Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Claims-Based Analysis Of Healthcare Cost Patterns

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a rare connective tissue disorder associated with substantial clinical complexity and healthcare utilization. Despite increasing recognition of EDS, little is known about its economic burden in the United States.

Objective: To assess the all-cause healthcare costs for individuals with newly diagnosed EDS during the pre-diagnosis year and the first 2 years post-diagnosis.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (2016-2022). Newly diagnosed patients were identified using ICD-10-CM codes, with the first observed diagnosis defined as the index date. Continuous enrollment for 12 months pre-index and 24 …

Building The Infection Prevention Workforce: Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute Infection Prevention And Control 300 Series

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) was established to strengthen infectious disease preparedness across Texas. The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) 300 Series represents the third year of a multi-tiered educational initiative designed to provide free, accessible, evidence-based IPC training and continuing education credits for the healthcare workforce.

Methods: Registration and attendance data were collected through Zoom™ and Microsoft Teams™. Knowledge assessments, post-module surveys, and mid- and end-of-series evaluations were administered through QuestionPro™. Module content was informed by guidance from APIC, CDC, CMS, and OSHA. Descriptive statistics and the Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation were used to assess …

Examining Tobacco Prevention And Cessation Among Dental Students In Southern Italy, Irene Tamí-Maury

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Previous studies have reported that tobacco use among healthcare providers (HCPs) has a negative impact on their beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco prevention and control measures. However, little is known about these among Italian dental students. Therefore, this single-site study examined tobacco use behaviors and the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of dental students at a public university in Southern Italy regarding tobacco prevention and control.

Methods: A cross-sectional study through an online survey was conducted among 115 students aged 18 + years enrolled in dentistry and dental hygiene programs at a Southern Italy university. Chi-squared, Fisher's, t-tests, and …

Adapting A Smartphone-Based Auricular Point Acupressure Self-Management Program For Rural Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Qualitative Study, Sarah Pace, Jennifer Kawi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is more prevalent in rural areas where access to pain interventions, including complementary approaches like Auricular Point Acupressure (APA), remains limited. APA is a non-invasive, needle-free approach, and its smartphone-based self-management delivery model has not been optimized for rural contexts.

Objectives: To explore the perspectives of rural partners on adapting a smartphone-based Auricular Point Acupressure-Self-Management (APA-SM) program to better meet rural needs. Study objectives were to: (1) refine the APA-SM program for rural adults, (2) identify implementation barriers, (3) understand practice workflows and engagement, and (4) identify strategies to integrate the APA-SM program into rural pain …

