Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Genetics And Geography Of Leukocyte Telomere Length In Sub-Saharan Africans, Steven C Hunt, Michael A Province, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) might be causal in cardiovascular disease and major cancers. To elucidate the roles of genetics and geography in LTL variability across humans, we compared LTL measured in 1295 sub-Saharan Africans (SSAs) with 559 African-Americans (AAms) and 2464 European-Americans (EAms). LTL differed significantly across SSAs (P = 0.003), with the San from Botswana (with the oldest genomic ancestry) having the longest LTL and populations from Ethiopia having the shortest LTL. SSAs had significantly longer LTL than AAms [P = 6.5(e-16)] whose LTL was significantly longer than EAms [P = 2.5(e-7)]. Genetic variation in SSAs explained 52% of …

Maternal Hookworm Infection And Its Effects On Maternal Health: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Tara E Ness, Vedika Agrawal, Kathryn Bedard, Lara Ouellette, Timothy A Erickson, Peter Hotez, Jill E Weatherhead

Library Staff Publications

Hookworm is an intestinal parasite that infects nearly 230 million people, with another 5.1 billion at risk, especially in poverty-stricken tropical and subtropical regions. Pregnancy is an especially vulnerable time for hookworm infection because of its effect on both maternal and subsequently fetal health. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. The meta-analysis was performed on the association between maternal hookworm and maternal anemia, as well as maternal hookworm coinfection with malaria. The prevalence of hookworm ranged from 1% to 78% in pregnant women, whereas malaria prevalence ranged from 11% to 81%. Pregnant women with hookworm infection were more likely …

How Parents And Their Children Used Social Media And Technology At The Beginning Of The Covid-19 Pandemic And Associations With Anxiety., Michelle Drouin, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Jessica Pater, Tammy Toscos Phd

Health Services and Informatics Research

In this study, we examined parents' (n = 260) perceptions of their own and their children's use of social media and other types of communication technologies in the beginning stages of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related sanctions (e.g., social distancing) in the United States. We also examined associations between social media and technology use and anxiety. On average, parents reported that both they and their children (especially teenagers aged 13-18) had increased technology and social media use since the beginning of social distancing. Moreover, even after controlling for demographic factors, structural equation models showed that parents and children with …

Impact Of High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Training Via Telehealth In Low- And Middle-Income Countries., Jeremy B Hatcher, Oluwadamilola Oladeru, Betty Chang, Sameeksha Malhotra, Megan Mcleod, Adam Shulman, Claire Dempsey, Layth Mula-Hussain, Michael Tassoto, Peter Sandwall, Sonja Dieterich, Lina Sulieman, Dante Roa, Benjamin Li

Oncology Articles

PURPOSE: Our objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of a telehealth training course on high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for gynecologic cancer treatment for clinicians in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

METHODS: A 12-week course consisting of 16 live video sessions was offered to 10 cancer centers in the Middle East, Africa, and Nepal. A total of 46 participants joined the course, and 22 participants, on average, attended each session. Radiation oncologists and medical physicists from 11 US and international institutions prepared and provided lectures for each topic covered in the course. Confidence surveys of 15 practical competencies were administered to participants …

Maternal Hookworm Infection And Its Effects On Maternal Health: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Tara E Ness, Vedika Agrawal, Kathryn Bedard, Lara Ouellette, Timothy A Erickson, Peter Hotez, Jill E Weatherhead

Library Staff Publications

Hookworm is an intestinal parasite that infects nearly 230 million people, with another 5.1 billion at risk, especially in poverty-stricken tropical and subtropical regions. Pregnancy is an especially vulnerable time for hookworm infection because of its effect on both maternal and subsequently fetal health. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. The meta-analysis was performed on the association between maternal hookworm and maternal anemia, as well as maternal hookworm coinfection with malaria. The prevalence of hookworm ranged from 1% to 78% in pregnant women, whereas malaria prevalence ranged from 11% to 81%. Pregnant women with hookworm infection were more likely …

Modeling Age-Dependent Developmental Changes In The Expression Of Genes Involved In Citrulline Synthesis Using Pig Enteroids, Mahmoud A Mohammad, Inka C Didelija, Barbara Stoll, Douglas G Burrin, Juan C Marini

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

metabolism of citrulline and arginine are well characterized. Enteroids, a novel ex-vivo model that recreates the three-dimensional structure of the intestinal crypt-villus unit, have shown to replicate molecular and physiological profiles of the intestinal segment from where they originated ("location memory").

