Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Preclinical Study And Parallel Phase Ii Trial Evaluating Antisense Stat3 Oligonucleotide And Checkpoint Blockade For Advanced Pancreatic, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer And Mismatch Repair-Deficient Colorectal Cancer, Chad Tang, Genevieve P Hartley, Coline Couillault, Ying Yuan, Heather Lin, Courtney Nicholas, Anupallavi Srinivasamani, James Dai, Ecaterina E Ileana Dumbrava, Siqing Fu, Daniel D Karp, Aung Naing, Sarina A Piha-Paul, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Shubham Pant, Vivek Subbiah, Timonthy A Yap, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, Paola Guerrero, Sarah Dhebat, Theresa Proia, Michael A Curran, David S Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To evaluate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibition we conducted a co-clinical trial testing danvatirsen, a STAT3 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and checkpoint inhibition in conjunction with preclinical experiments.

Methods and analysis: Orthotopically implanted pancreatic cancer (pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC)) was treated with STAT3 ASO with immune checkpoint inhibition. Tumour infiltrating immune cell populations were characterised via flow cytometry. In vitro experiments evaluated STAT3 inhibition in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).A phase II trial employing a Simon II stage design tested the clinical efficacy of danvatirsen and durvalumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), …

Exploratory Pilot Study To Characterize The Immune Landscapes Of Malignant Pleural Effusions And Their Corresponding Primary Tumors From Patients With Breast Carcinoma And Lung Adenocarcinoma, Caddie Laberiano-Fernandez, Qiong Gan, Sophia Mei Wang, Auriole Tamegnon, Ignacio Wistuba, Esther Yoon, Sinchita Roy-Chowdhuri, Edwin Roger Parra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a frequent complication of advanced malignancies. In this pilot study, we characterized the immune landscapes of MPEs, compared them to their primary tumor (PT) samples from breast carcinoma (BC) and lung adenocarcinoma (LADC), and tested the utility of multiplexed image technology in cytological samples.

Materials and methods: We evaluated the immune contexture of 6 BC and 5 LADC MPEs and their PTs using 3 multiplex immunofluorescence panels. We explored the associations between sample characteristics and pleural effusion-free survival.

Results: No MPE samples had positive programmed death-ligand 1 expression in malignant cells, although 3 of …

Incorporating Variable Rbe In Impt Optimization For Ependymoma, Hadis Moazami Goudarzi, Gino Lim, David Grosshans, Radhe Mohan, Wenhua Cao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To study the dosimetric impact of incorporating variable relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons in optimizing intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) treatment plans and to compare it with conventional constant RBE optimization and linear energy transfer (LET)-based optimization.

METHODS: This study included 10 pediatric ependymoma patients with challenging anatomical features for treatment planning. Four plans were generated for each patient according to different optimization strategies: (1) constant RBE optimization (ConstRBEopt) considering standard-of-care dose requirements; (2) LET optimization (LETopt) using a composite cost function simultaneously optimizing dose-averaged LET (LET

RESULTS: We found that the LETopt plans consistently achieved increased LET in …

Association Of Perceived Neighborhood Air Quality Problems With Attempt To Quit Cigarette Smoking: A Cross-Sectional Study In Texas, Monalisa Chandra, Joel Fokom Domgue, Robert Yu, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Cigarette smoking is the major preventable cause of premature deaths in the United States. Attempting to quit smoking is an important step toward smoking cessation. Although it has been studied extensively, limited information on the association between attempts to quit smoking and neighborhood air quality problems is available. Therefore, we examined the association between attempts to quit smoking in the past year and perceived neighborhood air quality problems among adult Texans who smoke.

Methods: In 2018, a cross-sectional multistage area probability design-based survey was administered to collect sociodemographic, behavioral, and health-related information from a representative sample of 2050 Texas …

Prevalence And Disparities In Receiving Medical Advice To Quit Tobacco Use In The Us Adult Population, Monalisa Chandra, Rajesh Talluri, Joel Fokom Domgue, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Evidence suggests that advice from health care professionals (HCP) increases the likelihood of quit attempts and successful quitting of tobacco use. However, previous studies primarily focussed on cigarette smoking and did not include all forms of tobacco products. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and disparities in receiving HCP's advice to quit tobacco use (combustible or noncombustible) in the US adult population.

