may offer a solution. Using concept mapping, we gathered community insights to design a salon-based cervical cancer screening intervention.

Methods: We employed groupwisdom™ and REDCap platforms for community-based participatory intervention development. Participants included members of the Black Community Advisory Council of …

Transoral Robotic-Assisted Removal Of A Submucosal Pyriform Sinus Foreign Body, Elisabeth Wenneker, Rebecca Doctor, Ari Schuman, Adam Szymanowski, Ray Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Submucosal foreign bodies of the medial pyriform sinus represent a challenge given limited visualization and difficult retraction with endoscopic approaches, and risk of injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve with open approaches. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) offers improved visualization and multiple working arms to facilitate retraction. We present a novel case utilizing the Da Vinci SP system for removal of an embedded fishbone of the medial pyriform sinus.

Results: An 84-year-old woman presented with five days of odynophagia and globus sensation after swallowing a fish bone. Non-contrast computed tomography scan revealed a 3.0 cm submucosal object within the post-cricoid …

Screening For Diabetes After Solid Organ Transplantation: A 10-Year Retrospective Study, Ridwan B Ibrahim, Sneha Kumar, Sahil Malik, Joseph A Spinner, Daniel H Leung, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Post-transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a common and important complication after solid organ transplantation, affecting long-term outcomes. Graft rejection, decreased patient survival, infections and increased cardiovascular risk are associated with PTDM and may arise from both transplant-related and traditional risk factors. Early screening for PTDM is crucial for early detection and management. Despite clinical guidelines recommending regular screening for PTDM, screening rates remain suboptimal. This retrospective study analyzes PTDM screening rates between January 2014-January 2024 among pediatric kidney, liver, heart and lung transplant recipients at a large quaternary academic pediatric transplant center. PTDM screening rates vary by organ type, with …

Plasma Metabolomic And Proteomic Signatures Of Blood Pressure Management After Bariatric Surgery Among Adolescents, Shudi Pan, Zhenjiang Li, Juan Pablo Lewinger, Jesse A Goodrich, Hongxu Wang, Sarah Rock, Carmen Chen, Todd M Jenkins, Stephanie Sisley, Stephen R Daniels, Douglas I Walker, Max T Aung, Erika Garcia, Rob Mcconnell, Sandrah P Eckel, Michele A La Merrill, Tanya L Alderete, Zhuanghua Chen, Frank D Gilliland, Thomas H Inge, David V Conti, Justin R Ryder, Lida Chatzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Emerging omics approaches, including metabolomics and proteomics, can be integrated into obesity treatment for better blood pressure management. We tested whether preoperative metabolomic and proteomic profiles predict long-term elevated blood pressure (EBP) changes better than known risk factors in adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery.

Methods: We included 108 participants from the Teen-LABS (Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery). Plasma untargeted metabolomics (via liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry) and Olink proteomics were assessed pre surgery. An elastic net model with stability selection was used to identify features predictive of EBP reductions 5 years post surgery. Models including identified metabolites, proteins, and …

Vaccine Hesitancy At Nine Community Sites Across The United States, Early In Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout, Aneeka Ratnayake, Julie H Hernandez, Jessica Justman, Jason E Farley, Yael Hirsch-Moverman, Ken Ho, Stockton Mayer, Abiodun Oluyomi, Magdalena E Sobieszczyk, Shobha Swaminathan, Timothy Skalland, Jean De Dieu Tapsoba, Patricia J Kissinger

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Vaccine hesitancy has been a significant concern throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy can be attributed to lack of confidence in vaccines, complacency about the health threat, or lack of convenience of vaccination. To date, few studies have used methods designed to include populations underrepresented in research when identifying factors associated with vaccine hesitancy.

