Biomedical Informatics Commons^™

Does Varicocele Repair Improve Conventional Semen Parameters? A Meta-Analytic Study Of Before-After Data, Rossella Cannarella, Rupin Shah, Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda, Florence Boitrelle, Ramadan Saleh, Murat Gul, Amarnath Rambhatla, Parviz Kavoussi, Tuncay Toprak, Ahmed M Harraz, Edmund Ko, Gökhan Çeker, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Noora Alkahidi, Shinnosuke Kuroda, Andrea Crafa, Ralf Henkel, Gianmaria Salvio, Berk Hazir, Mahsa Darbandi, Marion Bendayan, Sara Darbandi, Marco Falcone, Nicolas Garrido, Raghavender Kosgi, Raneen Sawaid Kaiyal, Keshab Karna, Nguyen Ho Vinh Phuoc, Ponco Birowo, Giovanni M Colpi, Jean De La Rosette, Germar-Michael Pinggera, Quang Nguyen, Armand Zini, Wael Zohdy, Rajender Singh, Pallavi Saini, Sidney Glina, Haocheng Lin, Taymour Mostafa, Cesar Rojas-Cruz, Mohamed Arafa, Aldo E Calogero, Fotios Dimitriadis, Priyank Kothari, Vilvapathy Senguttuvan Karthikeyan, Keisuke Okada, Koji Chiba, Ates Kadıoglu, Baris Altay, Tahsin Turunc, Birute Zilaitiene, Fatih Gokalp, Aram Adamyan, Darren Katz, Eric Chung, Tiago Cesar Mierzwa, Daniel Suslik Zylbersztejn, Gustavo Marquesine Paul, Nikolaos Sofikitis, Ioannis Sokolakis, Vineet Malhotra, Sakti Ronggowardhana Brodjonegoro, Ricky Adriansjah, Akira Tsujimura, Toshiyasu Amano, Giancarlo Balercia, Imad Ziouziou, Isaac Ardianson Deswanto, Marlon Martinez, Hyun Jun Park, Mustafa Emre Bakırcıoglu, Erman Ceyhan, Kaan Aydos, Jonathan Ramsay, Suks Minhas, Manaf Al Hashimi, Ramy Abou Ghayda, Nicholas Tadros, Puneet Sindhwani, Christopher C K Ho, Rinaldo Indra Rachman, Marcelo Rodriguez Pena, Ahmad Motawi, Arun Karthik Ponnusamy, Satish Dipankar, Azwar Amir, Saleh Binsaleh, Ege Can Serefoglu, Ravi Banthia, Kareim Khalafalla, Ari Basukarno, Nguyen Hoai Bac, Karun Singla, Rafael F Ambar, Konstantinos Makarounis, Shivam Priyadarshi, Gede Wirya Kusuma Duarsa, Widi Atmoko, Sunil Jindal, Eko Arianto, Hamed Akhavizadegan, Haitham El Bardisi, Ohad Shoshany, Gian Maria Busetto, Mohamad Moussa, Mounir Jamali, Mohamed S Al-Marhoon, Mikhail Ruzaev, Hasan M A Farsi, Shingai Mutambirwa, Dong Sup Lee, Deniz Kulaksiz, Yu-Sheng Cheng, Abderrazak Bouzouita, Selcuk Sarikaya, Hussein Kandil, Georgios Tsampoukas, Ala'a Farkouh, Kasonde Bowa, Missy Savira, Nasser Mogharabian, Tan V Le, Maruto Harjanggi, Dang Tuan Anh, Tran Quang Tien Long, Mohammad Ayodhia Soebadi, Lukman Hakim, Marko Tanic, Umut Cagin Ari, Firuza R Parikh, Gokhan Calik, Vinod Kv, Gyem Dorji, Andri Rezano, Osvaldo Rajmil, Dung Mai Ba Tien, Yiming Yuan, Juan Francisco Lizarraga-Salas, Balantine Eze, Kay Seong Ngoo, Joe Lee, Umut Arslan, Ashok Agarwal, Global Andrology Forum

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to study the impact of varicocele repair in the largest cohort of infertile males with clinical varicocele by including all available studies, with no language restrictions, comparing intra-person conventional semen parameters before and after the repair of varicoceles.

