Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cardiopulmonary Outcomes In Covid-19 Patients Discharged From A Tertiary Care Center: A Prospective Study, Lakshmi Prasanna Vaishnavi Kattamuri, Vibhav Sharma, Radhika Sarda, Kunal Sharma, Anuj Ajayababu, Gaurav Gupta, Surabhi Vyas, Shivam Pandey, Arvind Kumar, Naveet Wig, Rajiv Narang, Sanjeev Sinha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To determine the cardiopulmonary changes in the survivors of acute COVID-19 infection at 3-6 month and 6-12 month. We followed up 53 patients out of which 28 (52%) had mild COVID-19 and 25 (48%) had severe COVID-19. The first follow-up was between 3 month after diagnosis up to 6 month and second follow-up between 6 and 12 month from the date of diagnosis of acute COVID-19. They were monitored using vital parameters, pulmonary function tests, echocardiography and a chest computed tomography (CT) scan. We found improvement in diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) with a median of 52% of predicted …

A Phase 2 Study Of Interleukin-22 And Systemic Corticosteroids As Initial Treatment For Acute Gvhd Of The Lower Gi Tract, Doris M Ponce, Amin M Alousi, Ryotaro Nakamura, John Slingerland, Marco Calafiore, Karamjeet S Sandhu, Juliet N Barker, Sean Devlin, Jinru Shia, Sergio Giralt, Miguel-Angel Perales, Gillian Moore, Samira Fatmi, Cristina Soto, Antonio Gomes, Paul Giardina, Leeann Marcello, Xiaoqiang Yan, Tom Tang, Kevin Dreyer, Jianmin Chen, William L Daley, Jonathan U Peled, Marcel R M Van Den Brink, Alan M Hanash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation. In experimental models, interleukin-22 promotes epithelial regeneration and induces innate antimicrobial molecules. We conducted a multicenter single-arm phase 2 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of a novel recombinant human interleukin-22 dimer, F-652, used in combination with systemic corticosteroids for treatment of newly diagnosed lower gastrointestinal acute GVHD. The most common adverse events were cytopenias and electrolyte abnormalities, and there were no dose-limiting toxicities. Out of 27 patients, 19 (70%; 80% confidence interval, 56%-79%) achieved a day-28 treatment response, meeting the prespecified primary endpoint. Responders …

Imc-Denoise: A Content Aware Denoising Pipeline To Enhance Imaging Mass Cytometry, Peng Lu, Karolyn A Oetjen, Diane E Bender, Marianna B Ruzinova, Daniel A C Fisher, Kevin G Shim, Russell K Pachynski, W Nathaniel Brennen, Stephen T Oh, Daniel C Link, Daniel L J Thorek

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) is an emerging multiplexed imaging technology for analyzing complex microenvironments using more than 40 molecularly-specific channels. However, this modality has unique data processing requirements, particularly for patient tissue specimens where signal-to-noise ratios for markers can be low, despite optimization, and pixel intensity artifacts can deteriorate image quality and downstream analysis. Here we demonstrate an automated content-aware pipeline, IMC-Denoise, to restore IMC images deploying a differential intensity map-based restoration (DIMR) algorithm for removing hot pixels and a self-supervised deep learning algorithm for shot noise image filtering (DeepSNiF). IMC-Denoise outperforms existing methods for adaptive hot pixel and background …

Rapamycin Perfluorocarbon Nanoparticle Mitigates Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury, Qingyu Zhou, James D Quirk, Ying Hu, Huimin Yan, Joseph P Gaut, Christine T N Pham, Samuel A Wickline, Hua Pan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

For nearly five decades, cisplatin has played an important role as a standard chemotherapeutic agent and been prescribed to 10-20% of all cancer patients. Although nephrotoxicity associated with platinum-based agents is well recognized, treatment of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury is mainly supportive and no specific mechanism-based prophylactic approach is available to date. Here, we postulated that systemically delivered rapamycin perfluorocarbon nanoparticles (PFC NP) could reach the injured kidneys at sufficient and sustained concentrations to mitigate cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury and preserve renal function. Using fluorescence microscopic imaging and fluorine magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy, we illustrated that rapamycin-loaded PFC NP permeated and …

