Medical Specialties Commons^™

Porous Iron Electrodes Reduce Energy Consumption During Electrocoagulation Of A Virus Surrogate: Insights Into Performance Enhancements Using Three-Dimensional Neutron Computed Tomography, Kyungho Kim, Cesar Castillo, Gyoung G Jang, Yuxuan Zhang, Costas Tsouris, Shankararaman Chellam

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Electrocoagulation has attracted significant attention as an alternative to conventional chemical coagulation because it is capable of removing a wide range of contaminants and has several potential advantages. In contrast to most electrocoagulation research that has been performed with nonporous electrodes, in this study, we demonstrate energy-efficient iron electrocoagulation using porous electrodes. In batch operation, investigation of the external pore structures through optical microscopy suggested that a low porosity electrode with sparse connection between pores may lead to mechanical failure of the pore network during electrolysis, whereas a high porosity electrode is vulnerable to pore clogging. Electrodes with intermediate porosity, …

Challenges In Paediatric Xenotransplantation: Ethical Components Requiring Distinct Attention In Children And Obligations To Patients And Society, Anthony Merlocco, Daniel J Hurst

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

The transplantation of non-human organs into humans, or xenotransplantation (XTx), has recently garnered new attention and is being developed to help address the problem of organ scarcity in transplantation. Ethical issues surrounding XTx have been studied since initial interest arose decades ago and have experienced renewed discussion in the literature. However, the distinct and relevant differences when applied to children has largely been overlooked with few groups attending to the concerns that XTx in children raises. In this paper, we explore ethical challenges to be expected in paediatric XTx, in particular exploring organ sizing concerns, infectious risks, psychological burdens, and …

Aligning The World Health Organization's (Who) Package Of Interventions For Rehabilitation For Cancer With The Mission Of The International Psycho-Oncology Society's: Promoting Psychosocial Care For All People Affected By Cancer, Christina Signorelli, Nicolas H. Hart, Louise Mullen, Larissa Nekhlyudov, Luzia Travado, Wendy W.T. Lam, Melissa Henry, Csaba László Dégi, Darren Haywood, Michael Jefford

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The number of people living with and beyond cancer continues to increase worldwide, bringing significant attention to their rehabilitation needs. Globally, psychosocial services are largely inadequate, with many cancer survivors experiencing unmet psychosocial needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes rehabilitation as an essential component of universal health coverage to prevent disease-related conditions, while also improving physical and mental functioning and overall well-being. The Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR) was developed by the WHO to address the global need for rehabilitation across 20 conditions with high prevalence and high levels of associated disability, including cancer. Many aspects of the …

Rapid Evolution Of Mitochondrion-Related Genes In Haplodiploid Arthropods, Yiyuan Li, Gregg W C Thomas, Stephen Richards, Robert M Waterhouse, Xin Zhou, Michael E Pfrender

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Mitochondrial genes and nuclear genes cooperate closely to maintain the functions of mitochondria, especially in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway. However, mitochondrial genes among arthropod lineages have dramatic evolutionary rate differences. Haplodiploid arthropods often show fast-evolving mitochondrial genes. One hypothesis predicts that the small effective population size of haplodiploid species could enhance the effect of genetic drift leading to higher substitution rates in mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Alternatively, positive selection or compensatory changes in nuclear OXPHOS genes could lead to the fast-evolving mitochondrial genes. However, due to the limited number of arthropod genomes, the rates of evolution for nuclear …

Larp1 Haploinsufficiency Is Associated With An Autosomal Dominant Neurodevelopmental Disorder, James Chettle, Raymond J Louie, Olivia Larner, Robert Best, Kevin Chen, Josephine Morris, Zinaida Dedeic, Anna Childers, R Curtis Rogers, Barbara R Dupont, Cindy Skinner, Sébastien Küry, Kevin Uguen, Marc Planes, Danielle Monteil, Megan Li, Aviva Eliyahu, Lior Greenbaum, Nofar Mor, Thomas Besnard, Bertrand Isidor, Benjamin Cogné, Alyssa Blesson, Anne Comi, Ingrid M Wentzensen, Blake Vuocolo, Seema R Lalani, Roberta Sierra, Lori Berry, Kent Carter, Stephan J Sanders, Sarah P Blagden