Materials and methods: The meta-analysis was performed according to PRISMA-P and MOOSE guidelines. A systematic search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases. Eligible studies were selected according to the PICOS model (Population: infertile male patients with clinical varicocele; Intervention: varicocele repair; Comparison: intra-person before-after varicocele repair; Outcome: conventional semen parameters; Study type: …

Technical Aspects And Clinical Limitations Of Sperm Dna Fragmentation Testing In Male Infertility: A Global Survey, Current Guidelines, And Expert Recommendations, Ashok Agarwal, Ala'a Farkouh, Ramadan Saleh, Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda, Gianmaria Salvio, Florence Boitrelle, Ahmed M Harraz, Ramy Abou Ghayda, Parviz Kavoussi, Murat Gül, Tuncay Toprak, Giorgio Ivan Russo, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Amarnath Rambhatla, Ponco Birowo, Rossella Cannarella, Nguyen Ho Vinh Phuoc, Armand Zini, Mohamed Arafa, Christine Wyns, Kelton Tremellen, Selçuk Sarıkaya, Sheena Lewis, Donald P Evenson, Edmund Ko, Aldo E Calogero, Fahmi Bahar, Marlon Martínez, Rafael F Ambar, Giovanni M Colpi, Mustafa Emre Bakircioglu, Ralf Henkel, Hussein Kandil, Ege Can Serefoglu, Abdullah Alfakhri, Akira Tsujimura, Alireza Kheradmand, Angelo Marino, Aram Adamyan, Birute Zilaitiene, Cevahir Ozer, Edoardo Pescatori, Paraskevi Vogiatzi, Gian Maria Busetto, Giancarlo Balercia, Haitham Elbardisi, Hamed Akhavizadegan, Hesamoddin Sajadi, Hisanori Taniguchi, Hyun Jun Park, Israel Maldonado Rosas, Mohamed Al-Marhoon, Mohammad Ali Sadighi Gilani, Naif Alhathal, Nguyen Quang, Germar-Michael Pinggera, Priyank Kothari, Sava Micic, Sheryl Homa, Tran Quang Tien Long, Wael Zohdy, Widi Atmoko, Wael Ibrahim, Marjan Sabbaghian, Saad Mohammed Abumelha, Eric Chung, Muhammet Rasit Ugur, Mehmet Serkan Ozkent, Osama Selim, Mahsa Darbandi, Shinichiro Fukuhara, Mounir Jamali, Jean De La Rosette, Shinnosuke Kuroda, Ryan P Smith, Aykut Baser, Arif Kalkanli, Nicholas N Tadros, Kaan Aydos, Tiago Cesar Mierzwa, Kareim Khalafalla, Vineet Malhotra, Mohamad Moussa, Federica Finocchi, Rinaldo Indra Rachman, Carlo Giulioni, Tomer Avidor-Reiss, Oguzhan Kahraman, Gökhan Çeker, Cătălina Zenoaga-Barbăroșie, Trenton L Barrett, Mehmet Yilmaz, Ates Kadioglu, Sunil Jindal, Huda Omran, Kadir Bocu, Vilvapathy Senguttuvan Karthikeyan, Giorgio Franco, Jesús Fernando Solorzano, Ranjit B Vishwakarma, Eko Arianto, Nicolas Garrido, Divyanu Jain, Nazim Gherabi, Ioannis Sokolakis, Ayad Palani, Gokhan Calik, Deniz Kulaksiz, Vaida Simanaviciene, Mara Simopoulou, Nur Dokuzeylül Güngör, Gideon Blecher, Marco Falcone, Davor Jezek, Mirko Preto, Edouard Amar, Tan V Le, Sun Tae Ahn, Andri Rezano, Keerti Singh, Lucia Rocco, Missy Savira, Osvaldo Rajmil, Sara Darbandi, Emrullah Sogutdelen, Luca Boeri, Guadalupe Hernández, Lukman Hakim, Yoshiharu Morimoto, Andrian Japari, Nikolaos Sofikitis, Baris Altay, Asli Metin Mahmutoglu, Manaf Al Hashimi, Imad Ziouziou, Christina Anagnostopoulou, Haocheng Lin, Rupin Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) is a functional sperm abnormality that can impact reproductive potential, for which four assays have been described in the recently published sixth edition of the WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen. The purpose of this study was to examine the global practices related to the use of SDF assays and investigate the barriers and limitations that clinicians face in incorporating these tests into their practice.