Methods: Between January and July 2021, potential participants were recruited from community venues selected through time-location sampling in 15 defined communities in the United States. Study staff administered a questionnaire on demographics, COVID-19 behaviors and attitudes, and vaccination status or intention to consenting individuals. Vaccine …

Sleep-Disordered Breathing Subtypes And Future Diet Quality In The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Kaitlin S Potts, Cecilia Castro-Diehl, Tianyi Huang, Alexis C Wood, Jerome I Rotter, Stephen S Rich, Tamar Sofer, Susan Redline, Heming Wang

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objectives: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and diet quality impact cardiometabolic disease, but few studies have examined if SDB influences diet quality. This study estimated the association between SDB subtypes (with and without sleepiness) and future diet quality in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Methods: Probable SDB was characterized by self-reported physician-diagnosed sleep apnea (PDSA) or habitual snoring and subtyped by presence or absence of sleepiness. A food frequency questionnaire measured diet 1.6 years before, and 7.8 years after SDB assessment. Diet quality was measured with the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI). Mean differences in AHEI at follow-up by SDB subtypes were …

From Bladder To Brain: How You Know When It’S Time To Go, Anne M J Verstegen, Kara L Marshall

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

The decision to urinate relies on assessing bladder fullness and context to determine an appropriate time and place to go. Any disruption in this interoceptive process results in frequent and sometimes debilitating consequences in daily life. Recent work has uncovered key pathways and brain regions that contribute to the sense of bladder stretch and the control of urinary reflexes, but many open questions remain. Here, we review the known mechanisms that convey sensory information from the bladder to the brain and back down again, and we highlight the knowledge gaps and opportunities for better understanding this system, which will be …

Association Of Area Deprivation Index With Perinatal And Covid-19 Outcomes During The Early Pandemic: A Secondary Analysis Of A Prospective Cohort Study, Abigail Bell, Megan Foeller, Candice Woolfolk, Emily Diveley, Fan Zhang, Amy Scheffer, Ruizhi Huang, Daniel Jackson, Nandini Raghuraman, Ebony Carter, Indira U Mysorekar, Jeannie C Kelly

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Objective: We sought to evaluate the relationship between neighborhood-level deprivation and perinatal outcomes, particularly preterm birth, as well as COVID-19 outcomes among pregnant patients during the early pandemic.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective longitudinal cohort study that investigated the impact of prenatal COVID-19 exposure on perinatal outcomes. Pregnant patients were recruited 12/23/20-7/18/22 and serially assessed for COVID-19 exposure during pregnancy, with serum antibody testing, electronic medical record review, and patient report. For this secondary analysis, address at the time of delivery was used to categorize patients into low ADI (≤50th percentile Area Deprivation Index, indicating low …

Reducing Emergency Department To Medical Icu Boarding Times: Implementing A Standardized Escalation Protocol At A Large Medical Center Hospital, Taylor A. Robbins-Ethridge

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Prolonged emergency department (ED) boarding of critically ill patients awaiting transfer to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) delays access to definitive care and is associated with increased mortality and longer hospital stays. This quality improvement project aimed to reduce ED boarding times for MICU patients by implementing the Bed Ready in 30: Just Say Yes escalation protocol. The Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) framework guided the implementation of a structured escalation process to standardize nurse-to-nurse communication once a MICU bed was marked as ready in the electronic health record. A pre–post observational study was used to evaluate the intervention using electronic health …

Stage- And Smoking-Associated Microrna Expression In Lung Adenocarcinoma, Min Huang, Yimin Ge, Huiqin Chen, Caimiao Wei, David Cogdell, Cristina Ivan, Meng Chen, Wei Zhang, George A Calin, Ming Guo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Altered expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is implicated in lung carcinogenesis, but little research has investigated the association of miRNA alterations with lung cancer stage or smoking status. To identify such alterations in lung adenocarcinoma, we conducted miRNA profiling.

Methods: Lung adenocarcinoma specimens and paired nonneoplastic lung tissues from 58 patients who had received no preoperative therapy and underwent tumor resection from 1991 to 2006 were collected from tumor tissue banks. Thirty (52%) of the tumors were stage I and 28 (48%) stage II or higher. Twenty-five (43%) patients were nonsmokers and 33 (57%) were smokers. To identify miRNAs of …

Real-World First-Line Outcomes Of Alectinib And Brigatinib In Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Nationwide South Korean Cohort Study Using The Health Insurance Review And Assessment Data, Hee Jun Kim, Eunyoung Angela Lee, Jin-Hee Park, Hyun Woo Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presents unique clinical challenges, including frequent central nervous system (CNS) metastases. At present, comparative real-world data on ALK inhibitors remain limited. This study aimed to compare real-world progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among patients with ALK-positive NSCLC treated with first-line alectinib or brigatinib using nationwide South Korean data.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed anonymized data from South Korea's Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, covering January 2007 to December 2023. Patients diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC (ICD-10: C34x) …

