Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Activity-Dependent Translation Dynamically Alters The Proteome Of The Perisynaptic Astrocyte Process, Darshan Sapkota, Kristina Sakers, Kayla R Nygaard, Yating Liu, Sarah K Koester, Stuart B Fass, Allison M Lake, Rohan Khazanchi, Susan E Maloney, Joseph D Dougherty, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Within eukaryotic cells, translation is regulated independent of transcription, enabling nuanced, localized, and rapid responses to stimuli. Neurons respond transcriptionally and translationally to synaptic activity. Although transcriptional responses are documented in astrocytes, here we test whether astrocytes have programmed translational responses. We show that seizure activity rapidly changes the transcripts on astrocyte ribosomes, some predicted to be downstream of BDNF signaling. In acute slices, we quantify the extent to which cues of neuronal activity activate translation in astrocytes and show that this translational response requires the presence of neurons, indicating that the response is non-cell autonomous. We also show that …

A Quantitative Metric Of Pioneer Activity Reveals That Hnf4a Has Stronger In Vivo Pioneer Activity Than Foxa1, Jeffrey L Hansen, Barak A Cohen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: We and others have suggested that pioneer activity - a transcription factor's (TF's) ability to bind and open inaccessible loci - is not a qualitative trait limited to a select class of pioneer TFs. We hypothesize that most TFs display pioneering activity that depends on the TF concentration and the motif content at their target loci.

RESULTS: Here, we present a quantitative in vivo measure of pioneer activity that captures the relative difference in a TF's ability to bind accessible versus inaccessible DNA. The metric is based on experiments that use CUT&Tag to measure the binding of doxycycline-inducible TFs. …

Ho'ouna Pono Implementation: Applying Concept Mapping To A Culturally Grounded Substance Use Prevention Curriculum In Rural Hawai'i Schools, Kelsie H Okamura, Scott K Okamoto, Sarah Momilani Marshall, Steven Keone Chin, Pamela M Garcia, Byron J Powell, Kelly A Stern, Sara J Becker, David S Mandell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Despite their potential to ameliorate health disparities and address youth substance use, prevention programs have been poorly disseminated and implemented across Hawai'i, which begs the question: Why are effective prevention programs not being used in communities most in need of them? Implementing and sustaining culturally grounded prevention programs is critical to address equitable healthcare and minimize health disparities in communities. The field of implementation science provides frameworks, theories, and methods to examine factors associated with community adoption of these programs.

METHOD: Our project applies concept mapping methods to a culturally grounded youth drug prevention program with state level educational …

Blood Culture Utilization Practices Among Febrile And/Or Hypothermic Inpatients, Kap Sum Foong, Satish Munigala, Stephanie Kern-Allely, David K Warren

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Predictors associated with the decision of blood culture ordering among hospitalized patients with abnormal body temperature are still underexplored, particularly non-clinical factors. In this study, we evaluated the factors affecting blood culture ordering in febrile and hypothermic inpatients.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 15,788 adult inpatients with fever (≥ 38.3℃) or hypothermia (< 36.0℃) from January 2016 to December 2017. We evaluated the proportion of febrile and hypothermic episodes with an associated blood culture performed within 24h. Generalized Estimating Equations were used to determine independent predictors associated with blood culture ordering among febrile and hypothermic inpatients.

RESULTS: We identified 21,383 abnormal body temperature episodes among 15,788 inpatients (13,093 febrile and 8,290 hypothermic episodes). Blood cultures were performed in 36.7% (7,850/ 21,383) of these episodes. Predictors for blood culture ordering among inpatients with abnormal body temperature included fever ≥ 39℃ (adjusted …

Occupational Characteristics Associated With Sars-Cov-2 Infection In The Uk Biobank During August-November 2020: A Cohort Study, Elizabeth L Yanik, Bradley A Evanoff, Ann Marie Dale, Yinjiao Ma, Karen E Walker-Bone

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Occupational exposures may play a key role in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection risk. We used a job-exposure matrix linked to the UK Biobank to measure occupational characteristics and estimate associations with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.