Differences In Birth Weight Between Immigrants' And Natives' Children In Europe And Australia: A Lifecycle Comparative Observational Cohort Study, Sandra Florian, Mathieu Ichou, Lidia Panico, Stéphanie Pinel-Jacquemin, Tanja G. M. Vrijkotte, Margreet W. Harskamp-Van Ginkel, Rae-Chi Huang, Jennie Carson, Loreto Santa Marina Rodriguez, Mikel Subiza-Pérez, Martine Vrijheid, Sílvia Fernández-Barrés, Tiffany C. Yang, John Wright, Eva Corpeleijn, Marloes Cardol, Elena Isaevska, Chiara Moccia, Marjolein N. Kooijman, Ellis Voerman, Vincent Jaddoe, Marieke Welten, Elena Spada, Marisa Rebagliato, Andrea Beneito, Luca Ronfani, Marie-Aline Charles

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective:

Research on adults has identified an immigrant health advantage, known as the 'immigrant health paradox', by which migrants exhibit better health outcomes than natives. Is this health advantage transferred from parents to children in the form of higher birth weight relative to children of natives?

Setting:

Western Europe and Australia.

Participants:

We use data from nine birth cohorts participating in the LifeCycle Project, including five studies with large samples of immigrants' children: Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance - France (N=12 494), the Raine Study - Australia (N=2283), Born in Bradford - UK (N=4132), Amsterdam Born Children and their Development …

Botulinum Neurotoxin Injections In Children With Self-Injurious Behaviors, Mariam Hull, Mered Parnes, Joseph Jankovic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Self-injurious behaviors are repetitive, persistent actions directed toward one's body that threaten or cause physical harm. These behaviors are seen within a broad spectrum of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions, often associated with intellectual disability. Injuries can be severe and distressing to patients and caregivers. Furthermore, injuries can be life-threatening. Often, these behaviors are challenging to treat and require a tiered, multimodal approach which may include mechanical/physical restraints, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, or in some cases, surgical management, such as tooth extraction or deep brain stimulation. Here, we describe a series of 17 children who presented to our institution with self-injurious behaviors …

Asthma & Copd Treatment Guideline Updates, Elaina Lioudis, Michael Do, Bona Shin

Transformative Medicine

This article provides a summary of the newly updated asthma and COPD treatment guidelines. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) treatment guidelines were updated in 2022. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) treatment guidelines were updated in 2023. Both the GINA and GOLD treatment guidelines are published by Science Committees composed of physicians from various countries; the Science Committees meet twice yearly to review published literature and update the guideline recommendations if necessary. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the important updates to the GINA and GOLD treatment guidelines.

“I Have Dizziness, Do I Need A Pacemaker?”, Ravi Choxi, Arun Kundra

Transformative Medicine

No abstract provided.

Preparedness For And Management Of Conditions Of The Skin, Louis D. Mancano Md

Transformative Medicine

Over one-quarter of the US population seeks treatment for a dermatologic condition each year. Studies have indicated that the general medical school curriculum places little emphasis on diseases of the skin, and physicians may be ill-prepared to diagnose and manage these conditions. A better understanding of the seven corticosteroid classes and the variety of vehicles in which they are formulated may improve patient satisfaction, patient adherence, and clinical response to treatment when managing conditions of the skin.

Delay In Diagnosis Of Pd-1 Inhibitor Induced Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency, Olubunmi Oladunjoye, Ibiyemi Oke, Ian Garrahy, Adeolu O. Oladunjoye, Kyle Macaulay, Jeremy Ellis

Transformative Medicine

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors including PD-1 inhibitors, were initially approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma but are now increasingly being used for different types of solid organ malignancies. Despite the important clinical benefits, they are associated with immune-related adverse events. The most critical endocrinopathy associated with PD -1 inhibitor is adrenal insufficiency (AI), which requires prompt diagnosis and management to avoid fatality.