Application Of The Surgical Apgar Score To Predict Intensive Care Unit Admission And Post-Operative Outcomes In Cesarean Hysterectomy For Placenta Accreta Spectrum, Emily Root, Jacqueline Curbelo, Patrick Ramsey, Jessian L Munoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background and Objective: Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS) encompasses a continuum of abnormal placentation conditions associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity. Management of PAS requires coordinated cesarean hysterectomy. Associated morbidities include blood transfusion, coagulopathy, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Accurate prediction of ICU admission allows for enhanced multidisciplinary management, coordination of care and utilization of resources. Scoring systems exist in other surgical specialties that can predict the likelihood of ICU admission, but these have not been applied to an obstetric population. The SAS is a 10-point scale that has been validated for the prediction of ICU-level care requirements within …

Potential Mechanisms Of Influence Between Spiritual Practices And Cognitive Health: A Systematic Review And Conceptual Model, Katherine Carroll Britt, Hayoung Oh, Augustine Cassis Obeng Boateng, Sherry Morgan, Sato Ashida, Corey Nagel, Roland J Thorpe, Harold G Koenig

Staff and Researcher Publications

Background/Objectives: This systematic review summarizes the evidence regarding potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between spiritual practices and cognitive health in adults. The review was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist.

Methods: An extensive search of six electronic databases (i.e., PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Sociological Abstracts, ATLA, CINAHL) was conducted using keywords related to spiritual practices, religious activities, and cognitive health from 1 January 2000 to December 2025. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal tool aligned with the study design.

Results: A total of …

Early Determination Of The Dorsal-Ventral Axis In Endochondral Ossification In Mice, Sixun Wu, Hirotaka Matsumoto, Jumpei Morita, Mina Yamabe, Azumi Noguchi, Shinsuke Ohba, Noriaki Ono, Yuki Matsushita

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Endochondral ossification is a highly coordinated process involving distinct progenitor cell populations within the mesenchymal condensation and subsequent cartilage anlage and perichondrium, all of which drive skeletal formation. Cell-type specific lineage tracing conducted to understand fetal bone development has revealed various fates of early skeletal cells. However, the underlying continuous and precise cellular dynamics of fetal skeletal cells, particularly along the dorsoventral axis, remain unclear. Here, we show that spatiotemporally specific skeletal progenitor cells in the early developmental stage contribute to the dorsal-ventral axis in a manner that is strictly determined during initial developmental stages. Lineage-tracing experiments using Fgfr3-creER and …

The Gut Microbiome In Stevens-Johnson Syndrome And Sjögren's Disease: Correlations With Dry Eye, Luciana Frizon, Talita Trevizani Rocchetti, André Frizon, Rafael Jorge Alves De Alcântara, Cintia S De Paiva, José Álvaro Pereira Gomes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Changes in gut microbial composition may influence mucosal immune responses and contribute to systemic autoimmune manifestations. In this pilot exploratory study, we investigated and compared the gut microbiome in patients with Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS), patients with Sjögren’s disease (SjD), and healthy controls, using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and assessed correlations with dry eye parameters. The study included 10 patients with SJS matched by age and sex to 10 healthy controls, and 10 patients with SjD matched to an additional set of 10 healthy controls. Dry eye parameters were employed to evaluate dry eye disease (DED). Microbiome profiles were determined using next-generation …

Impact Of Common Variants On Brain Gene Expression From Rna To Protein To Schizophrenia Risk, Qiuman Liang, Yi Jiang, Annie W Shieh, Dan Zhou, Rui Chen, Feiran Wang, Meng Xu, Mingming Niu, Xusheng Wang, Dalila Pinto, Yue Wang, Lijun Cheng, Ramu Vadukapuram, Chunling Zhang, Kay Grennan, Gina Giase, Kevin P White, Junmin Peng, Bingshan Li, Chunyu Liu, Chao Chen, Sidney H Wang

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Genetic variants influencing gene expression have been extensively studied at the transcriptional level. How these variants affect downstream processes remains unclear. We quantitated ribosome occupancy in prefrontal cortex samples from the BrainGVEX cohort and integrated these data with transcriptomic and proteomic profiles from the same individuals. Through cis-QTL mapping, we identified genetic variants associated with transcript level (eQTLs), ribosome occupancy (rQTLs), and protein level (pQTLs). Notably, only 34% of eQTLs have their effects propagated to the protein levels, suggesting widespread post-transcriptional attenuation. Using both a gene-based approach and a variant-based approach we identified omics-specific QTLs that associated with brain disorder …