De Novo And Inherited Dominant Variants In U4 And U6 Snrna Genes Cause Retinitis Pigmentosa, Suzanne E De Bruijn, Mukhtar Ullah, Nick Zomer, Marc Folcher, Jacques Bijon, Lara K Holtes, Stephen H Tsang, Zelia Corradi, K Bailey Freund, Stefanida Shliaga, Daan M Panneman, Rebekkah J Hitti-Malin, Manir Ali, Ala'a Altalbishi, Sten Andréasson, Georg Ansari, Gavin Arno, Galuh D N Astuti, Radha Ayyagari, Sandro Banfi, Eyal Banin, Tahsin Stefan Barakat, Mirella T S Barboni, Miriam Bauwens, Tamar Ben-Yosef, Virginie Bernard, David G Birch, Pooja Biswas, Fiona Blanco-Kelly, Beatrice Bocquet, Camiel J F Boon, Kari Branham, Dominique Bremond-Gignac, Alexis Ceecee Britten-Jones, Kinga M Bujakowska, Cyril Burin Des Roziers, Elizabeth L Cadena, Giacomo Calzetti, Francesca Cancellieri, Luca Cattaneo, Naomi Chadderton, Peter Charbel Issa, Luísa Coutinho-Santos, Stephen P Daiger, Elfride De Baere, Marieke De Bruyne, Berta De La Cerda, John N De Roach, Julie De Zaeytijd, Ronny Derks, Claire-Marie Dhaenens, Lubica Dudakova, Jacque L Duncan, G Jane Farrar, Nicolas Feltgen, Beau J Fenner, Lidia Fernández-Caballero, Juliana M Ferraz Sallum, Simone Gana, Alejandro Garanto, Jessica C Gardner, Christian Gilissen, Roser Gonzàlez-Duarte, Kensuke Goto, Sam Griffiths-Jones, Tobias B Haack, Lonneke Haer-Wigman, Alison J Hardcastle, Takaaki Hayashi, Elise Héon, Lies H Hoefsloot, Alexander Hoischen, Josephine P Holtan, Carel B Hoyng, Manuel Benjamin B Ibanez, Chris F Inglehearn, Takeshi Iwata, Brynjar O Jensson, Kaylie Jones, Vasiliki Kalatzis, Smaragda Kamakari, Marianthi Karali, Ulrich Kellner, Caroline C W Klaver, Krisztina Knézy, Robert K Koenekoop, Susanne Kohl, Taro Kominami, Laura Kühlewein, Tina M Lamey, Rina Leibu, Bart P Leroy, Petra Liskova, Irma Lopez, Victor R De J López-Rodríguez, Quinten Mahieu, Omar A Mahroo, Gaël Manes, Luke Mansard, M Pilar Martín-Gutiérrez, Nelson Martins, Laura Mauring, Martin Mckibbin, Terri L Mclaren, Isabelle Meunier, Michel Michaelides, José M Millán, Kei Mizobuchi, Rajarshi Mukherjee, Zoltán Zsolt Nagy, Kornelia Neveling, Monika Ołdak, Michiel Oorsprong, Yang Pan, Anastasia Papachristou, Antonio Percesepe, Maximilian Pfau, Eric A Pierce, Emily Place, Raj Ramesar, Francis Ramond, Florence Andrée Rasquin, Gillian I Rice, Lisa Roberts, María Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Javier Ruiz-Ederra, Ataf H Sabir, Ai Fujita Sajiki, Ana Isabel Sánchez-Barbero, Asodu Sandeep Sarma, Riccardo Sangermano, Cristina M Santos, Margherita Scarpato, Hendrik P N Scholl, Dror Sharon, Sabrina G Signorini, Francesca Simonelli, Ana Berta Sousa, Maria Stefaniotou, Kari Stefansson, Katarina Stingl, Akiko Suga, Patrick Sulem, Lori S Sullivan, Viktória Szabó, Jacek P Szaflik, Gita Taurina, Alberta A H J Thiadens, Carmel Toomes, Viet H Tran, Miltiadis K Tsilimbaris, Pavlina Tsoka, Veronika Vaclavik, Marie Vajter, Sandra Valeina, Enza Maria Valente, Casey Valentine, Rebeca Valero, Sophie Valleix, Joseph Van Aerschot, L Ingeborgh Van Den Born, Mattias Van Heetvelde, Virginie J M Verhoeven, Andrea L Vincent, Andrew R Webster, Laura Whelan, Bernd Wissinger, Georgia G Yioti, Kazutoshi Yoshitake, Juan C Zenteno, Roberta Zeuli, Theresia Zuleger, Chaim Landau, Allan I Jacob, Siying Lin, Frans P M Cremers, Winston Lee, Jamie M Ellingford, David Stanek, Susanne Roosing, Carlo Rivolta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) combine with specific proteins to generate small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), the building blocks of the spliceosome. U4 snRNA forms a duplex with U6 and, together with U5, contributes to the tri-snRNP spliceosomal complex. Variants in RNU4-2, which encodes U4, have recently been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we show that heterozygous inherited and de novo variants in RNU4-2 and in four RNU6 paralogs (RNU6-1, RNU6-2, RNU6-8 and RNU6-9), which encode U6, recur in individuals with nonsyndromic retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disorder causing progressive blindness. These variants cluster within the three-way junction of the U4/U6 duplex, …

“I Can’T Just Talk It. I Have To Live It”: The Roles, Needs, And Recruitment Of Recovery Home House Managers, Danielle Gillespie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Recovery homes are an increasingly important recovery support service for people with substance use disorders, yet limited research has examined the roles of house managers or how individuals are recruited into these positions. This study examines how house managers understand and enact their roles, how recovery home operators recruit for these positions, and how the demands and sustainability of the role are perceived in practice.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 29 operators and staff working in 10 Level II and Level III recovery homes across five Texas cities.