Case presentation: We present the case of a 78-year-old woman with colon adenocarcinoma treated with Nivolumab (PD-1 inhibitor) after her pulmonary metastases progressed on chemotherapy. She presented to the hospital with progressive generalized weakness, fatigue, headache, lightheadedness, …

A Brief Literature Review Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On Eating Disorders In Adolescents, Sreya Muchivolu, Eduardo Espiridion

Transformative Medicine

COVID-19 was an unprecedented time for the entire world. As cases rapidly rose globally, the primary focus was on preventing further spread of the virus and taking care of acutely ill patients. Unfortunately, this meant that getting adequate care for other chronic conditions, including eating disorders (EDs), was a lower priority. Adolescents with EDs were a particularly vulnerable population, as their source of social support and normalcy in the form of school and in-person activities was removed with social distancing and lockdowns. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how COVID-19 affected EDs in adolescents, including likelihood of accessing …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - March 22, 2023, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the March 22, 2023 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents include:

• Bassam presents at the Clinical Neurological society of America annual meeting
• Faculty development to explore 'Spirituality and cultural competency'
• Borchert awarded NSF grant to study role of exRNA in maintaining gut health

2023-03-22_Michiganoverview_Covidbedppe, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Hospital Data

Contains the tables Statewide Hospital Capacity Report for COVID-19, COVID-19 Metrics, Statewide Hospital Available PPE Tracking for COVID-19, as well as the tables PPE Days On Hand and Patient Census.

2023-03-22_Michiganoverview_Covidvaccinestats, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Vaccine Data

The COVID Vaccine Dashboard page was obtained from Michigan's main COVID-19 page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/resources/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-dashboard.

First-dose tracker above is for entire Michigan Population. Coverage maps below are for age 5+.

Previously reported numbers of administered vaccine doses may change as new data are received. A possible lag in reporting vaccine doses will result in increases in numbers previously reported.

This report is created by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immunization from data reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

The dashboard contained the tabs Primary Series Doses Administered, Primary Series Doses by Vaccine, …

Make No Apologies: Fear Of Negative Evaluation, Depressive Symptoms, And The Mediating Role Of Accounting For Covid-Safe Behavior Amongst People At High-Risk For Severe Illness, John S. Seiter, Timothy Curran, Rebecca E. Elwood

Communication Studies and Philosophy Faculty Publications

With the goal of understanding unique and important threats to the mental health of people who are especially vulnerable to severe illness as a result of COVID-19, this study investigated associations between such individuals' fear of negative evaluation, tendency to "account for" practicing COVID-safe behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Grounded in perspectives on self-presentation, normative influence, and cognitive dissonance, we hypothesized that fear of negative evaluation would relate positively to accounting for COVID-safe behaviors, which, in turn, would associate positively with increased depressive symptoms. The results showed that increased fear of negative evaluation predicted an increased use of apologies and excuses, …

Using An Online Calculator To Describe Excess Mortality In The Philippines During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julius Migriño Jr, Ma Rosario Bernardo-Lazaro

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Objective

Excess mortality is an indicator of the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to describe excess mortality in the Philippines from January 2020 to December 2021 using an online all-cause mortality and excess mortality calculator.

Methods

All-cause mortality datasets from 2015 to 2021 from the Philippine Statistics Authority were obtained and analysed using the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office All-Cause Mortality Calculator. Expected mortality, excess mortality and P-scores were obtained using two models, 5-year averages and negative binomial regression, for total deaths and by administrative region.

Results

Reported national all-cause mortality exceeded the …

An Induced Annual Modulation Signature In Cosine-100 Data By Dama/Libra’S Analysis Method, Govinda Adhikari, Nelson Carlin, Jaejin Choi, Seonho Choi, Anthony Ezeribe, Luis Eduardo França, Chang Hyon Ha, In Sik Hahn, Sophia J Hollick, Eunju Jeon, Jay Hyun Jo, Han Wool Joo, Woon Gu Kang, Matthew Kauer, Bongho Kim, Hongjoo Kim, Jinyoung Kim, Kyungwon Kim, Sunghyun Kim, Sun Kee Kim, Won Kyung Kim, Yeongduk Kim, Yong-Hamb Kim, Young Ju Ko, Doo Hyok Lee, Eun Kyung Lee, Hyunseok Lee, Hyun Su Lee, Hye Young Lee, In Soo Lee, Jaison Lee, Jooyoung Lee, Moo Hyun Lee, Seo Hyun Lee, Seung Mok Lee, Yu Jin Lee, Douglas Leonard, Bruno B Manzato, Reina H Maruyama, Robert J Neal, James A Nikkel, Stephen L Olsen, Byung Ju Park, Hyang Kyu Park, Hyeonseo Park, Kangsoon Park, Se Dong Park, Ricardo L C Pitta, Hafizh Prihtiadi, Sejin Ra, Carsten Rott, Keon Ah Shin, Andrew Scarff, Neil J C Spooner, William G Thompson, Liang Yang, Gyun Ho Yu