Recombination Suppression Drives Expansion Of The Drosophila Dot Chromosome, Timothy J Stanek, Wilson Leung, Christopher D Shaffer, Ishtar Olaveja, Annabelle Laughlin, Jaquelyn Hester, Darwin Garrido, Emily K Oh, Maria Volski, Nistha Panda, Mia Mo, Ethan Cordes, Martin Dalling, Kacie Kershaw, Malcolm Arnott, Stephen Daly, Silvia Garcia Valenzuela, Paige Thompson, Kayla L Hastert, Destiny Sabb, Kathryn Karpinski, Meher Naaz Arora, Nicholas Rius, Larissa Lobello, Sebastian Jaramillo, Omkar Sonavane, Alice Herrmann, Laura K Reed, Sarah C R Elgin, Cindy Arrigo, Christopher E Ellison

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Genome size varies widely, even among closely related species, yet much less is known about chromosome size variation. Here we use the fourth chromosome of Drosophila, also known as the "Muller F element" or "dot chromosome", as a model to investigate chromosome-specific size expansion. The F element of most Drosophila species is small (∼1.3 Mb) and almost entirely heterochromatic, yet harbors approximately 80 protein-coding genes. Here, we study D. kikkawai, D. takahashii, D. ananassae, and D. bipectinata, whose F elements are 2- to 15-fold larger in size compared to D. melanogaster. Through manual gene curation and comparative genomic analysis, we …

Outcomes After Flow Diversion For Ruptured Blood Blister-Like And Dissecting Aneurysms: A Single-Center Series, William W Wroe, Hussein A Zeineddine, Si Y Yu, Bridger H Freeman, Richard S Cook, Charles M Christensen, Peng Roc Chen, Sunil A Sheth, Spiros L Blackburn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background

Flow diverter (FD) use has become a popular method for treating intracranial aneurysms, but evidence in acutely ruptured blood blister-like and dissecting morphologies is limited. Furthermore, there is little evidence regarding the role of short-term follow-up imaging to assess aneurysm stability. This study is a single-center retrospective review of dissecting aneurysms treated by FD, with an analysis of short-term follow-up angiograms to guide post-treatment management.

Methods

Our single-center retrospective review included all patients from 2016 to 2024 with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage from blood blister-like and dissecting aneurysms who underwent treatment with an FD. Outcomes included re-rupture, treatment failure, re-treatment, …

Developmental Stage-Dependent Transcriptomic Responses To Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Elizabeth Wallace-Anthony, Miriam Zamorano, Hemendra J Vekaria, Braden B Oldham, Kiara P Umpornpun, Scott D Olson, Stefano Berto, Brandon A Miller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of preterm birth, yet how developmental stage influences the brain's response to injury remains unclear. We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing on rat brains 24 h after IVH at postnatal day 2 (PND2) or day 5 (PND5) to define transcriptional responses across cell types. We identified 42 distinct cell populations and found that PND5 brains exhibited a markedly stronger immune and inflammatory response to IVH, with a threefold increase in differentially expressed genes compared to PND2. Microglia were the most perturbed cell type at both stages, showing increased oxidative stress and polarization toward …

Benchmarking Dna Foundation Models For Genomic And Genetic Tasks, Haonan Feng, Lang Wu, Bingxin Zhao, Chad Huff, Jianjun Zhang, Jia Wu, Lifeng Lin, Peng Wei, Chong Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The rapid evolution of DNA foundation models promises to revolutionize genomics, yet comprehensive evaluations are lacking. Here, we present a comprehensive, unbiased benchmark of five models (DNABERT-2, Nucleotide Transformer V2, HyenaDNA, Caduceus-Ph, and GROVER) across diverse genomic and genetic tasks including sequence classification, gene expression prediction, variant effect quantification, and topologically associating domain (TAD) region recognition, using zero-shot embeddings. Our analysis reveals that mean token embedding consistently and significantly improves sequence classification performance, outperforming other pooling strategies. Model performance varies among tasks and datasets; while general purpose DNA foundation models showed competitive performance in pathogenic variant identification, they were less …

Radiologist-Validated Automatic Lumbar T1-Weighted Spinal Mri Segmentation Tool Via An Attention U-Net Algorithm, Aryan Kalluvila, Ethan Wang, Michael C Hurley, Colbey Freeman, Jason M Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/Objectives: Spinal MRI segmentation has become increasingly important with the prevalence of disc herniation and vertebral injuries. Artificial intelligence can help orthopedic surgeons and radiologists automate the process of segmentation. Currently, there are few tools for T1-weighted spinal MRI segmentation, with most focusing on T2-weighted imaging. This paper focuses on creating an automatic lumbar spinal MRI segmentation tool for T1-weighted images using deep learning.