Materials and methods: Clinicians managing male infertility were invited to complete an online survey on practices related to SDF diagnostic and treatment approaches. Their responses …

Voluntary Wheel Running Prevents Formation Of Membrane Attack Complexes And Myelin Degradation After Peripheral Nerve Injury, Suzanne M Green-Fulgham, Michael J Lacagnina, Kendal F Willcox, Jiahe Li, Michael E Harland, Adriano Polican Ciena, Igor R Correia Rocha, Jayson B Ball, Renee A Dreher, Younus A Zuberi, Joseph M Dragavon, Marucia Chacur, Steven F Maier, Linda R Watkins, Peter M Grace

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Regular aerobic activity is associated with a reduced risk of chronic pain in humans and rodents. Our previous studies in rodents have shown that prior voluntary wheel running can normalize redox signaling at the site of peripheral nerve injury, attenuating subsequent neuropathic pain. However, the full extent of neuroprotection offered by voluntary wheel running after peripheral nerve injury is unknown. Here, we show that six weeks of voluntary wheel running prior to chronic constriction injury (CCI) reduced the terminal complement membrane attack complex (MAC) at the sciatic nerve injury site. This was associated with increased expression of the MAC inhibitor …

Interleukin-1beta And Inflammasome Expression In Spinal Cord Following Chronic Constriction Injury In Male And Female Rats, Suzanne M Green-Fulgham, Jayson B Ball, Andrew J Kwilasz, Michael E Harland, Matthew G Frank, Joseph M Dragavon, Peter M Grace, Linda R Watkins

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Females represent a majority of chronic pain patients and show greater inflammatory immune responses in human chronic pain patient populations as well as in animal models of neuropathic pain. Recent discoveries in chronic pain research have revealed sex differences in inflammatory signaling, a key component of sensory pathology in chronic neuropathic pain, inviting more research into the nuances of these sex differences. Here we use the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model to explore similarities and differences in expression and production of Inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta in the lumbar spinal cord, as well as its role in chronic pain. We have discovered …

The Contribution Of Dna Ligase 4 Polymorphisms To Colorectal Cancer, Yang Deng, Tao-Wei Ke, Te-Cheng Yueh, Yu-Ting Chin, Yun-Chi Wang, Yi-Chih Hung, Mei-Chin Mong, Ya-Chen Yang, Wen-Tzu Wu, Wen-Shin Chang, Jian Gu, Da-Tian Bau, Chia-Wen Tsai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/aim: While numerous biomarkers associated with genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) have been identified and validated through epidemiological studies, the specific influence of DNA ligase 4 (Lig4) genotypes remains unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate the hitherto unexamined relationship between Lig4 genotypes and CRC risk.

Materials and methods: The genotypes of Lig4 rs1805388 were determined applying the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methodology. The potential association between these genotypes and CRC risk was assessed in a Taiwanese population comprising 362 CRC cases and an equal number of age- and sex-matched controls.

Results: In the genotypic analysis, the distribution …

Non-Homologous End-Joining Genotype, Mrna Expression, And Dna Repair Capacity In Childhood Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Chao-Chun Chen, Wen-Shin Chang, Jen-Sheng Pei, Chien-Chung Kuo, Chung-Hsing Wang, Yun-Chi Wang, Pei-Chen Hsu, Jie-Long He, Jian Gu, Da-Tian Bau, Chia-Wen Tsai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/aim: The capacity for non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair plays a pivotal role in maintaining genome stability and in carcinogenesis. However, there is little literature on the involvement of NHEJ-related genes in childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Our study aimed to elucidate the impact of polymorphisms of X-ray repair cross-complementing group 4 (XRCC4) (rs6869366, rs2075685, rs2075686, rs28360071, rs3734091, rs28360317, rs1805377), XRCC5 (rs828907, rs11685387, rs9288518), XRCC6 (rs5751129, rs2267437, rs132770, rs132774), XRCC7 rs7003908, and DNA ligase IV (LIG4) rs1805388, on the odds of childhood ALL.