METHODS: People reporting job titles at their baseline interview in England who were < 65 years of age in 2020 were included. Healthcare workers were excluded because of differential access to testing. Jobs were linked to the US Occupational Information Network (O*NET) job exposure matrix. O*NET-based scores were examined for occupational physical proximity, exposure to diseases/infection, working outdoors exposed to weather, and working outdoors under cover (score range = 1-5). Jobs were classified as remote work using two algorithms. SARS-CoV-2 test results were evaluated between August 5th-November 10th, 2020, when the UK was released from lockdown. Cox regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), accounting for age, sex, race, education, neighborhood deprivation, assessment center, household size, and income.

RESULTS: We included 115,451 people with job titles, of whom 1746 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. A one-point increase in physical proximity score was associated with 1.14 times higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 (95%CI = 1.05-1.24). A one-point increase in the exposure to diseases/infections score was associated with 1.09 …

Integrating A Patient Decision Aid Into The Electronic Health Record: A Case Report On The Implementation Of Breastchoice At 2 Sites, Clara N Lee, Janessa Sullivan, Randi Foraker, Terence M Myckatyn, Margaret A Olsen, Crystal Phommasathit, Jessica Boateng, Katelyn L Parrish, Milisa Rizer, Tim Huerta, Mary C Politi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Patient decision aids can support shared decision making and improve decision quality. However, decision aids are not widely used in clinical practice due to multiple barriers. Integrating patient decision aids into the electronic health record (EHR) can increase their use by making them more clinically relevant, personalized, and actionable. In this article, we describe the procedures and considerations for integrating a patient decision aid into the EHR, based on the example of BREASTChoice, a decision aid for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. BREASTChoice's unique features include 1) personalized risk prediction using clinical data from the EHR, 2) clinician- and patient-facing …

Integrating Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, And Gwas Helps Reveal Molecular Mechanisms For Metabolite Levels And Disease Risk, Xianyong Yin, Adam E Locke, Nathan O Stitziel, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Transcriptomics data have been integrated with genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to help understand disease/trait molecular mechanisms. The utility of metabolomics, integrated with transcriptomics and disease GWASs, to understand molecular mechanisms for metabolite levels or diseases has not been thoroughly evaluated. We performed probabilistic transcriptome-wide association and locus-level colocalization analyses to integrate transcriptomics results for 49 tissues in 706 individuals from the GTEx project, metabolomics results for 1,391 plasma metabolites in 6,136 Finnish men from the METSIM study, and GWAS results for 2,861 disease traits in 260,405 Finnish individuals from the FinnGen study. We found that genetic variants that regulate metabolite …

Global Longitudinal Strain And Biomarkers Of Cardiac Damage And Stress As Predictors Of Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, Andrew S Perry, Nishath Quader, Alan Zajarias, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background Global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a sensitive measure of left ventricular function and a risk marker in severe aortic stenosis. We sought to determine whether biomarkers of cardiac damage (cardiac troponin) and stress (NT-proBNP [N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide]) could complement GLS to identify patients with severe aortic stenosis at highest risk. Methods and Results From a multicenter prospective cohort of patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation, we measured absolute GLS (aGLS), cardiac troponin, and NT-proBNP at baseline in 499 patients. Left ventricular ejection fraction <50% was observed in 19% and impaired GLS (aGLS <15%) in 38%. Elevations in cardiac troponin and NT-proBNP were present in 79% and 89% of those with impaired GLS, respectively, as compared with 63% and 60% of those with normal GLS, respectively (