Objective: The present study tested the hypothesis that enteroids recapitulate the developmental changes observed in vivo regarding citrulline production in pigs ("developmental memory").

Methods: Preterm (10- and 5-d preterm) and term pigs at birth, together with 7- and 35-d-old pigs were studied. Gene expression was measured in jejunal samples and in enteroids derived from this segment. Whole body citrulline …

Type 1 Doing Well: Pilot Feasibility And Acceptability Study Of A Strengths-Based Mhealth App For Parents Of Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Marisa E Hilliard, Viena T Cao, Sahar S Eshtehardi, Charles G Minard, Rana Saber, Debbe Thompson, Lefkothea P Karaviti, Barbara J Anderson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a pilot behavioral intervention delivered to parents of adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) via mobile-friendly web app. The Type 1 Doing Well app aimed to promote supportive family diabetes management by helping parents recognize and reinforce teens' positive diabetes-related behaviors ("strengths").

Methods: Parents (n = 80, 74% recruitment) of adolescents (age range = 12-17 years, M = 15.3 ± 1.5 years, 59% female, 56% insulin pump, M hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) = 9.0% ± 2.1%) were randomized 2:1 to intervention or control (i.e., usual medical care with or without app) for …

Β-Cell Impairment And Clinically Meaningful Alterations In Glycemia In Obese Youth Across The Glucose Tolerance Spectrum, Joon Young Kim, Hala Tfayli, Fida Bacha, Sojung Lee, Nour Gebara, Silva Arslanian

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background/aims: In obese youth, it is not clear what degree of β-cell impairment translates to glucose dysregulation commensurate with shifts from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to type 2 diabetes. We aimed to investigate the quantitative relationship between β-cell (clamp-measured disposition index [DI]) and OGTT glucose area under the curve (G-AUC) in obese youth across the spectrum of glucose tolerance.

Methods: Data from 152 youth (58 African-American [AA] and 94 American-White [AW]; 73 NGT, 48 IGT, and 31 type 2 diabetes) who completed a 3-h hyperinsulinemic (80 mu/m2/min)-euglycemic clamp, and a 2-h hyperglycemic (225 mg/dL) clamp …

Paclitaxel Exposure: Long-Term Safety And Effectiveness Of A Drug-Coated Balloon For Claudication In Pooled Randomized Trials., Peter A Schneider, Marianne Brodmann, Laura Mauri, John Laird, Yoshimitsu Soga, Antonio Micari, Gary Ansel, Mehdi H Shishehbor, Prakash Krishnan, Qi Gao, Kenneth Ouriel, Thomas Zeller

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: Paclitaxel drug-coated balloons (DCB) prevent recurrent claudication after angioplasty, yet data from randomized trials with incomplete follow-up have raised uncertainty regarding long-term mortality.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of paclitaxel exposure on the long-term safety and efficacy of angioplasty of femoropopliteal artery lesions in the combined IN.PACT randomized trials.

METHODS: The IN.PACT randomized trials (SFA, N = 331 and Japan, N = 100) each compared the DCB with standard percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for claudication, and consented patients for 5 and 3 years, respectively. To address long-term safety, sites were requested to obtain vital status follow-up. In the pooled, …

Prenatal Depression And Risk Of Short Interpregnancy Interval In A Predominantly Puerto Rican Population, Sami Backley, Alex Knee, Penelope Pekow, Glenn Markenson, Katharine O White, Corina Schoen, Lisa Chasan-Taber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Short interpregnancy interval (IPI) is associated with risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, few studies have evaluated the role of depression as a risk factor for short IPI. Puerto Rican women in the United States experience disparities in adverse birth outcomes and have the highest birth rates.