Materials and methods: Genotypes NHEJ-related genes of 266 cases and 266 controls were determined, and the genotype-phenotype correlation …

Case Report: Early Acute Kidney Failure In An 11-Year-Old Boy With Dent Disease Type 1, Nicolette Murphey, Craig Authement, Paul Hillman, Samhar I Al-Akash, Kate Richardson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Dent disease type 1 (Dent 1) is a rare X-linked genetic condition which impacts kidney function and is caused by pathogenic variants in CLCN5. Affected males typically develop low molecular weight proteinuria, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, nephrolithiasis, and other symptoms. Kidney failure often occurs between the third to fifth decade of life. Here, we report an 11-year-old boy with Dent 1 and a severe kidney disease phenotype. The patient presented with flank pain, nocturnal enuresis, foamy urine, and increased urinary frequency. He was found to have nephrotic-range proteinuria, without hypoalbuminemia, and a significantly decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate at presentation. Further, he …

Her4 And Egfr Activate Cell Signaling In Nrg1 Fusion-Driven Cancers: Implications For Her2-Her3-Specific Versus Pan-Her Targeting Strategies, Hibiki Udagawa, Monique B Nilsson, Jacqulyne P Robichaux, Junqin He, Alissa Poteete, Hong Jiang, Simon Heeke, Yasir Y Elamin, Yuji Shibata, Shingo Matsumoto, Kiyotaka Yoh, Shogo Okazaki, Takashi Masuko, Igor Odintsov, Romel Somwar, Marc Ladanyi, Koichi Goto, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: NRG1 gene fusions are clinically actionable alterations identified in NSCLC and other tumors. Previous studies have reported that NRG1 fusions signal through HER2 and HER3 but, thus far, strategies targeting HER3 specifically or HER2-HER3 signaling have exhibited modest activity in patients with NSCLC bearing NRG1 fusions. Although NRG1 fusion proteins can bind HER4 in addition to HER3, the contribution of HER4 and other HER family members in NRG1 fusion-positive cancers is not fully understood.

Methods: We investigated the role of HER4 and EGFR-HER3 signaling in NRG1 fusion-positive cancers using Ba/F3 models engineered to express various HER family members in …

Exploratory Pilot Study To Characterize The Immune Landscapes Of Malignant Pleural Effusions And Their Corresponding Primary Tumors From Patients With Breast Carcinoma And Lung Adenocarcinoma, Caddie Laberiano-Fernandez, Qiong Gan, Sophia Mei Wang, Auriole Tamegnon, Ignacio Wistuba, Esther Yoon, Sinchita Roy-Chowdhuri, Edwin Roger Parra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a frequent complication of advanced malignancies. In this pilot study, we characterized the immune landscapes of MPEs, compared them to their primary tumor (PT) samples from breast carcinoma (BC) and lung adenocarcinoma (LADC), and tested the utility of multiplexed image technology in cytological samples.

Materials and methods: We evaluated the immune contexture of 6 BC and 5 LADC MPEs and their PTs using 3 multiplex immunofluorescence panels. We explored the associations between sample characteristics and pleural effusion-free survival.

Results: No MPE samples had positive programmed death-ligand 1 expression in malignant cells, although 3 of …

Multiplex Spatial Analysis Reveals Increased Cd137 Expression And M-Mdsc Neighboring Tumor Cells In Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, José L Solórzano, Victoria Menéndez, Edwin Parra, Luisa Solis, Ruth Salazar, Mónica García-Cosío, Fina Climent, Sara Fernández, Eva Díaz, Alejandro Francisco-Cruz, Joseph Khoury, Mei Jiang, Auriole Tamegnon, Carlos Montalbán, Ignacio Melero, Ignacio Wistuba, Carlos De Andrea, Juan F García