Methods: Using the 2022 National Health Information Survey (NHIS) data, we examined 4,424 adults who reported (i) any tobacco product use within the past 12 months and (ii) having seen an HCP within the past 12 …

Placental Co-Transcriptional Activator Vestigial-Like 1 (Vgll1) Drives Tumorigenesis Via Increasing Transcription Of Proliferation And Invasion Genes, Heather M Sonnemann, Barbara Pazdrak, Barbara Nassif, Yimo Sun, Lama Elzohary, Amjad H Talukder, Arjun S Katailiha, Krishna Bhat, Gregory Lizée

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Vestigial-like 1 (VGLL1) is a co-transcriptional activator that binds to TEA domain-containing transcription factors (TEADs). Its expression is upregulated in a variety of aggressive cancer types, including pancreatic and basal-like breast cancer, and increased transcription of VGLL1 is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and decreased overall patient survival. In normal tissues, VGLL1 is most highly expressed within placental trophoblast cells, which share the common attributes of rapid cellular proliferation and invasion with tumor cells. The impact of VGLL1 in cancer has not been fully elucidated and no VGLL1-targeted therapy currently exists.

Methods: The aim of this study was to …

Crosstalk Between Breast Cancer-Derived Micrornas And Brain Microenvironmental Cells In Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis, Munazza S Khan, Grace L Wong, Chuling Zhuang, Mariana K Najjar, Hui-Wen Lo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women, constituting 15.2% of all new cancers diagnosed in the United States. Distant breast cancer metastasis accounts for the majority of breast cancer-related deaths; brain metastasis is the third most common site for metastatic breast cancer but is associated with worst prognosis of approximately eight months of survival. Current treatment options for breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) are limited and ineffective. To help identify new and effective therapies for BCBM, it is important to investigate the mechanisms by which breast cancer cells metastasize to the brain and thrive in the brain microenvironment. …

