Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Myelin On Macrophage Activation Are Phenotypic Specific Via Cpla2 In The Context Of Spinal Cord Injury Inflammation, Timothy J. Kopper, Bei Zhang, William M. Bailey, Kara E. Bethel, John C. Gensel

Physiology Faculty Publications

Spinal cord injury (SCI) produces chronic, pro-inflammatory macrophage activation that impairs recovery. The mechanisms driving this chronic inflammation are not well understood. Here, we detail the effects of myelin debris on macrophage physiology and demonstrate a novel, activation state-dependent role for cytosolic phospholipase-A2 (cPLA₂) in myelin-mediated potentiation of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation. We hypothesized that cPLA₂ and myelin debris are key mediators of persistent pro-inflammatory macrophage responses after SCI. To test this, we examined spinal cord tissue 28-days after thoracic contusion SCI in 3-month-old female mice and observed both cPLA₂ activation and intracellular accumulation of lipid-rich myelin …

Injury Rates In Major League Baseball During The 2020 Covid-19 Season, Brooks N. Platt, Timothy L. Uhl, Aaron D. Sciascia, Anthony J. Zacharias, Nicole G. Lemaster, Austin V. Stone

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was drastically altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes included an extended layoff between March and July as well as a shortened preseason.

Purpose/Hypothesis: To determine the incidence and epidemiology of MLB injuries in the abbreviated 2020 season compared with prior seasons. We hypothesized that there was an increase in the overall injury rate in the 2020 season compared with the 2018-2019 seasons and that it equally affected all body regions.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: The MLB transactions database was queried to find players who had been placed on …

Downbeat Nystagmus In A 7-Year-Old Girl With Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Meningitis And Cerebellitis, Cameron A. Wade, David Neil Toupin, Kyle Darpel, Kimberly S. Jones, Donita D. Lightner

Neurology Faculty Publications

Downbeat nystagmus is a type of jerk nystagmus that may be seen in patients with lesions affecting the vestibulocerebellum. This is a case of a 7-year-old girl presenting with a history of fever, headache, and episodic vertigo with downbeat nystagmus. The diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus meningitis with acute cerebellitis was made by contrast magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and serum Epstein-Barr virus titers. Contrast magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated enhancement of the meninges and inferior cerebellar folia, correlating with the neuroophthalmological symptom of downbeat nystagmus.

Modifications To The Healing Communities Study In Response To Covid-19 Related Disruptions, Scott T. Walters, Redonna K. Chandler, Thomas Clarke, Nabila El-Bassel, Lashawn M. Glasgow, Rebecca D. Jackson, Emmanuel A. Oga, Jeffery H. Samet, Sharon L. Walsh, Gary A. Zarkin

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Mwtab Python Library For Restful Access And Enhanced Quality Control, Deposition, And Curation Of The Metabolomics Workbench Data Repository, Christian D. Powell, Hunter N. B. Moseley

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The Metabolomics Workbench (MW) is a public scientific data repository consisting of experimental data and metadata from metabolomics studies collected with mass spectroscopy (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. MW has been constantly evolving; updating its ‘mwTab’ text file format, adding a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file format, implementing a REpresentational State Transfer (REST) interface, and nearly quadrupling the number of datasets hosted on the repository within the last three years. In order to keep up with the quickly evolving state of the MW repository, the ‘mwtab’ Python library and package have been continuously updated to mirror the changes …

Deep Active Learning For Classifying Cancer Pathology Reports, Kevin De Angeli, Shang Gao, Mohammed Alawad, Hong‑Jun Yoon, Noah Schaeferkoetter, Xiao‑Cheng Wu, Eric B. Durbin, Jennifer Doherty, Antoinette Stroup, Linda Coyle, Lynne Penberthy, Georgia Tourassi

Kentucky Cancer Registry Faculty Publications

Background: Automated text classification has many important applications in the clinical setting; however, obtaining labelled data for training machine learning and deep learning models is often difficult and expensive. Active learning techniques may mitigate this challenge by reducing the amount of labelled data required to effectively train a model. In this study, we analyze the effectiveness of 11 active learning algorithms on classifying subsite and histology from cancer pathology reports using a Convolutional Neural Network as the text classification model.