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Hodgkin and Reed - Sternberg (HRS) cells in classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) actively modify the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) attracting immunosuppressive cells and expressing inhibitory molecules. A high frequency of myeloid cells in the TME is correlated with an unfavorable prognosis, but more specific and rare cell populations lack precise markers. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been identified in the peripheral blood of cHL patients, where they appear to be correlated with disease aggressiveness. TNFRSF9 (CD137) is a T cell co-stimulator expressed by monocytic and dendritic cells. Its expression has also been described in HRS cells, where it is …

Establishment Of A Brain Tumor Consortium Of Africa: Advancing Collaborative Research And Advocacy For Brain Tumors In Africa, Lateef A Odukoya, Kwadwo Darko, Francis Zerd, Nathalie C Ghomsi, Gloria Kabare, David O Kamson, Jeanette E Eckel-Passow, Robert B Jenkins, Gaspar J Kitange, Andrea O Akinjo, Kabir B Badmos, Olufemi Bankole, Olufemi E Idowu, Claire Karekezi, Elias Edrick, Chukwuyem Ekhator, Victoria M Katasi, Desmond A Brown, Jason Huse, Henry Llewellyn, Margreth Magambo, Michael Magoha, Umaru Barrie, Advera Ngaiza, Arsene D Nyalundja, Minda Okemwa, Lawrence Osei-Tutu, Bernard Petershie, W Elorm Yevudza, Charles C Anunobi, Liadi Tiamiyu, Gbetoho Fortuné Gankpe, Kashaigili Heronima, Dominique Higgins, Kristin Schroeder, Teddy Totimeh, James Balogun, Beverly Cheserem, Arnold B Etame, Ekokobe Fonkem

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Brain tumors represent a significant global health challenge, with rising incidence and mortality impacting individuals worldwide and contributing to cancer-related morbidity and mortality. In Africa, this burden is exacerbated by limited access to advanced diagnostics, treatment options, and multidisciplinary care, compounded by the absence of standardized cancer registration and tumor biobanking. The introduction of molecular diagnostics, as outlined in the 2021 World Health Organization central nervous system (CNS) tumor classification, adds complexity to brain tumor management, particularly in regions with scarce resources.

Methods: To address these issues, the Brain Tumor Consortium for Africa (BTCA) was established in 2023, bringing …

Circulating Cancer-Associated Macrophage-Like Cells And Macrophage-Related Cytokines In Obese Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer Who Undergo Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Toshiaki Iwase, Aaroh Parikh, Dong Wenli, Yu Shen, Daniel L Adams, Cha-Mei Tang, Evan N Cohen, James M Reuben, Tushaar Vishal Shrimanker, Sudpreeda Chainitikun, Kumiko Kida, Akshara Singareeka Raghavendra, Maryanne E Sapon, Onur Sahin, Anjali James, Nithya Sridhar, Ann H Klopp, Debasish Tripathy, Naoto T Ueno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Cancer-associated macrophage-like cells (CAMLs) are rare, gigantic, and atypical circulating cells found exclusively in the peripheral blood of patients with solid cancers. Obesity-induced hypoxia attracts macrophages to the tumor microenvironment, where they contribute to establishing chronic inflammation, leading to cancer progression. We hypothesized that obese patients with advanced breast cancer may have CAML profiles different from those of nonobese patients, and these profiles may correlate with proinflammatory markers or other macrophage-related markers.

Methods: We prospectively collected 20 mL of peripheral blood from patients diagnosed with stage 2-4 breast cancer. We identified CAMLs using the CellSieve microfiltration system and in …

Editorial: Mathematical Modeling And Computational Predictions In Oncoimmunology, Vladimir A Kuznetsov, Heiko Enderling, Mark Chaplain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatial Multiplexing And Omics, Julienne L Carstens, Santhoshi N Krishnan, Arvind Rao, Anna G Sorace, Erin H Seeley, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Jared K Burks

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Much like solving a game of Clue, understanding physiological mysteries involves answering who, what, when, and where. Multi-omics approaches delve into cellular and molecular identities (the who and what), while longitudinal data collection addresses the when. Spatial dimensions address the where. This Primer discusses current technologies enabling quantification across biological scales, emphasizing the importance of retaining the spatial dimension of that data. We outline experimental design considerations, including targeted versus untargeted approaches, sample types, biological scale, and four main classes of molecule detection. Spatial analytics are explored, covering questioning approaches, analytical platforms, image segmentation and sampling. Example applications, reproducibility considerations, …