Faculty and Staff Publications

The DAMA/LIBRA collaboration has reported the observation of an annual modulation in the event rate that has been attributed to dark matter interactions over the last two decades. However, even though tremendous efforts to detect similar dark matter interactions were pursued, no definitive evidence has been observed to corroborate the DAMA/LIBRA signal. Many studies assuming various dark matter models have attempted to reconcile DAMA/LIBRA's modulation signals and null results from other experiments, however no clear conclusion can be drawn. Apart from the dark matter hypothesis, several studies have examined the possibility that the modulation is induced by variations in detector's …

Amphiphilic Cell-Penetrating Peptides Containing Arginine And Hydrophobic Residues As Protein Delivery Agents, Jonathan Moreno, Khalid Zoghebi, David Salehi, Lois Kim, Sorour Khayyatnejad Shoushtari, Rakesh K. Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The entry of proteins through the cell membrane is challenging, thus limiting their use as potential therapeutics. Seven cell-penetrating peptides, designed in our laboratory, were evaluated for the delivery of proteins. Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis was utilized for the synthesis of seven cyclic or hybrid cyclic–linear amphiphilic peptides composed of hydrophobic (tryptophan (W) or 3,3-diphenylalanine (Dip) and positively-charged arginine (R) residues, such as [WR]4, [WR]9, [WWRR]4, [WWRR]5, [(RW)5K](RW)5, [R5K]W7, and [DipR]5. Confocal microscopy was used to screen the peptides as a protein delivery system of model cargo proteins, green and red fluorescein proteins (GFP and RFP). Based on the confocal …

Decoupling Body Shape And Mass Distribution In Birds And Their Dinosaurian Ancestors, Sophie Macaulay, Tatjana Hoehfurtner, Samuel R.R. Cross, Ryan D. Marek, John R. Hutchinson, Emma R. Schachner, Alice E. Maher, Karl T. Bates

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

It is accepted that non-avian theropod dinosaurs, with their long muscular tails and small forelimbs, had a centre-of-mass close to the hip, while extant birds, with their reduced tails and enlarged wings have their mass centred more cranially. Transition between these states is considered crucial to two key innovations in the avian locomotor system: crouched bipedalism and powered flight. Here we use image-based models to challenge this dichotomy. Rather than a phylogenetic distinction between ‘dinosaurian’ and ‘avian’ conditions, we find terrestrial versus volant taxa occupy distinct regions of centre-of-mass morphospace consistent with the disparate demands of terrestrial bipedalism and flight. …

Large Scale Crowdsourced Radiotherapy Segmentations Across A Variety Of Cancer Anatomic Sites, Kareem A Wahid, Diana Lin, Onur Sahin, Michael Cislo, Benjamin E Nelms, Renjie He, Mohammed A Naser, Simon Duke, Michael V Sherer, John P Christodouleas, Abdallah S R Mohamed, James D Murphy, Clifton D Fuller, Erin F Gillespie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clinician generated segmentation of tumor and healthy tissue regions of interest (ROIs) on medical images is crucial for radiotherapy. However, interobserver segmentation variability has long been considered a significant detriment to the implementation of high-quality and consistent radiotherapy dose delivery. This has prompted the increasing development of automated segmentation approaches. However, extant segmentation datasets typically only provide segmentations generated by a limited number of annotators with varying, and often unspecified, levels of expertise. In this data descriptor, numerous clinician annotators manually generated segmentations for ROIs on computed tomography images across a variety of cancer sites (breast, sarcoma, head and neck, …

Stellettin B Renders Glioblastoma Vulnerable To Poly (Adp-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors Via Suppressing Homology-Directed Repair, Xin Peng, Yingying Wang, Shaolu Zhang, Zhennan Tao, Yuxiang Dai, Francois X Claret, Moshe Elkabets, Hou-Wen Lin, Zhe-Sheng Chen, Dexin Kong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Potential Mitigation Of Environmental Impacts Of Intensive Plum Production In Southeast China With Maintenance Of High Yields: Evaluation Using Life Cycle Assessment, Xiaojun Yan, Delian Ye, Yafu Tang, Muhammad Atif Muneer, Peter Christie, Congyue Tou, Weidong Xu, Bingrong Shen, Jinxian Xu, Jiangzhou Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Intensive plum production usually involves high yields but also high environmental costs due to excessive fertilizer inputs. Quantitative analysis of the environmental effects of plum production is thereby required in the development of optimum strategies to promote sustainable fruit production.