Results: We compare the performance of each active learning strategy using two differently sized datasets and two different classification tasks. …

Challenges In Medicine: The Odyssey Of A Patient With Isolated Igg4-Related Eosinophilic Angiocentric Fibrosis Presenting As A Locally Destructive Sinonasal Mass, Snigdha Nutalapati, Richard O'Neal, William O'Connor, Brett T. Comer, Gerhard C. Hildebrandt

Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery Faculty Publications

Eosinophilic angiocentric fibrosis (EAF) is an exceeding rare clinical entity and is considered a part of the spectrum of IgG4-related disease (IgG4RD). We hereby present such an unusual case of a 60-year-old female who presented to us with recurrent sinonasal mass, after a decade long haul of multiple clinical evaluations, biopsies, and debulking surgery without a definitive diagnosis. Over this period, the mass eroded through the ethmoid cells along with nasal septal destruction leading to saddle nose deformity, extended superiorly through the cribriform plates to right frontal lobe, and compressed the optic nerve leading to visual loss. Although initial biopsy …

Chronic Voluntary Alcohol Drinking Causes Anxiety-Like Behavior, Thiamine Deficiency, And Brain Damage Of Female Crossed High Alcohol Preferring Mice, Hong Xu, Hui Li, Dexiang Liu, Wen Wen, Mei Xu, Jacqueline A. Frank, Jing Chen, Haining Zhu, Nicholas J. Grahame, Jia Luo

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The central nervous system is vulnerable to chronic alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence is a chronically relapsing disorder which causes a variety of physical and mental disorders. Appropriate animal models are important for investigating the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. The crossed High Alcohol Preferring mice prefer alcohol to water when given free access. In the present study, we used female cHAP mice as a model of chronic voluntary drinking to evaluate the effects of alcohol on neurobehavioral and neuropathological changes. The female cHAP mice had free-choice access to 10% ethanol and water, while control mice had access to water …

Making Sense Of Hip Preservation Procedural Coding--Getting Paid For Your Work!, Stephen T. Duncan, Brian T. Muffly, Anthony J. Zacharias, Cale A. Jacobs, Austin V. Stone

Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Faculty Publications

Hip preservation and peri-trochanteric procedures are becoming more commonplace for the arthroplasty surgeon. Understanding the reimbursement for these procedures remains a challenge for those looking to expand this portion of their practice. In order to financially maximize the surgeon’s efforts, we present recommendations for hip preservation procedural coding.

Generation Of A Biobank From Two Adult Thoroughbred Stallions For The Functional Annotation Of Animal Genomes Initiative, Callum G. Donnelly, Rebecca R. Bellone, Erin N. Hales, Annee Nguyen, Scott A. Katzman, Ghislaine A. Dujovne, Kelly E. Knickelbein, Felipe Avila, Theodore S. Kalbfleisch, Elena Giulotto, Nicole B. Kingsley, Jocelyn Tanaka, Elizabeth Esdaile, Sichong Peng, Anna Dahlgren, Anna Fuller, Michael J. Mienaltowski, Terje Raudsepp, Verena K. Affolter, Jessica L. Petersen, Carrie J. Finno

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Following the successful creation of a biobank from two adult Thoroughbred mares, this study aimed to recapitulate sample collection in two adult Thoroughbred stallions as part of the Functional Annotation of the Animal Genome (FAANG) initiative. Both stallions underwent thorough physical, lameness, neurologic, and ophthalmic (including electroretinography) examinations prior to humane euthanasia. Epididymal sperm was recovered from both stallions immediately postmortem and cryopreserved. Aseptically collected full thickness skin biopsies were used to isolate, culture and cryopreserve dermal fibroblasts. Serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and gastrointestinal content from various locations were collected and cryopreserved. Under guidance of a board-certified veterinary anatomic …

Protecting P-Glycoprotein At The Blood-Brain Barrier From Degradation In An Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model, Yujie Ding, Yu Zhong, Andrea Baldeshwiler, Erin L. Abner, Björn Bauer, Anika M. S. Hartz