Weak Supervision, Strong Results: Achieving High Performance In Intracranial Hemorrhage Detection With Fewer Annotation Labels, Kareem A Wahid, David Fuentes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Psychological Strengths On Veteran Populations' Mental Health Trajectories During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amanda Mccleery, Jonathan K Wynn, Derek M Novacek, Eric A Reavis, Damla Senturk, Catherine A Sugar, Jack Tsai, Michael F Green

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Mental health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic have been examined in Veterans with tenuous social connections, i.e., those with recent homelessness (RHV) or a psychotic disorder (PSY), and in control Veterans (CTL). We test potential moderating effects on these trajectories by psychological factors that may help individuals weather the socio-emotional challenges associated with the pandemic (i.e., 'psychological strengths').

Methods: We assessed 81 PSY, 76 RHV, and 74 CTL over 5 periods between 05/2020 and 07/2021. Mental health outcomes (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, contamination concerns, loneliness) were assessed at each period, and psychological strengths (i.e., a composite score based …

Fueling Cardiac Myocyte Proliferation, Manisha Deogharia, Priyatansh Gurha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Correction To: Egfr Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors For The Treatment Of Metastatic Non‑Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Uncommon Egfr Mutations: A Podcast, Xiuning Le, Eric Nadler, Daniel B Costa, John Victor Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Single-Molecule Fret Analyses Of Nmda Receptors, Ryan J Durham, Vasanthi Jayaraman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) enables the real-time observation of conformational changes in a single protein molecule of interest. These observations are achieved by attaching fluorophores to proteins of interest in a site-specific manner and investigating the FRET between the fluorophores. Here we describe the method wherein the FRET is studied by adhering the protein molecules to a slide using affinity-based interactions and measuring the fluorophores' fluorescence intensity from a single molecule over time. The resulting information can be used to derive distance values for a point-to-point measurement within a protein or to calculate kinetic transition rates between various …

Facilitating Clinical Information Extraction With Synthetic Data And Ontology Using Large Language Models, Yan Hu, Huan He, Qingyu Chen, Xiaoqian Jiang, Kirk Roberts, Hua Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The rapid growth of unstructured clinical text in electronic health records necessitates robust information extraction systems, yet their development is hindered by the scarcity of high-quality annotated data. This study explores the potential of large language models to generate synthetic data for clinical named entity recognition and examines its impact on model performance. We propose a novel framework that integrates self-verified synthetic data generation with domain-specific semantic mapping using SNOMED-CT. By leveraging GPT-4o-mini for synthetic data creation and refining its quality through iterative verification and anomaly detection, we systematically evaluate the influence of synthetic data quality and quantity on fine-tuning …

Design And Implementation Of Multicenter Pediatric And Congenital Studies With Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: Big Data In Smaller Bodies, Michael P Dilorenzo, Simon Lee, Rahul H Rathod, Francesca Raimondi, Kanwal M Farooqi, Supriya S Jain, Margaret M Samyn, Tiffanie R Johnson, Laura J Olivieri, Mark A Fogel, Wyman W Lai, Pierangelo Renella, Andrew J Powell, Sujatha Buddhe, Caitlin Stafford, Jason N Johnson, Willem A Helbing, Kuberan Pushparajah, Inga Voges, Vivek Muthurangu, Kimberley G Miles, Gerald Greil, Colin J Mcmahon, Timothy C Slesnick, Brian M Fonseca, Shaine A Morris, Jonathan H Soslow, Lars Grosse-Wortmann, Rebecca S Beroukhim, Heynric B Grotenhuis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has become the reference standard for quantitative and qualitative assessment of ventricular function, blood flow, and myocardial tissue characterization. There is a preponderance of large CMR studies and registries in adults; However, similarly powered studies are lacking for the pediatric and congenital heart disease (PCHD) population. To date, most CMR studies in children are limited to small single or multicenter studies, thereby limiting the conclusions that can be drawn. Within the PCHD CMR community, a collaborative effort has been successfully employed to recognize knowledge gaps with the aim to embolden the development and initiation of high-quality, …

