Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improving The Consistency And Accuracy Of Depression Screening Using The Phq-9 In A Behavioral Health Facility, Adaku Anike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses and one of the main causes of disability globally. Currently, at behavioral care facility patients are not consistently screened during the initial and follow-up visits due to limited staff knowledge in using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tool. Evidence-based literature recommends depression screening be done at every initial and follow-up visit. The PHQ-9 tool is valid and reliable for identifying, diagnosing, and monitoring depression treatment outcomes. Inadequate use of the PHQ-9 tool can lead to several negative patient outcomes. The project practice-focused question was: Does comprehensive education increase the knowledge …

Regression Modeling Of Cumulative Incidence Function For Left-Truncated Right-Censored Competing Risks Data: A Modified Pseudo-Observation Approach, Rong Rong, Jing Ning, Hong Zhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Statistical methods have been developed for regression modeling of the cumulative incidence function (CIF) given left-truncated right-censored competing risks data. Nevertheless, existing methods typically involve complicated weighted estimating equations or nonparametric conditional likelihood function and often require a restrictive assumption that censoring and/or truncation times are independent of failure time. The pseudo-observation (PO) approach has been used in regression modeling of CIF for right-censored competing risks data under covariate-independent censoring or covariate-dependent censoring. We extend this approach to left-truncated right-censored competing risks data and propose to directly model the CIF based on POs, under general truncation and censoring mechanisms. We …

Nprl2 Gene Therapy Induces Effective Antitumor Immunity In Kras/Stk11 Mutant Anti-Pd1 Resistant Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Nsclc) In A Humanized Mouse Model, Ismail M Meraz, Mourad Majidi, Renduo Song, Feng Meng, Lihui Gao, Qi Wang, Jing Wang, Elizabeth J Shpall, Jack A Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Expression of NPRL2/TUSC4, a tumor-suppressor gene, is reduced in many cancers including NSCLC. Restoration of NPRL2 induces DNA damage, apoptosis, and cell-cycle arrest. We investigated NPRL2 antitumor immune responses in aPD1R/KRAS/STK11^mt NSCLC in humanized-mice. Humanized-mice were generated by transplanting fresh human cord blood-derived CD34 stem cells into sub-lethally irradiated NSG mice. Lung-metastases were developed from KRAS/STK11^mt/aPD1R A549 cells and treated with NPRL2 w/wo pembrolizumab. NPRL2-treatment reduced lung metastases significantly, whereas pembrolizumab was ineffective. Antitumor effect was greater in humanized than non-humanized-mice. NPRL2 + pembrolizumab was not synergistic in KRAS/STK11^mt/aPD1R tumors but was …

Bbox1 Restrains Tbk1-Mtorc1 Oncogenic Signaling In Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Chengheng Liao, Lianxin Hu, Liwei Jia, Jin Zhou, Tao Wang, Kangsan Kim, Hua Zhong, Hongwei Yao, Lei Dong, Lei Guo, Qian Liang, Cheng Zhang, Fangzhou Zhao, Jun Fang, Hongyi Liu, Shina Li, Lin Xu, Jeremy M Simon, Srinivas Malladi, Payal Kapur, James Brugarolas, Ralph J Deberardinis, Qing Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), a metabolic disease originating from renal proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) epithelial cells, remains incompletely understood in terms of its initiating signaling events. Here, we identify γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase 1 (BBOX1), a key enzyme in carnitine synthesis predominantly expressed in PCT cells, as a tumor suppressor in ccRCC. BBOX1 expression is lost during ccRCC malignant transformation, and its restoration reduces cell viability in physiological medium and inhibits xenograft tumor growth. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that BBOX1 suppresses critical metabolic pathways including mTORC1 signaling and glycolysis in ccRCC. Further, we identify TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as an essential …

The Experience Of Genetic Testing Among Latinas With Brca1/2 Mutation, Lisania Milli

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Healthy women with BRCA1 (BReast CAncer gene 1) or BRCA2 (BReast CAncer gene 2), (henceforth, BRCA1/2 mutation) without a diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer (unaffected), have up to 80% increased lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, and up to 40% increased lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Genetic counseling and testing based upon family history is essential to diagnose genetic mutations increasing one’s risk for certain cancers. Latinas have the second highest prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations after Ashkenazi Jewish women, and cancer is now the leading cause of death among Latinos, surpassing cardiovascular disease. However, no qualitative study has been …

