Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Botulinum Toxin For The Treatment Of Tremors, Steven Bellows, Joseph Jankovic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tremor, an oscillatory movement disorder, is commonly encountered in clinical practice in the setting of a variety of etiologies, such as essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. Despite its high prevalence, treatment options are somewhat limited. Oral medications are often ineffective or limited by side effects, and other treatments, such as deep brain stimulation, are more invasive and costly. Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections are a well-established therapy in the treatment of dystonia, but its use in the treatment of tremors has not been fully explored. In this review, we discuss the available randomized controlled trials and open-label evidence for the use …

Chlorhexidine Bath Procedures To Increase Clabsi Maintenance Bundle Compliance And Decrease Clabsi And Clambi Incidence Rates., Michael Jabituk

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the quality improvement (QI) project was to increase the Chlorhexidine (CHG) bath compliance, to decrease Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI and Central Line-Associated Mucosal Barrier Injury Infections (CLAMBI) rates in a transplant oncology unit.

Background

CLABSI and CLAMBI are hospital-acquired infections causing morbidity and mortality worldwide. A project targeting CHG bath compliance was developed to address the increased rates of these infections at a 32-bed transplant oncology unit at a hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Methodology

Two simulation-based videos were created on the importance of CHG baths and demonstration of CHG wipe application at bedside and administered …

Polo-Like Kinase 1 Inactivation Enhances Pi3k Inhibition-Mediated Apoptosis Of Notch1-Mutant Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Pooja A Shah, Tuhina Mazumdar, Soma Ghosh, Lacin Yapindi, Reid T Powell, Yong S Park, Li Shen, Anne M Fernandez, Clifford C Stephan, Jing Wang, Andrew G Sikora, Jawad Kazi, Mitchell J Frederick, Faye M Johnson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

PI3K inhibition causes apoptosis selectively in NOTCH1-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but modest single-agent responses and acquired resistance (AR) limit the clinical efficacy of targeted agents. To address these limitations, we investigated novel combination therapies. We tested the efficacy of 5768 compounds as single agents and 139 in combination with PI3K inhibitors in sensitive and AR NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC cell lines. We generated synergy/efficacy classifications for the combinations using multiple metrics of statistical drug synergy and growth rate indices. The PLK1/PI3K combination's efficacy was validated using orthogonal in vitro methods and in two HNSCC xenograft models. Compound efficacy …

Mutant P53 Confers Chemoresistance By Activating Kmt5b-Mediated Dna Repair Pathway In Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Haidan Luo, Mo-Fan Huang, An Xu, Donghui Wang, Julian A Gingold, Jian Tu, Ruoyu Wang, Zijun Huo, Yen-Ting Chiang, Kuang-Lei Tsai, Jie Su, Danielle A Bazer, Mien-Chie Hung, Canmao Xie, Yubiao Guo, Dung-Fang Lee, Huiling Yang, Ruiying Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a malignancy arising from the nasopharyngeal epithelium, is common in the east and southeast area of Asia. Treatments for locally advanced and recurrent NPC include chemotherapy (usually combined with 5-Fluorouracil, 5-FU) and radiotherapy, but response is limited due to chemo-resistance. p53 mutation is a critical factor for 5-FU resistance in some cancers, but its role in NPC chemo-resistance remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that p53(R280T), a common p53 somatic mutation found in multiple NPC tumor samples, induces gain-of-function upregulation of DNA repair genes which leads to 5-FU resistance in NPC. p53(R280T) specifically upregulates the expression of DNA …

Bridging Evidence With Community: Five Routes To Diabetes Prevention In Latino Adults, Ann M. Maliackal

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Bridging Evidence with Community: Five Routes to Diabetes Prevention in Latino Adults

Background: This project used the Eightfold Path policy analysis approach to identify and recommend an evidence-based diabetes prevention program (DPP) for Latino adults in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). The aim was to reduce diabetes prevalence by selecting an intervention that is culturally appropriate and effective for this population.