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) that affects approximately 4% of males and 1% of females in the United States. While causes of ASD are multi-factorial, single rare genetic variants contribute to around 20% of cases. Here, we report a case series of seven unrelated probands (6 males, 1 female) with ASD or another variable NDD phenotype attributed to de novo heterozygous loss of function or missense variants in the gene LARP1 (La ribonucleoprotein 1). LARP1 encodes an RNA-binding protein that post-transcriptionally regulates the stability and translation of thousands of mRNAs, including those regulating cellular metabolism and …

Impact Of Age On Pharmacogenomics And Treatment Outcomes Of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Satoshi Yoshimura, Zhenhua Li, Yoshihiro Gocho, Wenjian Yang, Kristine R Crews, Shawn H R Lee, Kathryn G Roberts, Charles G Mullighan, Mary V Relling, Jiyang Yu, Allen E J Yeoh, Mignon L Loh, Caner Saygin, Mark R Litzow, Sima Jeha, Seth E Karol, Hiroto Inaba, Ching-Hon Pui, Marina Konopleva, Nitin Jain, Wendy Stock, Elisabeth Paietta, Elias Jabbour, Steven M Kornblau, William E Evans, Jun J Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can occur across all age groups, with a strikingly higher cure rate in children compared with adults. However, the pharmacological basis of age-related differences in ALL treatment response remains unclear.

Methods: Studying 767 children and 309 adults with newly diagnosed B-cell ALL enrolled on frontline trials at St Jude Children's Research Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, and the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, we determined the ex vivo sensitivity of leukemia cells to 21 drugs. Twenty-three ALL molecular subtypes were identified using RNA sequencing. We systematically characterized the associations …

Churning The Tides Of Care: When Nurse Turnover Makes Waves In Patient Access To Primary Care, Kelley Arredondo, Ashley M Hughes, Houston F Lester, Trang N D Pham, Laura A Petersen, Lechauncy Woodard, Richard Sorelle, Cheng Rebecca Jiang, Frederick L Oswald, Daniel R Murphy, Hilary N Touchett, Joshua Hamer, Sylvia J Hysong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Team-based primary care (PC) enhances the quality of and access to health care. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implements team-based care through Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs), consisting of four core members: a primary care provider, registered nurse (RN) care manager, licensed vocational nurse, and scheduling clerk. RNs play a central role: they coordinate patient care, manage operational needs, and serve as a patient point of contact. Currently, it is not known how varying levels of RN staffing on primary care teams impact patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to empirically assess how the stability of RN staffing within …

Association Between Psychopharmacotherapy And Postpartum Hemorrhage, Frank Ian Jackson, Insaf Kouba, Natalie Meirowitz, Nathan A. Keller, Luis A. Bracero, Matthew J. Blitz

Specialty Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Prior studies evaluating the relationship between psychopharmacotherapy (PPT), and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) have yielded inconsistent findings. Clarifying this potential relationship is important for effective counseling and risk stratification.
Objectives: Our primary objective was to evaluate the association between prenatal exposure to PPT (any drug class) and the occurrence of PPH requiring transfusion of packed red blood cells (PPH+pRBC) after systematically adjusting for known hemorrhage risk factors at the time of admission for delivery. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the association between individual PPT drug classes and PPH+pRBC, and the association between treatment intensity of mental health condition and PPH+pRBC. …

Inclusion Of Caregivers In The Cga: Future Directions For Optimizing Clinical Care, Lora Rhodes, Lcsw, Andrew Chapman, Do, Facp, Fcpp, Kristine Swartz, Md, Caroline Glavin, Msw, Charlotte Zuber, Kuang-Yi Wen, Phd

Kimmel Cancer Center Papers, Presentations, and Grand Rounds

Introduction

As our population continues to age and the number of cancer survivors increases, the physical, emotional, and financial burden on family caregivers will increase exponentially. While burden among cancer caregivers is recognized to impact both caregiver and patient health and quality of life, our current comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs) do not routinely include evaluations of caregivers’ distress, burden, or functioning. As we continue to work to better understand the needs of older adults with cancer, it is critical that this circle of concern includes the needs of their caregivers.