Methods: We analyzed the association between prenatal depressive symptoms and IPI in Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort of predominantly Puerto Rican women in Western Massachusetts (2006–2011). Depression was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in early, mid, and late pregnancy. We calculated follow-up time as the difference between the …

Variable Expression Of Msh6 In Endometrial Carcinomas With Intact Mismatch Repair And With Mlh1 Loss Due To Mlh1 Methylation, Nidhi Tandon, Courtney Hudgens, Bryan Fellman, Michael T Tetzlaff, Russell R Broaddus

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair proteins MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 is an effective screen to detect individuals at risk for Lynch syndrome. College of American Pathologists guidelines stipulate that protein expression should be reported as present versus absent, as most patients with germline mutations in a mismatch repair gene have complete loss of protein expression in tumor cells. A similar approach is employed to screen for cancer patients eligible for immune checkpoint blockade. This "all or none" interpretive approach ignores substantial evidence that mismatch repair may be more finely regulated by other mechanisms. We have observed clinically that MSH6 expression …

The Arabic Version Of The Personality Inventory For The Dsm-5 (Pid-5) In A Clinical Sample Of United Arab Emirates (Uae) Nationals, Olga Coelho, Rute Pires, Ana Sousa Ferreira, Bruno Gonçalves, Samia A. Alkhoori, Mohamed A. Sayed, Amany Elrasheed, Sara Belhoul, Maryam Aljassmi, Joana Stocker

All Works

Objectives: We aimed to test the potential of the Arabic version of the PID-5 to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical participants, as well as to examine its convergent validity and factor structure in an Emirati clinical sample. Methods: The Arabic version of the PID-5 was administered to a clinical sample comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.38, SD = 8.99, 37.8% male, 62.2% female) and a community sample also comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.43, SD = 9.52, 37.2% male, 62.8% female). We addressed the descriptive measures, internal consistency, mean rank scores differences, convergent validity with SCL-90-R, and PID-5's …

Chronic Ulcers And Malnutrition In An African Patient\, Timothy G Singer, Monica A Bray, Audrey Chan, Saki Ikeda, Brittany Walters, Maren Y Fuller, Carla Falco

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

An 11-year-old female with a congenitally malformed left hand, sickle-cell trait, asthma, and history of appendicitis was transferred from Zambia for evaluation and treatment of widespread suppurative and ulcerative skin lesions that typically appeared following trauma to her skin. The ulcers first presented 3 years earlier but had markedly worsened in the 9 months prior to transfer, spreading circumferentially on her extremities and abdomen at the site of an appendectomy. They were painful and did not resolve with multiple courses of intravenous (IV) antibiotics and close management by a Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist working for a non-governmental organization (NGO) in …

Genetics Of Smoking Behaviors In American Indians, Jeffrey A Henderson, Dedra S Buchwald, Barbara V Howard, Patricia Nez Henderson, Yafang Li, Rachel F Tyndale, Christopher I Amos, Olga Y Gorlova, Collaborative To Improve Native Cancer Outcomes (Cinco), A P50 Center For Population Health And Health Disparities Program Project Sponsored By The National Cancer Institute

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The smoking behavior of American Indians (AI) differs from that of non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Typically light smokers, cessation interventions in AIs are generally less effective. To develop more effective cessation programs for AIs, clinicians, researchers, and public health workers need a better understanding of the genetic factors involved in their smoking behavior. Our aim was to assess whether SNPs associated with smoking behavior in NHWs are also associated with smoking in AIs.

METHODS: We collected questionnaire data on smoking behaviors and analyzed blood and saliva samples from two Tribal populations with dramatically different cultures and smoking prevalence, one in …

Geff: Graph Embedding For Functional Fingerprinting, Kausar Abbas, Enrico Amico, Diana Otero Svaldi, Uttara Tipnis, Duy Anh Duong-Tran, Mintao Liu, Meenusree Rajapandian, Jaroslaw Harezlak, Beau M Ances, Joaquín Goñi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

It has been well established that Functional Connectomes (FCs), as estimated from functional MRI (fMRI) data, have an individual fingerprint that can be used to identify an individual from a population (subject-identification). Although identification rate is high when using resting-state FCs, other tasks show moderate to low values. Furthermore, identification rate is task-dependent, and is low when distinct cognitive states, as captured by different fMRI tasks, are compared. Here we propose an embedding framework, GEFF (Graph Embedding for Functional Fingerprinting), based on group-level decomposition of FCs into eigenvectors. GEFF creates an eigenspace representation of a group of subjects using one …