METHODS: We collected survey questionnaires from 254 plum production farms in Zhao'an county, Fujian province, southeast China to assess the environmental impacts by life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The farms were categorized into four groups based on yield and environmental impacts, i.e., LL (low yield and low environmental impact), LH (low yield but high environmental impact), HL (high yield …

Interleukins, Chemokines, And Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily Ligands In The Pathogenesis Of West Nile Virus Infection, Emna Benzarti, Kristy O Murray, Shannon E Ronca

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that can lead to encephalitis and death in susceptible hosts. Cytokines play a critical role in inflammation and immunity in response to WNV infection. Murine models provide evidence that some cytokines offer protection against acute WNV infection and assist with viral clearance, while others play a multifaceted role WNV neuropathogenesis and immune-mediated tissue damage. This article aims to provide an up-to-date review of cytokine expression patterns in human and experimental animal models of WNV infections. Here, we outline the interleukins, chemokines, and tumor necrosis factor superfamily ligands associated with WNV infection and …

Catalyzing Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence Through Neuroai, Anthony Zador, Sean Escola, Blake Richards, Bence Ölveczky, Yoshua Bengio, Kwabena Boahen, Matthew Botvinick, Dmitri Chklovskii, Anne Churchland, Claudia Clopath, James Dicarlo, Surya Ganguli, Jeff Hawkins, Konrad Körding, Alexei Koulakov, Yann Lecun, Timothy Lillicrap, Adam Marblestone, Bruno Olshausen, Alexandre Pouget, Cristina Savin, Terrence Sejnowski, Eero Simoncelli, Sara Solla, David Sussillo, Andreas S Tolias, Doris Tsao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Neuroscience has long been an essential driver of progress in artificial intelligence (AI). We propose that to accelerate progress in AI, we must invest in fundamental research in NeuroAI. A core component of this is the embodied Turing test, which challenges AI animal models to interact with the sensorimotor world at skill levels akin to their living counterparts. The embodied Turing test shifts the focus from those capabilities like game playing and language that are especially well-developed or uniquely human to those capabilities - inherited from over 500 million years of evolution - that are shared with all animals. Building …

Advance Care Planning And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Huntington Disease: Results From A Multicenter National Study, Leonard L Sokol, Jonathan P Troost, Danny Bega, Benzi M Kluger, Holly G Prigerson, Martha Nance, Samuel Frank, Joel S Perlmutter, Praveen Dayalu, David Cella, Noelle E Carlozzi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: With Huntington disease (HD), a fatal neurodegenerative disease where the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB) remains elevated as compared to other neurological disorders, it is unknown whether STB and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) affect plans for the end of life or more broadly, advance care planning (ACP). Conversely, it is unknown whether ACP would provoke future changes to STB and HRQoL. Therefore, we sought to evaluate whether STB and HRQoL patient-reported outcomes (PROs) contribute to ACP and whether ACP relates to changes in STB and HRQoL at 24 months.

METHODS: HD-validated clinician- and patient-assessments (i.e., HRQoL …

Macrophages Promote Repair Of Inner Hair Cell Ribbon Synapses Following Noise-Induced Cochlear Synaptopathy, Vijayprakash Manickam, Dinesh Y Gawande, Andrew R Stothert, Anna C Clayman, Lyudmila Batalkina, Mark E Warchol, Kevin K Ohlemiller, Tejbeer Kaur

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Resident cochlear macrophages rapidly migrate into the inner hair cell synaptic region and directly contact the damaged synaptic connections after noise-induced synaptopathy. Eventually, such damaged synapses are spontaneously repaired, but the precise role of macrophages in synaptic degeneration and repair remains unknown. To address this, cochlear macrophages were eliminated using colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor, PLX5622. Sustained treatment with PLX5622 in

Acceptability And User Experiences Of A Patient-Held Smart Card For Antenatal Services In Nigeria: A Qualitative Study, Ijeoma Uchenna Itanyi, Juliet Iwelunmor, John Olajide Olawepo, Semiu Gbadamosi, Alexandra Ezeonu, Adaeze Okoli, Amaka Grace Ogidi, Donaldson Conserve, Byron Powell, Chima Ariel Onoka, Echezona Edozie Ezeanolue

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Poor maternal, newborn and child health outcomes remain a major public health challenge in Nigeria. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions such as patient-held smart cards have been proposed as effective solutions to improve maternal health outcomes. Our objectives were to assess the acceptability and experiences of pregnant women with the use of a patient-held smartcard for antenatal services in Nigeria.