Methodology: The Eightfold Path policy analysis approach guided this project. A comprehensive literature review identified diabetes prevention programs (DPPs) tailored for Latino adults, and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was used to assess study quality. Five DPPs were …

Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates In A Teen/School-Based Clinic, Alina Leigh

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states the best way to prevent the flu is through vaccination recommended for everyone 6 months and older. Clinic flu vaccination rates are low, and effective strategies are needed to improve rates and promote knowledge on the benefits of the vaccine. This can be achieved by educational intervention, provider recommendation, improved screening, and obtaining consents for teens and young adults in the teen clinic.

Background: Every year, the influenza virus is responsible for thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in spending in the United States, however immunization rates remain below …

Implementation Of A Patient Engagement Program In A Federally Qualified Health Center, Cami A. Stone

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this project is implementation of a patient engagement program at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) clinic. This program intends to increase patient self-management of disease without increasing tasks of the clinic staff.

Background

FQHCs have limited resources and staff; their populations are marginalized and transient. The care gap is between the clinic’s resources and patient self-management of disease, specifically hypertension. Evidence shows that personalized coaching of patients aids them with disease self-management.

Methodology

This project delivers personalized coaching via weekly brief phone calls from two assigned nurses to patients, without disrupting clinic duties. Calls involve …

Nursing Education Leadership Succession Planning: Utilization Of Career Mapping For Professional Development, Reba L. Carethers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

PURPOSE The focus of this quality improvement project was to identify potential future leaders in the Nursing Professional Development (NPD) department at a large hospital system using a succession planning model, strategy organizations use to cultivate individuals with the potential to assume future leadership roles.

BACKGROUND A gap existed in deliberate career planning within the NPD department. A quality improvement project was developed utilizing evidence-based interventions including development of professional objectives, professional development opportunities, and identification of aspiring leaders in nursing education.

METHODOLOGY Participants developed a career map to outline career goals, created an action plan for their professional development …

Reclaiming Teen Recovery: Tailored Therapeutic Recreation To Boost Engagement, Satisfaction, And Participation, Kabresha R. Potts

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: This QI project evaluated the impact of four tailored group therapeutic recreation modules on six recovery outcomes: satisfaction, engagement belief, participation likelihood, motivation to seek help, perceived usefulness, and perceived importance, among adolescents at a residential treatment facility in Houston, TX, targeting ≥ 20% improvement in each domain.

Background: Adolescents in short-term, often court-mandated, treatment lack personalized leisure activities that promote emotional expression and resilience. Structured leisure engagement is linked to positive affect and treatment motivation, yet interest-based programs for court-involved youth remain underexplored.

Methodology: Using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and Self-Determination Theory, weekly 90-minute modules (mindfulness trivia, art Jeopardy, music …

Regional Heterogeneity Of The Blood-Brain Barrier, Marie Blanchette, Kaja Bajc, Benjamin D Gastfriend, Caterina P Profaci, Nadine Ruderisch, Cayce E Dorrier, Guo Zhong, Raquel Cuevas-Diaz Duran, Sean S Harvey, Iris H Garcia-Pak, Lucija Pintarić, Manon Leclerc, Louise Reveret, Vincent Émond, Annette Wang, Deepti Pant, Linus T Tsai, Frédéric Calon, Nina Isoherranen, Sean P Palecek, Eric V Shusta, Jiaqian Wu, Richard Daneman

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), formed by specialized endothelial cells (ECs), regulates the extracellular composition of the central nervous system (CNS). Little is known about whether there are regional specializations of the BBB that may control the function of specific neural circuits. We use single cell RNA-seq to characterize ECs from nine CNS regions in male mice: cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, spinal cord, striatum, thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, and medulla/pons. Although there is a core BBB transcriptional profile, there are significant regional specializations. Stra6, a retinoid transporter, is highly enriched in the BBB of the nucleus accumbens shell (ShNAc) and ventral cochlear nucleus, …

Implementing A Multi-Faceted Approach To Reduce Falls And Enhance Safety In Psychiatric Patients While Improving Nurses Perception While Improving Nurses Perception Of Fall Risk Identification, Shanika King

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: The goal of this quality improvement project was to decrease falls in inpatient psychiatric units by at least 5% within six months, utilizing a multifaceted approach while increasing nurses' ability to identify patients at risk for falls. This project incorporated fall risk assessment, staff education, visual identifiers, and debriefings. Nurse confidence was measured post-intervention using a Likert scale survey.