Association Between Neuromuscular Blocking Agents And Outcomes Of Emergency Tracheal Intubation: A Secondary Analysis Of Randomized Trials, Stephanie C. Demasi, Wesley H. Self, Neil R. Aggarawal, Michael D. April, Luke Andrea, Christopher R. Barnes, Jason Brainard, Veronika Blinder, Alon Dagan, Brian Driver, Kevin C. Doerschug, Ivor Douglas, Matthew Exline, Daniel G. Fein, John P. Gaillard, Sheetal Gandotra, Kevin W. Gibbs, Adit A. Ginde, Stephen J. Halliday, Jin H. Han, Taylor Herbert, Kevin High, Christopher G. Hughes, Akram Khan, Andrew J. Latimer, Amelia W. Maiga, Steven H. Mitchell, Derek J. Vanderhaar, James E. Walker, Et Al

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Study objective: To examine the association between the neuromuscular blocking agent received (succinylcholine versus rocuronium) and the incidences of successful intubation on the first attempt and severe complications during tracheal intubation of critically ill adults in an emergency department (ED) or ICU. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data from 2 multicenter randomized trials in critically ill adults undergoing tracheal intubation in an ED or ICU. Using a generalized linear mixed-effects model with prespecified baseline covariates, we examined the association between the neuromuscular blocking agent received (succinylcholine versus rocuronium) and the incidences of successful intubation on the first attempt …

A Unique Advantage Of A 24-Hour Surgical Delay In Autologous Breast Reconstruction, Devin M. Melancon, Daniel Yoo, Zachary Stern-Buchbinder, Samantha Morin, Hugo St. Hilaire, Robert J. Allen

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Summary: The surgical delay technique can be used effectively in autologous breast reconstruction when there is unfavorable flap vascular anatomy or when the reconstruction necessitates a larger volume of donor tissue to obtain optimal results. The length of time between surgically delaying the flap to pedicle division and inset of the flap often varies based on surgeon preference but is typically approximately a week or longer. The authors present a case in which a 24-hour surgical delay was successfully used to augment deep inferior epigastric perforator flaps for autologous reconstruction. This technique is beneficial as it does not allow time …

Molecular And Clinical Features Of Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma: A Single-Institution Case Series, Ashwathy Balachandran Pillai, Mahmoud Yousef, Abdelrahman Yousef, Kristin D Alfaro-Munoz, Brandon G Smaglo, Jason Willis, Robert A Wolff, Shubham Pant, Mark W Hurd, Anirban Maitra, Huamin Wang, Matthew Harold G Katz, Laura R Prakash, Ching-Wei D Tzeng, Rebecca Snyder, Luca F Castelnovo, Anthony Chen, Andrey Kravets, Kseniia Kudriavtseva, Artem Tarasov, Kirill Kryukov, Haoqiang Ying, John Paul Shen, Dan Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) accounts for about 1% of pancreatic cancers. The molecular and clinical features of ACC are less characterized than those of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and molecular features of ACC patients who underwent germline and/or somatic molecular testing at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from 2008 to 2022 and two cases from 2023-2024 who underwent RNA and TME analysis by Boston Gene. Patient information was extracted from our institutional database with the approval of the Institutional Review Board. Results: We identified 16 patients with available molecular testing …

Personalized Brachytherapy: Applications And Future Directions, Piyush Pathak, Justin J Thomas, Arjit Baghwala, Chengfeng Li, Bin S Teh, Edward B Butler, Andrew M Farach