A Non-Canonical Retina-Iprgcs-Scn-Pvt Visual Pathway For Mediating Contagious Itch Behavior, Fang Gao, Jun Ma, Yao-Qing Yu, Xiao-Fei Gao, Yang Bai, Yi Sun, Juan Liu, Xianyu Liu, Devin M Barry, Steven Wilhelm, Tyler Piccinni-Ash, Na Wang, Dongyang Liu, Yan Hao, Jin-Jing Jia, Qianyi Yang, Johan Van Nispen, Zhou-Feng Chen, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Contagious itch behavior informs conspecifics of adverse environment and is crucial for the survival of social animals. Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and its receptor (GRPR) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus mediates contagious itch behavior in mice. Here, we show that intrinsically photosensitive retina ganglion cells (ipRGCs) convey visual itch information, independently of melanopsin, from the retina to GRP neurons via PACAP-PAC1R signaling. Moreover, GRPR neurons relay itch information to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT). Surprisingly, neither the visual cortex nor superior colliculus is involved in contagious itch. In vivo calcium imaging and extracellular recordings reveal contagious …

Lung Allograft Standardized Histological Analysis (Lasha) Template: A Research Consensus Proposal, Fiorella Calabrese, Chieh-Yu Lin, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Routine monitoring of lung-transplanted patients is crucial for the identification of immunological and non-immunological complications. Determining the etiology of acute allograft dysfunction, particularly in alloimmune-mediated disorders, relies heavily on the lung biopsy with histopathologic analysis. Standardization of the pathologic diagnosis of rejection (e.g., cellular and antibody-mediated) is based on consensus statements and guidelines, indicating the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to achieve a definitive etiological diagnosis. In addition to these statements and guidelines, refinements and standardizations are feasible through systematic analysis morphological, immunophenotypic and molecular alterations observed in transbronchial biopsies. This study is to identify key morphologic features to …

Evaluating Brain Damage In Multiple Sclerosis With Simultaneous Multi-Angular-Relaxometry Of Tissue, Biao Xiang, Jie Wen, Robert E Schmidt, Alexander L Sukstanskii, Daniel Mamah, Dmitriy A Yablonskiy, Anne H Cross

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common demyelinating central nervous system disease. MRI methods that can quantify myelin loss are needed for trials of putative remyelinating agents. Quantitative magnetization transfer MRI introduced the macromolecule proton fraction (MPF), which correlates with myelin concentration. We developed an alternative approach, Simultaneous-Multi-Angular-Relaxometry-of-Tissue (SMART) MRI, to generate MPF. Our objective was to test SMART-derived MPF metric as a potential imaging biomarker of demyelination.

METHODS: Twenty healthy control (HC), 11 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 22 progressive MS (PMS), and one subject with a biopsied tumefactive demyelinating lesion were scanned at 3T using SMART MRI. SMART-derived MPF metric …

Early Preclinical Experience Of A Mixed Reality Ultrasound System With Active Guidance For Needle-Based Interventions: The Guide Study, David Bloom, Jamie N Colombo, Nathan Miller, Michael K Southworth, Christopher Andrews, Alexander Henry, William B Orr, Jonathan R Silva, Jennifer N Avari Silva

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Use of ultrasound (US) to facilitate vascular access has increased compared to landmark-based procedures despite ergonomic challenges and need for extrapolation of 2-dimensional images to understand needle position. The MantUS™ system (Sentiar, Inc.,) uses a mixed reality (MxR) interface to display US images and integrate real-time needle tracking.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective preclinical study was to evaluate the feasibility and usability of MantUS in a simulated environment.

METHODS: Participants were recruited from pediatric cardiology and critical care. Access was obtained in 2 vascular access training models: a femoral access model and a head and neck model for …

High Polygenic Risk Scores Are Associated With Early Age Of Onset Of Alcohol Use Disorder In Adolescents And Young Adults At Risk, John I Nurnberger Jr, Kathleen Bucholz, Laura Bierut, Vivia Mccutcheon, Andrey P Anokhin, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies have been conducted in alcohol use disorder (AUD), and they permit the use of polygenic risk scores (PRSs), in combination with clinical variables, to predict the onset of AUD in vulnerable populations.