Background: Psychiatric fall rates range from 13 to 25 per 1,000 hospital days, compared to 3 to 4 in general hospitals. These rates highlight the importance of tailored interventions. This project was completed in an inpatient psychiatric facility in …

Heart Failure And Home Health Care Referral Utilization, Tatiana Le

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Heart Failure and Home Health Care Referral Utilization

Purpose

The purpose was to increase provider awareness of the benefits of home health care (HHC) referrals for heart failure patients. It aimed to increase HHC referral utilization intention to maintain compliance with the American Heart Association’s (AHA) recommendation for early follow-up within seven days post-discharge.

Background

Heart failure is a major cause of readmissions in older adults. HHC has been shown to reduce readmissions and improve outcomes post-discharge. HHC referrals remain underused despite its benefits, due to limited provider awareness. This project addressed the gap at a Southeast Texas suburban hospital …

Effects Of Mode And Transitioning To A Mixed-Mode (Web/Phone) Design On Categorical Survey Estimates: Do Question Characteristics Matter?, Mengyao Hu, Vicki A Freedman, Justin Kamens

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

An increasing number of telephone surveys are introducing a web option. Limited experimental research has explored the implications of such design changes and how they vary by question characteristics. Using an experimental design and propensity score matching techniques, this study examines the effects of mode (web vs. telephone) and transitioning to a mixed-mode design (from telephone-only to the choice of web or telephone) on survey estimates and how effects differ by question characteristics. We draw upon an experiment embedded in the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC), in which half of NSOC-eligible caregivers were randomized to a telephone-only design and the …

Dual-Function Polyester Nanoparticles For Amplified Anti-Inflammatory Effects, Ingrid M Heyns, Abiodun T Wahab, Raghu Ganugula, David Sheikh-Hamad, M N V Ravi Kumar, Meenakshi Arora

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This study investigates a dual-acting drug delivery system using naringenin (NAR) as a folate receptor ligand to enhance intestinal uptake and encapsulated NAR for combating inflammation. The dual-acting systems were tested in vitro on cisplatin-induced human kidney-2 cells and in vivo in a mouse model of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). NAR-loaded passive nanoparticles [P2Ns(NAR)] and dual-acting systems [P2Ns-NAR(NAR)] showed notable advantages over unformulated NAR, reducing the required dose by up to 57 and 79%, respectively. These nanoparticles modulated immune responses, restored T cell function, and shifted macrophage polarization from proinflammatory M1 to tissue-repairing M2. In addition, P2Ns-NAR(NAR) alleviated AKI …