METHODS: Using focus group discussions, qualitative data were obtained from 35 pregnant women attending antenatal services in four Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Benue State, Nigeria. The audio-recorded data were transcribed and analyzed using framework analysis techniques such as the …

Integrated Analysis Of Genomic And Transcriptomic Data For The Discovery Of Splice-Associated Variants In Cancer, Kelsy C Cotto, Yang-Yang Feng, Avinash Ramu, Megan Richters, Sharon L Freshour, Zachary L Skidmore, Huiming Xia, Joshua F Mcmichael, Jason Kunisaki, Katie M Campbell, Timothy Hung-Po Chen, Emily B Rozycki, Douglas Adkins, Siddhartha Devarakonda, Sumithra Sankararaman, Yiing Lin, William C Chapman, Christopher A Maher, Vivek Arora, Ramaswamy Govindan, Obi L Griffith, Malachi Griffith, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Somatic mutations within non-coding regions and even exons may have unidentified regulatory consequences that are often overlooked in analysis workflows. Here we present RegTools ( www.regtools.org ), a computationally efficient, free, and open-source software package designed to integrate somatic variants from genomic data with splice junctions from bulk or single cell transcriptomic data to identify variants that may cause aberrant splicing. We apply RegTools to over 9000 tumor samples with both tumor DNA and RNA sequence data. RegTools discovers 235,778 events where a splice-associated variant significantly increases the splicing of a particular junction, across 158,200 unique variants and 131,212 unique …

Sars-Cov-2 Neutralizing Antibodies In Mexican Population: A Five Vaccine Comparison, Fernando Alcorta-Nuñez, Diana Cristina Perez-Ibave, Carlos H. Burciaga-Flores, Miguel Angel Garza, Moises Gonzalez-Escamilla, Patricia Rodriguez-Nino, Juan Francisco Gonzalez-Guerrero, Adelina Alcorta-Garza, Genaro A. Ramírez-Correa

School of Medicine Publications

Neutralizing antibodies (NAs) are key immunological markers and are part of the humoral response of the adaptive immune system. NA assays determine the presence of functional antibodies to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. We performed a real-world evidence study to detect NAs that confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 after the application of five vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Moderna, and CanSino) in the Mexican population. Side effects of COVID-19 vaccines and clinical and demographic factors associated with low immunogenicity were also evaluated. A total of 242 SARS-CoV-2-vaccinated subjects were recruited. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna proved the highest percentage of inhibition in a mono-vaccine scheme. Muscular …

Cc16 Augmentation Reduces Exaggerated Copd-Like Disease In Cc16-Deficient Mice, Joselyn Rojas-Quintero, Maria Eugenia Laucho-Contreras, Xiaoyun Wang, Quynh-Anh Fucci, Patrick R Burkett, Se-Jin Kim, Duo Zhang, Yohannes Tesfaigzi, Yuhong Li, Abhiram R Bhashyam, Zhang Li, Haider Khamas, Bartolome Celli, Aprile L Pilon, Francesca Polverino, Caroline A Owen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Low Club Cell 16 kDa protein (CC16) plasma levels are linked to accelerated lung function decline in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke-exposed (CS-exposed) Cc16-/- mice have exaggerated COPD-like disease associated with increased NF-κB activation in their lungs. It is unclear whether CC16 augmentation can reverse exaggerated COPD in CS-exposed Cc16-/- mice and whether increased NF-κB activation contributes to the exaggerated COPD in CS-exposed Cc16-/- lungs. CS-exposed WT and Cc16-/- mice were treated with recombinant human CC16 (rhCC16) or an NF-κB inhibitor versus vehicle beginning at the midpoint of the exposures. COPD-like disease and NF-κB activation were …