Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Possible Transmission Flow Of Sars-Cov-2 Based On Ace2 Features, Sk Sarif Hassan, Shinjini Ghosh, Diksha Attrish, Pabitra Pal Choudhury, Alaa A A Aljabali, Bruce D Uhal, Kenneth Lundstrom, Nima Rezaei, Vladimir N Uversky, Murat Seyran, Damiano Pizzol, Parise Adadi, Antonio Soares, Tarek Mohamed Abd El-Aziz, Ramesh Kandimalla, Murtaza M Tambuwala, Gajendra Kumar Azad, Samendra P Sherchan, Wagner Baetas-Da-Cruz, Kazuo Takayama, Ángel Serrano-Aroca, Gaurav Chauhan, Giorgio Palu, Adam M Brufsky

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Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the cellular receptor for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is engendering the severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the three sub-domains viz. amino acids (aa) 22-42, aa 79-84, and aa 330-393 of ACE2 on human cells to initiate entry. It was reported earlier that the receptor utilization capacity of ACE2 proteins from different species, such as cats, chimpanzees, dogs, and cattle, are different. A comprehensive analysis of ACE2 receptors of nineteen species was carried out in this study, and the …

Addressing Health Disparities In The Rural United States: Advocacy As Caregiving Among Community Health Workers And Promotores De Salud, Ryan I Logan, Heide Castañeda

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Rural populations in the United States are faced with a variety of health disparities that complicate access to care. Community health workers (CHWs) and their Spanish-speaking counterparts, promotores de salud, are well-equipped to address rural health access issues, provide education, and ultimately assuage these disparities. In this article, we compare community health workers in the states of Indiana and Texas, based on the results of two separate research studies, in order to (1) investigate the unique role of CHWs in rural communities and (2) understand how their advocacy efforts represent a central form of caregiving. Drawing on ethnographic, qualitative data—including …

Disproportionate Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Racial And Ethnic Minorities, Brad Boserup, Mark Mckenney, Adel Elkbuli

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Background: Health disparities are prevalent in many areas of medicine. We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US) and to assess the effects of social distancing, social vulnerability metrics, and medical disparities.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Demographic data were obtained from the US Census Bureau, social vulnerability data were obtained from the CDC, social distancing data were obtained from Unacast, and medical disparities data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. …

Safety And Efficacy Of Tocilizumab In The Treatment Of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Atul Patel, Kinjal Shah, Mitkumar Dharsandiya, Ketan Patel, Tushar Patel, Mukesh Patel, Tea Reljic, Ambuj Kumar

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Background: Cytokine release storm (CRS) in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) is thought to be the cause for organ damage and death which is independent of the actual viral burden. Tocilizumab (TCZ), an interleukin-6 receptor antagonist, is approved for the treatment of CRS. We describe the efficacy and safety of TCZ in SARS CoV-2 pneumonia. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital from April 20 2020 to May 21 2020. The primary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of a composite of either need for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) with invasive mechanical …

Comparative Analysis Of Covid-19 Guidelines From Six Countries: A Qualitative Study On The Us, China, South Korea, The Uk, Brazil, And Haiti, Ji Youn Yoo, Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra, Dany Fanfan, Sarah Sniffen, Hao Wang, Jamile Siddiqui, Hyo-Suk Song, Sung Hwan Bang, Dong Eun Kim, Shihoon Kim, Maureen Groer

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Background: In late January, a worldwide crisis known as COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO. Within only a few weeks, the outbreak took on pandemic proportions, affecting over 100 countries. It was a significant issue to prevent and control COVID-19 on both national and global scales due to the dramatic increase in confirmed cases worldwide. Government guidelines provide a fundamental resource for communities, as they guide citizens on how to protect themselves against COVID-19, however, they also provide critical guidance for policy makers and healthcare professionals on how to take action to decrease …

Intrinsic Disorder In Transmembrane Proteins: Roles In Signaling And Topology Prediction, Jérôme Bürgi, Bin Xue, Vladimir N Uversky, F Gisou Van Der Goot

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are peculiar stretches of amino acids that lack stable conformations in solution. Intrinsic Disorder containing Proteins (IDP) are defined by the presence of at least one large IDR and have been linked to multiple cellular processes including cell signaling, DNA binding and cancer. Here we used computational analyses and publicly available databases to deepen insight into the prevalence and function of IDRs specifically in transmembrane proteins, which are somewhat neglected in most studies. We found that 50% of transmembrane proteins have at least one IDR of 30 amino acids or more. Interestingly, these domains preferentially localize …

Identification Of Ecdysone Hormone Receptor Agonists As A Therapeutic Approach For Treating Filarial Infections, Amruta S Mhashilkar, Sai L Vankayala, Canhui Liu, Fiona Kearns, Priyanka Mehrotra, George Tzertzinis, Subba R Palli, H. Lee Woodcock Iii, Thomas R Unnasch

Chemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: A homologue of the ecdysone receptor has previously been identified in human filarial parasites. As the ecdysone receptor is not found in vertebrates, it and the regulatory pathways it controls represent attractive potential chemotherapeutic targets.