Correction: Development And Extensive Sequencing Of A Broadly-Consented Genome In A Bottle Matched Tumor-Normal Pair, Jennifer H Mcdaniel, Vaidehi Patel, Nathan D Olson, Hua-Jun He, Zhiyong He, Kenneth D Cole, Alexander A Gooden, Anthony Schmitt, Kristin Sikkink, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Harsha Doddapaneni, Shalini N Jhangiani, Donna M Muzny, Marie-Claude Gingras, Heer Mehta, Sairam Behera, Luis F Paulin, Alex R Hastie, Hung-Chun Yu, Victor Weigman, Alison Rojas, Katie Kennedy, Jamie Remington, Isai Salas-González, Mitch Sudkamp, Kelly Wiseman, Bryan R Lajoie, Shawn Levy, Miten Jain, Stuart Akeson, Giuseppe Narzisi, Zoe Steinsnyder, Catherine Reeves, Jennifer Shelton, Sarah B Kingan, Christine Lambert, Primo Baybayan, Aaron M Wenger, Ian J Mclaughlin, Aaron Adamson, Christopher Kingsley, Melanie Wescott, Young Kim, Benedict Paten, Jimin Park, Ivo Violich, Karen H Miga, Joshua Gardner, Brandy Mcnulty, Gail L Rosen, Rajiv Mccoy, Francesco Brundu, Erfan Sayyari, Konrad Scheffler, Sean Truong, Severine Catreux, Lesley Chapman Hannah, Doron Lipson, Hila Benjamin, Nika Iremadze, Ilya Soifer, Gat Krieger, Stephen Eacker, Mary Wood, Erin Cross, Greg Husar, Stephen Gross, Michael Vernich, Mikhail Kolmogorov, Tanveer Ahmad, Ayse G Keskus, Asher Bryant, Francoise Thibaud-Nissen, Jonathan Trow, Jacqueline Proszynski, Jeremy Wain Hirschberg, Krista Ryon, Christopher E Mason, Mital S Bhakta, J Zachary Sanborn, Elizabeth M Munding, Justin Wagner, Chunlin Xiao, Andrew S Liss, Justin M Zook

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Micbg406a Polymorphism Reduces Risk Of Mechanical Ventilation And Death During Viral Acute Lung Injury, Harry Pickering, Narges Alipanah-Lechner, Ernie Chen, Dylan Duchen, Holden T Maecker, Seunghee Kim-Schulze, Ruth R Montgomery, Chris Cotsapas, Hanno Steen, Florian Krammer, Charles R Langelier, Ofer Levy, Lindsey R Baden, Esther Melamed, Lauren Ir Ehrlich, Grace A Mccomsey, Rafick P Sekaly, Charles B Cairns, Elias K Haddad, Albert C Shaw, David A Hafler, David B Corry, Farrah Kheradmand, Mark A Atkinson, Scott C Brakenridge, Nelson I Agudelo Higuita, Jordan P Metcalf, Catherine L Hough, William B Messer, Bali Pulendran, Kari C Nadeau, Mark M Davis, Ana Fernandez Sesma, Viviana Simon, Monica Kraft, Chris Bime, David J Erle, Joanna Schaenmann, Al Ozonoff, Bjoern Peters, Steven H Kleinstein, Alison D Augustine, Joann Diray-Arce, Patrice M Becker, Nadine Rouphael, Matthew C Altman, Steve Bosinger, Walter Eckalbar, Carolyn S Calfee, Oscar A Aguilar, Elaine F Reed, John R Greenland, Daniel R Calabrese

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence B (MICB) is a ligand for NKG2D. We have shown NK cells are central to lung transplant acute lung injury (ALI) via NKG2D activation, and increased MICB in bronchoalveolar lavage predicts ALI severity. Separately, we found a MICB polymorphism (MICBG406A) is associated with decreased ALI risk. We hypothesized this polymorphism would protect against severe SARS-CoV-2 respiratory disease. We analyzed 1,036 patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection from IMPACC. Associations between MICBG406A and outcomes were determined by linear regression or Cox proportional hazards models. We also measured immune profiles of peripheral blood and the upper and lower …

Generational Health Professional Perceptions About Artificial Intelligence Impact On Clinical Work, Karima Lalani, Kerryn Butler-Henderson, David T Marc, Susan H Fenton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Whilst the evidence-base related to artificial intelligence (AI) has been growing in relation to its use and impact on healthcare, there is a lack of evidence related to the health workforce impact and no research examining the generational perceptions in relation to the health workforce and AI. This paper presents the results of a survey, which found generational differences in perceptions about the impact of AI on clinical jobs. Gen Z and Millennials were more likely to agree with statements that AI will improve their clinical decision-making skills/abilities, accomplish clinical tasks more quickly, and cause unemployment in their professional occupation. …

Improving Medication Adherence In Patients With Uncontrolled Hypertension, Suzanne Cockrell