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Brachytherapy offers a highly conformal and adaptive approach to radiation therapy for various oncologic conditions. This review explores the rationale, applications, technological advances, and future directions of personalized brachytherapy. Integration of advanced imaging techniques, 3D-printed applicators, and artificial intelligence are rapidly enhancing brachytherapy delivery and efficiency, while genomic tests and molecular biomarkers are refining patient and dose selection. Emerging research on combining brachytherapy with immunotherapy offers unique synergistic potential, and technologies such as intensity-modulated and shielded brachytherapy applicators present novel opportunities to further optimize dose distributions. Despite these promising advances, the field faces challenges including a need to train more …

Single-Cell Somatic Copy Number Variants In Brain Using Different Amplification Methods And Reference Genomes, Ester Kalef-Ezra, Zeliha Gozde Turan, Diego Perez-Rodriguez, Ida Bomann, Sairam Behera, Caoimhe Morley, Sonja W Scholz, Zane Jaunmuktane, Jonas Demeulemeester, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Christos Proukakis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The presence of somatic mutations, including copy number variants (CNVs), in the brain is well recognized. Comprehensive study requires single-cell whole genome amplification, with several methods available, prior to sequencing. Here we compare PicoPLEX with two recent adaptations of multiple displacement amplification (MDA): primary template-directed amplification (PTA) and droplet MDA, across 93 human brain cortical nuclei. We demonstrate different properties for each, with PTA providing the broadest amplification, PicoPLEX the most even, and distinct chimeric profiles. Furthermore, we perform CNV calling on two brains with multiple system atrophy and one control brain using different reference genomes. We find that 20.6% …

Prevalence And Prognostication Of Cd5+ Mature T-Cell Lymphomas, Omar Elghawy, Miao Cao, Jason Xu, Daniel J. Landsburg, Jakub Svoboda, Sunita D. Nasta, Elise A. Chong, Stephen J. Schuster, Colin J. Thomas, Jordan S. Carter, Montreh Tavakkoli, Marco Ruella, Stefan K. Barta

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Background: T-cell lymphomas (TCLs) are a group of heterogenous cancers with poor rates and duration of response. There remains a great challenge in risk stratification of these cancers. Cluster of differentiation (CD) 5 has shown prognostic implication in many subtypes of B-cell lymphoma; however, its role in TCLs is not known. Methods: We performed a single-institution retrospective analysis of newly diagnosed patients with TCL. CD5 positivity was determined based on positive results via immunohistochemistry and/or flow cytometry. We used univariate and multivariable analysis of biological factors to assess their association with survival outcomes. Results: A total of 194 patients with …

Emergency Physicians Perspectives Of State Continuing Medical Education Requirements For Medical Licensure, Marianne Gausche-Hill, Yachana Bhakta, Michael C. Bond, Sandra M. Schneider, Jeffrey Druck, Colleen E. Livingston, Lisa Moreno-Walton, Jonathan S. Jones, Melissa A. Barton

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study aims to better understand the perspectives of emergency medicine physicians’ on the role that state-mandated, topic-specific continuing medical education (CME) plays in addressing knowledge gaps, its relevance to current emergency practice, its reported burden and costs of CME activities to emergency physicians, and its perceived improvement in patient care. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed by the Coalition of Board-Certified Emergency Physicians (COBCEP) and distributed in February 2023 to all American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM)-certified physicians. Statistical tests of significance (Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact test) assessed the cost and time spent on CME as well …

Pandemic Perspectives From Detained Youth During Covid-19: Bridging The Knowledge Gap For Future Safeguards., April Mcneill-Johnson, Zuri Hudson, Brittany Moore, Dumebi Okocha, Megha Ramaswamy, Kimberly Randell

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Despite the worsening health disparities among youth in detention during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been minimal exploration into the pandemic experiences of detained youth and opportunities for pandemic mitigation. This paper analyzes the perspectives of youth in detention on the pandemic, including the effect of the pandemic on their detention experience and their perceptions about COVID-19 vaccination. The study used purposive sampling to recruit 16 participants (aged 14-17 years) from two juvenile detention centers in the urban Midwest. We conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed verbatim transcripts using a hybrid deductive-inductive approach and thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: 1) personal …