Does Varicocele Repair Improve Conventional Semen Parameters? A Meta-Analytic Study Of Before-After Data, Rossella Cannarella, Rupin Shah, Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda, Florence Boitrelle, Ramadan Saleh, Murat Gul, Amarnath Rambhatla, Parviz Kavoussi, Tuncay Toprak, Ahmed M Harraz, Edmund Ko, Gökhan Çeker, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Noora Alkahidi, Shinnosuke Kuroda, Andrea Crafa, Ralf Henkel, Gianmaria Salvio, Berk Hazir, Mahsa Darbandi, Marion Bendayan, Sara Darbandi, Marco Falcone, Nicolas Garrido, Raghavender Kosgi, Raneen Sawaid Kaiyal, Keshab Karna, Nguyen Ho Vinh Phuoc, Ponco Birowo, Giovanni M Colpi, Jean De La Rosette, Germar-Michael Pinggera, Quang Nguyen, Armand Zini, Wael Zohdy, Rajender Singh, Pallavi Saini, Sidney Glina, Haocheng Lin, Taymour Mostafa, Cesar Rojas-Cruz, Mohamed Arafa, Aldo E Calogero, Fotios Dimitriadis, Priyank Kothari, Vilvapathy Senguttuvan Karthikeyan, Keisuke Okada, Koji Chiba, Ates Kadıoglu, Baris Altay, Tahsin Turunc, Birute Zilaitiene, Fatih Gokalp, Aram Adamyan, Darren Katz, Eric Chung, Tiago Cesar Mierzwa, Daniel Suslik Zylbersztejn, Gustavo Marquesine Paul, Nikolaos Sofikitis, Ioannis Sokolakis, Vineet Malhotra, Sakti Ronggowardhana Brodjonegoro, Ricky Adriansjah, Akira Tsujimura, Toshiyasu Amano, Giancarlo Balercia, Imad Ziouziou, Isaac Ardianson Deswanto, Marlon Martinez, Hyun Jun Park, Mustafa Emre Bakırcıoglu, Erman Ceyhan, Kaan Aydos, Jonathan Ramsay, Suks Minhas, Manaf Al Hashimi, Ramy Abou Ghayda, Nicholas Tadros, Puneet Sindhwani, Christopher C K Ho, Rinaldo Indra Rachman, Marcelo Rodriguez Pena, Ahmad Motawi, Arun Karthik Ponnusamy, Satish Dipankar, Azwar Amir, Saleh Binsaleh, Ege Can Serefoglu, Ravi Banthia, Kareim Khalafalla, Ari Basukarno, Nguyen Hoai Bac, Karun Singla, Rafael F Ambar, Konstantinos Makarounis, Shivam Priyadarshi, Gede Wirya Kusuma Duarsa, Widi Atmoko, Sunil Jindal, Eko Arianto, Hamed Akhavizadegan, Haitham El Bardisi, Ohad Shoshany, Gian Maria Busetto, Mohamad Moussa, Mounir Jamali, Mohamed S Al-Marhoon, Mikhail Ruzaev, Hasan M A Farsi, Shingai Mutambirwa, Dong Sup Lee, Deniz Kulaksiz, Yu-Sheng Cheng, Abderrazak Bouzouita, Selcuk Sarikaya, Hussein Kandil, Georgios Tsampoukas, Ala'a Farkouh, Kasonde Bowa, Missy Savira, Nasser Mogharabian, Tan V Le, Maruto Harjanggi, Dang Tuan Anh, Tran Quang Tien Long, Mohammad Ayodhia Soebadi, Lukman Hakim, Marko Tanic, Umut Cagin Ari, Firuza R Parikh, Gokhan Calik, Vinod Kv, Gyem Dorji, Andri Rezano, Osvaldo Rajmil, Dung Mai Ba Tien, Yiming Yuan, Juan Francisco Lizarraga-Salas, Balantine Eze, Kay Seong Ngoo, Joe Lee, Umut Arslan, Ashok Agarwal, Global Andrology Forum

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to study the impact of varicocele repair in the largest cohort of infertile males with clinical varicocele by including all available studies, with no language restrictions, comparing intra-person conventional semen parameters before and after the repair of varicoceles.

Materials and methods: The meta-analysis was performed according to PRISMA-P and MOOSE guidelines. A systematic search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases. Eligible studies were selected according to the PICOS model (Population: infertile male patients with clinical varicocele; Intervention: varicocele repair; Comparison: intra-person before-after varicocele repair; Outcome: conventional semen parameters; Study type: …