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

The project’s purpose was to improve medication adherence and blood pressure with an educational packet. The project was necessary due to patient’s elevated blood pressure readings during visit encounters. Implementation occurred at a clinic in Central Texas and included established patients ages 18 or older with uncontrolled hypertension and employed staff members. The Health Belief Model provided a framework to form a hypertension educational packet. The packet was provided at varying locations within the clinic and via staff handouts. Visual aids were intentionally selected to depict the damaging effects of hypertension, hypertension monitoring, and guidance on medication reminder apps. The …

Proactive Planning For Contextual Fit: The Role Of The Implementation Premortem, Guillermo M Wippold, Kaylyn A Garcia, Ariel Domlyn, Dylan Wong, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Implementation failure is a major barrier to program success. It is widely acknowledged that context matters-individual, community, and organizational norms, values, environment, and priorities influence successful program implementation. A mismatch between how the program was intended to be delivered and the constraints of the context in which it was delivered is a major cause of implementation failure. The barriers to implementation are usually understood after a program has failed. Although there are tools that can help accommodate for, or overcome, contextually-driven sources of implementation failure, there remains a significant gap - a tool and structured approach to analyze data …

Enhancing Digital Health Development Through Speech Act Theory: Application To Peripartum Depression Management, Alexandra Zingg, Tavleen Singh, Michael Truong, Sahiti Myneni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The peripartum period is a time of complex transition into motherhood when women may develop peripartum depression (PPD). Digital information sources can help prevent and monitor symptoms through social support and mental health knowledge. However, few studies have characterized the content and form of peer interactions in PPD online forums to inform interventions. In this paper, we present preliminary work using a dataset of 55,301 interactions to inform our digital health development. We combine manual coding for speech acts, behavioral theory mapping, and user engagement modeling to conceptualize dynamic digital education modules for PPD. Results reveal "Expressive" speech act, where …

Towards Data-Driven Science Literacy: Extracting Psycholinguistic Markers In Vaping-Related Online Peer Interactions, Michael Truong, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Tavleen Singh, Kirk Roberts, Sahiti Myneni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Social media debates on e-cigarettes raise public health concerns due to evolving evidence and conflicting guidelines. We analyzed 25,127 vaping-related comments to explore how users discuss vaping-related topics. Our analysis revealed 25 topics grouped into three parent topics: positive effects of vaping, negative effects of vaping, and vaping-related news & information. Significant differences were observed in psycholinguistic characteristics with high emotional exchanges as positive and negative effects of e-cigarettes are debated. Our results can inform interventions promoting science literacy and misinformation resistance.

Efficient Training Corpus Retrieval For Large Language Model Fine Tuning: A Case Study In Cancer., Avisha Das, Chiamaka Diala, Guocai Chen, Zhao Li, Rongbin Li, Omer Anjum, W Jim Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The objective is to create an automated knowledge extraction tool for cancer research that builds high-quality academic corpora for LLM fine-tuning while investigating its effectiveness in interleukin-6 and bladder cancer domains. To address the current gap in knowledge retrieval techniques for cancer research data collection, we propose KnowledgePipeline, a novel automated tool that incorporates diverse aspects of academic papers and metadata. Our tool integrates content, co-citations, and co-authorship networks to construct domain-specific academic corpora suitable for fine-tuning LLMs. We leverage two LLMs (GPTJ-6.7B and Galactica30B) trained on domain-specific question-answer pairs from the refined data. The system's evaluation focuses on both …

Frontline Acalabrutinib, Lenalidomide And Rituximab For Advanced Stage Follicular Lymphoma With High Tumor Burden: Phase Ii Trial, Paolo Strati, Lei Feng, Jason R Westin, Ranjit Nair, Luis E Fayad, Maria A Rodriguez, Dai Chihara, Luis Malpica, Jared Henderson, Mariana Gallardo, Marissa Rivera, Iris Wang, Anastasiia Bolshakova, Anastasia Radko, David Kurtz, Stefan K Alig, Christopher R Flowers, Ash A Alizadeh, Sattva S Neelapu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This phase II trial aims to determine the efficacy and safety of frontline acalabrutinib, lenalidomide and rituximab for patients with advanced stage follicular lymphoma (FL) and high tumor burden. The primary endpoint was best complete response (CR) rate; the secondary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR), duration of response measured as CR at 30 months (CR30), progression of disease at 24 months (POD24) rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival and safety. Twenty-four patients with previously untreated FL were included in this phase 2 single arm study (NCT04404088). The most common grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (58%) and …

