Genetic Phenomena Commons^™

Tumor Treating Fields (Ttfields) For Spinal Metastasis–The Case For Bone Removal And Spinal Implants As Waveguides To Enhance Field Strength At The Target, Claudio E Tatsui, Kristen W Carlson, Chirag B Patel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Diet-Stimulated Marrow Adiposity Fails To Worsen Early, Age-Related Bone Loss, Cody Mcgrath, Sarah E Little-Letsinger, Gabriel M Pagnotti, Buer Sen, Zhihui Xie, Gunes Uzer, Guniz B Uzer, Xiaopeng Zong, Martin A Styner, Janet Rubin, Maya Styner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Longitudinal effect of diet-induced obesity on bone is uncertain. Prior work showed both no effect and a decrement in bone density or quality when obesity begins prior to skeletal maturity. We aimed to quantify long-term effects of obesity on bone and bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) in adulthood.

Methods: Skeletally mature, female C57BL/6 mice (n = 70) aged 12 weeks were randomly allocated to low-fat diet (LFD; 10% kcal fat; n = 30) or high-fat diet (HFD; 60% kcal fat; n = 30), with analyses at 12, 15, 18, and 24 weeks (n = 10/group). Tibial microarchitecture was analyzed …

Sustained Pain And Macrophage Infiltration In A Mouse Muscle Contusion Model, Ibdanelo Cortez, Caitlyn M Gaffney, Caitlin V Crelli, Eric Lee, James M Nichols, Hoang Vu Pham, Syed Mehdi, Jelena M Janjic, Andrew J Shepherd

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction/aims: Prior studies have emphasized the role of inflammation in the response to injury and muscle regeneration, but little emphasis has been placed on characterizing the relationship between innate inflammation, pain, and functional impairment. The aim of our study was to determine the contribution of innate immunity to prolonged pain following muscle contusion.

Methods: We developed a closed-impact mouse model of muscle contusion and a macrophage-targeted near-infrared fluorescent nanoemulsion. Closed-impact contusions were delivered to the lower left limb. Pain sensitivity, gait dysfunction, and inflammation were assessed in the days and weeks post-contusion. Macrophage accumulation was imaged in vivo by injecting …

Multi-Task Learning With High-Dimensional Noisy Images, Xin Ma, Suprateek Kundu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent medical imaging studies have given rise to distinct but inter-related datasets corresponding to multiple experimental tasks or longitudinal visits. Standard scalar-on-image regression models that fit each dataset separately are not equipped to leverage information across inter-related images, and existing multi-task learning approaches are compromised by the inability to account for the noise that is often observed in images. We propose a novel joint scalar-on-image regression framework involving wavelet-based image representations with grouped penalties that are designed to pool information across inter-related images for joint learning, and which explicitly accounts for noise in high-dimensional images via a projection-based approach. In …

Single-Cell Rna Sequencing Analysis Identifies Acute Changes In The Tumor Microenvironment Induced By Interferon Α Gene Therapy In A Murine Bladder Cancer Model, Alexis R Steinmetz, Morgan Pierce, Alberto Martini, Come Tholomier, Ganiraju Manyam, Yan Chen, Akshay Sood, Jonathan J Duplisea, Burles A Johnson, Bogdan A Czerniak, Byron H Lee, Chinnaswamy Jagannath, Seppo Yla-Herttuala, Nigel R Parker, David J Mcconkey, Colin P Dinney, Sharada Mokkapati

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Nadofaragene firadenovec (Ad-IFNα/Syn3) is now approved for BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer (BLCA). IFNα is a pleiotropic cytokine that causes direct tumor cell killing via TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, angiogenesis inhibition, and activation of the innate and adaptive immune system. We established an immunocompetent murine BLCA model to study the effects of murine adenoviral IFNα (muAd-Ifnα) gene therapy on cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment using a novel murine equivalent of Nadofaragene firadenovec (muAd-Ifnα).