Technical Aspects And Clinical Limitations Of Sperm Dna Fragmentation Testing In Male Infertility: A Global Survey, Current Guidelines, And Expert Recommendations, Ashok Agarwal, Ala'a Farkouh, Ramadan Saleh, Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda, Gianmaria Salvio, Florence Boitrelle, Ahmed M Harraz, Ramy Abou Ghayda, Parviz Kavoussi, Murat Gül, Tuncay Toprak, Giorgio Ivan Russo, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Amarnath Rambhatla, Ponco Birowo, Rossella Cannarella, Nguyen Ho Vinh Phuoc, Armand Zini, Mohamed Arafa, Christine Wyns, Kelton Tremellen, Selçuk Sarıkaya, Sheena Lewis, Donald P Evenson, Edmund Ko, Aldo E Calogero, Fahmi Bahar, Marlon Martínez, Rafael F Ambar, Giovanni M Colpi, Mustafa Emre Bakircioglu, Ralf Henkel, Hussein Kandil, Ege Can Serefoglu, Abdullah Alfakhri, Akira Tsujimura, Alireza Kheradmand, Angelo Marino, Aram Adamyan, Birute Zilaitiene, Cevahir Ozer, Edoardo Pescatori, Paraskevi Vogiatzi, Gian Maria Busetto, Giancarlo Balercia, Haitham Elbardisi, Hamed Akhavizadegan, Hesamoddin Sajadi, Hisanori Taniguchi, Hyun Jun Park, Israel Maldonado Rosas, Mohamed Al-Marhoon, Mohammad Ali Sadighi Gilani, Naif Alhathal, Nguyen Quang, Germar-Michael Pinggera, Priyank Kothari, Sava Micic, Sheryl Homa, Tran Quang Tien Long, Wael Zohdy, Widi Atmoko, Wael Ibrahim, Marjan Sabbaghian, Saad Mohammed Abumelha, Eric Chung, Muhammet Rasit Ugur, Mehmet Serkan Ozkent, Osama Selim, Mahsa Darbandi, Shinichiro Fukuhara, Mounir Jamali, Jean De La Rosette, Shinnosuke Kuroda, Ryan P Smith, Aykut Baser, Arif Kalkanli, Nicholas N Tadros, Kaan Aydos, Tiago Cesar Mierzwa, Kareim Khalafalla, Vineet Malhotra, Mohamad Moussa, Federica Finocchi, Rinaldo Indra Rachman, Carlo Giulioni, Tomer Avidor-Reiss, Oguzhan Kahraman, Gökhan Çeker, Cătălina Zenoaga-Barbăroșie, Trenton L Barrett, Mehmet Yilmaz, Ates Kadioglu, Sunil Jindal, Huda Omran, Kadir Bocu, Vilvapathy Senguttuvan Karthikeyan, Giorgio Franco, Jesús Fernando Solorzano, Ranjit B Vishwakarma, Eko Arianto, Nicolas Garrido, Divyanu Jain, Nazim Gherabi, Ioannis Sokolakis, Ayad Palani, Gokhan Calik, Deniz Kulaksiz, Vaida Simanaviciene, Mara Simopoulou, Nur Dokuzeylül Güngör, Gideon Blecher, Marco Falcone, Davor Jezek, Mirko Preto, Edouard Amar, Tan V Le, Sun Tae Ahn, Andri Rezano, Keerti Singh, Lucia Rocco, Missy Savira, Osvaldo Rajmil, Sara Darbandi, Emrullah Sogutdelen, Luca Boeri, Guadalupe Hernández, Lukman Hakim, Yoshiharu Morimoto, Andrian Japari, Nikolaos Sofikitis, Baris Altay, Asli Metin Mahmutoglu, Manaf Al Hashimi, Imad Ziouziou, Christina Anagnostopoulou, Haocheng Lin, Rupin Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) is a functional sperm abnormality that can impact reproductive potential, for which four assays have been described in the recently published sixth edition of the WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen. The purpose of this study was to examine the global practices related to the use of SDF assays and investigate the barriers and limitations that clinicians face in incorporating these tests into their practice.

Materials and methods: Clinicians managing male infertility were invited to complete an online survey on practices related to SDF diagnostic and treatment approaches. Their responses …

Configuring Thermal Ablation Volumes For Treatment Of Distinct Tumor Shapes: A Repeatability Study Using A Robotic Approach, Milica Bulatović, Jan Hermann, Pascale Tinguely, Iwan Paolucci, Stefan Weber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: In the current clinical practice of thermal ablation treatment for liver tumors, achieving consistent and effective clinical outcomes across tumors of varying shapes, sizes and locations remains challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of a novel robotic approach for configurable ablation of distinct tumor shapes and compare it to the standard ablation technique for creating ellipsoidal ablation volumes.

Materials and methods: The repeatability was evaluated in terms of width variability in created ablation volumes. Using a robotic navigation platform, custom ablation profiles configured with power, time, and distance parameters were designed to create four …

Pet Image Denoising Based On Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model, Kuang Gong, Keith Johnson, Georges El Fakhri, Quanzheng Li, Tinsu Pan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Due to various physical degradation factors and limited counts received, PET image quality needs further improvements. The denoising diffusion probabilistic model (DDPM) was a distribution learning-based model, which tried to transform a normal distribution into a specific data distribution based on iterative refinements. In this work, we proposed and evaluated different DDPM-based methods for PET image denoising.