Histologic And Immune Characterization Of Cutaneous Immune-Related Adverse Events Induced By Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Omar Pacha, Anisha B Patel, Jonathan L Curry, Cara L Haymaker, Nejla Ozirmak Lermi, Dzifa Yawa Duose, Ken Chen, Joud Hajjar, Aung Naing

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are efficacious, they often cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs), most commonly cutaneous irAEs (CirAEs). The mechanisms underlying CirAEs remain unclear.

Methods: Attempting to better understand their mechanisms and histology we conducted a prospective study of 15 patients with advanced cancers treated with ICIs who developed grade 2 or higher CirAEs. Clinical and histologic characterization of biopsy specimens of CirAEs was performed. Histologic analysis of patient biopsy specimens were subdivided by epidermal reaction patterns that included spongiotic, lichenoid, and interface dermatitis patterns. A targeted RNA expression assay was used to identify immune markers in CirAE …

Urinary Pneumococcal Serotype Detection Among Children With And Without Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Lilliam Ambroggio, Lindsay R Grant, Jillian M Cotter, Samuel R Dominguez, Daniel Olson, Sara R Saporta-Keating, Cody Bender, Mohammad Ali, Kathleen Grice, Gonzalo Lerner, Michael W Pride, Ashley Miller, Maria J Tort, Annaellis Vaughan, Elizabeth Temte, Alec Edid, Alejandro Cané, Kristina G Hulten, Jill Stein, Bradford D Gessner, Edwin J Asturias

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Urinary antigen detection (UAD) assays can address diagnostic challenges with culture-based identification of S. pneumoniae. We aimed to evaluate the utility of Pfizer's UAD1 and UAD2 assays for pneumococcal serotype surveillance in children with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) or upper respiratory tract infections (URI).

Methods: From March 2021-December 2023, children 3 months to 5 years who presented to the Children's Hospital Colorado Emergency Department with respiratory symptoms were enrolled as CAP or URI; healthy children served as controls. Nasal swabs were tested for pneumococcus by PCR. UAD assays identified pneumococcal serotypes from urine. Groups were compared using descriptive statistics. …

Adipokines And Transitions In Metabolic Health Over Time: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (Aric) Study, Bige Ozkan, Sui Zhang, Justin B Echouffo-Tcheugui, Roberta Florido, Vijay Nambi, Erin D Michos, Layla A Abushamat, Kunihiro Matsushita, Gary Gerstenblith, Roger S Blumenthal, Ron Hoogeveen, Christie M Ballantyne, Josef Coresh, Elizabeth Selvin, Chiadi E Ndumele

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Context: Transitions in metabolic health status over time are strongly linked to risk for cardiovascular events, particularly among individuals with obesity. Adipokines are proteins with metabolic effects, but their role in transitions in metabolic health status over time is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the associations of adiponectin and leptin with metabolic risk transitions over time.

Methods: Among 8423 individuals who attended ARIC Visits 2 (1990-1992) and 4 (1996-1998), we evaluated prospective associations of Visit 2 levels of the adipokines adiponectin and leptin (per 1-SD higher) with 6-year transitions in metabolic health. Metabolic health was categorized as metabolically "healthy" [no metabolic …