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Failure to clear Aβ from the brain is partly responsible for Aβ brain accumulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A critical protein for clearing Aβ across the blood-brain barrier is the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp). In AD, P-gp levels are reduced, which contributes to impaired Aβ brain clearance. However, the mechanism responsible for decreased P-gp levels is poorly understood and there are no strategies available to protect P-gp. We previously demonstrated in isolated brain capillaries ex vivo that human Aβ40 (hAβ40) triggers P-gp degradation by activating the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. In this pathway, hAβ40 initiates P-gp ubiquitination, leading to internalization and …

Validation Of Icd-10-Cm Codes For Injuries Complicating Pregnancy, Childbirth And The Puerperium: A Medical Record Review, Anna Hansen, Dana Quesinberry, Peter Akpunonu, Julia Martin, Svetla Slavova

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) of International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes for injury, poisoning, physical or sexual assault complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (PCP) to capture injury encounters within both hospital and emergency department claims data.

METHODS: A medical record review was conducted on a sample (n=157) of inpatient and emergency department claims from one Kentucky healthcare system from 2015 to 2017, with any diagnosis in the ICD-10-CM range O9A.2-O9A.4. Study clinicians reviewed medical records for the sampled cases and used an abstraction form to …

Sitosterolemia: Twenty Years Of Discovery Of The Function Of Abcg5abcg8, Kori Williams, Allison Segard, Gregory A. Graf

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Sitosterolemia is a lipid disorder characterized by the accumulation of dietary xenosterols in plasma and tissues caused by mutations in either ABCG5 or ABCG8. ABCG5 ABCG8 encodes a pair of ABC half transporters that form a heterodimer (G5G8), which then traffics to the surface of hepatocytes and enterocytes and promotes the secretion of cholesterol and xenosterols into the bile and the intestinal lumen. We review the literature from the initial description of the disease, the discovery of its genetic basis, current therapy, and what has been learned from animal, cellular, and molecular investigations of the transporter in the twenty …

Apolipoprotein E Genotype-Dependent Nutrigenetic Effects To Prebiotic Inulin For Modulating Systemic Metabolism And Neuroprotection In Mice Via Gut-Brain Axis, Lucille M. Yanckello, Jared D. Hoffman, Ya-Hsuan Chang, Penghui Lin, Geetika Nehra, George Chlipala, Scott D. Mcculloch, Tyler C. Hammond, Andrew T. Yackzan, Andrew N. Lane, Stefan J. Green, Anika M. S. Hartz, Ai-Ling Lin

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to identify the potential nutrigenetic effects to inulin, a prebiotic fiber, in mice with different human apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic variants. Specifically, we compared responses to inulin for the potential modulation of the systemic metabolism and neuroprotection via gut-brain axis in mice with human APOE ϵ3 and ϵ4 alleles.

METHOD: We performed experiments with young mice expressing the human APOE3 (E3FAD mice and APOE4 gene (E4FAD mice). We fed mice with either inulin or control diet for 16 weeks starting from 3 months of age. We determined gut microbiome …

Effects Of Neonatal Nutrition Interventions On Neonatal Mortality And Child Health And Development Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Aamer Imdad, Faseeha Rehman, Evans Davis, Deepika Ranjit, Gamael S. S. Surin, Suzanna L. Attia, Sarah Lawler, Abigail A. Smith, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background
The last two decades have seen a significant decrease in mortality for children < 5 years of age in low and middle‐income countries (LMICs); however, neonatal (age, 0–28 days) mortality has not decreased at the same rate. We assessed three neonatal nutritional interventions that have the potential of reducing morbidity and mortality during infancy in LMICs.

Objectives
To determine the efficacy and effectiveness of synthetic vitamin A, dextrose oral gel, and probiotic supplementation during the neonatal period.

Search Methods
We conducted electronic searches for relevant studies on the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, SCOPUS, and CENTRAL, Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials, up to November 27, 2019.