METHODS: A total of 2794 adolescent/young adult subjects from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism were followed, with clinical assessments every 2 years. Subjects were genotyped using a genome-wide chip. Separate PRS analyses were performed for subjects of European ancestry and African ancestry. Age of onset of DSM-5 AUD was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazard model. Predictive power was assessed using …

Variability In Energy Expenditure Is Much Greater In Males Than Females, Lewis G Halsey, Susan B Racette, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether …

Peristaltic Pumps Adapted For Laminar Flow Experiments Enhance In Vitro Modeling Of Vascular Cell Behavior, Javier Abello, Shreya Raghavan, Yvette Y. Yien, Amber N. Stratman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Endothelial cells (ECs) are the primary cellular constituent of blood vessels that are in direct contact with hemodynamic forces over their lifetime. Throughout the body, vessels experience different blood flow patterns and rates that alter vascular architecture and cellular behavior. Because of the complexities of studying blood flow in an intact organism, particularly during development, the field has increasingly relied on in vitro modeling of blood flow as a powerful technique for studying hemodynamic-dependent signaling mechanisms in ECs. While commercial flow systems that recirculate fluids exist, many commercially available pumps are peristaltic and best model pulsatile flow conditions. However, there …

Phase Ib Study Of Eprenetapopt (Apr-246) In Combination With Pembrolizumab In Patients With Advanced Or Metastatic Solid Tumors, H Park, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: We conducted a phase I, multicenter, open-label, dose-finding, and expansion study to determine the safety and preliminary efficacy of eprenetapopt (APR-246) combined with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04383938).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: For dose-finding, requirements were non-central nervous system primary solid tumor, intolerant to/progressed after ≥1 line of treatment, and eligible for pembrolizumab; for expansion: (i) gastric/gastroesophageal junction tumor, intolerant to/progressed after first-line treatment, and no prior anti-programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy; (ii) bladder/urothelial tumor, intolerant to/progressed after first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy, and no prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy; (iii) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with …

Semiautomated Analysis Of An Optical Atp Indicator In Neurons, Taher Dehkharghanian, Arsalan Hashemiaghdam, Ghazaleh Ashrafi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Gynecologic Oncology Patient Perspectives And Knowledge On Advance Care Planning: A Quality Improvement Intervention, Sarah P. Huepenbecker, Sophia Lewis, Mark C. Valentine, Marguerite L. Palisoul, Premal H. Thaker, Andrea R. Hagemann, Carolyn K. Mccourt, Katherine C. Fuh, Matthew A. Powell, David G. Mutch, Lindsay M. Kuroki

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVES: Assess and improve advance care planning (ACP) awareness and uptake among gynecologic oncology patients.

METHODS: Using a quality improvement Plan-Do-Check-Act framework, we completed a single institution needs assessment and intervention. The needs assessment was a 26-question survey assessing baseline ACP knowledge and preferences of gynecologic oncology patients. We used this survey to implement an outpatient intervention in which patients were offered ACP resources (pamphlet, discussion with their gynecologic oncologist, and/or social work referral). We conducted a post-intervention survey among patients who had and had not received ACP resource(s) to assess whether our intervention increased ACP knowledge, discussions, or uptake. …

Neuroinflammation And Covid-19, Abigail Vanderheiden, Robyn S. Klein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a historic pandemic of respiratory disease. COVID-19 also causes acute and post-acute neurological symptoms, which range from mild, such as headaches, to severe, including hemorrhages. Current evidence suggests that there is no widespread infection of the central nervous system (CNS) by SARS-CoV-2, thus what is causing COVID-19 neurological disease? Here, we review potential immunological mechanisms driving neurological disease in COVID-19 patients. We begin by discussing the implications of imbalanced peripheral immunity on CNS function. Next, we examine the evidence for dysregulation of the blood-brain barrier during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Last, we discuss the role myeloid …

Stress Radiography Is A Reliable Method To Quantify Posterior Cruciate Ligament Insufficiency: A Systematic Review, J. Jared Guth, Robert H. Brophy, Matthew J. Matava, R. Garrett Steinmetz, Matthew V. Smith

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: To perform a systematic review of posterior tibial stress radiography techniques and radiographic measurement methods to compare their accuracy and efficacy to aid clinicians in quantifying posterior cruciate ligament laxity.