Mutational Scanning And Binding Free Energy Computations Of The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Complexes With Distinct Groups Of Neutralizing Antibodies: Energetic Drivers Of Convergent Evolution Of Binding Affinity And Immune Escape Hotspots, Mohammed Alshahrani, Vedant Parikh, Brandon Foley, Nishank Raisinghani, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has led to the emergence of variants with increased immune evasion capabilities, posing significant challenges to antibody-based therapeutics and vaccines. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive structural and energetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) complexes with neutralizing antibodies from four distinct groups (A–D), including group A LY-CoV016, group B AZD8895 and REGN10933, group C LY-CoV555, and group D antibodies AZD1061, REGN10987, and LY-CoV1404. Using coarse-grained simplified simulation models, rapid energy-based mutational scanning, and rigorous MM-GBSA binding free energy calculations, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms of antibody binding and escape mechanisms, identified key …

The Foundational Capabilities Of Large Language Models In Predicting Postoperative Risks Using Clinical Notes, Charles Alba, Bing Xue, Joanna Abraham, Thomas Kannampallil, Chenyang Lu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Clinical notes recorded during a patient's perioperative journey holds immense informational value. Advances in large language models (LLMs) offer opportunities for bridging this gap. Using 84,875 preoperative notes and its associated surgical cases from 2018 to 2021, we examine the performance of LLMs in predicting six postoperative risks using various fine-tuning strategies. Pretrained LLMs outperformed traditional word embeddings by an absolute AUROC of 38.3% and AUPRC of 33.2%. Self-supervised fine-tuning further improved performance by 3.2% and 1.5%. Incorporating labels into training further increased AUROC by 1.8% and AUPRC by 2%. The highest performance was achieved with a unified foundation model, …

Utility Of Caregiver Signaling Questions To Detect Neurocognitive Impairment In Children With Sickle Cell Disease, Christina M Dandar, Lakia Kearson, Jennifer N Longoria, Brian Potter, Allison A King, Jeffrey Gossett, Clifford M Takemoto, Jane S Hankins, Guolian Kang, Andrew M Heitzer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The American Society of Hematology cerebrovascular guidelines for sickle cell disease (SCD) recommend surveillance using signaling questions to screen for neurocognitive difficulties, although the clinical utility of these signaling questions has yet to be established. This study aimed to determine the clinical utility of caregiver signaling questions for detecting significant neurocognitive impairment (defined as >1.5 standard deviation [SD] below the normative mean on ≥2 measures) and domain-specific impairment (defined as >1.5 SD below the normative mean) in children and adolescents with SCD. A total of 421 caregivers of children with SCD aged 8 to 17 years (62% hemoglobin SS (HbSS) …

Phosphorylation Of Cryab Induces A Condensatopathy To Worsen Post-Myocardial Infarction Left Ventricular Remodeling, Moydul Islam, David R. Rawnsley, Xiucui Ma, Walter Navid, Chen Zhao, Xumin Guan, Layla Foroughi, John T. Murphy, Honora Navid, Carla J. Weinheimer, Attila Kovacs, Jessica Nigro, Aaradhya Diwan, Ryan P. Chang, Minu Kumari, Martin E. Young, Babak Razani, Kenneth B. Margulies, Mahmoud Abdellatif, Simon Sedej, Ali Javaheri, Douglas F. Covey, Kartik Mani, Abhinav Diwan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Protein aggregates are emerging therapeutic targets in rare monogenic causes of cardiomyopathy and amyloid heart disease, but their role in more prevalent heart-failure syndromes remains mechanistically unexamined. We observed mislocalization of desmin and sarcomeric proteins to aggregates in human myocardium with ischemic cardiomyopathy and in mouse hearts with post-myocardial infarction ventricular remodeling, mimicking findings of autosomal-dominant cardiomyopathy induced by the R120G mutation in the cognate chaperone protein CRYAB. In both syndromes, we demonstrate increased partitioning of CRYAB phosphorylated on serine 59 to NP40-insoluble aggregate-rich biochemical fraction. While CRYAB undergoes phase separation to form condensates, the phosphomimetic mutation of serine 59 …