METHODOLOGY/ PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Administration of 20-hydroxyecdysone to gerbils infected with B. malayi infective larvae disrupted their development to adult stage parasites. A stable mammalian cell line was created incorporating the B. malayi ecdysone receptor ligand-binding domain, its heterodimer partner and a secreted luciferase reporter in HEK293 cells. This was employed to screen a series of ecdysone agonist, identifying seven agonists active at sub-micromolar concentrations. …

The Exceptionally High Reactivity Of Cys 621 Is Critical For Electrophilic Activation Of The Sensory Nerve Ion Channel Trpa1, Parmvir K. Bahia, Thomas A. Parks, Katherine R. Stanford, David A. Mitchell, Sameer Varma, Stanley M. Stevens Jr., Thomas E. Taylor-Clark

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Activation of the sensory nerve ion channel TRPA1 by electrophiles is the key mechanism that initiates nociceptive signaling, and leads to defensive reflexes and avoidance behaviors, during oxidative stress in mammals. TRPA1 is rapidly activated by subtoxic levels of electrophiles, but it is unclear how TRPA1 outcompetes cellular antioxidants that protect cytosolic proteins from electrophiles. Here, using physiologically relevant exposures, we demonstrate that electrophiles react with cysteine residues on mammalian TRPA1 at rates that exceed the reactivity of typical cysteines by 6,000-fold and that also exceed the reactivity of antioxidant enzymes. We show that TRPA1 possesses a complex reactive cysteine …

Reengineering Of Mesh Thesauri For Term Selection To Optimize Literature Retrieval And Knowledge Reconstruction In Support Of Stem Cell Research, Yan Su, James E. Andrews, Hong Huang, Yue Wang, Liangliang Kong, Peter Cannon, Ping Xu

School of Information Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: PubMed is a widely used database for scientists to find biomedical-related literature. Due to the complexity of the selected research subject and its interdisciplinary nature, as well as the exponential growth in the number of disparate pieces of biomedical literature, it is an overwhelming challenge for scientists to define the right search strategies and quickly locate all related information. Specialized subsets and groupings of controlled vocabularies, such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), can enhance information retrieval in specialized domains, such as stem cell research. There is a need to develop effective search strategies and convenient solutions for knowledge organization …

Molecular Mechanism Of Protein Kinase Recognition And Sorting By The Hsp90 Kinome-Specific Cochaperone Cdc37, Dimitra Keramisanou, Adam Aboalroub, Ziming Zhang, Wenjun Liu, Devon Marshall, Andrea Diviney, Randy W. Larsen, Ralf Landgraf, Ioannis Gelis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Despite the essential functions of Hsp90, little is known about the mechanism that controls substrate entry into its chaperone cycle. We show that the role of Cdc37 cochaperone reaches beyond that of an adaptor protein and find that it participates in the selective recruitment of only client kinases. Cdc37 recognizes kinase specificity determinants in both clients and nonclients and acts as a general kinase scanning factor. Kinase sorting within the client-to-nonclient continuum relies on the ability of Cdc37 to challenge the conformational stability of clients by locally unfolding them. This metastable conformational state has high affinity for Cdc37 and forms …

Fear Conditioning And Extinction In Youth With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Joseph F. Mcguire, Scott P. Orr, Monica S. Wu, Adam B. Lewin, Brent J. Small, Vicky Phares, Tanya K. Murphy, Sabine Wilhelm, Daniel S. Pine, Daniel Geller, Eric A. Storch

Psychology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Fear acquisition and extinction are central constructs in the cognitive-behavioral model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which underlies exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Youth with OCD may have impairments in fear acquisition and extinction that carry treatment implications. We examined these processes using a differential conditioning procedure.

METHODS: Forty-one youth (19 OCD, 22 community comparisons) completed a battery of clinical interviews, rating scales, and a differential conditioning task that included habituation, acquisition, and extinction phases. Skin conductance response (SCR) served as the primary dependent measure.