Results: Findings indicate that house managers …

Advancing Virus-Associated Lymphoma Research In Latin America: A Global Opportunity For Cancer Science, Luis Malpica

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Abdominal Surgery As A Risk Factor For Unfavorable Immune-Mediated Colitis Outcomes, Varun Vemulapalli Mdi, Irene Jeong-Ah Lee, Andres Caleb Urias Rivera, Carolina Colli Cruz, Bryan Schneider, Shilpa Grover, Aliyah Pabani, Anusha S Thomas, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and aims: Risk factors for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy enterocolitis (IMC) have not been greatly explored. Abdominal surgery can reduce bacterial diversity, increase the presence of pathogenic bacteria, and lead to inflammatory changes. This retrospective analysis seeks to determine if a history of recent abdominal surgery in patients who receive ICI therapy affects the severity and duration of enterocolitis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with history of abdominal surgeries, who received ICI for cancers and then developed IMC. Clinical profiles, oncology variables, and colitis-related characteristics were reported.

Results: Seven hundred sixty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients median …

An Integrated Lifestyle-, Genetic- And Metabolomics-Based Prediction Model For Mild Cognitive Aging In The Hchs/Sol, Robert C Kaplan, Eric Boerwinkle, Qibin Qi, Myriam Fornage, Charles Decarli, Hector M González, Tamar Sofer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prediction models for cognitive aging measures have largely evaluated demographic variables and APOE carrier status in populations of European ancestry. To comprehensively assess prediction models among Hispanic/Latinos, we considered 12 models (6 predictor sets and 2 methods) for global cognitive score change (GCSC) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) (N = 5856). Based on the average mean squared error (MSE) for GCSC or average area under the curve (AUC) for MCI across 100 randomly split testing and training sets, performance was similar across models, but slightly better for the following models: …

Artificial Light At Night Extends Pollen Season And Elevates Allergen Exposure, Franz Hölker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Artificial light at night (ALAN), a growing environmental stressor in urban ecosystems, disrupts natural light-dark cycles and alters plant phenological events such as leaf-out and flowering. However, the extent to which ALAN influences airborne pollen season timing and exacerbates allergy-related health risks remains largely understudied. This study investigates how ALAN influences the timing and duration of the airborne pollen season across the Northeastern United States from 2012 to 2023 and the consequences of allergenic pollen exposure. Using daily pollen concentrations from the National Allergy Bureau, ALAN data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite product, and gridded Daymet climate data, …

Geospatial Disparities In Adolescent Mental Health Resources: School- And Community-Level Evidence From Travis County, Texas, Eric C Jones

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Adolescents in the United States face growing mental health challenges, with nearly one in three high school students reporting poor mental health in the past 30 days. Schools increasingly serve as key access points for mental health care. However, geographic disparities in access to school-based mental health services remain underexplored.

Purpose: This study examines the spatial distribution of adolescent mental health resources in Travis County, Texas, and evaluates how school- and community-level factors are associated with the presence of on-site school social workers.

Methods: School locations, enrollment data, and the presence of on-site social workers were mapped and analyzed …

Modeling Hepa Filter Media Performance And Evaluation Of Filtration Leak Test Success, Daniel M. Abraham, Steven J. Eckels, Shahin N. Amiri

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This research presents a cost-effective microscale modeling analysis of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter media. We analyzed leak-free and leaking media with known leak sizes. A three-dimensional fibrous model with non-homogeneous fiber diameters (0.2–2 µm) and a packing density of 7.5% was developed to replicate a HEPA filter sheet (H14) microstructure. The objective was to simulate and analyze the pressure drop and collection efficiency of nanofibrous media for aerosol particles with a diameter of d_p ≤ 0.5 µm. The results were compared to prior experimental and theoretical models, exhibiting a high level of agreement with pressure drop and efficiency …

Improving Hypertension Medication Adherence In Rural Southern Mississippi Minority Adults With Implementation Of A Patient Hypertension Education And Adherence Toolkit (Heat), Loni M. Brown

Theses

Non-adherence to medication treatment planning is a pervasive and challenging issue in health care, especially among patients with hypertension. Statistically, inadequately controlled hypertension due to non-adherence to treatment is most prevalent among Black and Hispanic Americans in the southern United States (Hayes et al., 2022). Particularly, hypertension within southern rural communities reflects substantial socioeconomic factors and health disparities influencing medication adherence (Besel et al., 2023). Minority adults over age forty, face increased health barriers to adequate treatment (Wilder et al., 2021). Moreover, the prevalence of hypertension medication non-adherence is notably higher in rural areas nationally (Besel et al., 2023). Black …