Selection Criteria
We aimed to include randomized and quasi‐experimental studies. The target population was neonates in LMICs. The interventions included synthetic vitamin A supplementation, oral dextrose gel supplementation, and probiotic supplementation during the neonatal period. …

Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Identifies Pleiotropic Risk Loci For Aerodigestive Squamous Cell Cancers, Corina Lesseur, Aida Ferreiro-Iglesias, James D. Mckay, Yohan Bossé, Mattias Johansson, Valerie Gaborieau, Maria Teresa Landi, David C. Christiani, Neil C. Caporaso, Stig E. Bojesen, Christopher I. Amos, Sanjay Shete, Geoffrey Liu, Gadi Rennert, Demetrius Albanes, Melinda C. Aldrich, Adonina Tardon, Chu Chen, Liloglou Triantafillos, John K. Field, Susanne Arnold

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC) of the aerodigestive tract have similar etiological risk factors. Although genetic risk variants for individual cancers have been identified, an agnostic, genome-wide search for shared genetic susceptibility has not been performed. To identify novel and pleotropic SqCC risk variants, we performed a meta-analysis of GWAS data on lung SqCC (LuSqCC), oro/pharyngeal SqCC (OSqCC), laryngeal SqCC (LaSqCC) and esophageal SqCC (ESqCC) cancers, totaling 13,887 cases and 61,961 controls of European ancestry. We identified one novel genome-wide significant (P_meta< 5x10^-8) aerodigestive SqCC susceptibility loci in the 2q33.1 region (rs56321285, TMEM273). Additionally, three previously unknown …

Impact Of Pediatric Obesity On Diurnal Blood Pressure Assessment And Cardiovascular Risk Markers, Margaret O. Murphy, Hong Huang, John A. Bauer, Aric Schadler, Majd Makhoul, Jody L. Clasey, Aftab S. Chishti, Stefan G. Kiessling

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background: The prevalence of hypertension is increasing particularly among obese children and adolescents. Obese children and adolescents with hypertension are likely to remain hypertensive as they reach adulthood and hypertension is linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has become one of the most important tools in diagnosing hypertension in children and adolescents and circadian patterns of blood pressure may be important disease-risk predictors.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in patients aged 6–21 years who underwent 24-h ABPM at Kentucky Children's Hospital (KCH) from August 2012 through June 2017. Exclusion criteria …

Healthy Trees – Healthy People: A Model For Engaging Citizen Scientists In Exotic Pest Detection In Urban Parks, Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Lynne K. Rieske

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Healthy Trees – Healthy People (HT-HP) is an outreach and education program created to enlist and train participants in exotic pest detection while providing them with structured opportunities to connect with urban nature and increase their physical and emotional health. HT- HP creates infrastructure to increase engagement by the urban populace in the urban tree canopy. The program solicits participants to engage in an 8-week intervention designed to expand capacity to detect non-native insect pests and pathogens, while increasing physical activity, raising awareness of healthy lifestyle choices, and improving the health of participants. Program participants were trained in tree and …

Did Medicaid Slow Declines In Access To Health Care During The Great Recession?, Joseph A. Benitez, Victoria E. Perez, Jie Chen

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: We examine whether broadened access to Medicaid helped insulate households from declines in health coverage and health care access linked to the 2007-2009 Great Recession.

DATA SOURCE: 2004-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

STUDY DESIGN: Flexible difference-in-difference regressions were used to compare the impact of county-level unemployment on health care access in states with generous Medicaid eligibility guidelines versus states with restrictive guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Nonelderly adults (aged 19-64) in the BRFSS were linked to county unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program. We created a Medicaid generosity index by simulating …

Delayed Endoscopic Assisted Percutaneous Reduction Of Anterior Table Frontal Sinus Fractures, Thomas J. Gal, Robin Pappal

Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery Faculty Publications

Endoscopic approaches to the management of frontal sinus fractures continue to become more commonplace. Anterior table fractures amenable to reduction by these techniques are optimally managed within the first five to ten days to avoid fibrosis of the injury. We present a case of endoscopic transnasal reduction of an anterior table frontal sinus fracture over six weeks after the injury.