Toward Equity In Cultivating A "Garden Of Mentors:" An Exploration Of Networking Experiences In An Implementation Research Training Program, Loni J Parrish, Amanda Gilbert, Kate Hoppe, Gloria D Coronado, Karen M Emmons, Amy A Eyler, Debra Haire-Joshu, Rebekah R Jacob, Alison B Hamilton, Shelly J Kannuthurai, Ross C Brownson

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The Institute for Implementation Science Scholars (IS-2) is a dissemination and implementation (D&I) science training and mentoring program. A key component of IS-2 is collaborating and networking. To build knowledge on effective networking and mentoring, this study sought to 1) conduct a social network analysis to determine whether underrepresented scholars have equivalent levels of connection and 2) gain insights into the differences in networking among racial/ethnic subgroups of scholars.

METHODS: Social network survey data were used to select participants based on number of collaborative connections (highest, lowest) and racial/ ethnic category (underrepresented, not underrepresented). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and …

2024 Physician-Scientist Trainee Diversity Summit Conference Proceedings, Jessica Weng, Cynthia Y Tang, Kyle T Enriquez, Rohini N Guin, Briana Christophers, Yentli E Soto Albrecht, Daniel B Amusin, Deborah D Rupert, Paige Cooper Byas

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The Physician-Scientist Trainee Diversity Summit, hosted by the American Physician Scientists Association and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, was conceived in 2019 with the mission of developing strategic plans to diversify the physician-scientist community using human-centered design thinking. In June 2024, the second iteration of this conference was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, and brought together a network of scientific and medical organizations to discuss issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion facing physician-scientist trainees. This article summarizes the progress made from the first meeting, the proceedings of the 2024 Summit, and a thematic analysis of the recent meeting, offering tangible …

Complete Genome Sequence Of A Penicillin-Resistant Fusobacterium Necrophorum Subsp Funduliforme Isolate From A Tonsillitis Patient, Bibek G C, Anders Jensen, Chenggang Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We report the complete genome sequence of a penicillin-resistant Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. funduliforme isolate, AJ79, from a tonsillitis patient. The AJ79 genome consists of a chromosome (2,440,359 bp) and plasmid (9,887 bp), providing insights into the genetic basis of penicillin resistance in F. necrophorum and its implications for treating tonsillitis.

Repeat Expansion In A Fragile X Model Is Independent Of Double Strand Break Repair Mediated By Pol Θ, Rad52, Rad54 Or Rad54b, Bruce E Hayward, Geum-Yi Kim, Carson J Miller, Cai Mccann, Megan G Lowery, Richard D Wood, Karen Usdin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Microsatellite instability is responsible for the human repeat expansion diseases (REDs). The mutagenic process differs from classical cancer-associated microsatellite instability (MSI) in that it requires the mismatch repair proteins that normally protect against MSI. LIG4, an enzyme essential for non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), the major pathway for double-strand break repair (DSBR) in mammalian cells, protects against expansion in mouse models. Thus, NHEJ may compete with the expansion pathway for access to a common intermediate. This raises the possibility that expansion involves an NHEJ-independent form of DSBR. Pol θ, a polymerase involved in the theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ) DSBR pathway, has been …

Engineered Immunomodulatory Extracellular Vesicles From Epithelial Cells With The Capacity For Stimulation Of Innate And Adaptive Immunity In Cancer And Autoimmunity, Xin Luo, Fernanda G Kugeratski, Dara P Dowlatshahi, Hikaru Sugimoto, Kent A Arian, Yibo Fan, Li Huang, Danielle Wills, Sergio Lilla, Kelly Hodge, Sara R Zanivan, Valerie S Lebleu, Kathleen M Mcandrews, Raghu Kalluri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generated by all cells. Systemic administration of allogenic EVs derived from epithelial and mesenchymal cells have been shown to be safe, despite carrying an array of functional molecules, including thousands of proteins. To address whether epithelial cells derived EVs can be modified to acquire the capacity to induce immune response, we engineered 293T EVs to harbor the immunomodulatory molecules CD80, OX40L and PD-L1. We demonstrated abundant levels of these proteins on the engineered cells and EVs. Functionally, the engineered EVs efficiently elicited positive and negative co-stimulation of human and murine T cells. In the setting of …