Methods: Tumors were induced by instilling MB49 cells into the bladders of mice; luciferase imaging confirmed tumor development. Mice were treated with adenovirus control (Ad-Ctrl; empty vector), or muAd-Ifnα …

Analysis Of B7-H4 Expression Across Salivary Gland Carcinomas Reveals Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma-Specific Prognostic Relevance, Juliana Mota Siqueira, Yoshitsugu Mitani, Camilla Oliveira Hoff, Flavia Bonini, Luana Guimaraes De Sousa, Mario L Marques-Piubelli, Anurag Purushothaman, Mutsumi Mitani, Hui Dai, Shiaw-Yih Lin, Michael T Spiotto, Ehab Y Hanna, Daniel J Mcgrail, Adel K El-Naggar, Renata Ferrarotto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

B7-H4 (VTCN1), a member of the B7 family, is overexpressed in several types of cancer. Here we investigated the pattern of expression of B7-H4 in salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) and assessed its potential as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses were performed in a cohort of 340 patient tumors, composed of 124 adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACC), 107 salivary duct carcinomas (SDC), 64 acinic cell carcinomas, 36 mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC), 9 secretory carcinomas (SC), as well as 20 normal salivary glands (controls). B7-H4 expression was scored and categorized into negative (< 5% expression of any intensity), low (5%-70% expression of any intensity or >70% with weak intensity), or high ( …

Meta-Analysis Of The Vmp-Like Sequences Of Lyme Disease Borrelia: Evidence For The Evolution Of An Elaborate Antigenic Variation System, Steven J Norris, Kalvis Brangulis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

VMP-like sequence (vls) antigenic variation systems are present in every Lyme disease Borrelia strain with complete genome sequences. The linear plasmid-encoded vls system consists of a single expression site (vlsE) and contiguous array(s) of silent cassettes that have ~90% identity with the central cassette region of the cognate vlsE gene; antigenic variation occurs through random, segmental, and unidirectional recombination of vls silent cassette sequences into the vlsE expression site. Automated annotation programs do not accurately recognize vls silent cassette sequences, so these regions are not correctly annotated in most genomic sequences. In this study, the vls …

Best Practice Recommendations For The Management Of Anxiety During The Pegvaliase Journey, Kendra J Bjoraker, Caroline Eggerding, Elisheva Ellenberg, Suzanne Hollander, Brittany M Holmes, Kristin Lindstrom, Markey Mcnutt, Suzanne Miller, Hope Northrup, Meaghan Rogers, Sarah Rose, Mia Scott, Soo Shim, Bridget Wardley, Leah Wessenberg, Deborah A Bilder

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Pegvaliase, an enzyme substitution therapy, is a treatment option for phenylketonuria (PKU). Due to the neuropathophysiology and disease burden of PKU, individuals can experience baseline anxiety unrelated to pegvaliase therapy. In addition, there are aspects of pegvaliase therapy that may be anxiety-inducing for those considering or receiving treatment. The aim of this manuscript is to present best practice recommendations for the identification and management of anxiety symptoms that can occur along the pegvaliase journey.

Methods: A modified Delphi approach was used to seek consensus among a multidisciplinary panel of experts. To this end, an in-person meeting was held that …

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 …

Treatment Comparisons In Adaptive Platform Trials Adjusting For Temporal Drift, Beibei Guo, Li Wang, Ying Yuan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

An adaptive platform trial (APT) is a multi-arm trial in the context of a single disease where treatment arms are allowed to enter or leave the trial based on some decision rule. If a treatment enters the trial later than the control arm, there exist non-concurrent controls who were not randomized between the two arms under comparison. As APTs typically take long periods of time to conduct, temporal drift may occur, which requires the treatment comparisons to be adjusted for this temporal change. Under the causal inference framework, we propose two approaches for treatment comparisons in APTs that account for …

Hybrid Open-Endovascular Onyx Embolization Of Spinal Type Ivb Perimedullary Spinal Arteriovenous Fistula Through Direct Posterior Spinal Vein Access: A Case Report, Romulo Augusto Andrade De Almeida, Francisco Call-Orellana, Christopher C Young, Franco Rubino, Sara L Thrower, Stephen R Chen, Robert Y North

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Spinal arteriovenous fistulas (SAVFs) are direct communication between arteries and veins without intervening abnormal vessel nidus, which often results in venous congestion and spinal cord dysfunction. Ventrally located SAVF can be challenging to treat through traditional open or endovascular approaches.

Case description: We describe a hybrid (open/endovascular) procedure in a 72-year-old male with a Takai Type IVb SAVF presenting with paraparesis and sphincter dysfunction. Imaging revealed a conus medullaris SAVF in which the main fistulous connection was located ventrally. The conventional endovascular approach was deemed risky, and open surgery failed in the first attempt. The SAVF was resolved using …

Fa4sans-Gan: A Novel Machine Learning Generative Adversarial Network To Further Understand Ophthalmic Changes In Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (Sans), Sharif Amit Kamran, Khondker Fariha Hossain, Joshua Ong, Ethan Waisberg, Nasif Zaman, Salah A Baker, Andrew G Lee, Alireza Tavakkoli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To provide an automated system for synthesizing fluorescein angiography (FA) images from color fundus photographs for averting risks associated with fluorescein dye and extend its future application to spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) detection in spaceflight where resources are limited.