Practice Patterns Of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Use In The Diagnosis Of Pediatric Myocarditis: A Survey-Based Study, Hannah M Jacobs, Jonathan H Soslow, Matthew D Cornicelli, Shae A Merves, Ruchira Garg, Mehul D Patel, Arpit Agarwal, Nilanjana Misra, Michael P Dilorenzo, M Jay Campbell, Jeremy Steele, Jennifer Co-Vu, Joshua D Robinson, Simon Lee, Jason N Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is used to diagnose myocarditis in adults and children based on the original Lake Louise criteria (LLC) and more recently the revised LLC. The major change included in the revised LLC was the incorporation of parametric mapping, which significantly increases the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis. Subsequently, scientific statements have recommended the use of parametric mapping in the diagnosis of myocarditis in children. However, there are some challenges to parametric mapping that are unique to the pediatric population. Our goal is to characterize clinical CMR and parametric mapping practice patterns for the diagnosis of myocarditis …

Hormone Regulation Of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor 1 In The Female Mouse Brain, Rose M De Guzman, Jason S Jacobskind, Zachary J Rosinger, Krystyna A Rybka, Katherine E Parra, Aya L Caballero, Massoud S Sharif, Nicholas J Justice, Damian G Zuloaga

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 (CRFR1) is a key regulator of neuroendocrine and behavioral stress responses. Previous studies have demonstrated that CRFR1 in certain hypothalamic and preoptic brain areas is modified by chronic stress and during the postpartum period in female mice, although the potential hormonal contributors to these changes are unknown.

Methods: This study focused on determining the contributions of hormones associated with stress and the maternal period (glucocorticoids, prolactin, estradiol/progesterone) on CRFR1 levels using a CRFR1-GFP reporter mouse line and immunohistochemistry.

Results: Administration of dexamethasone, an agonist of the glucocorticoid receptor, elevated CRFR1 in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus …

Tissue Transglutaminase: A Multifunctional And Multisite Regulator In Health And Disease, Zhouzhou Yao, Yuhua Fan, Lizhen Lin, Rodney E Kellems, Yang Xia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a widely distributed multifunctional protein involved in a broad range of cellular and metabolic functions carried out in a variety of cellular compartments. In addition to transamidation, TG2 also functions as a Gα signaling protein, a protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), a protein kinase, and a scaffolding protein. In the nucleus, TG2 modifies histones and transcription factors. The PDI function catalyzes the trimerization and activation of heat shock factor-1 in the nucleus and regulates the oxidation state of several mitochondrial complexes. Cytosolic TG2 modifies proteins by the addition of serotonin or other primary amines and in this …

The Feasibility Of Health Professional Student Delivered Social Visits For Stroke Survivors With Loneliness, Jason Burnett, Jordan Broussard, Bronson Ciavarra, Louisa Smitherman, Mary Li, Emma Thames, Sharon Zachariah, Grace Kim, Rachel Pijnnaken, Hannah Zeller, John Halphen, Sean I Savitz, Namkee Choi, Jennifer E S Beauchamp

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: To examine the feasibility of a social phone call program to address social isolation and loneliness in stroke survivors.

Materials and methods: We paired 14 lonely community-living stroke survivors with 14 health professional students for 6-weekly unstructured social phone calls. Feasibility data and measures of social isolation, loneliness and other psychosocial metrics were collected pre- and post-intervention. Students journaled following each unstructured call to capture the informal conversation and their sentiments.

Results: Sixty-two percent of the targeted sample was interested. Fourteen eligible and interested participants were enrolled. The 13 (93%) participants completing all calls and surveys were an average …

An Image-Driven Micromechanical Approach To Characterize Multiscale Remodeling In Infarcted Myocardium, Emilio A Mendiola, Sunder Neelakantan, Qian Xiang, Shuda Xia, Jianyi Zhang, Vahid Serpooshan, Peter Vanderslice, Reza Avazmohammadi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Myocardial infarction (MI) is accompanied by the formation of a fibrotic scar in the left ventricle (LV) and initiates significant alterations in the architecture and constituents of the LV free wall (LVFW). Previous studies have shown that LV adaptation is highly individual, indicating that the identification of remodeling mechanisms post-MI demands a fully subject-specific approach that can integrate a host of structural alterations at the fiber-level to changes in bulk biomechanical adaptation at the tissue-level. We present an image-driven micromechanical approach to characterize remodeling, assimilating new biaxial mechanical data, histological studies, and digital image correlation data within an in-silico framework …