Methods: An Attention U-Net was employed as the main algorithm because the architecture has shown success in other segmentation applications. Segmentation loss functions were compared, focusing on the difference between BCE and MSE loss. Two board-certified …

Microbial Associations And Viruses On The Risk Of Celiac Disease (Mavric): A Longitudinal Post-Hoc Case-Cohort Study, Kristian F Lynch, Eric W Triplett, Heikki Hyöty, Angelica P Ahrens, Jutta E Laiho, Joseph F Petrosino, Richard E Lloyd, Daniel Agardh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Celiac disease etiopathogenesis requires genetic predisposition and exposure to gluten, yet these factors alone are not sufficient. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to determine the role of time-varying infections and gut microorganisms. The aim was to design a celiac disease case-cohort longitudinal study using The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. By age 3-years, persistent tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies (tTGA), i.e., celiac disease autoimmunity (CDA), was confirmed in 704 of the 6132 genetically at-risk TEDDY children. Celiac disease onset (CD-onset) was defined as the age CDA developed when followed by a biopsy-proven diagnosis. A competing risk analysis on …

Mecp2 Interacts With The Super Elongation Complex To Regulate Transcription, Jun Young Sonn, Wonho Kim, Marta Iwanaszko, Yuki Aoi, Yan Li, Guantong Qi, Luke Parkitny, Janice L Brissette, Lorin Weiner, Juan Botas, Ismael Al-Ramahi, Ali Shilatifard, Huda Y Zoghbi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Loss-of-function mutations in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) cause Rett syndrome. While we know that MeCP2 binds to methylated cytosines on DNA, the full breadth of the molecular mechanisms by which MeCP2 regulates gene expression remains incompletely understood. Here, using a genetic modifier screen, we identify the super elongation complex, a P-TEFb–containing elongation factor that releases promoter-proximally paused RNA polymerase II, as a genetic interactor of MECP2. MeCP2 physically interacts with SEC subunits and directly binds AFF4, the scaffold of the SEC, via the transcriptional repression domain. Furthermore, MeCP2 facilitates the binding of AFF4 on a subset …

Correction: Perioperative Quality Initiative (Poqi) Consensus Statement On Perioperative Assessment Of Right Ventricular Function, Stephanie O Ibekwe, Jean Deschamps, Michael P W Grocott, Yafen Liang, Andrew Shaw, Tjorvi E Perry

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Feasibility And Acceptability Of An Implementation Strategy To Enhance Use Of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Approaches In Elementary Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Timothy J Walker, Derek W Craig, Christopher D Pfledderer, Matthew Lee, Kempson Onadeko, Emma E Saving, John B Bartholomew, Maria E Fernández

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Classroom-based approaches are an evidence-based way to improve children's physical activity; however, they are inconsistently implemented in schools. We developed MAGIC (Movement for Academic Growth In Classrooms), a multifaceted implementation strategy that consists of leadership training, teacher training, and a monthly newsletter to improve use of classroom-based physical activity approaches. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of MAGIC among elementary school teachers and leaders.

Methods: We used an embedded, convergent mixed methods design. We provided the MAGIC implementation strategy to a partner elementary school. We then administered surveys to teachers to quantitatively examine …

Developing Ehealth Interventions To Improve Diabetes Management In Emerging Adulthood: Qualitative Formative Study, April Idalski Carcone, Deepika Baskar, Aishah Mahmood, Karen Macdonell, Susan Eggly, Samiran Ghosh, Colleen Buggs-Saxton, Steven J Ondersma, Deborah A Ellis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Emerging adulthood is a high-risk period during which many with type 1 diabetes demonstrate suboptimal diabetes management and glycemic control. There is a need for effective, scalable interventions designed specifically for this population. Technology-based approaches are readily accessible to this age group. Furthermore, interventions consistent with self-determination theory-which posits that the fulfillment of psychological needs for autonomy, self-efficacy, and relatedness promotes intrinsic motivation for change-may resonate well with emerging adults' developmental needs for establishing independence and autonomy, and growing their social network.