RESULTS: During habituation, no difference between groups was observed. During acquisition, differential fear conditioning was observed …

Transdiagnostic Psychiatric Symptoms And Event-Related Potentials Following Rewarding And Aversive Outcomes, Jeffrey S. Bedwell, Geoffrey Potts, Diane C. Gooding, Benjamin J. Trachik, Chi C. Chan, Christopher C. Spencer

Psychology Faculty Publications

There is a need for a better understanding of transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms that relate to neurophysiological abnormalities following rewarding and aversive feedback in order to inform development of novel targeted treatments. To address this need, we examined a transdiagnostic sample of 44 adults (mean age: 35.52; 57% female), which consisted of individuals with broadly-defined schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (n = 16), bipolar disorders (n = 10), other mood and anxiety disorders (n = 5), and no history of a psychiatric disorder (n = 13). Participants completed a Pavlovian monetary reward prediction task during 32-channel electroencephalogram recording. We assessed the event-related potentials (ERPs) …

Comorbid Substance Use Diagnoses And Partner Violence Among Offenders Receiving Pharmacotherapy For Opioid Dependence, Cory A. Crane, Robert C. Schlauch, Susan Devine, Caroline J. Easton

Psychology Faculty Publications

While previous studies find mixed evidence of an association between opioid use and intimate partner violence perpetration among community samples, initial evidence has detected increased rates of partner violence among individuals receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The current study evaluated the role of current comorbid substance use diagnoses, a robust risk factor for violent behavior, on the likelihood of perpetrating partner violence among a high risk sample of offenders receiving pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. The authors analyzed self-report data provided by 81 (55 male) opioid dependent offenders during a court-ordered substance use interview. Approximately one-third of the sample …

A Comparative Effectiveness Meta-Analysis Of Drugs For The Prophylaxis Of Migraine Headache, Jeffrey L. Jackson, Elizabeth Cogbill, Rafael Santana-Davila, Christina Eldredge, William Collier, Andrew Gradall, Neha Sehgal, Jessica Kuester

School of Information Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness and side effects of migraine prophylactic medications.

DESIGN: We performed a network meta-analysis. Data were extracted independently in duplicate and quality was assessed using both the JADAD and Cochrane Risk of Bias instruments. Data were pooled and network meta-analysis performed using random effects models.

DATA SOURCES: PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Trial Registry, bibliography of retrieved articles through 18 May 2014.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: We included randomized controlled trials of adults with migraine headaches of at least 4 weeks in duration.

RESULTS: Placebo controlled trials included alpha blockers (n = 9), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors …

Intervention Impact On Depression Product Appraisal And Purchasing Behavior By Employers: A Randomized Trial, Kathryn M. Rost, Donna Marshall, Stanley Xu

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Background: Employers can purchase high quality depression products that provide the type, intensity and duration of depression care management shown to improve work outcomes sufficiently for many employers to achieve a return on investment. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to test an intervention to encourage employers to purchase a high quality depression product for their workforce.

Methods: Twenty nine organizations recruited senior health benefit professional members representing public or private employers who had not yet purchased a depression product for all 100+ workers in their company. The research team used randomization blocked by company size to …

The Role Of Positive Alcohol Expectancies In Underage Binge Drinking Among College Students, Nicole M Mcbride, Blake Barrett, Kathleen A. Moore, Lawrence Schonfeld

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Objective: This study explored associations between positive alcohol expectancies, and demographics, as well as academic status and binge drinking among underage college students. Participants: A sample of 1,553 underage college students at 3 public universities and 1 college in the Southeast who completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey in the Spring 2013 semester. Methods: A series of bivariate analyses and logistic regression models were used to examine associations between demographic and academic status variables as well as positive alcohol expectancies with self-reported binge drinking. Positive alcohol expectancies were examined in multivariable models via 2 factors derived from principal component …

Using Health Information Technology To Engage Communities In Health, Education, And Research, Lisa K. Marriott, David A. Nelson, Shauntice Allen, Karen Calhoun, Christina Eldredge, Kim S. Kimminau, Robert J. Lucero, Fernando Pineda-Reyes, Bernice B. Rumala, Arti P. Varanasi, June S. Wasser, Jackilen Shannon

School of Information Faculty Publications

The August 2011 Clinical and Translational Science Awards conference "Using IT to Improve Community Health: How Health Care Reform Supports Innovation" convened four "Think Tank" sessions. Thirty individuals, representing various perspectives on community engagement, attended the "Health information technology (HIT) as a resource to improve community health and education" session, which focused on using HIT to improve patient health, education, and research involvement. Participants discussed a range of topics using a semistructured format. This article describes themes and lessons that emerged from that session, with a particular focus on using HIT to engage communities to improve health and reduce health …