Forecasting The Effects Of Smoking Prevalence Scenarios On Years Of Life Lost And Life Expectancy From 2022 To 2050: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021, Gbd 2021 Tobacco Forecasting Collaborators

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Smoking is the leading behavioural risk factor for mortality globally, accounting for more than 175 million deaths and nearly 4·30 billion years of life lost (YLLs) from 1990 to 2021. The pace of decline in smoking prevalence has slowed in recent years for many countries, and although strategies have recently been proposed to achieve tobacco-free generations, none have been implemented to date. Assessing what could happen if current trends in smoking prevalence persist, and what could happen if additional smoking prevalence reductions occur, is important for communicating the effect of potential smoking policies.

METHODS: In this analysis, we use …

Phase I/Ii Study Of Bms-986156 With Ipilimumab Or Nivolumab With Or Without Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy In Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies, Joe Y Chang, Xinyan Xu, Girish S Shroff, Nathan I Comeaux, Wei Li, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Daniel D Karp, Ecaterina E Dumbrava, Vivek Verma, Aileen Chen, James Welsh, David S Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: BMS-986156 is an agonist of the glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-related protein (GITR) and promotes increased effector T-cell activation. Combined anti-GITR, anti-programmed death-1, anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 antibodies and radiotherapy improve tumor control in preclinical studies. Herein we describe the results of the safety and efficacy of BMS-986156+ipilimumab or nivolumab with/without stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) in patients with advanced solid cancers (NCT04021043).

Methods: This open-label, multigroup, single-center phase I/II study enrolled patients with histologically-confirmed stage IV solid cancers resistant to standard treatments. Group 1 (G1, n=20) received four cycles of ipilimumab (3 mg/kg) plus BMS-986156 (30 …

Alliance A061202: Ixazomib, Pomalidomide, And Dexamethasone For Patients With Lenalidomide-Refractory Mm In First Relapse., Peter Voorhees, Vera Suman, Yvonne Efebera, Noopur Raje, Sascha Tuchman, Cesar Rodriguez, Jacob Laubach, Misty Bova-Solem, Destin Carlisle, Saad Usmani, Philip Mccarthy, Paul G Richardson

Oncology Articles

Optimal therapy for the growing number of patients with lenalidomide (LEN)-refractory multiple myeloma in their first relapse remains poorly defined. We therefore undertook a randomized phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining the oral proteasome inhibitor ixazomib (IXA) with pomalidomide (POM) and dexamethasone (DEX) in this patient population. The overall response rate (ORR) for POM-DEX was 43.6%, and for IXA-POM-DEX, it was 63.2%. The depth of response, measured by the attainment of at least a very good partial response, favored triplet therapy over doublet therapy (28.9% vs 5.1%; P = .0063). A preplanned interim analysis after …

Impact Of Cancer Therapy On Clonal Hematopoiesis Mutations And Subsequent Clinical Outcomes, Kevin T Nead, Taebeom Kim, Lijin Joo, Tina L Mcdowell, Justin W Wong, Irenaeus C C Chan, Elizabeth Brock, Jing Zhao, Ting Xu, Chad Tang, Chang-Lung Lee, Jun-Ichi Abe, Kelly L Bolton, Zhongxing Liao, Paul A Scheet, Steven H Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Exposure to cancer therapies is associated with an increased risk of clonal hematopoiesis (CH). The objective of our study was to investigate the genesis and evolution of CH after cancer therapy. In this prospective study, we undertook error-corrected duplex DNA sequencing in blood samples collected before and at 2 time points after chemoradiation in patients with esophageal or lung cancer recruited from 2013 to 2018. We applied a customized workflow to identify the earliest changes in CH mutation count and clone size and determine their association with clinical outcomes. Our study included 29 patients (87 samples). Their median age was …

Gender And Sexuality Awareness In Medical Education And Practice: Mixed Methods Study, Rola Khamisy-Farah, Eden Biras, Rabie Shehadeh, Ruba Tuma, Hisham Atwan, Anna Siri, Manlio Converti, Francesco Chirico, Łukasz Szarpak, Carlo Biz, Raymond Farah, Nicola Bragazzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The integration of gender and sexuality awareness in health care is increasingly recognized as vital for patient outcomes. Despite this, there is a notable lack of comprehensive data on the current state of physicians' training and perceptions in these areas, leading to a gap in targeted educational interventions and optimal health care delivery.