The Impact Of Chronic Kidney Disease On Outcomes Following Peripheral Vascular Intervention., Dennis I Narcisse, Elizabeth Hope Weissler, Jennifer A Rymer, Ehrin J Armstrong, Eric A Secemsky, William A Gray, Jihad A Mustapha, George L Adams, Gary M Ansel, Manesh R Patel, William Schuyler Jones

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have worsened clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention; however, limited evidence exists in patients undergoing peripheral vascular intervention (PVI).

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the effect of CKD on outcomes following PVI for symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

METHODS: Using patients from the LIBERTY 360 study, we compared the rates of 30 day and 1 year major adverse vascular events (MAVE), a composite of all-cause mortality, major amputation, and target vessel/lesion revascularization, between patients with and without CKD (estimated glomular filtration rate less than 60) following PVI. Multivariable adjustment was performed to assess for …

A Retrospective Analysis Of Clinical Use Of Alirocumab In Lipoprotein Apheresis Patients, Anne C Goldberg, Richard L Dunbar, Linda Hemphill, Stephan P Babirak, Gerald Wilson, Michael Wooten, Mohamed Iydroose, Kelley Dacus, Heather Minchew, Julie-Ann Dutton, Patrick M Moriarty

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The previously published ODYSSEY ESCAPE trial demonstrated a significant reduction in the use of lipoprotein apheresis for heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) patients when placed on alirocumab 150 mg every 2 weeks. In patients with HeFH who have consistently elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) despite maximally tolerated statin therapy, current lipid guidelines recommend apheresis. Although apheresis reduces LDL-C levels by 50%-75%, it must be repeated, as frequently as every 1-2 weeks.

OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical experience with apheresis and alirocumab for patients in a real-world practice setting.

METHODS: This retrospective review included patients from 5 apheresis centers who …

Maternal Altitude And Risk Of Low Birthweight: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analyses, Lin Yang, Veronika Helbich-Poschacher, Chao Cao, Katrin Klebermass-Schrehof, Thomas Waldhoer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Previous studies conducted in high altitude regions showed that maternal altitude was associated with low birth weight. The effect size of birth weight reduction is inclusive with unknown effects due to preterm birth. We systematically reviewed the literature and synthesize evidence on associations between altitude elevation from sea level and birth weight.

METHOD: We searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane database, from inception to May 5, 2020 for studies that reported maternal altitude and birth weight. Bayesian multilevel effect models were employed to estimate the effect size on birth weight (and gestational age) associated with altitude. …

High Molecular Weight Adiponectin Levels Are Inversely Associated With Adiposity In Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors., Rebecca Ronsley, Shahrad Rod Rassekh, Adam Fleming, Brianna Empringham, William Jennings, Carol Portwine, Sarah Burrow, Shayna Zelcer, Donna L Johnston, Lehana Thabane, M Constantine Samaan

Paediatrics Publications

While children with brain tumors are surviving at record rates, survivors are at risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus; these conditions may be driven by excess body fat. Adiponectin in an adipokine that is inversely associated with the fat mass, and has been linked to cardiometabolic risk stratification in the general population. However, adiponectin's profile and determinants in SCBT have not been established. We tested the hypothesis that high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin levels, the more biologically active form of adiponectin, were associated with adiposity in SCBT similarly to non-cancer controls. Seventy-four SCBT (n = 32 female) …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment In Patients With Familial Mediterranean Fever Related Renal Amyloidosis., Micol Romano, David Piskin, Roberta A Berard, Bradley C Jackson, Cengizhan Acikel, Juan J Carrero, Helen J Lachmann, Mahmut I Yilmaz, Erkan Demirkaya