Methods: Under the DDPM framework, one way to perform PET image denoising was to provide the PET image and/or the prior image as the input. Another way was to supply the prior image as the network input with the PET image included …

Transcriptomics Analysis Reveals Potential Mechanisms Underlying Mitochondrial Dysfunction And T Cell Exhaustion In Astronauts’ Blood Cells In Space, Maria Moreno-Villanueva, Luis E Jimenez-Chavez, Stephanie Krieger, Liang-Hao Ding, Ye Zhang, Adriana Babiak-Vazquez, Mark Berres, Sandra Splinter, Kristen E Pauken, Brian C Schaefer, Brian E Crucian, Honglu Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The impact of spaceflight on the immune system and mitochondria has been investigated for decades. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying spaceflight-induced immune dysregulations are still unclear.

Methods: In this study, blood from eleven crewmembers was collected before and during International Space Station (ISS) missions. Transcriptomic analysis was performed in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using RNA-sequencing. Differentially expresses genes (DEG) in space were determined by comparing of the inflight to the preflight samples. Pathways and statistical analyses of these DEG were performed using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) tool.

Results: In comparison to pre-flight, a total of 2030 …

Hyperbaric Oxygen Augments Susceptibility To C. Difficile Infection By Impairing Gut Microbiota Ability To Stimulate The Hif-1Α-Il-22 Axis In Ilc3, José L Fachi, Laís P Pral, Helder C Assis, Sarah Oliveira, Vinícius R Rodovalho, Jefferson A C Dos Santos, Mariane F Fernandes, Valquíria A Matheus, Renata Sesti-Costa, Paulo J Basso, Marina Flóro E Silva, Niels O S Câmara, Selma Giorgio, Marco Colonna, Marco A R Vinolo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is a well-established method for improving tissue oxygenation and is typically used for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions, including infectious diseases. However, its effect on the intestinal mucosa, a microenvironment known to be physiologically hypoxic, remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that daily treatment with hyperbaric oxygen affects gut microbiome composition, worsening antibiotic-induced dysbiosis. Accordingly, HBO-treated mice were more susceptible to

Sillyputty: Improved Clustering By Optimizing The Silhouette Width, Polina Bombina, Dwayne Tally, Zachary B. Abrams, Kevin R. Coombes

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Clustering is an important task in biomedical science, and it is widely believed that different data sets are best clustered using different algorithms. When choosing between clustering algorithms on the same data set, reseachers typically rely on global measures of quality, such as the mean silhouette width, and overlook the fine details of clustering. However, the silhouette width actually computes scores that describe how well each individual element is clustered. Inspired by this observation, we developed a novel clustering method, called SillyPutty. Unlike existing methods, SillyPutty uses the silhouette width for individual elements as a tool to optimize the mean …

A Neural Mechanism For Conserved Value Computations Integrating Information And Rewards, Ethan S Bromberg-Martin, Yang-Yang Feng, Takaya Ogasawara, J Kael White, Kaining Zhang, Ilya E Monosov

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Behavioral and economic theory dictate that we decide between options based on their values. However, humans and animals eagerly seek information about uncertain future rewards, even when this does not provide any objective value. This implies that decisions are made by endowing information with subjective value and integrating it with the value of extrinsic rewards, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, we show that human and monkey value judgements obey strikingly conserved computational principles during multi-attribute decisions trading off information and extrinsic reward. We then identify a neural substrate in a highly conserved ancient structure, the lateral habenula (LHb). LHb …

Inhibition Of Src-3 As A Potential Therapeutic Strategy For Aggressive Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Imani Bijou, Yang Liu, Dong Lu, Jianwei Chen, Shelby Sloan, Lapo Alinari, David M Lonard, Bert W O'Malley, Michael Wang, Jin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has a poor prognosis and high relapse rates despite current therapies, necessitating novel treatment regimens. Inhibition of SRC-3 show effectiveness in vivo and in vitro in other B cell lymphomas. Additionally, previous studies have shown that SRC-3 is highly expressed in the lymph nodes of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, suggesting SRC-3 may play a role in the progression of B cell lymphoma. This study aimed to investigate novel SRC-3 inhibitors, SI-10 and SI-12, in mantle cell lymphoma. The cytotoxic effects of SI-10 and SI-12 were evaluated in vitro and demonstrated dose-dependent cytotoxicity in a panel …