OBJECTIVE: The study's aim was to explore the experiences and perceptions of attending and resident physicians regarding the inclusion of gender and sexuality content in medical school curricula and professional practice in Israel.

METHODS: This cross-sectional survey targeted a diverse group of physicians across various specializations …

Tca Metabolism Regulates Dna Hypermethylation In Lps And Mycobacterium Tuberculosis–Induced Immune Tolerance, Abhimanyu, Santiago Carrero Longlax, Tomoki Nishiguchi, Malik Ladki, Daanish Sheikh, Amera L Martinez, Emily M Mace, Sandra L Grimm, Thaleia Caldwell, Alexandra Portillo Varela, Rajagopal V Sekhar, Anna M Mandalakas, Mandla Mlotshwa, Sibuse Ginidza, Jeffrey D Cirillo, Robert S Wallis, Mihai G Netea, Reinout Van Crevel, Cristian Coarfa, Andrew R Dinardo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Severe and chronic infections, including pneumonia, sepsis, and tuberculosis (TB), induce long-lasting epigenetic changes that are associated with an increase in all-cause postinfectious morbidity and mortality. Oncology studies identified metabolic drivers of the epigenetic landscape, with the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle acting as a central hub. It is unknown if the TCA cycle also regulates epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation, after infection-induced immune tolerance. The following studies demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide and Mycobacterium tuberculosis induce changes in DNA methylation that are mediated by the TCA cycle. Infection-induced DNA hypermethylation is mitigated by inhibitors of cellular metabolism (rapamycin, everolimus, metformin) and the TCA …

Il-7rα On Cd4+ T Cells Is Required For Their Survival And The Pathogenesis Of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, Gholamreza Azizi, Bram Van Den Broek, Larissa Ishikawa, Hamed Naziri, Reza Yazdani, Guang-Xian Zhang, Bogoljub Ciric, Mohamad Rostami

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The IL-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα) binds both IL-7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). IL-7Rα is essential for the development and survival of naive CD4+ T cells and their differentiation to effector/memory CD4+ T cells. Mice lacking IL-7Rα have severe lymphopenia and are resistant to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis. However, it has been reported that IL-7Rα on peripheral CD4+ T cells is disposable for their maintenance and EAE pathogenesis, which does not align with the body of knowledge on the role of IL-7Rα in the biology of CD4+ T cells. Given that a definitive study …

Development And Assessment Of A Point-Of-Care Application (Genomic Medicine Guidance) For Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease, Rohan Patil, Fatima Ashraf, Samer Abu Dayeh, Siddharth K Prakash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Genetic testing can determine familial and personal risks for heritable thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections (TAD). The 2022 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for TAD recommend management decisions based on the specific gene mutation. However, many clinicians lack sufficient comfort or insight to integrate genetic information into clinical practice.

Objective: We therefore developed the Genomic Medicine Guidance (GMG) application, an interactive point-of-care tool to inform clinicians and patients about TAD diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance. GMG is a REDCap-based application that combines publicly available genetic data and clinical recommendations based on the TAD guidelines into one translational education …

Flagellar Motility Is Mutagenic, Souvik Bhattacharyya, Shelby Lopez, Abhyudai Singh, Rasika M Harshey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Flagella are highly complex rotary molecular machines that enable bacteria to not only migrate to optimal environments but also to promote range expansion, competitiveness, virulence, and antibiotic survival. Flagellar motility is an energy-demanding process, where the sum of its production (biosynthesis) and operation (rotation) costs has been estimated to total ~10% of the entire energy budget of an