Paediatrics Publications

Chronic inflammation and proteinuria is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with chronic kidney diseases and rheumatologic disorders. Our aim was to investigate the CVD events (CVDEs) and survival between the patients with FMF-related AA amyloidosis and glomerulonephropathies (GN) to define possible predictors for CVDEs. A prospective follow-up study with FMF-amyloidosis and glomerulonephropathy (GN) was performed and patients were followed for CVDEs. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), FGF-23, serum lipid, hsCRP levels, BMI and HOMA were assessed. A Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate the risk factors for CVDEs. There were 107 patients in the FMF-amyloidosis group and …

Association Of Patient-Centered Medical Home Designation And Quality Indicators Within Hrsa-Funded Community Health Center Delivery Sites, Nathaniel Bell, Rebecca Wilkerson, Kathy Mayfield-Smith, Ana Lòpez-De Fede

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) adoption is an important strategy to help improve primary care quality within Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) community health centers (CHC), but evidence of its effect thus far remains mixed. A limitation of previous evaluations has been the inability to account for the proportion of CHC delivery sites that are designated medical homes.

METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study using HRSA Uniform Data System (UDS) and certification files from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the Joint Commission (JC). Datasets were linked through geocoding and an approximate string-matching algorithm. Predicted probability scores were …

Association Of Visceral Adipose Tissue And Subclinical Atherosclerosis In Us-Born Mexican Americans But Not First Generation Immigrants, Clarence Gill, Miryoung Lee, Kristina P Vatcheva, Nahid Rianon, Beverly Smulevitz, David D Mcpherson, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch, Susan T Laing

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background Excess visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a primary driver for the cardiometabolic complications of obesity; VAT-associated cardiovascular disease risk varies by race, but most studies have been done on Non-Hispanics. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and metabolic correlates of VAT, its association with subclinical atherosclerosis, and the factors affecting this association in Mexican Americans. Methods and Results Participants (n=527) were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC), on whom a carotid ultrasound to assess carotid intima media thickness and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan to assess for VAT were obtained. Those in the highest quartiles of …

Do Not Forget Our Pregnant Women During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabriel Costa Osanan, Maria Fernanda Escobar Vidarte, Jack Ludmir

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Accelerometry And General Compensatory Movements Of The Upper Limb After Stroke, Jessica Barth, Joeseph W Klaesner, Catherine E Lang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Standardized assessments are used in rehabilitation clinics after stroke to measure restoration versus compensatory movements of the upper limb. Accelerometry is an emerging tool that can bridge the gap between in- and out-of-clinic assessments of the upper limb, but is limited in that it currently does not capture the quality of a person's movement, an important concept to assess compensation versus restoration. The purpose of this analysis was to characterize how accelerometer variables may reflect upper limb compensatory movement patterns after stroke.

METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of an existing data set from a Phase II, single-blind, …

Brain Function Distinguishes Female Carriers And Non-Carriers Of Familial Risk For Autism, Adam T Eggebrecht, Ally Dworetsky, Zoë Hawks, Rebecca Coalson, Babatunde Adeyemo, Savannah Davis, Daniel Gray, Alana Mcmichael, Steven E Petersen, John N Constantino, John R Pruett

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by high population-level heritability and a three-to-one male-to-female ratio that occurs independent of sex linkage. Prior research in a mixed-sex pediatric sample identified neural signatures of familial risk elicited by passive viewing of point light motion displays, suggesting the possibility that both resilience and risk of autism might be associated with brain responses to biological motion. To confirm a relationship between these signatures and inherited risk of autism, we tested them in families enriched for genetic loading through undiagnosed ("carrier") females.

METHODS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined brain responses to passive …

Outcomes Of Venous End-To-Side Microvascular Anastomoses Of The Head And Neck., Matthew Stewart, Perry Hammond, Ishani Khatiwala, Brian Swendseid, Farshid Taghizadeh, Daniel Petrisor, Tingting Zhan, Richard Goldman, Adam Luginbuhl, Ryan Heffelfinger, Larissa Sweeny, Mark K Wax, Joseph M. Curry

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The literature on outcomes of end-to-side (ETS) anastomoses for microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck is limited. This series reviews ETS in free tissue transfer (FTT) across multiple institutions to better understand their usage and associated outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of 2482 consecutive patients across three tertiary institutions.