Saprochaete Capitata Infection In Teen With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Receiving Echinocandin Prophylaxis, Jordan Killingsworth, Rachel Boren, Rachna Sheth, Michael L Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We report a case of a 15-year-old with refractory and relapsed AML and profound prolonged neutropenia who developed a Saprochaete capitata disseminated invasive infection while on echinocandin prophylaxis for invasive fungal disease. Azole antifungal therapies, which are often used as prophylaxis, were initially avoided due to concerns for CYP drug interactions. Treatment with a combination of liposomal amphotericin B, voriconazole, and adjuvant granulocyte transfusions was successful as he awaited neutrophil recovery.

Structure And Funding Of Clinical Informatics Fellowships: A National Survey Of Program Directors, Tushar N Patel, Aaron J Chaise, John J Hanna, Kunal P Patel, Karl M Kochendorfer, Richard J Medford, Dara E Mize, Edward R Melnick, Jonathan D Hron, Kenneth Youens, Deepti Pandita, Michael G Leu, Gregory A Ator, Feliciano Yu, Nicholas Genes, Carrie K Baker, Douglas S Bell, Joshua M Pevnick, Steven A Conrad, Aarti R Chandawarkar, Kendall M Rogers, David C Kaelber, Ila R Singh, Bruce P Levy, John T Finnell, Joseph Kannry, Natalie M Pageler, Vishnu Mohan, Christoph U Lehmann

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: In 2011, the American Board of Medical Specialties established clinical informatics (CI) as a subspecialty in medicine, jointly administered by the American Board of Pathology and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. Subsequently, many institutions created CI fellowship training programs to meet the growing need for informaticists. Although many programs share similar features, there is considerable variation in program funding and administrative structures.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to characterize CI fellowship program features, including governance structures, funding sources, and expenses.

METHODS: We created a cross-sectional online REDCap survey with 44 items requesting information on program administration, …

Translational And Oncologic Significance Of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures In Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Zachary Gao, Joseph Azar, Huili Zhu, Sophia Williams-Perez, Sung Wook Kang, Celia Marginean, Mark P Rubinstein, Shalini Makawita, Hyun-Sung Lee, E Ramsay Camp

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive tumor with poor survival and limited treatment options. PDAC resistance to immunotherapeutic strategies is multifactorial, but partially owed to an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TiME). However, the PDAC TiME is heterogeneous and harbors favorable tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) populations. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are organized aggregates of immune cells that develop within non-lymphoid tissue under chronic inflammation in multiple contexts, including cancers. Our current understanding of their role within the PDAC TiME remains limited; TLS are complex structures with multiple anatomic features such as location, density, and maturity that may impact clinical outcomes such as …

Diagnostic Value Of Soluble Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor In Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Michal Pruc, Iwona Jannasz, Damian Swieczkowski, Grzegorz Procyk, Aleksandra Gasecka, Zubaid Rafique, Francesco Chirico, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Milosz J Jaguszewski, Jaroslaw Wysocki, Lukasz Szarpak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: In contemporary clinical practice, there is an increasing need for new clinically relevant biomarkers potentially optimizing management strategies in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study aimed to determine the diagnostic utility of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels in individuals with suspected ACS.

METHODS: A literature search was performed in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, for studies comparing suPAR levels among patients with and without ACS groups. The methodological quality of the included papers was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). A fixed-effects model was used …

Treatment Of High- And Intermediate-High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism By The Pulmonary Embolism Response Team: Focus On Catheter-Directed Therapies, Arkadiusz Pietrasik, Paweł Kurzyna, Piotr Szwed, Karolina Jasińska-Gniadzik, Aleksandra Gąsecka, Szymona Darocha, Dariusz Zieliński, Łukasz Szarpak, Janusz Kochman, Marcin Grabowski, Grzegorz Opolski, Adam Torbicki, Marcin Kurzyna

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams (PERTs) were established to individualize the treatment of high-risk (HR) and intermediate-high-risk (IHR) pulmonary embolism (PE) patients, which pose a challenge in clinical practice.

METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data of all HR and IHR acute PE patients consulted by PERT CELZAT between September 2017 and October 2022. The patient population was divided into four different treatment methods: anticoagulation alone (AC), systemic thrombolysis (ST), surgical embolectomy (SE), and catheter-directed therapies (CDTx). Baseline clinical characteristics, risk stratification, PE severity parameters, and treatment outcomes were compared between the four groups.

RESULTS: Of the 110 patients with …

Meta-Analysis Of Postoperative Myocardial Injury As A Predictor Of Mortality After Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Krzysztof Jankowski, Frank W Peacock, Michal Pruc, Teresa Malecka-Massalska, Lukasz Szarpak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate postoperative myocardial injury, as expressed by the postoperative concentration of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) as a predictor of mortality among living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) patients.

METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched through to September 1st 2022. The primary endpoint included in-hospital mortality. Secondary endpoints were 1-year mortality and re-transplantation occurrence. Estimates are expressed as risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed with the I² test.

RESULTS: During the search, 2 studies were found …

Race, Ethnicity, Language, And The Treatment Of Low-Risk Febrile Infants, Colleen K Gutman, Paul L Aronson, Nidhi V Singh, Michelle L Pickett, Kamali Bouvay, Rebecca S Green, Britta Roach, Hannah Kotler, Jessica L Chow, Emily A Hartford, Mark Hincapie, Ryan St Pierre-Hetz, Jessica Kelly, Laura Sartori, Jennifer A Hoffmann, Jacqueline B Corboy, Kelly R Bergmann, Bolanle Akinsola, Vanessa Ford, Natalie J Tedford, Theresa T Tran, Sasha Gifford, Amy D Thompson, Andrew Krack, Mary Jane Piroutek, Samantha Lucrezia, Sunhee Chung, Nabila Chowdhury, Kathleen Jackson, Tabitha Cheng, Christian D Pulcini, Nirupama Kannikeswaran, Larissa L Truschel, Karen Lin, Jamie Chu, Neh D Molyneaux, Myto Duong, Leslie Dingeldein, Jerri A Rose, Carly Theiler, Sonali Bhalodkar, Emily Powers, Muhammad Waseem, Ahmed Lababidi, Xinyu Yan, Xiang-Yang Lou, Rosemarie Fernandez, K Casey Lion

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Febrile infants at low risk of invasive bacterial infections are unlikely to benefit from lumbar puncture, antibiotics, or hospitalization, yet these are commonly performed. It is not known if there are differences in management by race, ethnicity, or language.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between race, ethnicity, and language and additional interventions (lumbar puncture, empirical antibiotics, and hospitalization) in well-appearing febrile infants at low risk of invasive bacterial infection.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a multicenter retrospective cross-sectional analysis of infants receiving emergency department care between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. Data were analyzed from December 2022 …

Colonic Malakoplakia In A Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipient Case Report, Kristen G Valencia Deray, Richard Kellermayer, Alexis C Gomez, Kalyani R Patel, Peace Imani, Seiji Kitagawa, Claire E Bocchini, Alvaro Orjuela

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Malakoplakia is a rare, chronic granulomatous disease that mainly affects the genitourinary system of immunocompromised adults. It is caused by a bactericidal deficit in macrophages and, therefore, the treatment includes antimicrobials that reach high concentrations in macrophages. To our knowledge, we present the first case of malakoplakia in a pediatric solid organ transplant recipient. Our patient is a 15-year-old male renal transplant recipient who presented with recurrent diarrhea. Blood, urine, and gastrointestinal pathogen panel testing were positive for enteroaggregative Escherichia coli. A colonoscopy revealed diffuse malakoplakia. He had a complete resolution of symptoms with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy. Unfortunately, his malakoplakia recurred …

Smooth Muscle Contractile Responses To Bile Acids In Mouse Ileum Require Tgr5 But Not Asbt, Diana S Chang, Krishnakant G Soni, Geoffrey A Preidis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Many disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs) are more prevalent in women than men and feature alterations in gastrointestinal motility and bile acid homeostasis. Mechanisms by which bile acids regulate gastrointestinal motility are poorly characterized. We recently validated an adapted tissue bath technique using everted mouse ileum, which revealed differential contractile responses to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and deoxycholic acid (DCA). Here, we aimed to determine whether these responses are dependent on host sex, the plasma membrane bile acid receptor TGR5, or the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter ASBT.