METHODS: Electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase.com 1947- , Ovid Medline 1946- , Scopus 1823- , Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Clinicaltrials.gov 1997- were queried in December 2020. The abstracts of articles were reviewed by 2 authors for published studies comparing posterior tibial stress radiography techniques, describing, and comparing radiographic measurement methods, and comparing stress radiographs with instrumented knee testing.

RESULTS: The systematic review included 13 …

Margetuximab With Retifanlimab As First-Line Therapy In Her2+/Pd-L1+ Unresectable Or Metastatic Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma: Mahogany Cohort A, D. V. T. Catenacci, H. Park, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) is globally treated with chemotherapy plus trastuzumab. Novel therapeutic strategies strive to not only optimize efficacy, but also limit toxicities. In MAHOGANY cohort A, margetuximab, an Fc-engineered, anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was combined with retifanlimab, an anti-programmed cell death protein 1 mAb, in the first-line HER2-positive/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive GEA.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: MAHOGANY cohort A part 1 is a single-arm trial to evaluate margetuximab plus retifanlimab in patients with HER2 immunohistochemistry 3+, PD-L1-positive (combined positive score ≥1%), and non-microsatellite instability-high tumors. Primary objectives for cohort …

Telomere Biology Disorders: Time For Moving Towards The Clinic?, Luis F Z Batista, Inderjeet Dokal, Roy Parker

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Telomere biology disorders (TBDs) are a group of rare diseases caused by mutations that impair telomere maintenance. Mutations that cause reduced levels of TERC/hTR, the telomerase RNA component, are found in most TBD patients and include loss-of-function mutations in hTR itself, in hTR-binding proteins [NOP10, NHP2, NAF1, ZCCHC8, and dyskerin (DKC1)], and in proteins required for hTR processing (PARN). These patients show diverse clinical presentations that most commonly include bone marrow failure (BMF)/aplastic anemia (AA), pulmonary fibrosis, and liver cirrhosis. There are no curative therapies for TBD patients. An understanding of hTR biogenesis, maturation, and degradation has identified pathways and …

Treatment Of Stage I Lung Cancer Detected By Computed Tomography Screening, David S. Gierada, Yun Zhu Bai, Matthew B. Spraker, Anne Stilinovic, Ruben G. Nava

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Reducing lung cancer deaths through early detection by computed tomography (CT) screening requires delivery of effective treatment. We performed this retrospective study to determine the types of treatment used for screen-detected stage I lung cancer at our academic center and to compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients by type of treatment.

METHODS: All persons screened in the lung cancer screening program at our institution through June 16, 2021, were included. Those with screening CT findings needing follow-up were managed through a thoracic surgery clinic. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with having stage I lung cancer …

Comprehensive Characterization Of The Multiple Myeloma Immune Microenvironment Using Integrated Scrna-Seq, Cytof, And Cite-Seq Analysis, Lijun Yao, Reyka G Jayasinghe, Mark A Fiala, Michael C Wendl, Stephen T Oh, John F Dipersio, Ravi Vij, Li Ding

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: As part of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) immune atlas pilot project, we compared immune cells of multiple myeloma bone marrow samples from 18 patients assessed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), mass cytometry (CyTOF), and cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq) to understand the concordance of measurements among single-cell techniques. Cell type abundances are relatively consistent across the three approaches, while variations are observed in T cells, macrophages, and monocytes. Concordance and correlation analysis of cell type marker gene expression across different modalities highlighted the importance of choosing cell type marker genes best suited to …

Calciphylaxis Arising Following Bariatric Surgery: A Case Series, Bethany Cucka, Bianca Biglione, Lauren Ko, Emily D Nguyen, Charbel C Khoury, Sagar U Nigwekar, Malcolm K Robinson, Daniela Kroshinsky