DESIGN: Development and validation of a novel conditional generative adversarial network (GAN) trained on limited amount of FA and color fundus images with diabetic retinopathy and control cases.

PARTICIPANTS: Color fundus and FA paired images for unique patients were collected from a publicly available study.

METHODS: FA4SANS-GAN was trained to generate FA images from color fundus photographs using 2 …

From Mitochondria To Tumor Suppression: Acat1’S Crucial Role In Gastric Cancer, Wei He, Yanfang Li, Song-Bai Liu, Ying Chang, Shiyuan Han, Xingyu Han, Zixin Ma, Hesham M Amin, Yao-Hua Song, Jin Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acetyl CoA acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1), a mitochondrial enzyme, is mainly involved in the formation and decomposition of ketones, isoleucine, and fatty acids. Previous clinical studies showed that mutations in the ACAT1 gene lead to ketoacidosis, Notably the role of ACAT1 in human cancer' pathogenesis varies depending on cancer type, and its specific role in gastric cancer remains largely unknown. In the current study, we found that the expression of ACAT1 in primary late-stage gastric cancer tumor tissues was significantly lower than in early-stage tumors. This observation was further confirmed in high-grade gastric cancer cell line MKN45. The expression of CD44 …

Understanding Primary Care Physician Perspectives On The Diagnosis And Management Of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Qualitative Study, Natalia I Heredia, Jemima C John, Sonia Singh, Jessica P Hwang, Larkin L Strong, Maya Balakrishnan, Lorna H Mcneill

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are well suited to manage patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the limited, existing research suggests inadequate knowledge about the natural history, diagnostic methods, and management of NAFLD. The purpose of this qualitative study is to further understand the knowledge and practices for the diagnosis and management of NAFLD among PCPs. We conducted in-depth interviews with PCPs in the Greater Houston area, addressing current clinical practices used for diagnosing and managing NAFLD, as well as the perceptions of the PCPs regarding the burden of NAFLD on patients. We recorded interviews, transcribed them, coded transcripts, …

Systemic Treatment Of Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: Asco Resource-Stratified Guideline, Sana Al Sukhun, Sarah Temin, Carlos H Barrios, Nicoleta Zenovia Antone, Yanin Chavarri Guerra, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Rakesh Chopra, Michael A Danso, Henry Leonidas Gomez, N'Da Marcelin Homian, Alaa Kandil, Benda Kithaka, Bogda Koczwara, Beverly Moy, Gertrude Nakigudde, Fernando Enrique Petracci, Hope S Rugo, Nagi S El Saghir, Banu K Arun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To guide clinicians and policymakers in three global resource-constrained settings on treating patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) when Maximal setting-guideline recommended treatment is unavailable.

Methods: A multidisciplinary, multinational panel reviewed existing ASCO guidelines and conducted modified ADAPTE and formal consensus processes.

Results: Four published resource-agnostic guidelines were adapted for resource-constrained settings; informing two rounds of formal consensus; recommendations received ≥75% agreement.

Recommendations: Clinicians should recommend treatment according to menopausal status, pathological and biomarker features when quality results are available. In first-line, for hormone receptor (HR)-positive MBC, when a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor and CDK 4/6 inhibitor combination is unavailable, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Preclinical Study And Parallel Phase Ii Trial Evaluating Antisense Stat3 Oligonucleotide And Checkpoint Blockade For Advanced Pancreatic, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer And Mismatch Repair-Deficient Colorectal Cancer, Chad Tang, Genevieve P Hartley, Coline Couillault, Ying Yuan, Heather Lin, Courtney Nicholas, Anupallavi Srinivasamani, James Dai, Ecaterina E Ileana Dumbrava, Siqing Fu, Daniel D Karp, Aung Naing, Sarina A Piha-Paul, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Shubham Pant, Vivek Subbiah, Timonthy A Yap, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, Paola Guerrero, Sarah Dhebat, Theresa Proia, Michael A Curran, David S Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To evaluate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibition we conducted a co-clinical trial testing danvatirsen, a STAT3 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and checkpoint inhibition in conjunction with preclinical experiments.