METHODS: Adult patients (> 18) who received a FTT from 2006 to 2019 were included.

RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-one FTT were identified as requiring at least one ETS anastomosis. These ETS cases had a failure rate of 11.2% in comparison to 3.8% in a cohort of end-to-end (ETE) …

Outcomes And Management Approaches Of Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion Of The Aorta Based On The Income Of Countries, Ramiro Manzano-Nunez, David Mcgreevy, Claudia P. Orlas, Alberto F. Garciá, Tal M. Hörer, Joseph Dubose, Carlos A. Ordoñez, Aast-Aorta Investigators And The Abotrauma Registry Group

Department of Surgery Faculty Publications

Background: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) could provide a survival benefit to severely injured patients as it may improve their initial ability to survive the hemorrhagic shock. Although the evidence supporting the use of REBOA is not conclusive, its use has expanded worldwide. We aim to compare the management approaches and clinical outcomes of trauma patients treated with REBOA according to the countries' income based on the World Bank Country and Lending Groups. Methods: We used data from the AORTA (USA) and the ABOTrauma (multinational) registries. Patients were stratified into two groups: (1) high-income countries (HICs) and …

Splicing Factor Sf3b1 Promotes Endometrial Cancer Progression Via Regulating Ksr2 Rna Maturation, Pooja Popli, Megan M Richters, Sangappa B Chadchan, Tae Hoon Kim, Eric Tycksen, Obi Griffith, Premal H Thaker, Malachi Griffith, Ramakrishna Kommagani

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Although endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract, we have little understanding of what controls endometrial cancer beyond the transcriptional effects of steroid hormones such as estrogen. As a result, we have limited therapeutic options for the ~62,000 women diagnosed with endometrial cancer each year in the United States. Here, in an attempt to identify new prognostic and therapeutic targets, we focused on a new area for this cancer-alternative mRNA splicing-and investigated whether splicing factor, SF3B1, plays an important role in endometrial cancer pathogenesis. Using a tissue microarray, we found that human endometrial tumors expressed …

Adaptive Thermogenesis Enhances The Life-Threatening Response To Heat In Mice With An Ryr1 Mutation, Hui J Wang, Chang Seok Lee, Rachel Sue Zhen Yee, Linda Groom, Inbar Friedman, Lyle Babcock, Dimitra K Georgiou, Jin Hong, Amy D Hanna, Joseph Recio, Jong Min Choi, Ting Chang, Nadia H Agha, Jonathan Romero, Poonam Sarkar, Nicol Voermans, M Waleed Gaber, Sung Yun Jung, Matthew L Baker, Robia G Pautler, Robert T Dirksen, Sheila Riazi, Susan L Hamilton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mutations in the skeletal muscle Ca2+ release channel, the type 1 ryanodine receptor (RYR1), cause malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS) and a life-threatening sensitivity to heat, which is most severe in children. Mice with an MHS-associated mutation in Ryr1 (Y524S, YS) display lethal muscle contractures in response to heat. Here we show that the heat response in the YS mice is exacerbated by brown fat adaptive thermogenesis. In addition, the YS mice have more brown adipose tissue thermogenic capacity than their littermate controls. Blood lactate levels are elevated in both heat-sensitive MHS patients with RYR1 mutations and YS mice due to …

Feasibility And Potential Efficacy Of Commercial Mhealth/Ehealth Tools For Weight Loss In African American Breast Cancer Survivors: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Jeanne M Ferrante, Katie A Devine, Alicja Bator, Ashley Rodgers, Pamela A Ohman-Strickland, Elisa V Bandera, Kevin O Hwang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Weight management after breast cancer (BC) treatment in African American (AA) women is crucial to reduce comorbid conditions and health disparities. We examined feasibility and potential efficacy of commercial eHealth/mHealth tools for weight management in AA BC survivors in New Jersey. Participants (N = 35) were randomized to an intervention (SparkPeople) plus activity tracker, Fitbit Charge (n = 18), or wait-list active control group (Fitbit only, n = 17). Anthropometric, behavioral, and quality of life (QOL) outcomes were collected at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Differences in outcomes were assessed using intent-to-treat analysis. Retention was 97.1%. Both groups lost …