Tet2-Mutant Myeloid Cells Mitigate Alzheimer’S Disease Progression Via Cns Infiltration And Enhanced Phagocytosis In Mice, Katie A Matatall, Trisha K Wathan, Minh Nguyen, Hu Chen, Alexandra Mcdonald, Guantong Qi, Julia A Belk, Marcus A Florez, Duy T Le, Temitope Olarinde, Caitlyn Vlasschaert, Marco M Buttigieg, Chih-Wei Fan, Saul Carcamo, Ruoqiong Cao, Daniel E Kennedy, Arushana A Maknojia, Apoorva Thatavarty, Josaura V Fernandez Sanchez, Hind Bouzid, Surabi Veeraragavan, Susan Crocker, Margaret A Goodell, Antony Rodriguez, Siddhartha Jaiswal, Michael J Rauh, Eirini P Papapetrou, Samuele G Marro, Katherine Y King

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is associated with many age-related diseases, but its interaction with Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear. Here, we show that TET2-mutant CH is associated with a 47% reduced risk of late-onset AD (LOAD) in the UK Biobank, whereas other drivers of CH do not confer protection. In a mouse model of AD, transplantation of Tet2-mutant bone marrow reduced cognitive decline and β-amyloid plaque formation, effects not observed with Dnmt3a-mutant marrow. Bone-marrow-derived microglia-like cells were detected at an increased rate in Tet2-mutant marrow recipients, and TET2-mutant human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia were more phagocytic and hyperinflammatory than …

Sulfated Dietary Fiber Protects Gut Microbiota From Antibiotics, Fuqing Wu, Xiaoqian Annie Yu, David Angeles-Albores, Susan E Erdman, Eric J Alm

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Antibiotics, while essential for combating pathogens, also disrupt commensal bacteria, leading to gut microbiota imbalance and associated diseases. However, strategies to mitigate such collateral damage remain largely underexplored.

Result: In this study, we found that fucoidan, a marine polysaccharide derived from brown seaweed, provides broad-spectrum growth protection against multiple classes of antibiotics for human gut microbial isolates in vitro and for fecal communities ex vivo. This protective effect is dependent on the structural integrity, molecular weight, and sulfur content of the polysaccharide. Transcriptomic analysis showed that while fucoidan had minimal impact on baseline gene expression, it counteracted about 60% …

Development Of A Customizable Web-Based Dashboard For Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring: Feasibility And Usability Implementation Study, Joshua Wollen, Thuy Nguyen, Charles Coton, Gina Dewildt, Gabretta Cooksey, Audrey Cohen, Nicholas Hoang, Munachi Okpala, Michael Gonzalez, Mengxi Wang, Chigozirim Izeogu, Elmer Bernstam, Charles Green, Sean Savitz, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Anjail Sharrief

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Effective blood pressure (BP) management is essential for several disease states, including secondary stroke prevention. Remote BP monitoring used in combination with an electronic data capture (EDC) system offers potential for improved BP control for patients. While such systems currently exist, there are many patient-, provider-, and system-specific challenges these systems currently do not address. In addition, such systems are rarely described transparently and comprehensively in the literature with enough detail to be reproduced by other clinicians.

Objective: This study aims to describe the development and design of a web-based EDC system tailored for remote BP monitoring and management …

Biomarkers In Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review And Immunohistochemical Validation Study, Brett Berezowski, Robert Boothe, Billy Chaplin, Sharon J Del Vecchio, Zakariya Fares, Tyrone L R Humphries, Keng Lim Ng, Taylor Noonan, Hemamali Samaratunga, Aaron Urquhart, David A Vesey, Simon T Wood, Glenda C Gobe, Robert J Ellis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The worldwide incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) rose by 22% between 2012 and 2022. In Australia, RCC accounted for 2.8% of all cancer diagnoses and contributing to 1.8% of cancer-related deaths. Identification of RCC biomarkers may aid in diagnosis and management. Methods: A systematic review of immunohistochemical markers of RCC studies published between 1990 and 2019 was undertaken to select candidate biomarkers of RCC. Immunohistochemical staining of 73 clear cell RCC tumors and paired normal tissue was undertaken using selected markers. Semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis of staining intensity between paired samples was undertaken to evaluate utility as potential …