Methods and analysis: Orthotopically implanted pancreatic cancer (pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC)) was treated with STAT3 ASO with immune checkpoint inhibition. Tumour infiltrating immune cell populations were characterised via flow cytometry. In vitro experiments evaluated STAT3 inhibition in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).A phase II trial employing a Simon II stage design tested the clinical efficacy of danvatirsen and durvalumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), …

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 …

Association Of Perceived Neighborhood Air Quality Problems With Attempt To Quit Cigarette Smoking: A Cross-Sectional Study In Texas, Monalisa Chandra, Joel Fokom Domgue, Robert Yu, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Cigarette smoking is the major preventable cause of premature deaths in the United States. Attempting to quit smoking is an important step toward smoking cessation. Although it has been studied extensively, limited information on the association between attempts to quit smoking and neighborhood air quality problems is available. Therefore, we examined the association between attempts to quit smoking in the past year and perceived neighborhood air quality problems among adult Texans who smoke.

Methods: In 2018, a cross-sectional multistage area probability design-based survey was administered to collect sociodemographic, behavioral, and health-related information from a representative sample of 2050 Texas …

Prevalence And Disparities In Receiving Medical Advice To Quit Tobacco Use In The Us Adult Population, Monalisa Chandra, Rajesh Talluri, Joel Fokom Domgue, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Evidence suggests that advice from health care professionals (HCP) increases the likelihood of quit attempts and successful quitting of tobacco use. However, previous studies primarily focussed on cigarette smoking and did not include all forms of tobacco products. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and disparities in receiving HCP's advice to quit tobacco use (combustible or noncombustible) in the US adult population.

Methods: Using the 2022 National Health Information Survey (NHIS) data, we examined 4,424 adults who reported (i) any tobacco product use within the past 12 months and (ii) having seen an HCP within the past 12 …

Placental Co-Transcriptional Activator Vestigial-Like 1 (Vgll1) Drives Tumorigenesis Via Increasing Transcription Of Proliferation And Invasion Genes, Heather M Sonnemann, Barbara Pazdrak, Barbara Nassif, Yimo Sun, Lama Elzohary, Amjad H Talukder, Arjun S Katailiha, Krishna Bhat, Gregory Lizée

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Vestigial-like 1 (VGLL1) is a co-transcriptional activator that binds to TEA domain-containing transcription factors (TEADs). Its expression is upregulated in a variety of aggressive cancer types, including pancreatic and basal-like breast cancer, and increased transcription of VGLL1 is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and decreased overall patient survival. In normal tissues, VGLL1 is most highly expressed within placental trophoblast cells, which share the common attributes of rapid cellular proliferation and invasion with tumor cells. The impact of VGLL1 in cancer has not been fully elucidated and no VGLL1-targeted therapy currently exists.

Methods: The aim of this study was to …

Crosstalk Between Breast Cancer-Derived Micrornas And Brain Microenvironmental Cells In Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis, Munazza S Khan, Grace L Wong, Chuling Zhuang, Mariana K Najjar, Hui-Wen Lo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women, constituting 15.2% of all new cancers diagnosed in the United States. Distant breast cancer metastasis accounts for the majority of breast cancer-related deaths; brain metastasis is the third most common site for metastatic breast cancer but is associated with worst prognosis of approximately eight months of survival. Current treatment options for breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) are limited and ineffective. To help identify new and effective therapies for BCBM, it is important to investigate the mechanisms by which breast cancer cells metastasize to the brain and thrive in the brain microenvironment. …

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 …

Configuring Thermal Ablation Volumes For Treatment Of Distinct Tumor Shapes: A Repeatability Study Using A Robotic Approach, Milica Bulatović, Jan Hermann, Pascale Tinguely, Iwan Paolucci, Stefan Weber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: In the current clinical practice of thermal ablation treatment for liver tumors, achieving consistent and effective clinical outcomes across tumors of varying shapes, sizes and locations remains challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of a novel robotic approach for configurable ablation of distinct tumor shapes and compare it to the standard ablation technique for creating ellipsoidal ablation volumes.

Materials and methods: The repeatability was evaluated in terms of width variability in created ablation volumes. Using a robotic navigation platform, custom ablation profiles configured with power, time, and distance parameters were designed to create four …

Pet Image Denoising Based On Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model, Kuang Gong, Keith Johnson, Georges El Fakhri, Quanzheng Li, Tinsu Pan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Due to various physical degradation factors and limited counts received, PET image quality needs further improvements. The denoising diffusion probabilistic model (DDPM) was a distribution learning-based model, which tried to transform a normal distribution into a specific data distribution based on iterative refinements. In this work, we proposed and evaluated different DDPM-based methods for PET image denoising.

Methods: Under the DDPM framework, one way to perform PET image denoising was to provide the PET image and/or the prior image as the input. Another way was to supply the prior image as the network input with the PET image included …