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Clinical Use Of Mean Nocturnal Baseline Impedance And Post-Reflux Swallow-Induced Peristaltic Wave Index For The Diagnosis Of Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, Pierfrancesco Visaggi, Lucia Mariani, Federica Baiano Svizzero, Luca Tarducci, Andrea Sostilio, Marzio Frazzoni, Salvatore Tolone, Roberto Penagini, Leonardo Frazzoni, Linda Ceccarelli, Vincenzo Savarino, Massimo Bellini, Prakash C Gyawali, Edoardo V Savarino, Nicola De Bortoli

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The clinical diagnosis of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is based on the presence of typical esophageal troublesome symptoms. In clinical practice, heartburn relief following a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) trial or endoscopy can confirm a diagnosis of GERD. In cases of diagnostic uncertainty or before anti-reflux interventions, combined impedance-pH monitoring (MII-pH) provides a comprehensive assessment of both physical and chemical properties of the refluxate, allowing to achieve a conclusive diagnosis of GERD. Recently, the Lyon Consensus proposed the use of mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) and post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave index (PSPW-I) as novel MII-pH metrics to support the diagnosis …

Evaluation Challenges For The Application Of Extended Reality Devices In Medicine, Ryan Beams, Jennifer Silva, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Augmented and virtual reality devices are being actively investigated and implemented for a wide range of medical uses. However, significant gaps in the evaluation of these medical devices and applications hinder their regulatory evaluation. Addressing these gaps is critical to demonstrating the devices' safety and effectiveness. We outline the key technical and clinical evaluation challenges discussed during the US Food and Drug Administration's public workshop, "Medical Extended Reality: Toward Best Evaluation Practices for Virtual and Augmented Reality in Medicine" and future directions for evaluation method development. Evaluation challenges were categorized into several key technical and clinical areas. Finally, we highlight …

Incisionless Targeted Adeno-Associated Viral Vector Delivery To The Brain By Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Intranasal Administration, Dezhuang Ye, Jinyun Yuan, Yaoheng Yang, Yimei Yue, Zhongtao Hu, Siaka Fadera, Hong Chen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors are currently the leading platform for gene therapy with the potential to treat a variety of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. There are numerous methods for delivering AAVs to the CNS, such as direct intracranial injection (DI), intranasal delivery (IN), and intravenous injection with focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier disruption (FUS-BBBD). However, non-invasive and efficient delivery of AAVs to the brain with minimal systemic toxicity remain the major challenge. This study aims to investigate the potential of focused ultrasound-mediated intranasal delivery (FUSIN) in AAV delivery to brain.

METHODS: Mice were intranasally administered with AAV5 encoding enhanced …

Acute Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 Inhibition Modulates Human Cardiac Conduction, Gang Li, Brittany D Brumback, Lei Huang, David M Zhang, Tiankai Yin, Catherine E Lipovsky, Stephanie C Hicks, Jesus Jimenez, Patrick M Boyle, Stacey L Rentschler

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) inhibition has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for several diseases, including cancer. However, the role for GSK-3 regulation of human cardiac electrophysiology remains ill-defined. We demonstrate that SB216763, a GSK-3 inhibitor, can acutely reduce conduction velocity in human cardiac slices. Combined computational modeling and experimental approaches provided mechanistic insight into GSK-3 inhibition-mediated changes, revealing that decreased sodium-channel conductance and tissue conductivity may underlie the observed phenotypes. Our study demonstrates that GSK-3 inhibition in human myocardium alters electrophysiology and may predispose to an arrhythmogenic substrate; therefore, monitoring for adverse arrhythmogenic events could be considered.

Sweat Icu-An Observational Study Of Physician Workload And The Association Of Physician Outcomes In Academic Icus, Ankita Agarwal, Patrick G. Lyons, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: The optimal staffing model for physicians in the ICU is unknown. Patient-to-intensivist ratios may offer a simple measure of workload and be associated with patient mortality and physician burnout. To evaluate the association of physician workload, as measured by the patient-to-intensivist ratio, with physician burnout and patient mortality.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING: Fourteen academic centers in the United States from August 2020 to July 2021.

SUBJECTS: We enrolled ICU physicians and collected data on adult ICU patients under the physician's care on the single physician-selected study day for each physician.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary exposure was …