Assessing Dynamic Cognitive Function In The Daily Lives Of Youths With And Without Type 1 Diabetes: Usability Study, Mary Katherine Ray, Jorie Fleming, Andrew Aschenbrenner, Jason Hassenstab, Brooke Redwine, Carissa Burns, Ana Maria Arbelaez, Mary Ellen Vajravelu, Tamara Hershey

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown a relationship between worse glycemic control and lower cognitive scores in youths with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, most studies assess long-term glucose control (eg, years-decades) and cognition at a single time point. Understanding this relationship at a higher temporal resolution (eg, minutes-hours) and in naturalistic settings has potential clinical implications. Newer technology (eg, continuous glucose monitoring [CGM] and ecological momentary assessment) provides a unique opportunity to explore the glucose dynamics that influence dynamic cognition; that is, cognitive functions that fluctuate short-term and are influenced by environmental factors.

OBJECTIVE: Before we can assess this relationship, we …

The Tie2 Antagonist Rebastinib Reduces Ovarian Cancer Growth In A Syngeneic Murine Model, Vijayalaxmi G Gupta, Katherine F Roby, Harsh B Pathak, Andrew K Godwin, Sumedha Gunewardena, Dineo Khabele

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The receptor tyrosine kinase TIE2 and its ligands, angiopoietins (ANGPTs), promote angiogenesis. In addition to expression on vascular endothelial cells, TIE2 is expressed on M2-like pro-tumorigenic macrophages. Thus, the TIE2 inhibitor rebastinib was developed as a potential therapy to address multiple cancers. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of rebastinib alone and combined with chemotherapy in a syngeneic murine model of ovarian cancer.

METHODS: Female C57Bl6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with syngeneic ID8 ovarian cancer cells. Once tumors were established, mice were untreated (control) or treated with rebastinib, carboplatin plus paclitaxel (chemotherapy), or rebastinib plus …

Author Correction: Orthogonal And Multiplexable Genetic Perturbations With An Engineered Prime Editor And A Diverse Rna Array, Qichen Yuan, Hongzhi Zeng, Tyler C Daniel, Qingzhuo Liu, Yongjie Yang, Emmanuel C Osikpa, Qiaochu Yang, Advaith Peddi, Liliana M Abramson, Boyang Zhang, Yong Xu, Xue Gao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Correction to: Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-024-55134-9, published online 30 December 2024

In the version of the article initially published, there were errors in Fig. 3d, where in the x-axis labels now reading “GPP-shRNA1, GPP-shRNA2, GPP-shRNA3…,” the second and third labels were duplicates of the first. The figure is amended in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Mbnl Overexpression Rescues Cardiac Phenotypes In A Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Heart Mouse Model, Rong-Chi Hu, Yi Zhang, Larissa Nitschke, Sara J Johnson, Ayrea E Hurley, William R Lagor, Zheng Xia, Thomas A Cooper

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by a CTG repeat expansion in the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase (DMPK) gene. The expanded CUG repeat RNA (CUGexp RNA) transcribed from the mutant allele sequesters the muscleblind-like (MBNL) family of RNA-binding proteins, causing their loss of function and disrupting regulated pre-mRNA processing. We used a DM1 heart mouse model that inducibly expresses CUGexp RNA to test the contribution of MBNL loss to DM1 cardiac abnormalities and explored MBNL restoration as a potential therapy. AAV9-mediated overexpression of MBNL1 and/or MBNL2 significantly rescued DM1 cardiac phenotypes including conduction delays, contractile …

Intensive Lifestyle Intervention, Cardiac Biomarkers, And Cardiovascular Outcomes In Diabetes: Look Ahead Cardiac Biomarker Ancillary Study, Kershaw V Patel, Zainali Chunawala, Subodh Verma, Matthew W Segar, Katelyn R Garcia, Chiadi E Ndumele, Thomas J Wang, James L Januzzi, Antoni Bayes-Genis, Javed Butler, Carolyn S P Lam, Christie M Ballantyne, James A De Lemos, Alain G Bertoni, Mark Espeland, Ambarish Pandey

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) are associated with cardiovascular outcomes and are recommended for measurement in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the effects of an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) targeting weight loss on cardiac biomarkers and the prognostic association of changes in these biomarkers with risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in T2D are not well-established.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effects of an ILI on cardiac biomarkers and the association of changes in cardiac biomarkers with risk of cardiovascular outcomes in T2D.