Rapid Hyperspectral Photothermal Mid-Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging From Sparse Data For Gynecologic Cancer Tissue Subtyping, Reza Reihanisaransari, Chalapathi Charan Gajjela, Xinyu Wu, Ragib Ishrak, Sara Corvigno, Yanping Zhong, Jinsong Liu, Anil K Sood, David Mayerich, Sebastian Berisha, Rohith Reddy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Ovarian cancer detection has traditionally relied on a multistep process that includes biopsy, tissue staining, and morphological analysis by experienced pathologists. While widely practiced, this conventional approach suffers from several drawbacks: it is qualitative, time-intensive, and heavily dependent on the quality of staining. Mid-infrared (MIR) hyperspectral photothermal imaging is a label-free, biochemically quantitative technology that, when combined with machine learning algorithms, can eliminate the need for staining and provide quantitative results comparable to traditional histology. However, this technology is slow. This work presents a novel approach to MIR photothermal imaging that enhances its speed by an order of magnitude. This …

Whole Genomes Of Amazonian Uakari Monkeys Reveal Complex Connectivity And Fast Differentiation Driven By High Environmental Dynamism, Núria Hermosilla-Albala, Felipe Ennes Silva, Sebastián Cuadros-Espinoza, Claudia Fontsere, Alejandro Valenzuela-Seba, Harvinder Pawar, Marta Gut, Joanna L Kelley, Sandra Ruibal-Puertas, Pol Alentorn-Moron, Armida Faella, Esther Lizano, Izeni Farias, Tomas Hrbek, Joao Valsecchi, Ivo G Gut, Jeffrey Rogers, Kyle Kai-How Farh, Lukas F K Kuderna, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Jean P Boubli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite showing the greatest primate diversity on the planet, genomic studies on Amazonian primates show very little representation in the literature. With 48 geolocalized high coverage whole genomes from wild uakari monkeys, we present the first population-level study on platyrrhines using whole genome data. In a very restricted range of the Amazon rainforest, eight uakari species (Cacajao genus) have been described and categorized into the bald and black uakari groups, based on phenotypic and ecological differences. Despite a slight habitat overlap, we show that posterior to their split 0.92 Mya, bald and black uakaris have remained independent, without gene flow. …

Fast, Variable Stiffness-Induced Braided Coiled Artificial Muscles, Xinghao Hu, Xiangyu Wang, Jian Wang, Guorong Zhang, Shaoli Fang, Fengrui Zhang, Ye Xiao, Guanggui Cheng, Ray H Baughman, Jianning Ding

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Biomimetic actuation technologies with high muscle strokes, cycle rates, and work capacities are necessary for robotic systems. We present a muscle type that operates based on changes in muscle stiffness caused by volume expansion. This muscle is created by coiling a mechanically strong braid, in which an elastomer hollow tube is adhesively attached inside. We show that the muscle reversibly contracts by 47.3% when driven by an oscillating input air pressure of 120 kilopascals at 10 Hz. It generates a maximum power density of 3.0 W/g and demonstrates a mechanical contractile efficiency of 74%. The muscle's low-pressure operation allowed for …

Monte Carlo Simulations Of Cefepime In Children Receiving Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy Support Continuous Infusions For Target Attainment., H Rhodes Hambrick, Nieko Punt, Kathryn Pavia, Tomoyuki Mizuno, Stuart L. Goldstein, Sonya Tang Girdwood

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a leading cause of acute kidney injury requiring continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) and CKRT can alter drug pharmacokinetics (PK). Cefepime is used commonly in critically ill children and is cleared by CKRT, yet data regarding cefepime PK and pharmacodynamic (PD) target attainment in children receiving CKRT are scarce, so we performed Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) of cefepime dosing strategies in children receiving CKRT.

METHODS: We developed a CKRT "module" in the precision dosing software Edsim++. The module was added into a pediatric cefepime PK model. 1000-fold MCS were performed using six dosing strategies in patients aged …