Objective: This study aimed to enhance the potential relevance, sustainability, and efficacy of 3 self-determination theory-informed mobile …

Met Overexpression Is Associated With Superior Immunotherapy Benefit In Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Hui Li, Lingzhi Hong, Pedro Rocha, Rafael Bach, Luisa M Solis Soto, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Bingnan Zhang, Haniel A Araujo, Yasir Y Elamin, Mehmet Altan, Claudio A Arrechedera, Jianling Zhou, Khaja B Khan, Wei Lu, Elliana Young, Carl M Gay, Tina Cascone, Lauren A Byers, Ferdinandos Skoulidis, George Blumenschein, Frank V Fossella, Anne Tsao, Marcelo V Negrao, Natalie Vokes, Jia Wu, Hai T Tran, Ignacio I Wistuba, J Jack Lee, Don L Gibbons, Ara A Vaporciyan, John V Heymach, Xiuning Le, Jianjun Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: MET overexpression is common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The correlation between MET overexpression and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy in NSCLC is underexplored.

Methods: In this retrospective observational cohort study, we curated a dataset of 279 stage IV NSCLC patients who received ICI treatment and had MET expression assessed by CLIA-certified immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. MET expression was graded on a scale from 0 to 3+, with overexpression defined as 2+ or 3+. Clinicopathological features associated with MET expression were assessed using logistic regression. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated via Kaplan-Meier analysis and the …

Improving Diagnostic Accuracy In Preoperative Glioma Classification: Performance Of Knowledge-Enhanced Large Language Models Compared With Radiologists, Shuang Li, Xin Fang, Yuqi Jin, Yujiao Deng, Wei Hu, Bing Wu, Xiaobo Zhou, Guotai Wang, Kang Li, Qiang Yue

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Accurate preoperative MRI classification of gliomas is essential but challenging due to complex radiological features and inter-observer variability. This study evaluated three large language models (LLMs) for VASARI-based glioma classification compared to radiologist interpretations. We retrospectively analyzed 150 histopathologically confirmed gliomas (43 circumscribed astrocytic, 53 high-grade diffuse, 54 low-grade diffuse gliomas) using standardized MRI protocols. Three radiologists extracted VASARI features, while three LLMs (GPT-4, Claude3.5-Sonnet, Claude3.0-Opus) analyzed these features using standard input-output or knowledge-enhanced prompting incorporating diagnostic guidelines. Knowledge-enhanced prompting consistently outperformed standard prompting, improving diagnostic consistency (intra-model agreement: Sonnet κ = 0.91, Opus κ = 0.92, GPT-4 κ = …

Brain Power Comparison Between Microgravity And Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest: An Electroencephalography Approach, María Sevilla-García, Adrián Quivira-Lopesino, Pablo Cuesta, Sandra Pusil, Ricardo Bruña, Patrique Fiedler, Fernando Maestu, Ana Maria Cebolla, Guy Cheron, Katharina Brauns, Alexander C Stahn, Michael E Funke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study examines neurophysiological changes in microgravity by comparing EEG data from two ground analog 60-day head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) experiments (ESA/DLR “Cocktail” and “RSL”) and the NEUROSPAT experiment in space. The primary objective was to determine whether HDBR could effectively model spaceflight’s impact on the human brain’s EEG signal. In the HDBR dataset, increases in relative delta (2–4 Hz) (p <  0.01) and theta (4–8 Hz) (p <  0.001) power bands were observed during a two-month HDBR experiment, predominantly in the left temporal and parieto-occipital regions. Conversely, the NEUROSPAT dataset showed a significant increase in beta (12–30 Hz) (p <  0.05) power in the left somatosensory cortex during in-flight conditions, suggesting a potential adaptation to disrupted proprioceptive input and motor control in microgravity. The contrasting findings between the two datasets indicate that while HDBR can simulate some aspects of microgravity, it may not serve as a model for all central nervous system changes, especially those related to proprioception and motor functions. This highlights the need for further research, including larger sample sizes, consistent EEG recording conditions, and integration of additional physiological and cognitive markers to fully understand the effects of prolonged microgravity.