Methods: Participants of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health …

External Apical Root Resorption In Orthodontics, Morgan Mecham, Shilpa Bhandi, Shankargouda Patil, Frank Licari

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Smiles: Green Orthodontics For A Better Tomorrow, Arzu Manochehri, Shilpa Bhandi, Frank W. Licardi, Shankargounga Patil

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap: Miniscrew-Assisted Palatal Expansion In A Non-Growing Patient: A Case Report, Jacob Thomas, Ms Ravi, Suraj Prasad Sinha

Annual Research Symposium

This case report describes the treatment of transverse maxillary deficiency using a Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expander (MARPE) appliance. MARPE is an innovative non-surgical appliance designed to expand the maxillary arch through skeletal and dentoalveolar modification.

Investigating The Impact Of Tirzepatide Treatment On Alcohol And Cigarette Consumption, Yvannia Gray, Benjamin Latey, Hayden Mcaffee, Karissa Mccown, Seth Maki, Victoria Nguyen, Andrew Payne

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation As A Treatment Modality For Functional Bowel Disorder And Irritable Bowel Syndrome And Possible Correlations With The Gut-Brain Axis: A Review, Lauren Draper, Devin Pfister, Ethan Zaugg

Annual Research Symposium

Functional Bowel Disorders (FBD), including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), are highly prevalent gastrointestinal conditions classified as Disorders of Gut-Brain Interactions (DGBIs) under the Rome IV criteria. These conditions, marked by abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and significant psychological comorbidities, present substantial challenges in both diagnosis and treatment. Conventional therapies primarily target gut-centric mechanisms but often yield limited efficacy, underscoring the need for approaches that account for the complex interplay of the gut-brain axis in DGBI pathophysiology.

Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells Applied For Tissue Rehabilitation Could Increase The Risk Of Recurrence In Oral Cancer Patients: Evidence From In-Vitro Analysis, Thirumal Raj, Supriya Kheur

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Therapeutic Potential Of Resveratrol In Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review Of Its Effects On Kcc2 Expression, Lauren R. Nelson, Ashlyn Hughes, Jory Winward, Natalie Phanco, Andrew Payne Phd

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Anesthesia And Pain Management In Conflict-Affected Regions: Addressing Global Health Barriers To Access And Quality Of Care​, Naeel Uddin, Sierra Brown, Maria Easler, Ayanda Mkhize, Marwa Hamdam, Chandu Goli, Lauren Draper

Annual Research Symposium

This poster examines how to deliver safe, effective anesthesia and pain control in areas with limited resources and ongoing security threats. Focusing on portable technology, ketamine-based protocols, and telemedicine, we highlight ethical considerations, training needs, and global collaborations. Our findings outline a pathway to reduce suffering and improve surgical outcomes in vulnerable populations by addressing challenges unique to conflict settings.

Orthodontic Correction Of Bimaxillary Protrusion Using Mbt And Frictionless Retraction: A Case Report, Sai Kalyan Menta, Ms Ravi

Annual Research Symposium

The present poster is about a case report of class I bimaxillary protrusion patient, orthodontically treated by extracting all four premolars and retracted using frictionless mechanics (Tear drop loop).

Investigating The Effects Of Resveratrol On Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia, Bryana Cox, Thien Do, Ashlyn Hughes, Zane Kingsbury, Keara Leroy, Andrew J. Payne

Annual Research Symposium

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is an adverse effect of chronic opioid therapy, characterized by increased sensitivity to pain. This study will seek to determine if using resveratrol supplementation as an indirect enhancer to increase the expression of the KCC2 membrane transporter can alleviate the symptoms of OIH in human subjects.

Effect Of Biomineralizing Bulk Fill Restoratives On The Functional Properties Of Occlusomesial Restorations Invitro, Thilla Sekar Vinothkumar, Apathsakayan Renugalakshmi

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.