Radiopharmaceutical Validation For Clinical Use, Charles A. Kunos, Rodney Howells, Aman Chauhan, Zin W. Myint, Mark E. Bernard, Riham H. El Khouli, Jacek Capala

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Radiopharmaceuticals are reemerging as attractive anticancer agents, but there are no universally adopted guidelines or standardized procedures for evaluating agent validity before early-phase trial implementation. To validate a radiopharmaceutical, it is desirous for the radiopharmaceutical to be specific, selective, and deliverable against tumors of a given, molecularly defined cancer for which it is intended to treat. In this article, we discuss four levels of evidence—target antigen immunohistochemistry, in vitro and in vivo preclinical experiments, animal biodistribution and dosimetry studies, and first-in-human microdose biodistribution studies—that might be used to justify oncology therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals in a drug-development sequence involving early-phase trials. We …

The Emerging Global Tobacco Treatment Workforce: Characteristics Of Tobacco Treatment Specialists Trained In Council-Accredited Training Programs From 2017 To 2019, Christine E. Sheffer, Abdulmohsen Al-Zalabani, Andrée Aubrey, Rasha Bader, Claribel Beltrez, Susan Bennett, Ellen Carl, Caroline Cranos, Audrey Darville, Jennifer Greyber, Maher Karam-Hage, Feras Hawari, Tresza Hutcheson, Victoria Hynes, Chris Kotsen, Frank Leone, Jamie Mcconaha, Heather Mccary, Crystal Meade, Cara Messick

Nursing Faculty Publications

Tobacco use is projected to kill 1 billion people in the 21st century. Tobacco Use Disorder (TUD) is one of the most common substance use disorders in the world. Evidence-based treatment of TUD is effective, but treatment accessibility remains very low. A dearth of specially trained clinicians is a significant barrier to treatment accessibility, even within systems of care that implement brief intervention models. The treatment of TUD is becoming more complex and tailoring treatment to address new and traditional tobacco products is needed. The Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs (Council) is the accrediting body for Tobacco Treatment Specialist …

Integrating Policies, Systems, And Environments (Pse) Work Into Fcs Extension Programming: Lessons Learned From A Multi-State Training, Lisa T. Washburn, Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Karen L. Franck, Lauren E. Kennedy, Christopher T. Sneed

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Public health efforts have emphasized changes to policies, systems and environments (PSEs) to improve health behaviors for individuals and communities. Extension has increasingly emphasized these approaches, particularly for work of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents. In part, this emphasis on PSEs in Extension has been driven by SNAP-Ed and other federally funded initiatives, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) High Obesity Programs (HOP). However, broader adoption and implementation of PSEs at the local level has lagged in some states for various reasons. These include limited understanding about PSE interventions and how this work fits with …

Temporal Changes In Inflammatory Mitochondria-Enriched Micrornas Following Traumatic Brain Injury And Effects Of Mir-146a Nanoparticle Delivery, Wang-Xia Wang, Pareshkumar Prajapati, Hemendra J. Vekaria, Malinda Spry, Amber L. Cloud, Patrick G. Sullivan, Joe E. Springer

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression and contribute to all aspects of cellular function. We previously reported that the activities of several mitochondria-enriched miRNAs regulating inflammation (i.e., miR-142-3p, miR-142-5p, and miR-146a) are altered in the hippocampus at 3–12 hours following a severe traumatic brain injury. In the present study, we investigated the temporal expression profile of these inflammatory miRNAs in mitochondria and cytosol fractions at more chronic post-injury times following severe controlled cortical impact injury in rats. In addition, several inflammatory genes were analyzed in the cytosol fractions. The analysis showed that while elevated …

Clinical Pharmacology And Dosing Regimen Optimization Of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Treatments, Fei Tang, Chee M. Ng, Henrietta S. Bada, Markos Leggas

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we review the management of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) and clinical pharmacology of primary treatment agents in NOWS, including morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, clonidine, and phenobarbital. Pharmacologic treatment strategies in NOWS have been mostly empirical, and heterogeneity in dosing regimens adds to the difficulty of extrapolating study results to broader patient populations. As population pharmacokinetics (PKs) of pharmacologic agents in NOWS become more well-defined and knowledge of patient-specific factors affecting treatment outcomes continue to accumulate, PK/pharmacodynamic modeling and simulation will be powerful tools to aid the design of optimal dosing regimens at the patient level. Although there …