Perceptions Of The Addictiveness Of Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Versus Typical Cigarettes And Exposure To Tobacco Industry-Sponsored Corrective Campaign, Onyema Greg Chido-Amajuoyi, Dale S Mantey, Efehi Igbinomwanhia, Onyinye Omega-Njemnobi, Henry Onyeaka, Robert K Yu, Israel Agaku, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a regulatory plan to reduce the nicotine content of cigarettes. This study examines the association of exposure to industry-sponsored corrective statements on perceptions of the addictiveness of low-nicotine cigarettes relative to typical cigarettes within the general US population.

Methods: The study comprised 4975 US adult respondents of the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, Cycle 3). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine associations between exposure to tobacco industry corrective messages and perceptions of the addictiveness of low-nicotine cigarettes relative to typical cigarettes.

Results: In the …

Explainable Suicide Phenotyping From Initial Psychiatric Evaluation Notes Using Reasoning Large Language Models, Zehan Li, Wanjing Wang, Lokesh Shahani, Rodrigo M Vieira, Salih Selek, Jair Soares, Hongfang Liu, Ming Huang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clinical phenotyping is the process of extracting patient's observable symptoms and traits to better understand their disease condition. Suicide phenotyping focuses more on behavioral and cognitive characteristics, such as suicide ideation, attempt, and self-injury, to identify suicide risks and improve interventions. In this study, we leveraged the latest reasoning models, namely 4o, o1, and o3-mini, to perform note-level multi-label classification and reasoning generation tasks using previously annotated psychiatric evaluation notes from a safety-net psychiatric inpatient hospital in Harris County, Texas. Compared with the previously finetuned GPT-3.5 model, the out-of-box reasoning models prompted with in-context learning achieved comparable and better performance, …

Linking Trauma To Mental Health In The Statewide Texas Youth Depression And Suicide Research Network (Tx-Ydsrn), Lynnel C Goodman, Joshua S Elmore, Taryn L Mayes, Abu Minhajuddin, Holli Slater, Joseph C Blader, Israel Liberzon, Regina B Baronia, Emily J Bivins, Jacquelyn M Lagrone, Sierra Jackson, Sarah L Martin, Ryan Brown, Jair C Soares, Sarah M Wakefield, Madhukar H Trivedi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Rates of youth depression and suicide are rising worldwide and represent public health crises. The present study examined the relationship between trauma history and symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety among suicidal and depressed youth. A diverse group of 1000 8-20-year-olds enrolled in the statewide Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN) reported their trauma history (Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for Children) and symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire for adolescents; PHQ-A), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale; GAD-7), and suicidality (Concise Health Risk Tracking scale; CHRT-SR). Nearly half of the sample reported exposure to multiple categories of traumatic …

Microstructural Organization Of Distributed White Matter Associated With Fine Motor Control In Us Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Benjamin S C Wade, David F Tate, Eamonn Kennedy, Erin D Bigler, Gerald E York, Brian A Taylor, Maya Troyanskaya, Elizabeth S Hovenden, Naomi Goodrich-Hunsaker, Mary R Newsome, Emily L Dennis, Tracy Abildskov, Mary Jo Pugh, William C Walker, Kimbra Kenney, Aaron Betts, Robert Shih, Robert C Welsh, Elisabeth A Wilde

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the most common form of brain injury. While most individuals recover from mTBI, roughly 20% experience persistent symptoms, potentially including reduced fine motor control. We investigate relationships between regional white matter organization and subcortical volumes associated with performance on the Grooved Pegboard (GPB) test in a large cohort of military Service Members and Veterans (SM&Vs) with and without a history of mTBI(s). Participants were enrolled in the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium. SM&Vs with a history of mTBI(s) (n = 847) and without mTBI (n = …