METHODS: Ileal segments from male and female mice were everted and suspended …

The Impact Of Race On Pancreatic Cancer Treatment And Survival In The Nationwide Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Natalia Khalaf, Ann Xu, Theresa Nguyen Wenker, Jennifer R Kramer, Yan Liu, Hardeep Singh, Hashem B El-Serag, Fasiha Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Among patients with pancreatic cancer, studies show racial disparities at multiple steps of the cancer care pathway. Access to healthcare is a frequently cited cause of these disparities. It remains unclear if racial disparities exist in an integrated, equal access public system such as the Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

METHODS: We identified all patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the national Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry from January 2010 to December 2018. We examined the independent association between race and 3 endpoints: stage at diagnosis, receipt of treatment, and survival while adjusting for sociodemographic factors and medical comorbidities.

RESULTS: …

Recent Trends In The Incidence Of Gastric Cancer In The United States, Kyle S Liu, Syed Ahsan Raza, Hashem B El-Serag, Aaron P Thrift

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) incidence rates overall in the United States have declined over recent decades and are predicted to continue declining. However, there have been mixed recent findings regarding the potential stabilization of rates and potential divergent trends by age group. We used the most recent cancer data for the United States and examined trends in GC between 1992 and 2019, overall and in important subgroups of the population.

METHODS: Age-adjusted GC incidence rates and trends in adults 20 years or older were calculated using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 12 program. Secular trends were …

Efficacy Of Etripamil Nasal Spray For Acute Conversion Of Supraventricular Tachycardia: A Network Meta-Analysis, Adam Macech, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Francesco Chirico, Basar Cander, Michal Pruc, Zubaid Rafique, William Frank Peacock, Arash Ziapour, Lukasz Szarpak, Anna Salak, Milosz J Jaguszewski

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Management Of Postprocedural Conduction Disturbances Using A Prespecified Algorithm In The Optimize Pro Study., Kendra J Grubb, Steven J Yakubov, Tamim M Nazif, Suneet Mittal, Hemal Gada, Douglas G W Fraser, Joshua D Rovin, Ramzi Khalil, Robert T Pyo, Samin K Sharma, Mustafa Ahmed, Jian Huang, Josep Rodes-Cabau

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: Lack of standardization in posttranscatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) conduction disturbance (CD) identification and treatment may affect permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) rates and clinical outcomes. The safety and efficacy of a standardized TAVR CD algorithm has not been analyzed. This study analyzes the Optimize PRO post-TAVR CD management algorithm with Evolut PRO/PRO

METHODS: Optimize PRO is a prospective, postmarket study implementing 2 strategies to reduce pacemaker rates: TAVR with cusp overlap technique and a post-TAVR CD algorithm. The 2-hour postprocedural electrocardiogram (ECG) stratified patients to early discharge in the absence of new ECG changes or to CD algorithms for …

Profound First-Degree Atrioventricular Block In A High-Level Basketball Athlete., Justin D Stumph, William K Cornwell, Michael A Rosenberg, Morteza Khodaee

Heart and Vascular Articles

First-degree atrioventricular (AV) block (PR interval >200 ms) is commonly observed among screening electrocardiogram (ECG) in athletes. Profound first-degree AV block (PR interval >400 ms) and Mobitz type I (Wenckebach) second-degree AV block are generally uncommon and often require further workup on a case-by-case basis, particularly when there is concern for a structural cardiac abnormality. In this case, we present an example of an asymptomatic profound first-degree AV block with Mobitz type I (Wenckebach) second-degree AV block. Transthoracic echocardiogram and stress echocardiogram were unremarkable and the patient was cleared to participate in sports without any restriction. Physicians managing athletes should …