Mast Cell Involvement In Fibrosis In Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Ethan Strattan, Gerhard Carl Hildebrandt

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is most commonly a treatment for inborn defects of hematopoiesis or acute leukemias. Widespread use of HSCT, a potentially curative therapy, is hampered by onset of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), classified as either acute or chronic GVHD. While the pathology of acute GVHD is better understood, factors driving GVHD at the cellular and molecular level are less clear. Mast cells are an arm of the immune system that are known for atopic disease. However, studies have demonstrated that they can play important roles in tissue homeostasis and wound healing, and mast cell dysregulation can lead …

Preclinical Evaluation Of Artesunate As An Antineoplastic Agent In Ovarian Cancer Treatment, Anthony Mcdowell Jr., Kristen S. Hill, Joseph Robert Mccorkle, Justin W. Gorski, Yilin Zhang, Ameen A. Salahudeen, Frederick R. Ueland, Jill M. Kolesar

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy despite current first-line treatment with a platinum and taxane doublet. Artesunate has broad antineoplastic properties but has not been investigated in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel for ovarian cancer treatment.

METHODS: Standard cell culture technique with commercially available ovarian cancer cell lines were utilized in cell viability, DNA damage, and cell cycle progression assays to qualify and quantify artesunate treatment effects. Additionally, the sequence of administering artesunate in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin was determined. The activity of artesunate was also assessed in 3D organoid models of primary ovarian cancer and RNAseq …

Limitations Of Transformers On Clinical Text Classification, Shang Gao, Mohammed Alawad, Michael Todd Young, John Gounley, Noah Schaefferkoetter, Hong-Jun Yoon, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Eric B. Durbin, Jennifer Doherty, Antoinette Stroup, Linda Coyle, Georgia D. Tourassi

Kentucky Cancer Registry Faculty Publications

Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and BERT-based approaches are the current state-of-the-art in many natural language processing (NLP) tasks; however, their application to document classification on long clinical texts is limited. In this work, we introduce four methods to scale BERT, which by default can only handle input sequences up to approximately 400 words long, to perform document classification on clinical texts several thousand words long. We compare these methods against two much simpler architectures -- a word-level convolutional neural network and a hierarchical self-attention network -- and show that BERT often cannot beat these simpler baselines when classifying …

Differential Leukocyte And Platelet Profiles In Distinct Models Of Traumatic Brain Injury, William Brad Hubbard, Meenakshi Banerjee, Hemendra J. Vekaria, Kanakanagavalli Shravani Prakhya, Smita Joshi, Qingjun Wang, Kathryn E. Saatman, Sidney W. Whiteheart, Patrick G. Sullivan

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 3 million individuals every year in the U.S. There is growing appreciation that TBI can produce systemic modifications, which are in part propagated through blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and blood–brain cell interactions. As such, platelets and leukocytes contribute to mechanisms of thromboinflammation after TBI. While these mechanisms have been investigated in experimental models of contusion brain injury, less is known regarding acute alterations following mild closed head injury. To investigate the role of platelet dynamics and bioenergetics after TBI, we employed two distinct, well-established models of TBI in mice: the controlled cortical impact (CCI) …

Rural Residents' Perspectives On An Mhealth Or Personalized Health Coaching Intervention: Qualitative Study With Focus Groups And Key Informant Interviews, Nancy Schoenberg, Madeline Dunfee, Hannah Yeager, Matthew Rutledge, Angela Pfammatter, Bonnie Spring

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Compared with national averages, rural Appalachians experience extremely elevated rates of premature morbidity and mortality. New opportunities, including approaches incorporating personal technology, may help improve lifestyles and overcome health inequities.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to gather perspectives on whether a healthy lifestyle intervention, specifically an app originally designed for urban users, may be feasible and acceptable to rural residents. In addition to a smartphone app, this program-Make Better Choices 2-consists of personalized health coaching, accelerometer use, and financial incentives.

METHODS: We convened 4 focus groups and 16 key informant interviews with diverse community stakeholders to assess perspectives on this …